the optima house

OT-66 are here!

2011-10-03T08:36:00.004+02:00

Besides, a new RC shop has open the gates for us, vintage lovers!

Marwan's (yes THE Marwan) new webshop proposes his well-known bodies, decals, tires repros at a more interesting price than ebay.

You should try the new marwanrc.com shop.

The long awaited for OT-66 are finally available. I'll post some comments when I get mines. :D

OPTIMA re-released

2011-09-22T17:32:00.005+02:00

Ok...ok... Not really a true re-release, but now that Avante 2011 and Fast Attack Vehicle 2011 were released, kyosho fans were waiting for their own nolstalgia series rebirth.

I was delighted when I opened the Kyosho global website today, because I've rarely seen the blue yellow white livery of the original optima there!!!

Now, the actual news is about a new Mini-z BUGGY series, and the first batch of bodies are the Optima and the Lazer ZX-5 FS.

And it's not really a news because the mini-z buggy has been announced in august but I've not published anything since... well, you can see that :D

From the website:

"Nostalgic body style combines with latest chassis design!

Dynamic palmtop size buggy with Readyset!
New generation 4x4 MINI-Z chassis creates spectacular racing action!

Longtime fans of R/C will recognize the distinctive form of the OPTIMA body straight away. But the nostalgic exterior hides the very latest in R/C design technology. The precision chassis features a shaft driven 4WD with a two-differential drive train incorporating a slipper clutch to protect gears with oil shocks on the 4-wheel independent double wishbone suspension, just like the original Optima 1/10 racing buggy. The result is the exceptional performance expected of a 1/10 scale R/C buggy, but concentrated into a racing machine that fits on the palm of your hand and the best off-road performance achieved in the history of the MINI-Z. With most of the precision components protected within the dirt-proof shell, the chassis has the rigidity and durability for hardcore off-road action. Based on the MINI-Z Racer, control circuit board has been tuned for off-road with a special separated design. The ICS function allows precision setting adjustment of controls including the optional gyro unit through your PC while the Chase Mode feature fires up the intensity of racing action. Also, the newly designed steering servo is equipped with 7-stage gearing. High torque and precision control combine to produce the MINI-Z’s characteristic steering feel and linear control. As the famous Optima body is pre-painted and is packaged as a Readyset, just purchase and set batteries into this legendary racing buggy and watch the latest MINI-Z technology tear up any dirt track."

Length	163mm
Width	105mm
Height	46mm
Wheelbase	115mm
Tread (F/R)	F:89/R:89
Tire(F/R)	F:φ16mm/R:φ16mm
Weight	200ｇ(approx.)
Motor	130-Class
Battery	AAA-size alkaline batteries x 4 or NiMH batteries x 4 for chassis.
R/C System	KT-18(incl）

More pics here

New Alu Shock collars for Optima?

2011-05-28T17:32:00.006+02:00

Korea's Pargu is very active in the vintage kyosho field and it's always a pleasure to stumble upon a new item of his on ebay. This time it's the red shock collar for Optima, you know, the one that breaks easily when you overscrew it. He says it's handmade but what does it mean exactly? Just wondering... Anyway, it's way tougher than the originals, I guess, and if he succeeds to make some of them, it will probably be a huge win for him (and for us optimaniacs).

I don't post a link here but every optimaniac should know how to check it out :D

Marwan's OT-66 repros are there!

2011-05-14T21:57:00.003+02:00

Here we are!

As I suggested a few months ago, after the optima's OT-30, someone finally has tackled

the challenge of reproducing the famous OT-66 tires. You probably were looking for this final achievement for the beloved Turbo Optima or Optima Mid shelfqueens (not to mention Ultimas), but finally the wait is over!

Kuwait's Marwan AlNusif did it again. I don't know if the quality is up to the original but I guess Marwan did not cut the angles to improve his knowhow after the OT-30 episode... Hey, Marwan, would you mind sending me a pair of OT-66 to let me tell optimaniacs about the quality of these? :D

You're a god, mate!!! Full respect.

OT-30 story

2011-01-28T18:22:00.019+01:00

Two weeks after I published the news of Marwan's OT-30 reproductions, I got a mail from Jose R, an other spanish optimaniac since 1985, which was quite surprising.

He remembers seeing my post in 2009 about the craze of the OT-30 burning prices (selling at about 90€ for 4 tires on ebay but recently their prices peaked at about 60€ for 2).

