Vintage Tamiya's (Prototypes?)
 

Does anyone recognise the following cars?

Look like old Tamiya team cars / prototypes?

yeah they look like it ...are they yours ???

mvh Isobarik

Yes. All early Tamiya TRF211x's.

Quite a few were made, team drivers also modded away happily to their own cars.

Made up of Astute/Madcap/Super Astute & prototype Dynastorm parts, a few with custom made parts or adapted parts from other cars, like the lower right hand corner one. Popular mod was RC10 gearboxes grafted on, as the Super Asute gearbox & diff & slipper was never really any good.

Do you want to sell ? If so, im buying... :)

Sorry, not for sale.... That's another part of this forum. :p. But you won't find them there either I'm afraid.

There's some shells for them somewhere... If I can get them matched up, I'll post up another pic for people to look at.

Shame, ive always wanted a TRF211x... if ever you want to sell one one, let me know :)

Nice collection though, were they all from one Tamiya driver or a collection from different drivers ?

Post the shells up if you get a chance, i might be able to recognise one or two if they were old UK drivers cars....

If you want the 211 you can buy the plates from fibrelyte, then just buy a dyna storm and mount that. That was the common 211 set-up.

The shell us more difficult although I think everyone used a Kyosho shell.

Yup done that, had a couple of the first ones FbreLyte did when they released them many years ago :lol:

I've done that version a few times, and a last-of-the-line plastic tub TRF211x... but neither are geniune factory driven TRFs. Remember there were three main developments of TRF211'x, all evolutions of the first, and i doubt any of them were 100% identical :woot:

The one available from Fibrelyte was around the second TRF211x development, the Dynastorm version. Ive always wanted a geniune Super Astute TRF version, one of the first ones. As in the picture above.

Shells were a driver thing mostly - some used modified Astute shells, aftermarket shells or the Kyoshos dependant on which chassis they were using or whatever design they liked. The second generation TRF211x's used a pre-Dynastorm shell, looks almost the same, just minor differences.

i remember about 10 years ago seeing what looked like a tamiya egress with manta ray suspension and TRF cut into the topdeck. It was in the bottom of a junk box in a shed. He refused to sell it.

That sound suspiciously like one of Jamie Booths early TRF cars or a close copy of ? He did extensively modify an Egress, most notably with H-arm rear suspension instead of the trailing arms... and he also had 'TRF' milled into the chassis top-deck... But he quickly stopped using it as it wasnt that competitive.

Soon after that he used the modified Manta-Ray which used a carbon double-deck chassis. Basically the Top Force prototype. Jamies all had the red gearboxes if i remember though ?

I had heard recently he got his original Egress back, or had found it and brought it back again. Or wanted to find it. Or build a replica. Cant remember now :lol:

I still have a jamie booth Mantaray chassis :)

Got any pics of it ?? :drool:

it will look a bit sad as it was drilled etc to make it lighter.. I will find it and get some pics..

I think it was stripped down for parts for my early Tamiya TC stuff..

The chassis with the yellow square sticker with the '316' digits on it could have been used in the 91' Detroit Worlds as my Schumacher Team driver cars from that event had the exact same stickers on it. (Entrant numbers perhaps?)

I was thinking that too.... check out the photo's of the Losi in this thread over on RC10Talk

http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22111

As you can see this car (which was also used in Detroit in 91) has the same number sticker.

Your getting closer... That is a geniune Worlds TRF car.... i know whos cars they are but i'm sworn to secrecy atm... :p

Im sure Daz will expand the thread soon, as that collection is a huge bit of Tamiya history - maybe the only complete TRF211x collection from one early TRF driver left as a whole ?

i would like too see pictures of ellis staffords and alan harmans 411x and 211x cars. I heard a rumor that alan harman still has his 411x.

TRF Shell
 

So, armed once more with the camera, there's some shells, lets have a look at this one for starters.. :drool:

i know you said you wouldnt sell any of these but would you consider a million pounds, my integara type r, my faithfull fiance and my right or left leg ?

I already upped that by an arm as well, but he wasnt having any of it... :lol:

And I'll raise you two eye balls to see the other three shells :woot:

the annoying thing is about ten years ago i had a really strange trf top force evo which i bought from a guy who just changed sponsors. It was a total prototype. I sold it for bout 70 quid. Shoot me now.

