Hi there, my name is Mike and thank you for visiting my page. I've been in the hobby for almost 30 years and own primarily random Tamiya models from the mid '80's on. My very first r/c car was a Nikko/Radio Shack(?) Martini Porsche 935 I got as a child. I don't remember what happened to it (probably dismantled it to see how it worked inside) but that got me started. Like so many, I then graduated to my first 'real' r/c car which was the famous Tamiya Hornet. A car I absolutely loved and still do. Unfortunately, that car was driven down a sewer drain by a childhood acquaintance over 25 years ago never to be seen again but it did get me hooked for life. I've been active in the hobby since then and from that point on purchased cars/trucks slowly and consistently over the years to amass a mostly vintage collection. Most of that collection was purchased NIB when the kits were originally released with only a few of my most recent purchases being used kits from Ebay over the last several years. I put a lot of thought into every model before purchasing it and only own r/c models that I really like and/or have special significance to me personally rather then attempting to 'complete a series' or owning 'the first 100'... etc. I try to have a variety of different types of vehicles so I can enjoy a little bit of everything but I tend to gravitate towards 4WD off-road vehicles which make up almost half of my collection. I don't believe in having too many perpetual NIB/shelf queens as I think these models can only be enjoyed to their fullest by using them which is what they were meant for but I do have a few for sentimental reasons. Therefore, the vast majority of my collection consists of light/occasional runners with a couple of bashers but I take very good care of them so they're all in excellent shape.
My current collection of cars/trucks includes an original (NIB) and re-released Tamiya Hornet, original and re-released Lunchbox, Astute, Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo, NIB '99 Subaru German Rally car, NIB '97 Toyota Celica GT-4 Monte Carlo, Ford F-150 scale CORR truck, the awesome Tamiya TXT-1, restored Supershot (my dream since I was a kid), re-released Super Hotshot (NIB), two Royal Rippers, Thundertiger 'Tigre' (Ripper clone), re-released Dynastorm, two Nichimo Exceeds, Yokomo YZ-10 and an F-350 Hi-lift which I'm currently converting into a scale crawler. I've also owned but sold a Tamiya Super Hornet, Tamiya Fox and an electric Kyosho USA-1 monster truck. The truck was extensively modified with a Sassy aluminum chassis, Duratrax gold anodized shocks and a Pro-line Hummer body. The original kit had many inherent flaws so I got rid of it and I will never own another Kyosho model again as I do not believe their fit and finish measure up to that of the Tamiya kits (no offense to those who like Kyosho products though). :)
I've been equally interested in scale fast electric r/c boats (primarily catamarans) for the same amount of time. I started out with a toy-grade, twin-screw U.S. Coast Guard cutter when I was a young teenager that I eventually dismantled, modified and lost while playing with it in a river behind my home as a child. I then graduated to my first real r/c boat which was an MRP Fast Cat back in the '80's followed by a scratch-built catamaran that I still have fabricated out of balsa wood and styrofoam. Up until a few years ago, I also owned a 1990's Tower Hobbies Turbo-Vee (sold) which was a fun little boat. My current collection includes a NOS MRP Fast Cat, the scratch-built catamaran, a 40' Admiral twin-screw catamaran (for sale soon) and two vintage ABC hobby Super Hawaii electric V-bottom boats.
I'm also into helicopters and started out with an old Kyosho Hyperfly purchased new back in the mid 1990's. Like the USA-1, it ended up being a horrible kit that didn't fly like a conventional helicopter which made it difficult to operate so I sold it. Since getting my feet back under me with the micro 'Havoc' helis (a ton of fun), I moved on and purchased a 4 channel fixed pitched Exceed r/c electric Airwolf that I'm currently getting acclimated to and enjoying every minute of it. I also have a huge Piper Cub r/c airplane inherited from my late grandfather after I purchased it for him, had him assemble it and then he unexpectedly gave it back to me. :) I should mention that my grandfather was a master static model builder for more than 70 years and always had many dozens of his models displayed throughout his home. I attribute much of my interest in models (r/c and otherwise) to admiring those incredible static examples and investigating the assembly of many of the different projects he always seemed to have in progress on his work bench for decades growing up (thanks grandpa! :). Not knowing what to do with the Piper Cub at first, I briefly and unsuccessfully gave r/c plane flying a try with that plane, then a smaller Kyosho Spree and finally an even smaller styrofoam trainer. I ultimately decided that it was not something I was interested in devoting time to so I sold the Spree and trainer. However, the Piper Cub remains on display in my collection as a homage to my late grandfather but is too nice to ever risk damaging during flight again. Before discovering TC, I occasionally felt a little guilty about owning so many R/C models until I realized that I was a mere lightweight in comparison to most enthusiasts here who own dozens if not hundreds of them which I find truly amazing. Fortunately, that fact erased my periodic guilt and convinced me to keep buying kits I like so it's all good -- being nuts is neat! :P Next on the list is probably a Super Hornet and then a Tamtech Porsche 935.
I will continue to upload pictures of my collection so please check back periodically for new additions to my showroom. IF YOU OWN A VINTAGE TAMIYA FOX OR SUPERSHOT/RE-RE SUPER HOTSHOT PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JOIN MY 'FOX FANATICS' S.I.G. OR 'TAMIYA SUPERSHOT' S.I.G. SO YOU CAN ADD PICS AND A DESCRIPTION OF YOUR MODEL. THANKS.
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