Justifying Tamiyas prices?

[Ben_r1]

Evening all, not new here but haven't been on in ages.

Very new to rc tankin so apologies if this has been covered to death before. Currently I have a Torro king Tiger and quality wise it's everything I could ever want from an r/c tank, it just screams quality from its metal parts to the fine details.

Now I would really like a nice Allied tank to pair up against it, one of my personal favourites has to be the mighty IS2. I'm aware onl Tamiya sell this model but I'm looking at over £800 before radio equipment and assembly, plus from what I can tell that's for a mostly plastic tank with plastic tracks and turret!?

What's so special about the Tamiyas to justify this price tag? At the moment I'm considering just settling for a Torro T34 instead.

Thanks.

[jarndice]

Ben Hi, If you are British then you will understand the comparison I make , Marmite, Yes/No.
There is no question that Tamiya Kits are really top of the line and some people think that the price is fully justified others find such prices difficult to justify.
My opinion is immaterial, the simple truth is that if I could afford it I would only buy Tamiya,
As it is I remember as a boy pressing my nose against a toy shop window in Regent Street listening to my Father saying "maybe next year son",
I also remember the wonder and delight when I saw for the first time a HENG LONG Tiger 1 and its Price,
Its true everything comes to he who waits.
Shaun.

[PainlessWolf]

Good afternoon,
You would be well served with one of the excellent Taigen\Torro T-34\85s. Rather than start the age-old discussion about Tamiya pricing and 'Why They Do What They Do' in terms of tank releases, I would just say 'engineering'. Most folks who build one ( and that includes me now ) always comment on how excellently the parts are engineered to go together. ( over engineered in some cases where harsh language is the only kind that will fit ) Once the tank is complete, it really is a stand alone achievement in metal and plastic. As far as pricing goes, patience is key. I found my Tiger 1 kit online for 550.00 US including shipping. Their JS-2 is newer but I have seen them for 719.99 from places like Banzai Hobby and AAF( here in the States ) Have fun with whatever you get. We are in a Golden Age of RC Tanking. Take advantage and try a lot of different manufacturers.
regards,
Painless

[igotit]

I dont know much about tamiya tanks,ive delt with plenty rc cars and trucks from tamiya,im not a tamiya fan,i couldnt justify paying $1000 for a tamiya scale 4x4 that was a terrible performer and needed plenty mods to compete with $400 ready to run axial scaler.
Ive always felt like tamiya built for looks....not durability or functionality.not to mention constant backorder parts with high prices on cheap plastic.
But they build some very realistic bodies.

But thats just my opinion from my dealings in the rc car/truck hobby.
Im sure someone will chime in and give you more specific tank info.
Im not a tamiya lover or a hater.tamiya paved the way for so many other manufactures get their start in the great rc world.

[wibblywobbly]

It's got to be said, if it wasn't for that first £50 Heng Long Tiger 1 that I bought, I would never have got into the hobby. Having said that, maybe £50 was a tad optimistic, I dread to think what I have spent over almost ten years. It's good fun though!!

[Rad_Schuhart]

I have two tamiya kits, the Sherman and the King Tiger. IMHO the best part of a tamiya kit is to build and paint it and I really enjoyed it. But no, I can not justify the price.

For example, the king tiger: The lack of detail is unveliebable. I still cant believe I can not open the hatches unless I mod it myself, and is not an easy job. The electronics were great long time ago, now are outdated. The rotation unit needs some mods, most people has problems with it (me included)

And also the tank needs some upgrades: Track tensioners are rubish, some people installs a hull brace to prevent the hull flex, and the plastic tracks are light and fragile as a feather (Yeah, some people never had a problem with those tracks, but a lot of people breaks them on the first run)

Anyway, I paid 400 hundred euros for it and I think it was very expensive. 800 Pounds is just CRAZY. You can buy a small motorbike for that amount of dough.


I dont want to start another tamiya VS the rest battle, but the kits are terrible overpriced for a toy mostly made of plastic.

[PainlessWolf]

PS: Like Jarndice and W.W. just noted, I've still got my first HL Tiger 1, red headlights and hit and miss BB cannon and everything. It opened a door to allow me to get into large scale RC Tanks and spend waaaaaay too much ( in the Mate's opinion ;o) over the years. Wouldn't look back for anything. Enjoy!!!
regards,
Painless

[tomhugill]

Firstly the prices charged by U.K. Sellers for tamiya products are crazy and at those prices it's hard to justify. HOWEVER! Tamiya models can be obtained for much less than this, axels modellbau, banzai hobby and others are good places to start. Secondly as a U.K. resident buyer looking aboroad the collapse of the pound has made things much more expensive. When I bought my JS-2 the price was £415 (this was from banzai) and as a Japanese domestic kit included radio, battery and charger. I had to pay shipping and duty which bought it to £600 but still much less than the one you saw and it comes with everything to run.

Other tamiyas (Sherman, Pershing, tiger, king tiger, sometimes this panther) come up second hand for much less so again easier to justify.

[jackalope]

This post will certainly strike a nerve with a few members! To me Tamiya's are waaaay over priced for what you get. Sure they're an awesome model kit that can be RC but then so are Trumpeter tanks and they cost a good deal less and have way more details! Not as ready to run RC as the Tamiya tanks are though.

I like my Torro and Taigen stuff best, good level of detail, tough as nails, easy to mod, and reasonably priced.

I can't say I'd never buy a Tamiya tank but for right now I can't see me buying one tomorrow.

[Ben_r1]

I do love my Torro too, it's a bargain really.

Do we know if Torro are working on anything else? I know they're mainly German based but a few more Russian tanks to their lineup would be fantastic too.