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Last week I came across a very lightly used Tamiya Hornet re-release on Facebook marketplace and decided to contact the seller. The only vintage Tamiya car I’d ever seen before in person was a pal’s Sand Scorcher back in the 90s (which at the time I had thought sucked. If only I knew then...).
Anyway, I was interested and the price was very reasonable for these parts.
So I end up chatting with the guy and he tells me he has two more NIB cars which he also wants to sell. He says he’s travelling and can’t remember what models they are, but I can go round his house and his brother would show them to me. He’s asking the same price for all three. So now I’m excited and a little anxious. This price for NIB kits seems cheap, and I’m afraid he’s going to publish them and they’re going to fly.
I talk to his brother, go over there, and it turns out one of the cars is a Hotshot re-re and the other a (very ugly to me) Aero Avante. For those not familiar with this car, it has nothing to do with THE Avante we all probably know of.
I check prices on the internet and figure these are already at a good price, but he offers a discount if I take them all. I counter with a lower offer and make off with all three cars for the price of two.
I’m not going to keep any of these cars I think. I am interested in looking through the kits and seeing what their all about, but after that I will be reselling them.
I may keep one of the radio kits since I don’t have a 2.4ghz car radio.

One thing which is bugging me is that the guy who sold them to me did get a short ways into building the Hotshot. Not very far, but already I can tell he had no clue what he was doing. He’s attached the front diff to the rear of the driver plate. Who knows what he’s done in the diff itself!

I’m considering disassembling it back to parts and bagging again for the next owner to assemble from scratch. I won’t be hiding the fact, but I need to make sure all parts are there and undamaged. Similarly I’m going to have to take an inventory of parts from open bags. What would you do?

Here are some pics.

Dissassemble the Hotshot for sure.....maybe sell the Hornet to Thumbs

So You´re asking how to get the most money out of Your investment?
All kits are available at the shops today, so unless You got them for free or under 1/3 of cheapest price found on the net, I don´t see them as a money making option.
So either wait 20-40 years while hoping for Tamiya to stop releasing their Re-re-re-releases OR
Be the cool Uncle and hand them out to the Youngsters in the family.

No, not really looking for advice on how to make the most money off them.
You guys are mostly in completely different markets to mine and wouldn’t know the first thing about prices or trends here.
So I was really just sharing my excitement since this kind of Tamiya kit is quite rare here.
(Oh, and asking if you thought I should disassemble the Hot Shot before letting it go.)

I was curious about the Tamiya kits, but wasn’t really overwhelmed by them.
Had these been Kyosho ReRe’s I would be keeping them almost certainly.

But if your interested, I payed under US$160 for everything you see in the photos: RTR Hornet with radio, NIB Aero Avante with speed controller, partly assembled Hot Shot ReRe, additional 2.4ghz radio, and a NiCd.
And from what I’ve checked, that is under a third retail price in the US.
Considering prices here are double US prices, this was probably a good price.

As for making a buck off them, the thing is, there isn’t really that much interest in vintage RCs here. There’s one Facebook group which is always quiet. These cars weren’t available as toys for kids back in the day, so there isn’t really a nostalgia factor either.

Selling internationally on eBay seems like a huge hassle. Never done it before, have no idea of costs, etc.

I’ll be happy with selling the Aero and Hornet and keeping the Hotshot for free.

I think your wrong about guys here not knowing the prices or trends as you say. There are lots of guys here that collect tamiya, kyosho, marui, yokomo etc... Take a look through the different forums.

"Selling internationally on eBay seems like a huge hassle. Never done it before, have no idea of costs, "


Selling internationally on ebay is very easy....just sold two cars with it recently. Just select global shipping program, enter box demisions and weight....thats it. If someone wins it internationally, it selects a customs form for u, u print and sign it, actually several copies. And ship that bitch! Very easy at least with usps it was
Good luck

I will look into it, ‘cause I do have a couple of things I would like to sell, and wouldn’t have market for here.
I have no idea what shipping costs are like, or what ebay fees are either.

I may look into it though. Thanks.

mikea96 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 6:09 pm I think your wrong about guys here not knowing the prices or trends as you say. There are lots of guys here that collect tamiya, kyosho, marui, yokomo etc... Take a look through the different forums.

Hmmm, I could be wrong, but I don't think many users here are familiar with how things are in Argentina. I hate to bitch, but it really does feel like we're completely off the map when it comes to many issues, and collecting vintage RC cars is no exception.

Begin rant (read at will)

For example, the re-releases never made it to shops here (brick and mortar or online). In fact, there is no Tamiya RC dealer at all. The only Kyosho dealer in the city (maybe the country) brought a Scorpion and a Beetle re-release kit a while back (one of each I believe).
I think he managed to sell them eventually, but he had to assemble them in shop because nobody would buy a disassembled kit! Of course that beats the whole point of the re-releases to me. I wouldn't have bought them anyway because he was having to sell them at well over US$500 to make a profit after shipping, import duties, customs payoffs, taxes, and other hidden costs.
And he's not the only one having done that. The Associated dealer, where I found four RC10 kits left over from the 90's, also had all 4 cars fully assembled (since 30 years ago!).
The only shop I found with any Tamiya kits at all, has an original vintage Clod Buster, and original vintage Lunchbox, both assembled and scratched up from being moved around in the shop. He also has a un-assembled Bullhead in box.

In case anyone's interested, he's asking US550 for either the Clod Buster or the Bullhead. No difference to him that one is pretty scratched up and the other is NIB.
Last Bullhead NIB to go on Ebay went for US$240. Yeah, didn't think so...

And regarding shipping, costs here are ridiculous. It cost me US$40 to just send a letter to Miami using two business day delivery. How much is it going to cost to send an RC car? I'll find out and let you know.

End rant

Bakauata wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 8:04 am But if your interested, I payed under US$160 for everything you see in the photos

I say you got a heck of a deal. Tamiya vendors are now selling near msrp and a hornet is going for $130+ here in the states. Nice find!