Shipwreck Arcade
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Blast from the past. Anyone like me, used to stand in Beatties and drool over the tamiya rc cars on display and that box art while these vids were playing in the 80s.
Awesome. I used to go to the Beatties in Lewisham, SE London.People like me used to work in Beatties, and hear these videos playing all day long on repeat!
I also used to build them for display, and sometimes take them for a spin outside the shop to draw in customers.
Yep, remember Beatties well, we had one local to us. I got a ' Wild Willy ' jeep for Christmas one year, the thing used to pop wheelies all over the place and obviously when the front wheels were in the air you couldn't steer the bast!
My mate had a ' Hornet ' we had some good fun with those things. Waiting for the Battery to charge was a bit of a bore though and from memory the battery only lasted around 10 mins.
The neighbours Dog used to chase them so we had a great laugh trying to out burn the damned Dog! Even Dogs back then were in a different league than today.
Wild Willy just sold on ebay.Yep, remember Beatties well, we had one local to us. I got a ' Wild Willy ' jeep for Christmas one year, the thing used to pop wheelies all over the place and obviously when the front wheels were in the air you couldn't steer the bast!
My mate had a ' Hornet ' we had some good fun with those things. Waiting for the Battery to charge was a bit of a bore though and from memory the battery only lasted around 10 mins.
The neighbours Dog used to chase them so we had a great laugh trying to out burn the damned Dog! Even Dogs back then were in a different league than today.

I bought my Manta Ray from Beatties in Lewisham! Still have it in its Beatties carry bag 😃Awesome. I used to go to the Beatties in Lewisham, SE London.
Did you have any favourite cars!
Have you seen the price on vintage Tamiya now! Some of it is crazy..
Holy shoot!!Wild Willy just sold on ebay.
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Nice. May have even crossed paths at some point 😄I bought my Manta Ray from Beatties in Lewisham! Still have it in its Beatties carry bag 😃
Yes £2k is mad.Holy shoot!!
Well, I'll tell you this, I had at least £2000 in fun with that thing. Us boys from back in the good old days used to play with our stuff. Everything got trashed in the end as got played with until it was totally knackered. Not surprising to see this old stuff going for good money mind you as it was made properly, quality stuff!!
Wow!!Yes £2k is mad.
I have a horror story on Tamiya.......
I had a Grasshopper as a kid, worked at Beatties a few years later, but I built most of the range over the time I worked there. Christmas was great as customers would pay me £50 to have them built up and painted. as they didn't trust themselves or kids to do it lolAwesome. I used to go to the Beatties in Lewisham, SE London.
Did you have any favourite cars!
Have you seen the price on vintage Tamiya now! Some of it is crazy..
50 quid not bad. Nice little extra wedge.I had a Grasshopper as a kid, worked at Beatties a few years later, but I built most of the range over the time I worked there. Christmas was great as customers would pay me £50 to have them built up and painted. as they didn't trust themselves or kids to do it lol
Building them was the best part for me
but my all time fav was the Avante. followed by the Porsche 959 and the Subaru Brat
Yeah the Hornet and Grasshopper were the cheaper (which i still couldn't afford!) entry level kits but still just as cool as the other cars. The box art on the Hornet was ace.Cool videos. I had a Taiyo Jet Fighter as a kid, which I loved, but always wanted a Hornet - so I just bought one! It's not an Evo, but has some upgraded parts. I'll see if my son takes to it. We tried some cheap drones but didn't really take to them.
You're right about women not understanding bloke stuff!Wow!!
Pity you missed it but you learned a valuable lesson unfortunately. The fact that you had the chance makes it worse, it was a close one!
Women just don't understand bloke stuff.
You could have hidden it in the shed, in the garage in the loft? When she did eventually see it...... ' Oh that, yeah had that for years. Got it one Christmas from Mum & Dad! '![]()
I always wanted the Avante as well, they keep re-issuing them every so often and I get tempted but realise it would just end up being a shelf queen.but my all time fav was the Avante. followed by the Porsche 959 and the Subaru Brat
There's an Avante 1988 shelf queen on ebay at the moment! Only a grand 😄I always wanted the Avante as well, they keep re-issuing them every so often and I get tempted but realise it would just end up being a shelf queen.
My brother had a Madcap back in the day, we fitted a bunch of hop up parts and I made him some adjustable tie rods and suspension arms. I think my cousin had a Hornet and later a Thunder Dragon.
I always wanted the Avante as well, they keep re-issuing them every so often and I get tempted but realise it would just end up being a shelf queen.
My brother had a Madcap back in the day, we fitted a bunch of hop up parts and I made him some adjustable tie rods and suspension arms. I think my cousin had a Hornet and later a Thunder Dragon.

Dammit, made me look. To be fair that's already assembled, I'd rather get a kit for half the price and build it myself, that was a large part of the fun.There's an Avante 1988 shelf queen on ebay at the moment! Only a grand 😄