Stand still, your moving to much to shoot properly... :P

i would buy and run a vintage top force evo, dyna storm or super astute if i could find a decent one.

Dynastorms are available, as are top forces.. Thet don't go for that much on eBay. The dynastorm is great but the rear arm mounts are a bugger and break so the D-parts are almost non existent.

I got all 3 :woot:

http://www.ukmonsters.co.uk/Top%20Force/DSC09528.JPG

http://www.ukmonsters.co.uk/superastute/DSC08242.JPG

http://www.ukmonsters.co.uk/Dynastorm/DSC08289.JPG

i like them. I take it they are show cars. I want them to race with myself. Seening those pics just makes me want a top force evo again

Yeh always wanted them when I was younger. They are a bit too rare/expensive to drive I think, much rather drive newer stuff and keep these mint.

http://www.ukmonsters.co.uk/Top%20Force/DSC09540.JPG

i have seen loads of pics of the top force evo, but there are very few pics of the top force evos the team used. loads of the rarer trf 411x though. Anybody got any pics of the team cars.

This is quite cool

http://www.rct.jp/contents/lab/chassis/buggy/trf411x/

411X, belt drive Topforce with Dynastorm clutch

article on Jamie Booths TF evo

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/article.asp?id=64

the 411x had a dynastorm gearbox turned around. Alan harman said it wasnt the best and the team used to prefer the top force evo.

heres a pic of a tamiya dynastorm that belongs to a friend. I set this up for carpet and it went well after a bit of work.

Pics would be good for the 4wd as it had a lot of things that resembled a zxr. Still went like stink. Same shel as what I wil.be using, parma tomcat.

Just managed to finally open the link Candyman supplied earlier and yup thats looks like the car Ells drove.

Another vintage Tamiya shell!
 

Time to put another shell to another chassis.. :thumbsup: Check out the realistic driver figure.. don't quite know what's going on there.

that looks like the paint job alan harman used. I got to get myself one. I am thinking of a dynastorm or super astute.

I'm pretty sure at least a few of those cars in the 1st picture have been owned (or perhaps still owned) by Steve Haynes... former UK tamiya driver

Edited: If that's the case, let him know that he still hasn't scanned that TRF211X paperwork that he promised me about ten years ago ;)

Without *knowing*, I might still speculate a bit, starting top left:

1) Most "final" TRF211X version, can see that from the gearbox casing, front bumper, reinforcement between gearbox/damper stay

2) Eearlier TRF211X version, slipper seems to be Super Astute spec, still some kind of prototype gearbox casing,.

3) (center car): Probably also early TRF211X version. Front damper mount seems to be of the type used at the 1991 Euros/Worlds on the Astute cars.

4) Left: Astute from 1991 Worlds and/or the Euros. 30 degree front kickup plate (?) Same proto gearbox as on the first 211X (?)

5) Right: Probably a bit earlier works Astute, I've seen those aluminium parts before, I just can't remember where/when. Original Astute front bulkhead, that's why I guess this one is the oldest one.

So, let me know how close I was :)

i remember a few years ago when the saundersfoot club ran at little king pk, someone racing a tamiya prototype, the suspension was very similar to the dynastorm but it had a twin deck carbon chassis and what looked more like an associated stealth box, he was very secretive about the car and his mate always hung around and took the car as fast as he could from scrutineering. dynastorm, or dyna rod as we affectionately called it always broke rear wishbone mounts and front bulkheads, one of mine got modified and used associated rear wisbone mounts and a homemade nylon bulkhead with steel braces, no problems then, apart from the car being over 4 pounds in weight

i ran a super astute with a modified front end and a heavily modified gearbox at a marston palmers meeting years ago. I won the b final but the gearbox was dead by the end of the race. Good times

On a second thought.. the newest Astute seem a bit suspicious with its rear hub carriers and wishbones + body mounts.. has it been used converted to a truck, perhaps? Around 1992, is my guess..

I have a TRF211X body for sale (painted) and some TRF211X parts, also the TRF motor as shown in the TRF411X pictures.

Furthermore some TRF414 official proto parts.