Tamiya Plamodel Factory video - a modeller's dream!

Tamiya TRF416 Sweeps the Podium at Euro Touring Series Round 2!

The 2nd Round of the Euro Touring Series took place from March 14th-16th, 2008 in Vejle, Denmark. Tamiya Racing Factory drivers and their TRF416 machines were out in force and completely dominated the competition in the Modified Class. Jilles Groskamp took home the win, with Marc Rheinard and Viktor Wilck finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively for an all-Tamiya podium.

About the Euro Touring Series
Started in October of 2007, the Euro Touring Series is a series that takes place at both indoor and outdoor tracks. Spanning 5 rounds that take place in 4 countries (Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria), the series is a way for top R/C drivers to stay sharp over the winter in preparation for major races during the summer and for manufacturers to test out newly developed racing products.

Source: Tamiya, INC.

Longitudinale Posteriore, the TamTech-Gear Way

When Lamborghini first showed the Countach to the public at the 1971 Geneva show, it was a groundbreaking car, both in terms of body design and technical solutions. Contrary to its predecessor, the Miura, which had the engine transversely mounted, the Countach's forward cab design allowed the engine to be mounted longitudinally, thus the "LP500" designation, an abbreviation for "Longitudinale Posteriore" and also indicating the 5 litre engine of the first prototype. When the Countach was later put into production, it however got the 4 litre engine carried over from the Miura, making for the "LP400" designation of the first generation Countach.

When Tamiya decided to make an RC-model of the Countach, the LP500S that Lamborghini built specially for formula 1 driver Walter Wolf, was chosen. With its large rear wing, Bravo concept car wheel design and large wheelarches, it looks far more dramatic and powerful than the LP400, although many will agree with me that the pure design of the LP400 is favorable. Tamiya included decals with the kit to replicate either Walter Wolf's second Countach, a red car, or his third Countach, a medium royal blue car. Also, a set of white pinstripes were included on the decal sheet, which in fact weren't used on any of Walter Wolf's cars, but instead on a Countach named LP500R, a black car with white interior. Tamiya depicted the LP500R correctly on the boxart, without Walter Wolf stickers, but combined the stickers in the catalog pictures. So this is probably how most owners of the model decorated their models.

So, when I got the TamTech-Gear Countach, I dug out a set of stickers for the old Tamiya Countach model, with the intention of replicating the LP500R in its Tamiya "boxart" look. The TamTech-Gear Countach is however a later model, and as a matter of fact, the stickers included are for the later LP5000S (yes, five thousand) and not the LP500S. Also, the body has a later type of "square" front wheel arches, later type of mirrors and the later roof, without the beautiful recess of the early Countach. This basically means that the TamTech-Gear Countach can neither be correctly built as a Walter Wolf Countach, nor as an LP500R. However, as a tribute to the old Tamiya Countach, I decided to replicate the LP500R as far as possible without major surgery, using the white pinstripes and replacing the mirrors with mirrors from the Tamtech-Gear Porsche 934. The white pinstripes admittedly look very "'70's" and outdated, but they compliment the shape of the body very well and are such an important part of Tamiya's RC-history, that I think they look "right" anyway.

Almost 40 years after its first debut, the Countach still looks very futuristic, so I made the pictures together with a 1/12 scale figure of Ayanami Rei from the Fräulein Revoltech series. Also pictured together with the TamTech-Gear Countach is an poorly built, beaten and battered Tamiya Countach CS that I aquired some time ago for 20 Euro with the intention of restoring it. With the frequent releases of fantastic new items from Tamiya which I can't resist building, it might take a while before the old one gets restored though!

Motorsports magazine "Racing on" issue about Tamiya

As a well-known motor sports magazine "Racing on" has in the April issue a 50-page special article about Tamiya. Tamiya continued from the 1960s through their car models and the relationship between previous and actual motorsport product introduction, also officials are interviewed, showing a unique race perspective.

Source: Tamiya, INC.