Isn't that exactly what my text is about?

"3) Thanks Ken, for pointing out the unnecessary few milligrams of weight added by the bodywork detail…*rolls eyes*"

Ken is perfectly right. Yes, the exhaust pipes, engine dummy, metal roof and instrument panel didn't annoy people so much back then because of the tiny added mass, but because these details neither looked particularly realistic, nor really added to the "seriousness" of the Bigwig as a racer. Maybe not in all, but in many markets, the Bigwig simply didn't target the "spirit" of that time and the body details only added to the negative image the model quickly got.

"Ain't life great now that every buggy manufactured since about 1990 (including the Keen Hawk) is an utterly featureless sliver of lexan?"

Although I would be inclined to partially agree from my own totally personal viewpoint, this statement is purely subjective. As in most fields of toy- and model-collecting, preferences are generally defined by childhood memories. Your "golden era" will be different from the "golden era" of a person 10 years older or younger than you. If you visit a toy-/model-swapmeet, a look at the purchases the visitors are carrying are with few exceptions a very clear indication of their age. Just like you think that no buggy manufactured since "about 1990" is undesirable, there are already Tamiya enthusiasts who have fond childhood memories of the Fighter Buggy RX and thus "a collector's enthusiasm" for it. Similarly, there are enthusiasts who think that any Tamiya buggy with a lexan body and chassises with mostly plastic parts are completely undesirable. Refusing to acknowledge that preferences are a matter of highly individual personal opinions is extremely ignorant. And for "collectors" who join the "stampede" and let market value and the preferences of a "majority" (that makes more or less conscious choices) dictate their own preferences, I feel nothing but pity.

If you had cared to read my text instead of just concluding that it's too long, you might have been able to recognise a few things that make some of your comments completely redundant.

When writing that the Bigwig is among the most desirable, I didn't talk about monetary value. Yes, I know that a lot of collectors measure "enthusiasm" and the joy of having a collection in the amount of money they could (theoretically) get for it if selling. That's not a philosophy we share at Tamiyablog. It's however a fact that the Bigwig is among the favourite models of many collectors of vintage Tamiya models. With my comment; "Look how time changes perspectives!", the reason for the the comparison between "back then" and now should be pretty obvious.

Arguing that a NIB Bigwig can now be had at a lower price than back in 1986 is pointless as just a very few Tamiya RC-models have had a significant market value increase if considering inflation.

"I'm amazed when people write at length to describe the flaws in toys that are nearly 25 years old."

The original article I wrote about the Hotshot series was published here at a time the Hotshot re-release had been announced, but very few details were known. By considering all the flaws of the original and the other models in the series, I expressed my wishes and expectations for improvements of the re-release. Not surprisingly, it turned out that Tamiya had actually addressed many of the flaws. If you know the series very well yourself and raced these models back in the eighties, I appreciate that the article may not contain anything new to you. The entire article was however translated to Japanese and published elsewhere, so we have a "slight" reason to believe that a visitor or two actually appreciated the article.

"Yes, the Bigwig sucked for racing. But the very fact you've taken the time to post about it here, shows it was a charming toy that people loved despite it's flaws…"

Again, if you had read my text (and understood it), you would have realised that this is exactly what I pointed at. When it was released it was generally considered to be an attempt of making a competitive "top of the line" racing buggy, and as such, it disappointed. It was also heavily criticised for its bulky and awkward design. In other words, not much liked by even diehard Tamiya enthusiasts at that time, because both visual and technical design were pretty disappointing. As pointed out in my original text, it's now loved for its unique design and features.