Tamiya Neo Falcon (DT02) 1/10 buggy

[A.J. Gee]

Has anyone noticed the soon to be released buggy based on the DT-02 chassis called the neo falcon. Tamiya is also re releasing the fire dragon which in my opinion is stupid. The buggy is ugly IMO and never had much popularity. The only point in purchasing this buggy would be for display purposes only, as the performance would be quite horrid. I very much regret purchasing the re release of the subaru brat as well as the manta ray, but when i was getting into this great hobby i did not know any better. My main focus as of know is hopping up cars like my keen hawk and soon to be Durga. These buggys have great potential and are fun as hell to drive when properly equipped. And if anyone is interested i have a subaru brat new built re re that is up for sale for short money. Both body shells have not been used and the chassis is new built. If anyone has an offer that they would like to shoot my way, feel free. Pictures also will be available upon request.

[Metla]

Lets not forget that Japan is Tamiya's biggest market, and over there they obviously have a different taste....

[veecee]

Different taste indeed - just look at some of their real cars!

[A.J. Gee]

To tell you the truth i think that Tamiyas reasoning for the re release kits is for collectors and for people who want to display them as " shelf queens"

[DCM]

Originally Posted by Tamiya Slave

To tell you the truth i think that Tamiyas reasoning for the re release kits is for collectors and for people who want to display them as " shelf queens"

and your point being is? They have been doing this for the past three years, and there are lots of people who buy into the whole thing. And they see the budget stuff as mass market toys.

[budgio]

It looks .......kinda flat

[A.J. Gee]

hey good looks budgio. Where did u get that pic from?

[budgio]

http://www.tamiya.ca/58401%20NEO%20FALCON%20DT-02.htm

I just googled it.

[terry.sc]

Like the Avante mkII the Neo Falcon is again aimed at the huge numbers of Mini 4WD racers who have grown up. Tamiyas r/c division is dwarfed by the Mini 4WDs in Japan. It's a pretty good likeness of the original as well.

Nothing wrong with the Fire Dragon, although will probably not quite as big a seller as the Thundershot was but the extra shock on the front makes a lot of difference to the handling. Certainly not intended as 'collectors pieces', the rereleases have attracted loads more people back into r/c, people who remember either wanting or having one of the originals and having spotted them they are now in a position to afford them.

For a casual basher I would always recommend a Fire Dragon before a Durga, and I suspect Tamiya will sell more Fire Dragons than Durgas. The Fire Dragon goes well enough, is easy to put together and doesn't have any confusing setup adjustments. Once you sort out an upgrade for the A5 front wishbone mount the Dragon chassis is amazingly tough and will likely handle a lot more abuse than the fibre reinforced parts of the Durga that won't just flex as it cartwheels across the grass.

You'll find most collectors aren't too interested in the rereleases for collecting, but they go down very well for running with collectors, old r/cers getting back into it and new bashers. Away from the racetrack you'll find few B4s around but plenty of Tamiya Lunchboxes and Hornets. Tamiya keep on rereleasing the old buggies because they are big sellers, especially in Japan which is their biggest market, and all of Tamiyas old buggies have a lot more character and appeal to the casual r/cer than any of the race buggies. Remember racing is all of 5% of the r/c car market, focussing on the bashing market is what has made Tamiya by far the biggest r/c car company in the world.