Since then, Jose was developing a repro project of the OT-30 during his freetime (he badly needed 40 tires, lol), and this month (janury 2011), he ended the production of a good bunch of them and was planning to begin to sell them.

So it was pure coincidence when he saw that Marwan also did manage to repro the OT-30, from Koweit!

I for one own A LOT of 1st gen optima/javelin so I was very interested in a repro project of the most sought after parts ( OT-30 tires, OT-15 bumper, Javelin rollcage to name a few), and I succeeded in making molds for Optima Mid belt drive covers, and Mid gearboxes, but I never took the step of going further (I'm lazy and have too much projects/work already).

So I was very very curious about the process involved in copying existing tires, and asked Jose to present some "behind the scenes making-of" stories.

These pics were sent to me by Jose, and reveals a bit of his project's steps.

1. MEASURING

Jose realized Kyosho was a bit loose with the tire tolerances (dimensional variations between different tire specimens was wide), and had to slice 6 genuine tires (and wheels) to find an average.

2. DRAWING

As you can see, Jose is an engineer, studied back in 1993 when only paper, pencil, eraser and faber-castell ruled on the drawing tables, not to mention rotring and lettraset/mecanorma/pantone type sheets.

Okay, you younger optimaniacs may not remember that time but drawing technical things WITHOUT a computer was actually very fun and rewarding. (btw I'm an architect who fell in love with sketchup but that's another story) :D

During the process, Jose jumped in the digital bandwagon and transfered the drawings into digital form.

3. MOULD

I don't have a lot of info about this step, but Jose tells me that it takes a lot of patience to make a good mould with correct shape and measuring, the rest of the work being in the hands of skilled staff who mould rubber 8 hours a day. He struggled to convince these workers to treat his tires as precision work, otherwise they just mould the tire like any ordinary industrial rubber part...

I can imagine that, I also struggled to get the correct gold dye when trying to anodize some of my standard aluminium chassis to gold ones (just because I lacked some chassis rails because I bought incomplete gold chassis sets ... sigh...), and to refuse the work done by professional staff just by being picky is always hard to do.

Anyway, Jose had to produce 3 generations of moulds to achieve the degree of perfection he thought the optimaniacs deserve. Otherwise he would have launched the OT-30 repro-fest months ago. Jose is truly a crusader fighting for our cause :D

He's keeping some early generation OT-30 repros with different 320/40 VR18 lettering types for his own collection ;)

Muchas gracias Jose! I hope you have enough OT-30 for your optimas now :D

If you want to buy him some tires, please click the title of this post!

Photography by Jose R

OT-15 cemetary

2011-01-27T17:00:00.004+01:00

I'm cleaning my office today and stumbled upon a ton of optima stuff.

It's amazing the quantity of stuff you accumulate along all these years.

What becomes clear is that I've at least 12 Optimas to restore... :D

I've seen the OT-15 (bumper) are selling very high now on ebay, and they are becoming very rare nowadays... Is Marwan or any else optimaniac interested in reproducing the OT-15 and the OT-93 (mid and lazer zx bumpers)? ;)

HAPPY NEW YEAR & GOOD NEWS

2011-01-07T13:59:00.003+01:00

Happy new year optimaniacs!

2011 is a good year for us because someone finally had the guts to reproduce the famous OT-30, aka Optima/Javelin tires!!! Incredible!

The good news come from Kuwait, and every optimaniac in the world must know nowadays that Marwan AlNusif makes the best vintage repro of bodies and decals for us optima fans! So I'm very confident about the quality of these tires, and that the long wait is finally over for all the people looking for new tires for their Optima and Javelin.

I'm probably not the only one thinking that OT-30 are the most beautiful vintage buggy tires ever designed... but at a price! Recently on ebay a pair of OT-30 sold for 80US$... soooooo expensive! when the tires exceed the value of a kit, then we need to think again... :D

Thanks to Marwan, I'll finally be able to realize my old dream: RUN A JAVELIN WITH GENUINE STOCK TIRES!!!! 1000 thanks mate!

By the way, if the OT-30 adventure is a success (and I can't imagine how it could be else), pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase think about the OT-66 and the turbo scorpion tires! ;)

Looking for new parts alternatives?

2010-07-26T14:25:00.003+02:00

Hello optimaniacs!
I've been very busy these last months... But I hadn't any interesting news to publish...
Until I stumbled upon the very brilliant blog of MIKEDEALER.
He collected a meaningful sum of infos & references about alternative parts for the vintage Kyosho Optima/Ultima series.
The good point being that all these references are actually in stock, and easily found on the web... CHEAP!!!

