So....I got another Lightning

Jstas

Only ran me about $250! It's in pieces. Gotta put it together. This one's 4WD though and needs some electronics. I'm pretty sure I have enough spare parts hanging around to get it running though.

Here's a picture:



It's actually been discontinued for a while. It was a pretty rare kit even when new and in production. Well, the TL-01 chassis wasn't rare. It's pretty common. But the body parts were rare as well as the kit. I found this one on eBay about 2 weeks before Christmas and ended up winning the auction. It just showed up today. I've been looking for one I could afford for 6 or so years now. Most were between $600 and $1000 and I thought that was insane. Might as well just buy the bare chassis and look for the body at that point. That was easier said than done as well. Then i found this and jumped on it.

It was sealed, NIB so it's unpainted and everything so I can make it whatever color(s) I want. I'm glad I was able to find it so cheap...well, comparatively.

Now I just gotta put it together and get a battery set for it.

thsmith

very kewl !

Sherardp

Can't see the pics bro.

Jstas

Sherardp wrote: »

Can't see the pics bro.

'Cause they are linked from Tamiya's site here in the US and you're in Japan. Sucks to be you.

Face

The pictures aren't visible on Long Island either.

ohskigod

gonna keep 2 running or combine parts into one?

oh< i cant see pics either, damn curious

WilliamM2

Here you go.

ohskigod

:rolleyes:

WilliamM2

ohskigod wrote: »

:rolleyes:

I'm sorry, those are the pics he posted. Maybe you never heard of Tamiya?

Jstas

OK, think I'm a jerk but I really don't care if you can't see the pictures. They worked when I posted them over an hour ago and now they don't work. Not my fault. WilliamM2 posted the same shots.

Sherardp is in Japan and Tamiya has a regional thing going on where the Asia region cannot see the Europe or NA regions and so on. Probably because different product are available in each region. So when the guy from Japan tells me that he can't see pictures from the NA website, I say "no s#!%".


And yeah Lou. it's an RC car. I've been in to RC cars longer than any of the other expensive hobbies. I got my first Tyco cars when I was 6-7 years old and started building and racing the kits when I was 11-12 years old and never really grew out of it. I got this kit plus an assembled Losi JuniorT for some parts I need for my other truck so I can keep that working as well. As far as big cars, I'm not getting another Lightning when I have the Ranger and a pile of parts to put together there.

blueboxer

It is always great when you can afford your childhood dreams and hobbies as an adult. Do you prefer electric or gas RC's?

Jstas

blueboxer wrote: »

It is always great when you can afford your childhood dreams and hobbies as an adult. Do you prefer electric or gas RC's?

I like electric. The gas has a much longer run time but they are noisy and dirtier. Plus, the electricity to run them is a fraction of what a bottle of fuel costs. Besides, when I started out, gas was for posers who just wanted a toy. The racers were all running electric and there were no gas classes. So by default I got in to electric.

Besides, the motivation isn't the biggest part of the formula to run fast. Suspension set up is. Especially with all the jumps and stuff. You can have all the power in the world but on dirt, if you can put it down smooth and evenly, you'll just spin the wheels and go no where fast.

This Tamiya TL-01 Lightning is just a "fun" runner. Always wanted one to match the big one in the driveway, just couldn't find it at a not insane price. Tamiya is re-releasing this body style on the new TRR-88 chassis I think it is. Anyway, the new chassis is junk but cheap so the market is getting flooded with the new ones for $218 was the cheapest I saw and the old ones are dropping in value. That usually happens on specific ones like these Tamiyas. The TL-01 is a far better chassis and desirable because it can easily be modified and is pretty stiff and well balanced out of the box. So lucky me I found a good deal on one. The prices will go back up eventually when the market settles out and people start realizing that the older chassis is better. Glad I got it now and only paid $45 more than the original 2002 retail price I saw it for at $205 in Allied Hobbies.

It'd be nice if the hobby came back to where it was in the mid-90's. I could go to any one of 7 tracks within riding distance on a bicycle then. Now I've got to drive 40 minutes to the nearest one and they only run electric for two classes and you only get 3 heats where the gas vehicles have 4 classes and each class gets 6 heats. You pay the same entry fee though. :rolleyes: But I don't want to run in the gas classes because it's a bunch of kids (young and old) who just run around the track and bash the people who are beating them in to the walls. It's like bumper cars and for at least a $600 investment in a cheap kit and all the electronics, engine, fuel and other stuff, it's an expensive proposition to go out and have "Little Billy" trash your rig with the "toy" mommy and daddy bought him for Christmas. When I was younger and racing, if you did that, the race official would tell a marshal to remove your vehicle from the track and your entry fee was refunded and you were asked to not come back if your behavior was going to continue. Now, if "Little Billy" gets kicked off the track for his damaging shenanigans, loudmouthed dad jumps in and starts screaming about it until things go "Little Billy's" way. Yeah, forget that. Not worth the hassle at all.

Face

I was into RC cars in the late 80's, early 90's...I still miss toying with them. I believe my old Top Cat, Frog, Monster Beetle, and whatever else is still in my parent's basement.