My Tamiya Kid: Gearheads Aren’t an Endangered Species
Do you remember what got you hooked on cars? For me, it was two things: a Corgi model of a BMW M1 Procar in BASF livery, which took pride of place amongst the toy box car collection, and a Renault 5 Turbo II model (the brand long since departed from my fading memory) that was given the full “rally treatment” with scratches and dents to add an authentic, limping-to-the-finish-line look of a Monte Carlo veteran.
Hours and hours could be lost to staging races, rallies, car chases, and even battles against toy soldiers and tanks. For today’s children, those hours are mostly lost to gadgets, namely the PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, which lure kids like sirens beckoning sailors toward the rocks.
There were no such problems in my day. In the late ‘70s, in my native U.K., our family’s first computer game was Pong, played on a Binatone console. It was fun for about five minutes, and then it wasn’t. The following decade, a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K wowed us with its freedom to load up any game you bought on cassette—but, much to our frustration after waiting for 10 minutes for the loading to complete, you got an error message, usually because the portable tape player’s batteries were running out of juice and the motor had been driving too slowly.
Now, my 10-year-old son waits mere seconds for a PS5 to wake from its slumber, before diving into an immersive world of online gaming with friends that is powered by 16 gigabytes of random-access memory. The original Space Shuttle used just one megabyte.
Dragging him away from Fortnite is more challenging than navigating a smooth path along our pothole-strewn roads. That presents a dilemma: How do I entice him into the world of cars? Should I, even? Perhaps you’ve wrestled with this, too, be it with your children, nieces, nephews, or grandchildren? Or maybe you’ve read gloomy predictions of how gearheads (here we call them petrolheads) are a dying breed?
In the build-up to Christmas, I’d been pondering this dilemma, before a potential spark ignited my combustion chamber. What about building a Tamiya radio-controlled car together? When I still wore jeans sporting patches sewn over their knees (in corduroy, naturally, for maximum embarrassment factor), the Tamiya Grasshopper was the smash hit of the radio-controlled car scene. It was purposely designed to be more affordable, simpler to build, and easier to drive than any previous Tamiya kit, and it worked. To this day, says Tamiya, it remains a bestseller. Guess what Santa left under the tree for Henry?
To my pleasant surprise, a Grasshopper and all the kit you’ll need for a turn-key driving experience is no more than £150 (about $190). That includes the assembly kit, some rudimentary tools and grease, a gearbox, electric motor, battery pack and charger, radio receiver, and the radio controller. All you have to bring to the table is enthusiasm and, if you’re a 50-year-old man with eyesight that’s more halogen than xenon, a headlamp.
Pleasingly, the Grasshopper passed the litmus test once Henry had demolished the wrapping and unboxed the Tamiya bundle. He brought enough enthusiasm for the pair of us and no sooner had the Christmas guests departed Mills Towers than we set to work on figuring out how to build a Grasshopper—not quite so simple when the pair of you (well, I speak for myself) are mechanical numpties.
A quick spot of research suggested seasoned Tamiya builders recommend buying a set of steel ball bearings to replace the plastic items that come with the kit, as well as a Tamiya set of model-making tools designed to Japanese Industrial Standards. With an impatient 10-year-old at my side and the bank balance smarting from Christmas, these would have to wait for another time. And who needs a fancy modeling mat when the cutting board will do just as well?
Experienced hands estimated it would take six to seven hours to have the kit built. We probably spread it out over 10 single-hour sittings, following as best we could the instruction manual that is likely clearer to Japanese users than it is to English speakers. And if we got stuck, we turned to YouTube, in particular, FastFreddieRC.
Tackling things stage by stage, Henry had a go at everything, from wielding a Stanley knife to assembling and greasing a gearbox. Some gentle prompts about perseverance and patience were initially required, but the more the dune buggy-inspired model took shape, the more he wanted to take on the responsibility of completing every task himself.
Clearly, I’m not pretending this was an especially challenging kit to build, but why throw a 10-year-old into the deep end if they haven’t yet learned to swim? They won’t come back for more. The only sticking points were the wiring of the speed controller and steering—because the instructions are in black and white and the wiring diagrams bore little resemblance to what was in front of us—and stretching the chunky back tires onto the split-rim wheels. In the end, like manipulating a tire onto a bicycle wheel, a fork handle gave the leverage that fingers lacked.