RC museum (@home) by waimea JPN

2010-01-16T11:48:00.004+01:00

Very clean, white walls & OSB chipboards planks, simple and elegant. Looks like the bedroom's wardrobe has been switched to a RC library :D

Waimea (Hawaii addicted japanese blogger) owns lot of Tamiya & Kyosho vintage (Ultima, Optima, Optima Mid, Optima pro to name a few).

Photography by Waimea (JPN)

Happy new year 2010!

2010-01-07T15:47:00.005+01:00

Happy new year fellow optimaniacs!
It's a cold winterday today, and I decided to take pictures of my javelins in the snow for the first post of the year. My fingers are cold like ice after the shooting. brrrrrrrr!!!
I usually don't run in the snow so I'm not very cold weatherproof. Are you?
I don't know if you got nice gifts from Santa but I've got a surprising one this year.
3 years after the birth of this blog, I got a kind message from Akira Kogawa, the very designer of the Optima! It was very pleasant to get known by the father of all my preferred buggies. For those who missed the post about Akira Kogawa, please have a look here.
I've asked him if he had interesting stories to share with optimaniacs, time will tell, I'm keeping in touch!

looking for Option House Low Profile tire?

2009-12-28T18:35:00.005+01:00

Do you recognize this one? Actually it's a very truthfully cloned wide Option House low profile tire (Hard type). Instead of the signs "Bridgestone" & "Sand Super", one can read "Dirt Paw". The size fits 1.9" low profile wheels perfectly (turbo Optima OT-67 / optima Mid OT-90 / all 1.9" Ultima wide wheels).
On the side point, they smell very much (burnt gum) when they're new and tend to get white very quickly if not used.
The good news is that it's not vintage at all, and can be bought by Conrad Belgium for 4.99€ (a pair). With these you can run your Optima & Mids without sacrifying your very expensive originals (that ought to the shelves)...
Isn't life beautiful? :D

JPS Optima by Tamiyoman

2009-12-08T11:19:00.006+01:00

Here's a superb John Player Special livery painted by Myles aka Tamiyoman from TamiyaClub.
A little excerpt : "Painted the Marwan repro shell myself (PS-1 black looks great but i suffered a little paint bleed on the gold roof part, bugger!) apart from that it looks mint, i think so anyway!. Windows are tinted using PS-31 smoke, will paint up the driver once i have my painting skills to a level where im confident in not making a mess of it!. The Wheels are 1pc alloy anodized gold and suit this very nicely I think, the tyres are NEW bridgestones from a Nikko model."
Congrats for a superb optima!

Photography: Tamiyoman

IVORY JAVELIN

2009-10-20T19:40:00.007+02:00

TamiyaClub 's Freyahel has a beautiful white rollcage Javelin as you can see here.
This has given me the envy of rendering my 3D Javelin with ivory color...
It's been a while that this frontal shot of the dimly lit Javelin was in my head and I never saw it on the web, so I decided it was about time to do it.
I like it very much!

Okay, snobbers will say that 212 is for the Salute and the correct Javelin number is 209. ;-)

Tribute to Marwan 5: Turbo Rocky

2009-10-19T19:44:00.005+02:00

Hello fellow optimaniacs!
It's been a while :D This is my new paintjob, a Turbo Rocky!
Needless to say, this was not my favourite Kyosho body. Those who know the box art body perhaps feel (like me) that the Turbo Rocky is (arguably) one of the ugliest Kyosho body design.
Of course one can argue that this caterpillar look is fantastic, but the general consensus is that it was a design fail (I think Kogawa didn't design this one but I can be wrong)...

But it actually is one of my favourite chassis! the original Rocky wasn't very sexy (lot of plastic, few metal parts) but it was a cheap car targeted to 4WD beginners. The turbo Rocky has a slick and very original metal chassis (double deck), 4 wheels independent platinum oil shocks, stabilizers front and rear. Basically, one can affirm that the car was aimed to fight the Tamiya Bigwig, both supporting 8.4V batteries.

Why a Rocky on an Optima blog? ;-)
Because after all the Rockies were the optima's little brothers, so the general characteristics are quite similar (chain drive, double wishbone long arms suspension, etc.) BUT the rockies are midship, and prefigure the trends which will affect optimas with the mid series (the chain will be replaced by belts of course).

