Tamiya Mini 4WD Asia Challenge Report – A Roaring Success!!

White Hot Racing Alert in Indonesia!
July 22 and 23, top Mini 4WD racers descended upon Graha Tamiya, located in Serpong Tangerang near Jakarta in Indonesia. Their goal: to test their skills against other experts from Asia, as a part of the final races of the third Mini 4WD Asia Challenge. To get there, they had had to come through tough local qualifying events organized by the official Tamiya agent for their own country. With other local races held in conjunction, the magnificent facilities at Graha Tamiya played host to no less than 662 racers, a record for the burgeoning Mini 4WD Asia Challenge. Great racing and superb camararderie between attendees from the various nations, combined with enthusiastic support, made this another classic Mini 4WD weekend to live long in the memory.

Tamiya 35356 British Anti Tank Gun Archer – Self Propelled

This model assembly kit recreates the British Army’s Archer. As WWII progressed, British troops found that their 2-pounder and 6-pounder guns were being rendered obsolete by German armor, and planners decided to develop a vehicle using the powerful 17-pounder (76.2mm) gun. The vehicle chosen to mount the gun on was the Valentine; the turret was removed and replaced with a fighting compartment – this would be known as the Archer. Interestingly, as there was little time to re-organize the cramped layout, the 17-pounder had to be mounted pointing rearwards to fit it in. As a result, the Archer moved and fired in opposite directions. It offered strong performance, however, and served with British and Commonwealth units from October 1944 till the end of WWII, the British using it until the early 1950s.

New Tamiya Item Release list for September 2017

R/C Models
　56354　　1/14 R/C Mercedes-Benz Actros 3363 6×4 GigaSpace (Pearl Blue Edition)
　51593　　1/10 Scale R/C Subaru WRX STI NBR Challenge Body Parts Set
　54777　　FS-12FZ/FN Throttle Return Springs (2pcs.)
　54779　　6mm Ball Connector Nuts for Dampers (8pcs.)
　54780　　M-07 Concept Aluminum Front Suspension Mount (6°)
　54781　　M-07 Concept Aluminum Rear Uprights
　54782　　Touring Car Carbon Body Mount Crossmember (Front)
　54783　　Touring Car Carbon Body Mount Crossmember (Rear)

Scale Models
　36212　　1/16 U.S. Main Battle Tank M1A2 Abrams (Display Model)
　35353　　1/35 German Assault Tank IV Brummbär Late Production
　12673　　Zimmerit Coating Sheet for 1/35 Scale Brummbär Late Production
　35354　　1/35 Wehrmacht Tank Crew Set
　60327　　1/32 Vought F4U-1D Corsair®

Kids
　18707　　Rowdy Bull (FM-A Chassis)
　95362　　Liberty Emperor Premium Black Special (Super-II Chassis)
　95328　　19mm Aluminum Rollers w/Plastic Rings (Orange)
　95341　　Mass Damper Set (Silver)
　95342　　Mass Damper Set (Heavy/Silver)
　95343　　Mass Damper Block (6x6x32mm/Black)
　95344　　Mass Damper Block (8x8x32mm/Black)
　95363　　Wide Front Sliding Damper 2 (Red)
　95364　　Wide Rear Sliding Damper 2 (Red)
　15515　　Short Mass Damper Block (6x6x14mm/2pcs.)
　95108　　Mini 4WD HG Aluminum Setting Board (Blue) (35th Anniversary & Japan Cup 2017)
　95207　　Basic Mini 4WD Car Box (Mini 4WD Station)

Tools & Paints
　87185　　Tamiya Fine Lapping Film #4000 (3pcs.)
　87186　　Tamiya Fine Lapping Film #6000 (3pcs.)
　87187　　Tamiya CA Cement (Easy Sanding)

First photos of Tamiya 47361 Landfreeder Matte Black Sp. – Painted Body CC01



The LandFreeder is inspired by the look of a ’80s pick-up truck. The body of this truck is made of polycarbonate material for tough durability. The truck body is mated to the all-terrain CC-01 chassis for fun and realistic trail running.

The CC-01 chassis features independent front suspension and a rear solid axle for true scale R/C driving. It’s an ideal platform for R/C enthusiasts who enjoy trail running at their favorite outdoor spot.

Tamiya 24345 1/24 Mercedes AMG GT3


This scale model assembly kit recreates the 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT3 race car. It is a GT3 class spec customer sports car that was converted from the AMG GT road car by the Mercedes-AMG high performance division.

The full-size racer features a reliable and powerful 6.3-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine harnessing 558hp. Its carbon fiber body overhauls the road car version and has a prominent grille inspired by the classic 300 SL. The race car is also fitted with racing essentials such as a large rear wing, air intakes, splitter, canards and diffusers contributing to its aerodynamics. All of these details are expertly detailed in the model kit to give the modeler the most accurate parts to finish the model.

TRF Report: 2017 JMRCA 1/10 Electric Touring Car All Japan Championship

2017 JMRCA Touring Car All Japan Championship
July 21st – 23rd, 2017
Keitune Racing Speedway, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

Top class drivers were out in force at the Keitune Racing Speedway on a hot July weekend, ready to do battle in the 2017 JMRCA All Japan Championship 1/10 touring car races. No less than 65 racers took part in the event, which featured Super Expert and Open classes.
Tamiya Racing Factory (TRF) driver Takayuki Kono was in attendance, welcoming the chance to put the freshly-announced TB Evo.7 chassis through its paces against some of the best drivers out there. Also present was TRF member Kiyokazu Suzuki, ready to dispense advice and answer questions from Tamiya fans and drivers.
This was the official racing debut for the TB Evo.7, and while Kono largely used the pre-race test runs to compare the TB Evo.7’s different motor positions, when the race came he was on the pace with his competitors, qualifying in 10th for the Open class A Main. Starting from the back of the A Main field was always going to be a challenge, but Kono proved the shaft-driven TB Evo.7’s capabilities with a sterling drive that saw him mix it with the rest of the grid on his way to an 8th place finish over the 3 final races.
The Open class saw more great news for Tamiya chassis, 2016 Tamiya World Champion
Shuma Shinozawa finishing a brilliant 2nd with his TRF419X.
Takayuki Kono: “It was great to have the opportunity to demonstrate the potential of the TB Evo.7 and its shaft drive in live competition. The smoothness of the steering in particular is something for the public to look out for, and I hope this has whetted everyone’s appetite!”

TRF looks forward to continuing to support R/C drivers and the industry through its activities.