Well I live i Denmark, and I have absolutely no problem getting Tamiya parts. 3-4 shops carry Tamiya parts and several good web shops in the EU are available with low prices and 2 day delivery.

There you go! Listen to what my friend said here.
Tamiya is always no. 1 :sneaky:

I don't know about Tamiya being "as expensive as poison outside SE Asia"

It is well equipped for the price you pay (usually only carrying a $50 premium over other similar kits that come less equipped). DCJ's, aluminum steering bellcranks, aluminum turnbuckles, aluminum pulleys. Needs absolutely nothing out of the box. Spares are reasonable too. $7 for a pair of c-hubs while X-ray is $9 for one hub. Granted the X-ray stuff is 2x as tough.

I also question the claim that Tamiya prices are more expensive in Japan. That doesn't make sense, it's the country of origin. In addition, I buy Tamiya spare and hop up parts from Banzai in Japan and prices are incredibly low, 50% lower than TQ and shipping is really inexpensive. So unless I need the parts in 3 to 5 days, I shop in Japan.

+1

I've ordered from Japan before too and its much cheaper for Tamiya parts/upgrades/kits. Same with some Kyosho stuff too.

If you want to buy in person in Japan I found there prices to be quite high even from a hobby shop I had purchased online from.

There online prices are often very good though.

Which event were you watching champ?

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps9cd2ab94.jpg

He stated there were three Tamiyas in the finals, he actually meant four.

That's just bollocks.

The 418 was priced everywhere the pretty much the same as the yokomo and xray. All the honkas shops are about the same price for the top cars.

Tower hobbies were even doing it for under $500US. I got mine in the UK for less than $500US. Any price difference - if any - is more than made up for by having stuff like DCJs standard anyway. Not to mention the spare arms, bars, springs etc that all the 418s came with....!

If tamiya is expensive, it's because of importers gouging, not because it is dearer than equivalents. The best bit about Japanese parts is they print the RRP on the header card - do the maths and work out the profit the importer is making......

Parts from places like banzai are cheap as chips. They are cheaper than yokomo typically from banzai. Have a look at the RRP yen prices on the packets and you'll note they are priced cheaper by the factory too. Banzai are firmly a volume = profit business model.

Tamiya is hard to get in australia as the importer is difficult to deal with and also due to the influx of cheap nylon kits like hobao is seen as expensive.

TRF is IMPOSSIBLE to get in australia as the difficult to deal with importer doesn't think they will make enough money so refuses to import it.

Hero cars sell the mundane ones in the range though - they are doing it wrong.

And the Hara "observation"? :D

That he was driving a Yokomo like the winner was driving.

I'm referring to the "he didn't even make the final" comment.

Genuinely interested to know which event he was watching.

Sounds more like the pre worlds? (3 tamiyas and no Hara)

cplus the 418 was $50-60 cheaper including the spare plastics, tuning springs and sway bars in Feb 2014 from HK.

I would have purchased one but there was no local parts support.

Hobby shop prices are ridiculously expensive. I'm all for supporting hobby shops, but the prices here in Japan are astronomical. I prefer to buy the kit online and support the hobby shop by buying parts and smaller items.

Where is local for you?

Wherever it is, I've got no doubt it was cheaper in HK at various times. My point was it would have been very little between it and the BD7/T4 when comparing in the same location.