Wow! It has been a while since I updated the site. No worries then we have a ton of upcoming content like EJ playing arcade racer Maximum tune 3dx+, hot wheels, reviews for M2 machines; maisto, bbrugo and End of era for me collecting HW.
Be sure to check the blog every FRIDAY for updates starting January. Until then have a great time hunting the pegs.
When I was a kid my mom would take us to the mall after church on Sundays. We would walk for two blocks, ride a jeepney to Taft ave. , ride another jeepney to Pasay. Ate lunch at McDonald, play at the slide, and cop quarter pound prison thing on the playground. After my mom would accompany us to look at toys on SM.
She would occasionally buy us Matchbox cars since it was cheap, me and my brother would share the toy.
Fat kid trap
Couple of years ago Mattel purchased the Matchbox brand, and the legacy was forever overshadowed by it's competitor and now owner Hot wheels.
Started collecting Hot wheels in 2010 at first I was just buying my then 2 yr old son the toy cars but when I saw Tyrrell formula car on the pegs of Mall of Asia department store instead of giving it to my son I decided to keep it for myself.
Old Autoweek article about the P34. Photo credit autoweek.com
Hot Wheels now the "thing" that bonds me and my son. Almost all our Mall visit starts with scouting the toy shops for uncommon, good looking mainline cars and occasional treasure hunts. We also dabble on other die cast brands like Tomica, and recently Bburago.
EJ a typical kid he likes his hot wheels fast he collects and plays with mostly Lamborghini, Ferrari's and other sporty cars. While my collection consists of first releases, TV and Movie Icon cars like A-Team van, Love bug Herbie, Back to the future Delorean just to name a few, Chevy EL Camino's, Tyrrell P34, and old Cadillac's.
Here the description on the spec sheet. I will include this on every Die cast model car featured.
Brand: Die cast maker Hot Wheels, Tomica, etc.
Model: name of and year released from manufacturer e.g. 2013-present Dodge viper MK5
Color: other details like tire variations, decals.
Release: year of availability on pegs, will indicate if "New model" (first casting run).
Scale: size difference from the original 1:1 inspiration.
Condition: loose or carded; Mint, very good, beater.
Price retail: at the time of purchase.
Price collector: monetary value from other collectors, value my vary from demand and
Availability: common-readily available, uncommon-limited release available, rare-collectors item or small numbers issued includes treasure hunts and super treasure hunts.
Other: background, camera used, etc.
We will feature two HW cars in random condition from carded variants to beaters every Thursday.
Tyrrell P34 6 wheeler and Carbonator
2010 Tyrrell P34 6 wheeler
The unprecedented design has 4 small front tires to increase the footprint of rubber in contact with the track and to reduce both lift and drag. After a one-two finish in the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix, P34 went on to score numerous podium finishes in the 1976 and 1977 Formula One World Championships.
Availability: no longer available on pegs, collectors, hobby shop.
Other: pic lifted from my other blog, Nikon D50 2014 Carbonator
Is a Hot Wheels casting based on a glass soda bottle on wheels with a large spoiler styled as a bottle opener. Designed by Alton Takeyasu, Carbonator debuted in the 2008 New Models. Alton's original, working name for the casting was "Bottle Rocket" but the name was not available for use. After many suggested names, the team ended up on Carbonator. Manson Cheung translated the design to digital file, and adjusted for track-worthiness. He added cool elements such as a "pop top" detail on the chassis bottom.
http://hotwheels.wikia.com/wiki/Carbonator
Doubles as my key chain for my 1:1 scale car also comes in handy when you need to pop a bottle cap.
Key chain fun
DAT wing
Brand: Mattel Hot Wheels
Model: 2008 Carbonator
Color: Purple, black wheels variation.
Release: 2014 variation
Scale: 1:64
Condition: loose, good.
Price retail: 99.75 php
Price collector: ?
Availability: common, 2014 mainline.
Other: Tomica Highway background, Sony NEX-5r, edited on photoscape
Today diecast Volkswagen "Samba" van/bus from Bburago. For those not familiar with the brand here a little history lesson <Click me> .
Bburago been locally available in Rustan's around 80s' and 90's. My first run with Bburago was an assembly kit that was given to me for Christmas by one of my God father the Ferrari GTO Pioneer and a yellow CJ-7 I bought during the same time period.
Best Christmas gift ever!
Ferrari GTO Pioneer rally
CJ-7
Now Bburago a mainstay on local retail toy stores in various scale. Was doing monthly toy raid with EJ when we stumbled upon the lowly Samba bus.
Bburago VW Samba bus 1:64
Closer look
VW logo adorns the front of the bus with matching painted headlight and turn signals, up top has simulated cloth sunroof, rear lights painted in red plus engine compartment opens to view van engine which is molded on chassis (surprisingly accurate to the VW air-cooled lump), interior pretty detailed it has a steering wheel, driver, passenger seats and clear plastic windows. Underneath it has Philips type screw holding the chassis to the body an added bonus for those doing customization's.
Body
Two tune red and white, chassis lowered, without 1:1 scale bumpers resto mod style.
Wheels
Plastic Fuchs style low profile rims in grey.
Bus scale is 1:64 and it is perfect for macro-ish photos on my son Tomica Highway.
Was not expecting much in regards to Bburago quality but I came out of the purchase a fan. The details on bus is staggering, stuff you won't usually find on this scale and price range.
Bburago also has other classic VW models in 1:64 like beetle, squareback, notchback and karmann ghia.