This Turbo Rocky is fitted with Tamiya Oval block Supergripper tires, on chrome Kyosho low profile wheels. I also swapped the dual front oil shock layout with the original Rocky monoshock one, and changed the rear oil shock geometry in favor of the original rocky one, too.

I was not fond of the turbo rocky suspension layout and choose to prefer the original one.
Again, a question of personal taste, because I guess for running the Turbo Rocky layout is much better. Motor is a LeMans 240SB, and the battery is a Kyosho 8.4V (genuine, bought from Marwan if I remember well). I also decided to trim the sides of the body to get a slimmer look to the car. The foglights and the (happy) driver are from Tamiya's (again) Z parts tree.

And I LOVE the look of the aluminium special sprocket! :D

The body is of course a repro by Marwan (as well as the decals).

I forgot to present the superb chassis :

Tribute to Marwan 4: Optima Box art

2009-09-25T18:42:00.004+02:00

My next tribute to Marwan's repro art: the Optima box art.
This is my first optima box art paintjob. I wanted to be experienced enough to be able to succeed this epic paintscheme...

Actually I finished the body several weeks ago but hadn't enough spare time to finish the tires markings... You guess how time consuming this tasks is :-s

I guess all optimaniacs know that the optima box art is very difficult, because the color layers are multiple and the '5' is lacking in the official decal sheet, not to mention the stripe lines work, the driver (not a lot of documentation here)...

All in all, I had a very long work on this one (several weeks); it's not perfect, the blue is a Tamiya one and is too dark and too reddish, the lines are a bit approximative, but I tried to mimmick the box art the best I could. Next time I'll use a Kyosho calsonic blue, which will be far closer to the official vintage colour scheme.

Credits
Body: Marwan AlNusif
Decals: Marwan AlNusif
"5" decal: Franz "Hagar" Delaunay

Tribute to Croky_b part 2 : Lazer ZX-R

2009-09-08T17:48:00.006+02:00

After the Triumph on the sister blog (UltimaHouse), I've finished painting and decorating the successor of the succesful Mid series, the Lazer. I skipped the ZX as I am not really fond of its body (but i'll give a try later). This is a repro body made by my chap Croky_b. As usual, the painting exercise was difficult because I didn't like the ZX-R body neither at first, but now I am quite convinced that the body has some potential. It is a bit too large, perhaps. I was short of mid wings so I used a Kamtec Javelin/Ultima wing.

In order to match the blue livery, I switched the gold shocks with 3Racing Lazer Zx-5 shocks.

Impulseman's Optima runner

2009-08-05T21:59:00.004+02:00

A very nice Optima runner, fitted with an Optima pro body, but painted like a box art optima. The shocks are Mini Inferno's optional shocks (Kyosho). You can check this thread to see the restoration work. Very good job, Impulseman!

Photography by Impulseman

Tribute to Marwan 3: LWB Optima Mids Duo

2009-08-03T17:15:00.005+02:00

Here's my 3rd tribute to Marwan's repro work.
The Turbo Optima Mid Special (without the bulb) and the Optima Mid Custom, the two racy Long Wheel Base Mids. These are my preferred LWB bodies.

The wheels are Option House Chrome, tires are square block Hard type for the T Mid Sp and classic OT-66 style pin spike for the Mid Custom. The T Mid Sp has Pargu2000's aluminium wheels, and they're superb!

The T Mid Sp has my custom made Carbon shock stays.

Many thanks to Marwan, who provided the bodies and the decals.

A bit of admin...

2009-07-31T22:07:00.003+02:00

Hello optimaniacs!

Nothing special today, except that I changed a bit the layout of the right column, and added tags per car "species" ;-)
It is easier to find a particular topic if you're interested by Javelins, Mids, virtual images, and so on...

Nice Javelins shots by Sayroll

2009-07-15T21:20:00.004+02:00

My french chap Sayroll has some of the best Javelins examples I've ever seen, and these look even better now that a pro photographer gave a shooting on his best ones. The genuine, red and gold in black are among my favourites.
More on the new Javelins SIG on TC

Optima, Gas powered on Yahoo Japan

2009-07-12T09:50:00.004+02:00

Hello!
It's a collector's item! the unique gas powered Optima I've ever seen!
The auction ends in less than 5 hours on Yahoo Japan.
The car was published in a japanese RC magazine in 1985, along with a AYK Sidewinder or a Buffalo (Bobcat?), also converted to gas engine.
The upper plate and main chassis are FRP custom made. It's a pity the scans are so low quality.
If you want to see the auction
Photographs by Sandaypost

All NIB (new in box)!!!

