Opinion: Tamiya F1 RC cars – Why #F1 fans should own one.
Tamiya F1 machinery in action, Ayrton Senna, #27 Marlboro McLaren-Honda MP4/5b (1990) F104W, Kimi Raikkonen, #4, Scuderia Ferrari F60 (2009) F104W, Charles Leclerc #16, Scuderia Ferrari SF90 (2019) F104 Pro Version II, Jean Alesi, #28, Scuderia Ferrari 643 (1991) F104W and Fernando Alonso, #14, McLaren-Honda MCL32 (2017) F104 Pro Version II. Opinion Tamiya F1.
Opinion: Tamiya F1 RC cars – Why F1 fans should own one.
Tamiya F1 cars have never really hit the spotlight, in this post here are the reasons why Formula 1 fans should own one of these great machines.
Opinion Tamiya F1 – Fun to Build
The fun part of building a Tamiya F1 RC car is that you can make any type of car from any season with your favourite driver and team of your choice especially if you buy for example a stock 2017 F104 Pro II or you can purchase a team’s car that Tamiya have made for instance, Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger’s Marlboro McLaren-Honda MP4/5b (1990) F104W and decide which driver you want to make piloting the wheel.
Building the chassis itself takes a lot of time and patience, which has it’s challenges but is a fun-filled experience as it feels like you’re an F1 mechanic putting it together and seeing it come to life.
The real fun part is painting and putting the decals on the car at the end once you’ve finished building your car and cutting out the bodyshell to fit on the chassis.
If you wanted to save some time painting and decalling your cars’ bodyshells, driver helmets, halo etc. then I’d highly recommend Nicola 670 Paint to buy those from: https://www.nicola670paint.com/f1-season-2019.html
The choice is yours to decide either to make it a brushed or a brushless powered-machine. Brushed motors are cheaper but inefficient and lack power whereas brushless are more efficient, powerful, fast and last longer.
Brushed motors normally last six months to a year while it’s brushless counterpart do not have an expiration date.
For the brushed motors, I suggest you buy this Tamiya Finespec 2.4G Electric RC Drive Set, which comes with everything you need to run your car apart from the motor that you buy separately: http://ebay.com.au/itm/TAMIYA-RC-System-Series-No-53-FineSpec-2-4G-Electric-RC-Drive-Set-45053/153433628567?epid=1344493820&hash=item23b95b5f97:g:mHkAAOSwx6pYnUzV&frcectupt=true
For the brushless motors, this is the controller to get, the Expec GT-I, which comes with the transmitter, receiver and servo. You need to buy the battery and ESC separately: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TAMIYA-45045-RC-System-Transmitter-Receiver-Servo-EXPEC-GT-I-2-4G-Japan-Tracking/163713687547?hash=item261e189ffb:g:gfwAAOSwyy1c8Jad
For a good battery, I recommend the Floureon 7.2V battery, which makes your car last one hour for brushed motored machines and 90 minutes for brushless.
Each motor type has it’s own Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) and without an ESC, your motor will either not move or go full throttle.
You can see the full Tamiya F1 chassis list right here at the link: https://tamiyabase.com/chassis/6-f1#all-f1-chassis
If you wanted to buy a Tamiya F1 car fully made I suggest you take a look at Buyee auction or eBay to see what is available.
Opinion Tamiya F1 – Fun to Race
Once your car is built, running gear fitted, now for the best part…..racing them! You can take them anywhere to a parking lot, on the road (make sure it’s clear of traffic) or an RC racetrack and unleash the beasts.
Opinion Tamiya F1 – Easy to Maintain
Tamiya F1 RC cars are very easy to maintain and the parts you can buy to replace worn out parts are cheap.
Spare parts such as tyres, tyre rims, spur gears, pinion gears, batteries etc. can be bought on eBay, Buyee and other hobby stores.
Opinion Tamiya F1 Summary – Why F1 fans should buy one
- Fun to build.
- Fun to race.
- Easy to maintain and replace parts.
- They look amazing.
- They sound amazing.
- Anyone can make and race them.
- You’re basically owning an F1 car that runs but in smaller form.
In my opinion, Liberty Media should strike a deal with Tamiya to create F1 cars for the current championship season every year in RC form. RC cars are a great way to attract younger generation fans to the sport as well as of course for fans who love the sport and want something to race for fun as a hobby.
For me, every Formula 1 fan must have at least one of these in their collections. Tamiya have done a great job in replicating their remote control cars like their real racing counterparts. I enjoy taking them to the parking lot and pushing them to their limits and so would you.
Let me know in the comments below if you own one or more.