Painted door handles, simulated cloth sunroof, working rear engine compartment, Fuchs inspired rims
Just look at the details WIN for the price, WIN for availability
Brand: Bburago
Model: Volkswagen "Samba" van/bus
Color: Two tone red, white
Scale: 1:64
Condition: Mint, loose
Price retail: 149 Php
Price collector: ?
Availability: Common, 2014 models
Other: Tomica Highway, shot with Sony NEX-5r 16-50mm lens, edited on Photoscape
Mk2
Finally purchased EJ 1st Mini 4wd and kid did not skimp on picking the newest, most expensive basic kit on the lineup the Festa Jaune aka Lamborghini Veneno* aping edition.
The selection on JNM's Hobby square was staggering when we visited lots of those pink specials, couple of nice black editions and re-stocks of old favorites like broken gigant but still EJ won't be swayed.
EJ First Tamiya Mini 4wd kit
Unpacking
Christmas three of plastic parts two in total, one for tires, decals, the engine and baggy of gears, shaft's and old Tamiya staple blue tube lube. Manual as always in Japanese, basic operation manual now with English translation.
Kit impression
MA chassis kit quite nice the plastic body feels solid with high quality yellow finish, the MA chassis pretty stiff.
Decals are nice, shiny and now are not a pain to apply they do not break easily when you are lining up for application.
The engine included Tamiya unbranded generic motor with double rotating pinion gears. Older chassis kit do not include the engine.
Two driving gears, 2 pinion gears, 2 gear shafts, 2 hex shafts, and 2 connecting gear for tire shafts. The MA chassis motor and chassis design forgoes the OG drive shaft found on every mini 4wd since inception.
Rims, tires low profile variety and they look good.
Double pinion motor
Assembly
Proud to say that my son assembled the kit with minimal supervision. Basically I just detached/cut the parts from the tree and guided my son on how to follow the instructions. MA chassis layout integrates the rear roller stays, kit comes with 6 small diameter rollers (plastic) and basic brake system for the chassis. With the engine and all the rollers included the kit is ready to run, just slap two AA batteries.
Installing tires
Putting in gears
Cowl and roller
Finished
Now for the stickers
Details that matter
Blue pinion gears are now standard before they are aftermarket
Includes 6 low friction plastic bearing for the axle shaft, and two drive gears. No more crappy eyelets.
Comes stock with brake system.
Normal engine a surprise. Speed tested made a run of 18-19 kph out the box.
Hex shafts and rims are now so hard to remove by hand (use Pliers) good or bad thing depending on who you ask.
Fresh NORMAL motor
My X chassis, Atomic motor, same batteries
Free mods
Stock brakes extension can be lengthen downwards by putting 2 washer on the screw. And cutting up, installing strips of Bathroom tape or thin sponge to improve contact friction. Good batteries. Tested the motor with 2100 mah (bolts) Nimh (?) and speed quite impressive for a normal-stock unit.
Festa Jaune with OG Speed checker
Mk3 Next week: Festa Jaune, X chassis finalizing mods and hopefully track test.
Tamiya Mini 4wd
This week feature an oldie but goodie Tamiya Mini 4wd. It started when a friend of my mom gave me my 1st kit "The boomerang" the thing that got me hooked to Mini 4wd is it's simplicity to assemble and run. The early 80's kit came with motor and until now still powered by 2 AA batteries, no glue required for assembly "snap-on". Back then Mini 4wd was a novelty until some marketing geniuses realized the true potential of the Tamiya scaled down RC modeled toys for kids.
As seen by a fan, not a racer.
During the late 90's the anime show Let's and Go introduced competitive side of Mini 4wd racing. With Hobby shops like JMN's, Lil's, jumping on once obscure running kit's that occupied their shelves. Rental tracks would sprout-out on malls, major sponsors from huge corporations like Magnolia, Toyota, would host year long tournaments. Even small neighborhood venues would conduct races, Mini 4wd or "TAMIYA" became "The" thing. Until the boom of LAN games came crashing on Tamiya parade. All of the sudden the race tracks in mall's started to disappear, major sponsors that once fueled races where now gone, only a few local tracks remained, it was all OVER faster than you can say Let's go...
Real fans of mini 4wd kept the fire alive until today funding tracks, and weekly tournaments. TAMIYA is not dead you just have to ask, research, around. Who know's that obscure OLD mall might be hiding a gem of a track?
Technical evolution
Tamiya Mini 4wd has evolved from the simple SNAP-On toy for kids to something that a serious enthusiast can appreciate. Parts made of carbon fiber, sponge tires, ball bearing for moving parts, etc. ton's of combinations, ton's of hop-up parts for racing, and chassis layouts.
Winning formula
Simplicity, reliability, plus Mini 4wd are dirt cheap hobby to start with. Just go ask the people doing Mountain biking or Airsoft, entry level equipment alone costs 10x what you will be spending on decent Mini 4wd setup-car/cars.
Tamiya's magic
Reviving my love for Mini 4wd because I want my son to learn the value of DIY. He will be assembling a kit by himself, following instructions, while learning how to do basic maintenance and basic setup for the track. He will be using the newest chassis and parts available, he already selected one and we will be purchasing the kit later this month.
EJ has choosen the FESTA JAUNE
Right now I already restored and conducted setup on one of my brothers old chassis. Since it was in storage it accumulated a lot of dirt and crude. Soap, water, and paint thinner in tow managed to clean the plastic chassis, body, gears along with the metal parts (paint thinner) to almost new. Now the next step testing it on a track and hoping that It won't implode on first crash.
