RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Frankly, I would be offended if that's what I got in my tank box.. For the money, I think they can afford to do better than that..

A piece of string?

gp100 wrote:Frankly, I would be offended if that's what I got in my tank box.. For the money, I think they can afford to do better than that..

I thought so too, but I am sure Roy has probably had enough of me trash-talking Tamiya recently.

For what it's worth, the Trumpeter kits come with brass or copper braided cables. Nicer than the typical aftermarket affairs, too.

Raminator wrote:

gp100 wrote:Frankly, I would be offended if that's what I got in my tank box.. For the money, I think they can afford to do better than that..

I thought so too, but I am sure Roy has probably had enough of me trash-talking Tamiya recently.

For what it's worth, the Trumpeter kits come with brass or copper braided cables. Nicer than the typical aftermarket affairs, too.

...and I fully intend to have a bash at a Trumpeter kit before too long, Dan. I saw a comparison recently on RCU between Tamiya's Pz IV and Trumpeter's offering. Thread contributors there were generally positive about Trumpeter kits, and the Pz IV one especially. So...trash away, Dan, I'm not a pious Tamiyanista . I'll join you, in fact!....although, I do try to keep a dispassionate and objective stance on 1/16 products. Still, it's hard to escape the fact that there's quite a bit of cr*p out there. Expensive cr*p Sometimes a good model can be blighted by poor components.
As the building side of our hobby is the most enjoyable for me, I like kits that go together well and that really look the part. Performance is a slightly secondary factor; but the tank should work as it's supposed to..
I saw what you did with your T34 kit, and understand why you rate Trumpeter quite highly. That was a great thread, and quite instructive, by the way

Hey 43rdRecceReg,
I am a fan of Tamiya, I guess because my first kit was Tamiya, but I agree with you this is UNSAT!!! Can't believe they included an old shoe string to replicate tow rope Which full option kit was this? I mean its one thing if we make it up ourselves at the work bench, but if your paying top dollar you expect to get top quality
Regards,
Dano

Good evening,
This has got to be some bean counters ploy. I could guess that the thinking went like: " Well, they don't like the molded, stiff plastic ones and just replace them anyway ( I don't, I like them ;o) so instead of throwing more money into this kit, what can we use to simulate tow ropes????" *looks down at show strings * I still love Tamiya kits. They are a big, long time in operation company and sometimes the thinking goes weird, I guess.
regards,
Painless

This non stop moaning about the Tamiya Tow Rope is riding roughshod over a century's old Japanese tradition where little old ladies in the mountain villages of Honshu have almost continuously weaved their own children's hair into tow ropes for the ships of the Japanese navy,
Because of the navy's lack of demand the good burghers at Tamiya commissioned these sweet old people to continue their skilled work in a slightly smaller scale,
And here you evil Westerners are bad mouthing a group of old age pensioners who are desperately trying to find the money for a new Honda Fireblade each.
Shame on you.
Shaun.

jarndice wrote:This non stop moaning about the Tamiya Tow Rope is riding roughshod over a century's old Japanese tradition where little old ladies in the mountain villages of Honshu have almost continuously weaved their own children's hair into tow ropes for the ships of the Japanese navy,
Because of the navy's lack of demand the good burghers at Tamiya commissioned these sweet old people to continue their skilled work in a slightly smaller scale,
And here you evil Westerners are bad mouthing a group of old age pensioners who are desperately trying to find the money for a new Honda Fireblade each.
Shame on you.
Shaun.

Nice one Shaun..

Years ago in my younger years, I built Tamiya r/c race cars.. They were always highly detailed and very well designed.. But they always came with a hefty price attached to them. But you always knew what you were getting with them. I always felt they were worth the price for a nice car. And boy those suckers were fast to!But even back then, they would occasionally miss the mark on a part of detail that left you wondering what they were thinking.. Still, they were worth the money if you could afford them..

I had two or three of them laying around.. Great display pieces as well. Good conversation starters..

jarndice wrote:This non stop moaning about the Tamiya Tow Rope is riding roughshod over a century's old Japanese tradition where little old ladies in the mountain villages of Honshu have almost continuously weaved their own children's hair into tow ropes for the ships of the Japanese navy,
Because of the navy's lack of demand the good burghers at Tamiya commissioned these sweet old people to continue their skilled work in a slightly smaller scale,
And here you evil Westerners are bad mouthing a group of old age pensioners who are desperately trying to find the money for a new Honda Fireblade each.
Shame on you.
Shaun.

Far be it from me to besmirch the centuries old tradition of Japanese rope making, Shaun. Indeed, imagine the sacrifice Japanese women must have made, to supply the Yamato and Murashi with suitable cables..
The majority of must have had crew cuts, or actually gone slaphead, as Sinead O'Connor once did. Now, that's what I call a noble tradition!.
Still, a more suitable use can be found for Tamiya full-option bits of string: (Since I lifted this shot from Wikiconkers, the attribution for the photo goes to: XCalPab. Hopefully his conker went on to be a champion ere it split asunder )
Oh, yes, 'Conkers" is a slightly loopy, centuries old, British tradition (and now deemed a 'dangerous' game, according to neurotic Health and Safety bods..... ). In the near future, our troops will be armed with rubber bayonets..

Painless, Burger, gp100, and others, thanks for your thoughts. The confusion here is between 'tow rope' (ropes hint at fibres of some sort, like hemp), and a 'tow cable'- or hawser, generally made of metal. Tanks have tow cables, and are best represented by metal flex of some sort- preferably, one that lends itself to being immortalised in paint. String..well, it's best used for conkers or for puppets and parcels. ..and doubtless any other things....