Dealers catalog from 1980's- 1990's-photos

[R/C Toy Memories]

Yeah good effort Hopper, with these pictures.

I'm trying to do much the same, one car at a time at least, with the articles on my blog. Those Tyco catalogues are hard to find, and a few months ago I lost a bidding war with another collector to get hold of a few of them. And I was trying to pay $80 per catalogue too - but alas I only got some of them.

I would tend to agree that the 1986-1993 period for Taiyo was a golden era for the brand. Although a few of their most loved models, such as the Taiyo Big Roader (better known as the Radio Shack 4x4 Off Roader) were released a little earlier, like 1985.

One thing that Taiyo never really had (unless I am mistaken) though is Digital Proportional models. I can't think of any at the moment - which is pretty amazing. Do you know of any?

There are some other Japanese companies that during the 1980s, and particularly the the early to mid 1980s, released some unbelievable R/C toys that are both beautiful scale models and exciting in terms of their functionality. Obviously there's Nikko. But how many of you are familiar with the 1/10 scale Gama Land Rover, manufactured by Matsushiro? This model even came complete with a motorized inflatable boat that you would attach to it's roof.



Taiyo's era was more about robust, cool and fun looking vehicles, and less about scale models. But I think in terms of quality, there were models from Shinsei, Nikko, Yonezawa, Matsushiro and others that were the equal of Taiyo.

cheers!
H.

[Hopper]

It that you Rob?
 
Its Nostalgia RC aka Hopper4WD, or Hopper on here ... 'I know too many names' lol.


I definitely think Nikko from the 1980s and early 1990s were equal in quality if not greater but alot of their RCs were more like entry level hobby grade than Toy Grade. I don't know of any Digital Proportional models from Taiyo. I think if they were to make them, it would have increased costs and that would have been added on us the customer. (Not like they were cheap already) I think they just wanted to make a high quality product that anybody could enjoy. Also I love the box art from Taiyo and diversity of designs.

Jet Hopper, Twin Turbo Lambo, Turbo Bandit, Typhoon Hovercraft, Fast Traxx

Are these are the most iconic Taiyo RC's?, with honorable mentions to the Jet Fighter+Aero, Jet Racer 4WD / Max Hopper, Mini Hopper, Super Fight F1 and my new favourite the Outlaw Sprinter which I have just acquired and its a beauty!

nice to have great chats again!

cheers
Hopper

https://www.youtube.com/user/NostalgiaRC1
 

[R/C Toy Memories]

It that you Rob?

Yes it is And I know it's you too Hopper. I can pretty much tell anyone with "Hopper" in the name, with a great collection of Taiyos, has to be you!

I definitely think Nikko from the 1980s and early 1990s were equal in quality if not greater but alot of their RCs were more like entry level hobby grade than Toy Grade.

I know what you mean, and I guess I believe that many (perhaps most) of the R/C toys made in the 1980s would qualify to be called "entry level hobby grade", because of the quality of materials they used.

Just compare any Taiyo, Nikko, Shinsei etc model from the 80s, with the toy grade stuff made today (e.g. the crap from brands like EZTec), and the 80s cars are closer to Tamiya in terms of rubber and plastics quality.

I don't know of any Digital Proportional models from Taiyo. I think if they were to make them, it would have increased costs and that would have been added on us the customer. (Not like they were cheap already) I think they just wanted to make a high quality product that anybody could enjoy. Also I love the box art from Taiyo and diversity of designs.
Jet Hopper, Twin Turbo Lambo, Turbo Bandit, Typhoon Hovercraft, Fast Traxx
Are these are the most iconic Taiyo RC's?, with honorable mentions to the Jet Fighter+Aero, Jet Racer 4WD / Max Hopper, Mini Hopper, Super Fight F1 and my new favourite the Outlaw Sprinter which I have just acquired and its a beauty!
nice to have great chats again!

I think the ones you listed are some of the most iconic.
I think that the early buggies that came out after the Jet Hopper, such as all the others in the Hopper series, and the Fighter series, are very iconic and much sought after.

Then after that there are certain "hit" models, like the Fast Traxx (and the series of related models), Typhoon, and even the Rebound, which was very popular.

Outlaw Sprinter is very nice. I think at the moment my favourite Taiyos are the Jet Fighter and Jet Racer, I'm  a bit obsessed with them.

cheers,
H.

[Hopper]

Ha ha, I know what you mean about being obsessed. I started with Original Typhoon which I have had for over 20 years! I also had a Aero Mini Hopper III and Lamborghini Countach LP500S 4aa version which were in the loft for 15 years, the mini hopper did not survive but the lambo did amazingly even with no box and no battery lid.

(I really want a twin turbo Lambo in Taiyo Branding) I guess it's my hoil grail of Taiyo RC.

