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At the begining

Tamiya Incorporated is a Japanese manufacturer of models, radio controlled vehicles, eductational models powered by batteries and solar energy, paints, tools and other supplies for modeling. The company was founded in Japan in 1946 by Yoshio Tamiya but only entered the model world in 1948 with the production of a wooden ship model.

Here, I will only try to cover Tamiya history in the RC modeling world, in particular from the models point of vue. Some of them are very representative of the market evolution and still feed fans enthousiam around the world.

The brand logo is "First in Quality Around the World" that is found in an outstanding moulding quality and parts accurately fitting close to perfection. This precision combined to a high scale detail standard make Tamiya productions quality famous among hobbyists around the world. The two star logo can be found on every Tamiya product. The red color stands for passion and the blue color for precision.

The Vintage phenomenon

The Vintage is an interest for something old that left its mark on its era. As an extend, it is also something that left its mark on someone at a given moment, even if the rest of the planet passed over it. To make it short, it is a kind of nostalgic cult, a meaning to own something one had sometime ago, or somehting that one did not owned at that time and he wants afterwards. In RC modeling, models prior to 1990 are concerned.

Tamiya is a major manufacturer in the RC model hobby and some of its models are considered as outstanding. This is especially the case for the 50 first models ("metal" era), but also for the next 50 even if some purists have a different point of view (the 51st model marks the transition to the "all plastic" production).

Whatever the number of concerned models, the vintage phenomenom can be explained with the following reasons:

 Tamiya is one of the forerunners in RC modeling for masses

 Tamiya has been an major actor on the market for over 30 years without interruption

 Tamiya brought real innovations on some of its models

 like in all domains, there are collectors.

Many information can be found on internet, both on fan sites and forums. I recommend you to visit these very interesting sites:

 Vintage RC which is the french speaking reference for vintage and recent Tamiya models.

 Tamiya 101 features very nice photos and videos of the first 100 models.

 TamiyaClub for for their member galleries and their forum.

 Tamiya Base for the whole site which is a goldmine.

 Tamiyablog THE site for fresh news about Tamiya.

Tamiya kit references

Tamiya kits references evolved over more than 30 years of activity.

The first reference type was used on the 30 first models. The reference was made of a series of letters and digits: RA-1201 (Porsche 934 Turbo RSR), RA-1016 (Sand Scorcher) until RA-1030 (Honda Formula 02 (CS)). "RA" refers to the production line (RC models), the first pair of digits (10, 12) to the kit scale (1/12th or 1/10th), and the last pair of digits is the kit number.

The second reference type made is simpler by removing the scale reference and by changing the production line letters by the code 58. So kit references became 5831 (Brabham BT-50 BMW Turbo), until 5865 (Clod Buster) when Tamiya realized the series would end with kit number 99.

That is why the "0" digit was then added after the "58" production line code. The Super Sabre (kit 58066) started this new sequel that still goes on. That leaves room for a thousand of models.

By extension and to make it easier, old models references where modified afterward to comply with the new reference type.

The kits can receive a 49xxx reference if they are produced in limited edition. This includes some re-releases (49154 Tyrell P34 Six Wheeler), the Chrome Metallic editions (49337 Wild Willy 2), the Gold editions (49459 Lunch Box) or competition chassis that yield world championship titles to Tamiya (49394 TRF415MSX Marc Rheinard). This reference type is also used for limited series of spare parts (specific color or material).

Finally, factory assembled and painted models receive a 57xxx reference type. Normally, they are identical to their counterpart kit, but they may feature different dampers (friction instead of hydraulic) or speed controller (mechanical instead of electronic). On the other hand, the body is already painted and decorated and the model is provided with a complete radio set, stick pack and charger. In my collection, the Madbull, the Xsara WRC and the Sand Viper are XB Expert Build models.

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First publication: september 08, 2008 Last modified: march 10, 2010

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