I Found One!

[madhaw]

i was at my LHS this afternoon just looking around for some ballends and there she was!!! a NIB highlift.. price is $345 [if converted to $]

i was shocked for a moment.. made me contemplate.

what do you guys think? should i buy it??? :willy

i mean, i can afford it but it will be an "unplanned" buy.
do you think the highlift will follow the bruiser's path of becoming a collectible?
maybe at least in level with a jugg? if so, the hard part of resisting to build it will sure be difficult.

help! :ack
-madhaw

 

[Dominick Shauntee]

BUY IT !!!!!

 

[william g]

buy it
you can....
build and enjoy, sell it later if you actually dislike it

sell it NIB and make a profit right now as somebody will pay extra to get it early

 

[4wdmt]

BUT IT madhaw. You are lucky, you dont pay tax there, lol, not like here in Canada. where did you find it? at LILs hobby shop?

 

[madhaw]

umm buy it, keep it, lock it inside a safety deposit box and wait 10-20 years? :ack

hehe.. seriously guys, do you think its value will rise in a few years time like the bruiser, and UNlike the clod?

4wdmt... how did you know? how did you even know i'm from the philippines?

 

[william g]

I don't see it's value go through the roof anytime soon. Even a NIB Jugg kit isn't doubled in price yet.

Plastic kits take longer to become pricey, the kits bringing the most are the old metal based ones from the 80's.

 

[4wdmt]

Originally posted by madhaw@Sep 18 2006, 08:12 AM
4wdmt... how did you know? how did you even know i'm from the philippines?

I read some of your post here about ebay and paypal and you yourself mentioned where you are .

Some people are eager to have one before this Sept. 25 deadline. I'm surprised the hobby shop is already displaying it there.

As for value, it won't become pricey. Unless Tamiya discontinue the model in just a matter of years.

If you buy this, its ment to be built and driven....hard, lol.

 

[mcfig]

The kits that have become collector items were medal kits, so this being a plastic truck means it probably won't become a collectors item any time soon. I do think 5 to 10 years down the road it will definatly increase in value. Since it is the first model to go back to being a three speed. I'm sure if this truck does well, Tamiya will make more, but this will be the first in the line.

If you have the cash, I would buy two. Keep one NIB and build the other. Either way, you should buy the kit you saw.

 

[madhaw]

Originally posted by 4wdmt@Sep 18 2006, 08:50 AM
I read some of your post here about ebay and paypal and you yourself mentioned where you are

yeah but how did you know about Lils hobby shop?

i think im gonna buy it. unless somebody gets it first. it has happend to me before.. i found a jugg2 there selling for $230, came back a week later with my money and it was sold just a few hours before i got there. :ack

mcfig, that was what im thinking.. buy 2 highlifts. but one is already a bit pricey for me. (did you bid on my clod axle auction at ebay? sadly the reserve was not met)

knowing my RC habit.. i might not be able to run it full time. just take my dagger for example.. got it exactly 4 years ago (ey what do you know! ), currently at my version 7 chasis and i've only run it a couple of times. i like the building/tweaking part better. :roll

 

[shodog]

You know there is someone right now who would give their left nut for one. The only rwason to buy it now is to be first on your block with one. Once the fervor dies down, they will be plentiful and the price may come down some.

 

[BDKesling]

Shodog, what would he do with two left nuts?

I'm going to wait till Christmas to get one.
Brian

 

[4wdmt]

Originally posted by madhaw@Sep 18 2006, 10:17 AM
yeah but how did you know about Lils hobby shop?

Sorry, should have been more specific, lol :ack . I lived there for 30years, thats why I know the hobby shops around.

There are advatages living in the asia region. I remember seeing the TXT-1 before in the RC mag as a "coming soon" release and that hobby shop already have one. Its even 1/4 cheaper!!!

My plan is to go to Hong Kong someday and check out a "street" there that is lined up with hobby shops at dirt cheap prices, lol. Heaven .

 

[Locoboy5150]

I'll give you the exact same advice that I give to anyone that is looking into starting any one of my hobbies/collectables like model trains, R/Cs, Corvettes, Disneyana etcetera. Though the hobbies are *vastly* different, the advice is *exactly* the same.

If you like it and you can afford it, then by all means buy it. But *NEVER EVER* buy a mas produced, non-limited edition item (which is exactly what the Tamiya HiLift is) only because you think that you might make a profit off of it tomorrow, ten years, twenty years, or a million years in the future. Doing that is a sure recepie for not enjoying and despising the item if you lose your shirt on it, which is a high possibility with any mas produced item.

Totally forget about making any money on it. Do not even factor that into your purchase at all. If you like it, buy it.

 

[madhaw]

4wdmt, too bad the last time i went to hongkong i wasnt yet in the hobby. where did you live here?

loco, thanks for the advice. i was thinking of building a shell queen, i guess the highlift would be perfect since its scaled and detailed.

 

[madhaw]

i bought it! $326 of pure Tamiya goodness. (after a $20 rebate from my new credit card)

ah... there's nothing like a brand new toy.

i started building it right away last night.. took me 2 hours just to build the transmission. but its worth it.

ok guys.. back to the build.

later!
-madhaw

btw: i just found out that tamiya has a manufacturing plant here in the philippines. thats why my LHS was able to get one long before the release date. (he's the official tamiya retailer here)

 

[4wdmt]

madhaw, Congratulations! nothing beats a newly opened tamiya box kit. I think most XBs of tamiya are built there. Where is the F350 made? (marked in the box)

 

[madhaw]

4wdmt.. i guess that means filipinos are eXpert Builders.
funny thing is, i cant seem to find any markings on the box as to where it is made.

18 hours later, i'm almost finished building it. as for the body, i'm gonna have it expertly painted. i'm not gonna take any chances.

anyone wanna help me with a color scheme?
-madhaw

 

[william g]

Shodog did his in tamiya champagne gold bottom stripe, and mica red for the rest.

Any color, or combo other than the box art if you don't want it to look like what a large majority will do. Painting it like the box might look nice, but too many are doing that already IMHO.

 

[madhaw]

will, my point exactly about the stock paint job.

will hotrod flames look nice?

4wdmt, found it! Made In Japan.

 

[Electrohacker]

AH! its still got the antenna hole... Time to break out the bondough