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english
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Tamiya
TOYOTA 4X4 PICKUP MOUNTAINEER
The
End of an Era?
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In
the R/C-guidebook of 1992 the Mountaineer appeared for the first
time, in 1993 in the catalogue too, as successor to the Bruiser.
With a new completely open bed and a nice chromed roll bar.
that helped this truck making a real cool impression. Admittedly
it had only a short career. In 1996 it already had vanished
from the catalogue. Tamiya had tried to reduce production costs
by simplifying single components of this kit. But finally the
marketing strategists had decided against this model series.
To the regrets of many model enthusiasts |
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Left
picture: The Tamiya Mountaineer with and without body.
For
an enlarged view, please click on the picture.
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The
chassis was nearly identical to the chassis of the Bruiser.
Differences could be found at the wheels, the 4-piece samples
of the Bruiser had been replaced with single-piece wheels.
Another change had been made at the battery bay. The variable
type of the Bruiser, that could be modified to keep several
types of batteries, had been relaced by a more simple type.
Now there was only a battery holder for 6-cell racing packs.
The fact, that the model market has caught on this type of
battery, as well as the continuously increasing capacities
of the single cells, forced the use of the large Tamiya battery,
that has been produced since the Hilux was on the market,
inthe background. The large 6V 4Ah Accu has only been produced
by Tamiya. Since Tamiya never raised the voltage of this pack,
like many hobby drivers did by adding a single cell, it had
get unattractive for the performance hungry market.
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The
remaining differences took place at the body. The sleeper-cab
of the Bruiser had been removed, now there was an open fullsize
bed instead, that had got more across with the modelers, since
it made the body looking more sleek. Of course the Mountaineer
had never been better or worse in performance than the Bruiser.
But for its enthusiasts it never played any role. They loved
this model inspite of its weakpoints.
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Right
picture: The Tamiya Mountaineer with and without body.
For
an enlarged view, please click on the picture.
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Like
it is usual with Tamiya, availability of spare parts has dropped
significantly after the end of production in Europe and the
U.S. It seems like the availability of parts has been endured
longer in Japan itself. Tamiyas proceeding regarding the supply
with spare parts has always been faced with incomprehension
and criticism by local modelers in Europe and America. Contitions
seem to be different in Japan, where Tamiya cares a lot more
about the demand of the local model enthusiasts, and re-releases
some parts on request. And it is left in obcsurity why this
can't be practiced on the much larger market in the rest of
the world.
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The
era of the 3-Speeders of Tamiya seems to have been ended with
the Mountaineers end of pro-duction. On the message board
of the RCMT (Radio Controlled Monster Trucks) has formed somekind
of comunity, that don't want to accept this status, and therefor
started a petition to convince Tamiya to a re-release. At
this point Tamiya did not show any reaction to this step.
But maybe this site can help a little bit with informing more
enthusiasts about this petition,
so more of them can proclaim their opinion.
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Left
picture: Mountaineer from the 1994 Tamiya catalogue .
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There
has turned up a small number of small-line-producers, who
have improved or redesigned several parts.
From custom wheels via steering rods to special transmissions,
there has been done a lot. Partly for reasons of functionality,
or to get a more individual style out of the single car. The
lovers of these models always have new ideas to make the models
performing better or make them a more unique creation.
Finally
one may notice, that with the production end of this line,
a model with an unique character has vanished from the market.
There is no comparable model arround this days. As long as
Tamiya will not decide for a re-release, like they did with
the Tyrrell P34 or the XR 311, there won't be another car
like that.
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technical
data: |
length:
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520
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mm
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width: |
278
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mm
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height: |
260
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mm
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wheelbase: |
287
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mm
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tread
f/r: |
200/218
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mm
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tireØ: |
125
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mm
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tirewidth: |
60
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mm
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weight: |
4.140
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g
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Right
picture: Mountaineer in Action, from the 1992
Tamiya
r/c-guidebook.
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All
pictures are copyright of
Tamiya Co., Japan
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