The first test drive threw up a quickly rectified problem—the wiring for the controller’s throttle and steering sticks was the wrong way around. Then it was off to the local forest …
Now, to you and I, 11 mph may not seem quick, but to a young lad who’s just finished building his first radio-controlled car, it’s as fast as NASA’s Juno probe being flung toward Jupiter at 165,000 mph. Soon he was absorbed by setting up Scandinavian flicks, doing donuts, and perfecting the skill of steering in the right direction as the car is driving toward you.
Now he wants to build a more powerful, four-wheel-drive Tamiya Porsche 911 RSR that’s been under my desk for a handful of years. I can’t wait to lend a hand and see where this all leads to. Perhaps gearheads aren’t as endangered as they say.
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Well done, Henry!
I’m 72 years old, and besides “My Old Toyota” in the garage, I have about half-a-dozen R/C cars. They’re huge fun, and my son and grandson get together and blast around the back and front yard, and up and down the street in front of the house. ALL the neighbor kids come out to watch us, and some are getting interested.
Sure beats having them play video games!
Sorry one kid is not enough.
Go to any Target and generally the Hot Wheels display average visitor age is 50 plus.
Kids have an awareness of cars and can be interested for a while but it vanishes.
You get pockets of kids into cars but it is not like it used to be. Even my own I could buy a number of RC cars for him but he has no interest, The PS5 is more about him and his buddies shooting bad guys.
He has shown interest in my new Corvette but it was limited as the insurance will not cover him for a couple more years.
I grew up I started with a Frogger from Tamyia. I still have it after many battle scared races. I may have get a new battery and try it out again.
Careful about discouraging others getting young people into cars by saying “one kid is not enough.” This hobby will only die that much faster if you let perfect be the enemy of better. Times change, and so do the conditions which surround us. If everyone gets one young person interested in cars that means the hobby at least stays level. That seems like a great start.
Yeah man, Kyle’s spot on. Throw that wet blanket into the dryer instead of on a genuine attempt to get one – yes, even one – kid on board. Will it stick with this one? Who knows. But there is one guarantee here: if you don’t try, you have NO chance at accomplishing the goal.
I’m 100% with you.
My daughter has been “helping” me since she was three. Starting with handing me bags of fasteners that I took time to color code ziploc baggies on an engine installation for one of my old vehicles.
Yes; it would take far less time to have just done it myself, but there’s nothing better than the glint in her eye when I’m telling her I’m changing gearbox oil in the 2CV this weekend, or tearing into the suspension on my GMC MH, or pulling the engine from my 911, and she’s got safety glasses, junk clothes, and work gloves on ready to help. She’d rather hang in the barn than watch TV or use her tablet (as I tell her; the real world, and real memories happen out here, not in an electronic box.)
She’s 7, and is making me teach her how to maintain the Citroen. She wants a pink metallic Meyers Manx (or knockoff.) I aim to buy one for her in the coming years, and help her fix it before she turns 16.
It only takes one… I don’t care if she becomes a ME or does it on the side (like this guy in corporate finance), but someone’s gotta take this hobby over when this Gen X’er is gone. And one is a start.
Keep feeding the habit.
I’m 100% with you.
My daughter has been “helping” me since she was three. Starting with handing me bags of fasteners that I took time to color code ziploc baggies on an engine installation for one of my old vehicles.
Yes; it would take far less time to have just done it myself, but there’s nothing better than the glint in her eye when I’m telling her I’m changing gearbox oil in the 2CV this weekend, or tearing into the suspension on my GMC MH, or pulling the engine from my 911, and she’s got safety glasses, junk clothes, and work gloves on ready to help. She’d rather hang in the barn than watch TV or use her tablet (as I tell her; the real world, and real memories happen out here, not in an electronic box.)
She’s 7, and is making me teach her how to maintain the Citroen. She wants a pink metallic Meyers Manx (or knockoff.) I aim to buy one for her in the coming years, and help her fix it before she turns 16.
It only takes one… I don’t care if she becomes a ME or does it on the side (like this guy in corporate finance), but someone’s gotta take this hobby over when this Gen X’er is gone. And one is a start.
Keep feeding the habit.
PS: My neighbor had a Grasshopper. I had an RC/10 that I saved my pennies for. Currently have a Traxxas LiPo Brushless car. All incredibly fun.
PPS: If this comes up multiple times; apologies. The website keeps crashing when I submit a comment. I’m not tech illiterate! I swear!
