Being Nuts is Still Neat!
Whereas the Avante Mk.II has gained tremendous popularity in Japan (Tamiya's by far largest market), the release of the Avante Mk.II has stirred a lot of negative reactions among worshippers of the original Avante outside Japan. Many don't consider the Mk.II to be a worthy carrier of the name that once epitomized the cutting edge of what Tamiya was able to in terms of "exotic" and expensive materials, mated with a visually very pleasing design.For those who don't have much experience with the Avante, the common understanding is that the Avante was such a great model. In reality, it stood no chance against serious race-designed models of the time, neither in terms of handling, nor in durability. The cliche "over-engineered and under-developed" has for very good reasons been used countless times about the Avante, and it was excessively expensive. What you paid for, was probably the bestlooking buggy of its time (maybe even of all time?), but running it, especially in serious organized racing, was by no means rewarding at a level even remotely close to its price tag. As such, the DF-03 chassis based Avante Mk.II is an indefinetely superior model, although it admittedly can't reach the original Avante's terrific looks. In an attempt to at least get a tiny bit closer, I have made a few modifications to my Avante Mk.II.
- Black wheelnuts and black custom made decals for the wheels, to mimic the Avante's camlock wheel fasteners. I first considered adding "cam-lock" decals too, but decided not to as the intension is not to give the impression that the Mk.II has cam-locks, just to honour the nice look of them.
- DF-02 hop-up dampers, stripped of the blue anodizing to resemble the original Avante's Hi-Cap dampers. Technically, DF-03 hop-up dampers would have been better, but their threaded bodies don't look as much like Hi-cap dampers as the smooth bodies of the DF-02 dampers do.
- Gold coloured hop-up springs instead of the included silver coloured spring, again to resemble the springs of the original Avante.
- Avante logos on the side painted in camel yellow instead of using the included gold logos. I chose to use the "edgy" logos of the Mk. II instead of the "soft" logos of the original Avante, just to indicate that it's a modern model.
- "Being nuts is neat!" painted in camel yellow on the rear wing to resemble the original Avante's wing decals. Camel yellow was used to match the wheels, as I never understood why the original Avante had dark yellow wheels, but bright yellow decals.
- Number "2" decals from Sonic Fighter in camel yellow, instead of the included black and white "2" decals, again to resemble the number stickers of the original Avante.
- A few "period correct" decals added and the majority of the Mk. II decals omitted.
I would like to point out that I'm very much aware of that my Mk.II is a far cry away from the terrific looks of an original Avante, and it was never my intension or even hope to get any closer. Never the less, 20 years after the release of the original Avante, I think it's indeed fair to say;
Being nuts is still neat!
posted by miramar at 12:44 PM
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