How long to build a Tamiya RC kit?
Discussion
I have bought a couple of Tamiya RC kits from Russ (Jadlam Racing) for my kids for Christmas.
Now opening a box with a nice picture of a car on the front and finding a self assembly kit may be disappointing on Christmas morning as they will be keen to play with them. I have at most a couple of hours on an evening, how long do you estimate it would take a novice to assemble and paint them?
My only experience of RC cars is watching and helping my dad build mine when I was 12, (but as a youngster I built many plastic models if that helps).
I have to either get them both built and ready or not even start one as if one son gets a built one, and the other an unbuilt one there will be much upset in the house, and they have to be built when the kids are in bed so they think they are from Santa.
Now opening a box with a nice picture of a car on the front and finding a self assembly kit may be disappointing on Christmas morning as they will be keen to play with them. I have at most a couple of hours on an evening, how long do you estimate it would take a novice to assemble and paint them?
My only experience of RC cars is watching and helping my dad build mine when I was 12, (but as a youngster I built many plastic models if that helps).
I have to either get them both built and ready or not even start one as if one son gets a built one, and the other an unbuilt one there will be much upset in the house, and they have to be built when the kids are in bed so they think they are from Santa.
As asked what kits?
I (shamefully) had never built an RC car until about 2 years ago as the ones I had as a kid were either RTR or built by experts (ie lad in the model shop for £10 (this was the 80's and early '90's...) I did however build a number of 1/24 scale Tamiya cars when i was 10-13 years old.
The car i bought was a Neo Scorcher on the TT-02B chassis. Took me about 5-6 hours to build from sitting down to giving it it's first run out.
I was a bit slap dash with the body shell and that took about another hour to cut out and paint up. If you want to do anything jazzy though it will take time.
The next one i got was last Christmas - this time a Capri on the TT-02 chassis. Took about 3-4 hours start to finish to build the car as almost identical to the TT-02B. The body on the other hand is still sitting in the study waiting for me to get round to taping and painting. I am sure that even with the fiddlier body it would only take about 2 hours plus drying time but I want to do a 'proper' job on this one and make it a display shell so at the minute i have a day in between Christmas and NYE booked out to cut it out, mask it up and spray the first colours on it.
I (shamefully) had never built an RC car until about 2 years ago as the ones I had as a kid were either RTR or built by experts (ie lad in the model shop for £10 (this was the 80's and early '90's...) I did however build a number of 1/24 scale Tamiya cars when i was 10-13 years old.
The car i bought was a Neo Scorcher on the TT-02B chassis. Took me about 5-6 hours to build from sitting down to giving it it's first run out.
I was a bit slap dash with the body shell and that took about another hour to cut out and paint up. If you want to do anything jazzy though it will take time.
The next one i got was last Christmas - this time a Capri on the TT-02 chassis. Took about 3-4 hours start to finish to build the car as almost identical to the TT-02B. The body on the other hand is still sitting in the study waiting for me to get round to taping and painting. I am sure that even with the fiddlier body it would only take about 2 hours plus drying time but I want to do a 'proper' job on this one and make it a display shell so at the minute i have a day in between Christmas and NYE booked out to cut it out, mask it up and spray the first colours on it.
So 4 hours for the fist one and 3 for the second I'd guess.
Russy - just thought about something i have been meaning to mention for ages. On your site where you are selling the Tamiya RC kits would it be an idea to put a link on each advert to the correct bull racing kit for each one?
I was busy specing up my Clod Buster for Black Friday and realised that the one thing i always come up against is working out which and what bearing kits i need to buy... Didn't buy in the end as something the Mrs said made me stop (something about rusty knives and balls i think) but if there isn't one from Santa i will most certainly be getting one next Black Friday!
Russy - just thought about something i have been meaning to mention for ages. On your site where you are selling the Tamiya RC kits would it be an idea to put a link on each advert to the correct bull racing kit for each one?
I was busy specing up my Clod Buster for Black Friday and realised that the one thing i always come up against is working out which and what bearing kits i need to buy... Didn't buy in the end as something the Mrs said made me stop (something about rusty knives and balls i think) but if there isn't one from Santa i will most certainly be getting one next Black Friday!
