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Old 07-19-2005, 10:40 PM
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RandomFellow
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Thanks to all who have replied. You guys have given me your great insight into this phenomenon. From what I can tell, the Tamiya fans seem closely related to Mac fans. Both are small groups of individuals fervently committed to buying a product that is manufactured by companies dedicated to the refinement of their particular goods, even though function has taken a backseat to form.

Now, to be fair, I'm not new to Tamiya. I have built several static models from Tamiya and for a while, my son was into Mini-4WDs. Also, my first R/C car was a Rough Rider I bought second-hand at a garage sale in the early '80s. It even came with a "state-of-the-art" Futaba transmitter that was the size and shape of your normal stick transmitter, but had a wheel in the middle for steering and a toggle on the side for throtle. I think my dad still has the car somewhere in his basement - I'll have to go hunting for it some day.

With regards to Tamiya's famed suspension, I already run TRF shocks (dampers) on my TC4s, so I'm already sold on those. But, I've just been getting an itch to try a Tamiya R/C again. I don't know why - couldn't tell you. Maybe its just plain intrigue.

AND yes, being a state with a winter season, carpet racing is standard. Summer is for off-road outdoors; Fall, Winter, and Spring is on-road indoors. So, any touring car I'll be racing will be on carpet on foams. This has me a little concerned about the competitiveness of Tamiya on carpet.

BTW, with regards to the TCS, the fellows at Tamiya America don't seem to be interested in promoting their products up here in the Motor City, even though Tamiya Canada has tons of TCS races in Ontario. Maybe I'll have to make a run for the border.

So, I'm thinking, maybe I should just dive right back in and get a TA-05. That way, I can experience the whole "upgrade transformation" thing. What do you think?
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