I just thought you were feeding your habit! 😂
I’m 100% with you.
My daughter has been “helping” me since she was three. Starting with handing me bags of fasteners that I took time to color code ziploc baggies on an engine installation for one of my old vehicles.
Yes; it would take far less time to have just done it myself, but there’s nothing better than the glint in her eye when I’m telling her I’m changing gearbox oil in the 2CV this weekend, or tearing into the suspension on my GMC MH, or pulling the engine from my 911, and she’s got safety glasses, junk clothes, and work gloves on ready to help. She’d rather hang in the barn than watch TV or use her tablet (as I tell her; the real world, and real memories happen out here, not in an electronic box.)
She’s 7, and is making me teach her how to maintain the Citroen. She wants a pink metallic Meyers Manx (or knockoff.) I aim to buy one for her in the coming years, and help her fix it before she turns 16.
It only takes one… I don’t care if she becomes a ME or does it on the side (like this guy in corporate finance), but someone’s gotta take this hobby over when this Gen X’er is gone. And one is a start.
Keep feeding the habit.
PS: My neighbor had a Grasshopper. I had an RC/10 that I saved my pennies for. Currently have a Traxxas LiPo Brushless car. All incredibly fun.
Awesome! Which battery, charger, and radio system did you end up with to keep the costs low?
Sadly, it seems like most/many RC cars now come ready to run, there’s very little assembly required. I think this is great for casual use, you get to the driving faster, but it makes it harder for those owners to understand how to fix the car once it breaks. It will break.
Building an RC car is great; here’s another idea: get him a racing game and join him where he’s at. Gran Turismo 2 on the original Play Station got me hooked (and probably helped make me a better driver) and it was due in no small part to my dad grabbing a controller and playing along and talking about the cars we were driving. Too often the older generations bemoan the death of something or some such lamentation when all they need to do is see how kids are engaging with that *thing* in their own way.
I’m completely charmed by this story. The author admits that he’s not mechanically inclined, yet he wants his sone to at least get a taste to see if he (the son) might enjoy building stuff. I have three sons – each quite different than the others – but each had the same opportunities to explore paths that I personally wasn’t into as well as the things I loved. Along the way, we had successes AND failures, but we experienced them together, and our memories are still something we share to this day. [only one of the boys really could be called a “petrolhead” today, but the others are always interested in what projects I’m into]
I’m not in favor of forcing kids in any particular endeavor just because it’s something I like, but I do think we need to gently nudge them into trying all kinds of things at least once, just so they can see if there is a spark in there for them. Every one of my grandkids can change a tire and do an oil/filter change. Will they be gearheads? I dunno – but they are each getting the chance to explore that option!
Good on ya, Mr. Mills!
I found this interesting as I have a 10 year old son and and got him a Tamiya Grasshopper for Xmas as well. I have a couple of Tamiya RC cars, including an original Brat that I built almost 40 years ago. My son loved driving the Brat so I got him the Grasshopper as a father/son project so he could have his very own. He loves it and tears around the yard and driveway whenever he gets a chance. I already had a spare battery from my cars, so the total cost for the car and a Tactic transmitter was pretty low.
I have been upgrading my Brat with a new Tx/Rx as well as an ESC, and now I just need to make some more repairs to it as it has taken a bit of a beating over the years.
RC cars are fun. I had a blast with so many of them as a kid.
You’re a very cool dad. I credit a Tamiya F-150, and later, racing a couple of Associated RC-12s back in the early 80s with making me want to be a better driver and giving me the itch to do (some of) my own wrenching.
With my son, it hasn’t been as straightforward. Attending F1 and Indycar races was a flop. He’d run a few races on Gran Tursimo, but always gravitated back to fantasy or shooting games.
He’s 18 now, so almost beyond the reach of my suggestions and encouragement. I think the nudging has to be gentle with his generation. He drives an old 4 cylinder, 5-speed Nissan pickup. This summer we put a clutch in it together when the throwout bearing started squealing and he likes to perform low rpm rev matches on downshifts. Today he’s the result of my encouragement, but on his own terms…not at all a bad thing.
Make sure that Grasshopper is out kicking up gravel every chance you get, he’ll be 18 before you know it!
“Today he’s the result of my encouragement, but on his own terms…not at all a bad thing.”
Inciteful. Realistic. Brilliant. 👍👍