1980s Tamiya Promo Videos

Brettster

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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.
 

Shipwreck Arcade

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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.
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..
 

PAC-MAN

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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.
 

Shipwreck Arcade

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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.
 

Shipwreck Arcade

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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.
Screenshot_20260831_151128_eBay.jpg
 

PAC-MAN

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Wild Willy just sold on ebay.
View attachment 63730
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!!
 

Shipwreck Arcade

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I bought my Manta Ray from Beatties in Lewisham! Still have it in its Beatties carry bag 😃
Nice. May have even crossed paths at some point 😄
Did you go inside Lewisham shopping centre in the 80s! I just posted about a toy shop in there that used to have the best Star Wars selection ever in the 80s.
Even the Beatties carry bags are worth a few quid now.
 

Shipwreck Arcade

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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!!
Yes £2k is mad.
I have a horror story on Tamiya.
About 7 years ago i was going to a bootsale and my misses told me to stop bringing back big toys for the kids because of space.
I was at the bottie looking through some blurays and games when out of my peripheral vision i saw a tamiya box get pushed under the table. I had her voice nagging about large items for a few seconds then the angel on my shoulder said that looks like a vintage tamiya box!
I just went to grab it but some guy got it!
It was a vintage mint boxed Tamiya Porse 959!
The person selling it said it was for their son and they didn't fancy building it right away and it went into storage in 1987.
All new and even had a spare clear body shell in the box! Outer box had no dings or damage.
60 quid the guy got it for!
I checked later on ebay and one in similar condition was on for £3k with tons of watchers.
I was gutted, i had about 3 seconds to grab it but initially has that doubt from being told no toys that put me off properly looking at it!
Guess what she said when i got back from the bootsale and told her about it!!....
"You should of grabbed it!" 🤬😡
 

PAC-MAN

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Yes £2k is mad.
I have a horror story on Tamiya.......
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! ' (y)
 

Brettster

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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..
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
 

2huwman

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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.
 

Shipwreck Arcade

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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
50 quid not bad. Nice little extra wedge.
I always liked the look of the Boomerang and The Monster Beatle but could never afford one was just window shopping and dreaming.
I did get an non running old tamiya Holiday Buggy from one of my sisters boyfriends in the late 80s but never got around to getting it running because of lack of funds to buy a new motor and parts etc. Be worth a few quid now..
Porsche 959, i mentioned how i missed a boxed unused new one at a bootsale years ago! 😫 sick
 

Shipwreck Arcade

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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.
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.
 

Shipwreck Arcade

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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! ' (y)
You're right about women not understanding bloke stuff!
I did learn a lesson. Ouch!!
I was not happy. Still gutted now. 😢 😂
 

bodgit

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but my all time fav was the Avante. followed by the Porsche 959 and the Subaru Brat
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.
 

Shipwreck Arcade

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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.
There's an Avante 1988 shelf queen on ebay at the moment! Only a grand 😄
 

Shipwreck Arcade

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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.
Screenshot_20260831_201134_eBay.jpg
 
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