Anyway, I have only been collecting for about a year! and discovered all these amazing RCs for the first time. Before you know it I have 20 of them! I feel like I have become some what of an expert in them as far as their history and understanding their value as collectors pieces.

I also really like the Jet Fighter and Jet Racer 4WD but I have only ever seen them in pictures. One day I aim to have them too. Although I kind of already have the Jet Racer 4WD as I am pretty sure it has the exact same chassis and components as the Max Hopper 4WD with a different body.

Included a pic of my Outlaw Sprinter, it looks like new!

Cheers
Hopper

[Dragon]

That Outlaw Sprinter definitely looks new! Have you even had it running?

[R/C Toy Memories]

Yeah it does, it looks great.
There's a NIB one on eBay I believe, at the expected price.

Speaking of the Lambo in Taiyo branding, what are your thoughts on the branding? I started a new topic about it:
http://www.dragonshobbies.com/forum/index.php?topic=17355.0

Impressive work for 1 year of collecting Hopper, as some of these models are quite hard to find.
Obviously with the website, I do buy a lot, some of which I also sell. I've bought about 60-70 cars in 2014, but also sold quite a few. You can't keep everything, and after 20 years of collecting, I do need to prioritize a bit.

You know, I actually own that rare Jet Racer with the yellow tyres you sent me a while ago. It was from a Taiyo Toy Fair in the 1980s. I've kind of got it saved away for Christmas and haven't looked at it yet. It's NIB, so I wonder how many other NIB limited edition Jet Racers exist in the world?

The other challenge is that I collect Tamiya, Kyosho and many many more etc as well as the ready-to-run models, so the finances need to be shared between many, many different makes. But when you do it for a while, you eventually end up with some nice pieces in each brand

H.

[Hopper]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Glad there still are people out there who appreciate these amazing RCs from a time long forgot.

In response Dragon yes I have run it once, I made a video, here's the link. I also have all my other Taiyo's on my channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfI4CtHJucs

As far as collecting other brands I never really got into the hobby grade side of RC. I admire the vintage Tamiya and Kyosho models but the Toy Grade RC's is all I really know so I will probably stick with them. I have a Nikko Turbo Bandit which I really like, I may get a few more Nikko's in the future but at the moment I am concentrating on Taiyo.

Cheers
Hopper

[R/C Toy Memories]

It's interesting to hear of someone who only collects Taiyo.

For me, there's just so much amazing variety and so many interesting models across all the brands from the 80s. It was an era of creativity and experimentation, mixed with realism. They were the golden years of RC and there will never be another era like it.

[Hopper]

I definitely agree about the variety across all the brands from the 80s but for me Taiyo is what I have the best memories of. Also collecting everything can be very expensive, collecting Vintage Taiyo's alone is not cheap especially when you add up everything you have spent. I would rather have one amazing collection that I really enjoy than bits and pieces of others that I don't. I guess it depends on how old you are, and how much you are prepared to invest in the hobby.

[R/C Toy Memories]

Memories definitely play a big part on what you like to collect. I'm the same of course.

I think as the years have passed though, I've discovered a lot of models that "had I known about them at the time" (when I was a kid) I would have loved them and wanted them just as much, as the ones I do remember.

Combine that with the fact that I did at least "know of" quite a lot of cars in the 80s (even if I never owned most of them), and you end up with... a pretty varied collection comprising a lot of cars, across a variety of brands.

Despite all of that, the stuff I collect is still very much about what I enjoy and appreciate. I don't hoard, or just collect for the sake completing a series etc (and there are some people out there who do that). You've got to focus on what you enjoy and what gives you the most happiness.

H.

[Hopper]

You've got to focus on what you enjoy and what gives you the most happiness.

100% agree, I remember when I first starting collecting and discovered all the amazing RC's from Taiyo. In a way I was shocked that there was such a variety of designs.

As a kid the Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari F40 were my, (and still are my) favorite cars and discovering the twin turbo Lambo with a speed of 31 km/h !!! was an awesome feeling. Even by today's standards that is pretty fast. I knew I had to have one and that is what keeps me going in the hobby of collecting.

Hopper

[Hopper]

Tyco 1989 Catalog Pics!

[Hopper]

Tyco 1989 Catalog Pics!

[Tyco Bandit King]

Guys I'm not sure how this forum died out soo much but I think we need to get it back up and going again. I wanna start posting projects and info a lot more to see if we can keep all this going. I'm about to start speed testing about 50-60 nikko Tyco radio shack and new bright cars from the 80's-90's and also test them on 11.1v lipos using a GPS

[R/C Toy Memories]

TBK, I have no idea why this forum died off either...I've been posting things here occasionally, and felt almost like I was the only one around.
By all means, post as often as you can. Your plan to speed test all those cars certainly sounds interesting!

H.