Might be an idea to leave them unbuilt so they get the enjoyment of building with Dad.
Whether you have time to build two really depends on which kits they are.
ETA - If you'd been closer I'd have offered to build them for you, not much help in itself perhaps, but maybe someone closer might like to help out. Cutting out, painting and decalling bodyshells is a royal PITA though
Whether you have time to build two really depends on which kits they are.
ETA - If you'd been closer I'd have offered to build them for you, not much help in itself perhaps, but maybe someone closer might like to help out. Cutting out, painting and decalling bodyshells is a royal PITA though
Edited by sgrimshaw on Tuesday 8th December 18:25
Rude-boy said:
Russy - just thought about something i have been meaning to mention for ages. On your site where you are selling the Tamiya RC kits would it be an idea to put a link on each advert to the correct bull racing kit for each one?
I think he does already, certainly for some. They are under the "Hop ups / Tune Up Options / Upgrades" banner, it says "click here".Edited by sgrimshaw on Tuesday 8th December 18:27
CoolHands said:
Why doesn't russ have his (website?) In his profile? How do you lot know where his business is?
Maybe he's not allowed to promote himself.I'm not aware of any rule preventing me posting that Russ has a business called Jadlam Racing Models
http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com
I've only ever built one and that was my Tamiya Frog that I had for Christmas at around 12-13 years of age. Think the build of the car itself took around 5-6 hours and that was with me being quite meticulous about cutting the parts of the carriers with a stanley knife then sanding away any bits still sticking out. You even had to build the shock absorbers and fill then with oil, no idea if the kits of today come with these ready assembled.
Decided to give it a go in the front room shortly after building it and promptly crashed it into the fireplace breaking one of the front suspension arms. I was gutted and very annoyed with my impatience for not waiting to take it to a empty car park somewhere to get used to it. Had a several days then to paint the shell whilst I waited for the replacement parts mail ordered from Beatties.
Decided to give it a go in the front room shortly after building it and promptly crashed it into the fireplace breaking one of the front suspension arms. I was gutted and very annoyed with my impatience for not waiting to take it to a empty car park somewhere to get used to it. Had a several days then to paint the shell whilst I waited for the replacement parts mail ordered from Beatties.
Rude-boy said:
So 4 hours for the fist one and 3 for the second I'd guess.
Russy - just thought about something i have been meaning to mention for ages. On your site where you are selling the Tamiya RC kits would it be an idea to put a link on each advert to the correct bull racing kit for each one?
Because the site is awful and being replaced soon! Plus I dont want to encourage Ball Race sets at the moment as they are pain in the arse! Imagine a box of 10,000 bearings of various sizes and having to make up packs for each car - when you already have a years worth of work to do in a week!Russy - just thought about something i have been meaning to mention for ages. On your site where you are selling the Tamiya RC kits would it be an idea to put a link on each advert to the correct bull racing kit for each one?
You can assemble a TT01/2 in around an hour once you've built a few of them up! Some of the older chassis were better in the respect that most of the screws were the same so you rarely had to refer to the instructions. Nowadays it seems all over the place, of particular frustration was the M06 chassis, which is so effing simple but has loads of different length screws in its makeup!
Agree with others about building with your kids, they'll learn a lot. Make sure the batteries are fully charged ready for the first use too, last thing you want is a 5 minute run due to a half-charged battery!
Agree with others about building with your kids, they'll learn a lot. Make sure the batteries are fully charged ready for the first use too, last thing you want is a 5 minute run due to a half-charged battery!
Id certainly get the bodies painted beforehand though. The extra time spent is well worth it in the long run. It's also the only part of the car that you aren't able to have a second go at.
As an idea, why not buy a third one, build that up before hand so you arent learning with your sons, but have an understanding of what is happening? Also allows you to join in the fun
sgrimshaw said:
CoolHands said:
thanks
Your wallet might not thank me It's a veritable Aladdin's Cave of man toys
As ever there are suppliers other than Russy and on the odd occasion he can't match the 'mega deals' of the big boys but I do find his service hard to fault (esp once his website is Android friendly :cough: ) and quite often he is cheaper than even the big boys.
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