2009-07-09T21:25:00.004+02:00

Darryn from RetroRC is a lucky passionate collector. I never , never, have seen a collection like his! Optima, Javelin, Optima pro, Optima gold, Turbo Op, Salute blue, Salute yellow, Op Mid, Turbo Op Mid, Turbo Op Mid SE, Turbo Op Mid SP, Op Mid Custom and Op Mid Custom SP! Interestingly enough, Darryn noticed that according to the product ref number, the Optima Pro came before the Javelin! Besides, you can see that only the Turbo Op Mid SP has a taller box (the third from the right on the pic below), probably to accomodate the 8 tires provided in the kit...?
Congrats, Darryn! ;-)
More infos here
Photographs by Darryn

Tribute to Marwan; Mid Custom SP

2009-07-08T00:29:00.008+02:00

Here's my tribute to Marwan's repro part one:
Finally I've decided to be a man and to finish these restoration work by painting the bodies.
My first attempt was a turbo optima that I still have to show here, but in the meantime I've succeeded in finishing my very first Optima Mid Custom special (what an endless name) design.
As you perhaps know, it's not my favourite body design amidst optima shells (I even doubt Kogawa has ever been involved in this one?) but for a long time I've been trying to imagine how to modify the original paintscheme to better underline the futuristic bodyshape.
The first thing that I didn't like was the designline of the cockpit. Its proportion looked too small for the width of the body. So my first source of inspiration were the cockpit of similarly shaped airplanes like the F14 Tomcat, F15 Eagle, Mig 27, Spitfire, P-51D Mustang, Supersabre, Panavia Tornado, Gloster Meteor, T-33 Shootingstar, A-7 Crusader, etc. My main concern was to draw a new designline to change the perception of the proportions. Then came the small linework to give more detailing to fake the "metalplates" (minus the rivets). I used Kyosho Micron linetapes (0,4 and 1mm). This is time-consuming; with very thin lines it's very difficult to reproduce straight lines on a curved body (not to mention curved lines on curved bodies). And finally some air intake were gimmickly placed at the nose (I wasn't totally convinced by the angular design of the nose, so I decided to use the angles to express a kind of F86 Sabre-like nose), at the side wings, and at the rear top (which was obvious) to complete the airplane inspired look.
When I had finished smoking the cockpit glass I suddenly realized it resembled to the Avante design (somewhat) but I don't mind... ^_^
Thanks again Marwan for your beautiful repros (body + decals)

3D OPTIMA MID: update

2009-07-07T00:37:00.006+02:00

Finally I spent some time to update my old 3D model of the Turbo Optima Mid;
OT-102 belt cover and OT-99 wing stay.

Croky_b did it again... the Mini Op Mid

2009-06-20T18:04:00.004+02:00

Nope, this isn't photoshop work, it's real. My chap Cedric aka Croky_b made this body from scratch, smoking cigars and watching TV at the same time ;-D
Again, based on the Tamtech gear Hotshot chassis.
He will perhaps sell some copies next time for those interested... ask me if you are ;-)
More here

Optima Mid Hybrid by Simple Nature Spirit

2009-06-19T23:09:00.005+02:00

I've followed passionately the blog by Simple Nature Spirit about the resurrection of his very singular hybrid optima chassis. Combining a front optima geartrain with mid reartrain and a chain is very surprising. He even succeded to convert the optima original diff into ball diff!
The steering linkage is a combination of optima parts and free interpretation of ultima ones!
Not to mention the front monoshock design, inspired by the yokomos of the golden era...
But the most interesting part is of course the rear gearbox secret... check his blog if you're curious. Very good job!
http://hybridmid.blogspot.com/

Turbo Rocky repro bodies

2009-06-12T11:23:00.003+02:00

Again not strictly Optima news but it happens that I'm also a big fan of the Turbo Rocky (the metal version of the Rocky). Marwan "Holy Wholly" AlNusif succeeded to repro its body (veeeeeery difficult to find on Ebay).

New blog from a Kyoshomaniac :-D

2009-05-15T15:46:00.003+02:00

Very beautiful RC weblog!

http://remote360.blogspot.com/

Tamiya released a Turbo Optima on a Tamtech Gear Hotshot chassis!!!

2009-04-20T17:06:00.012+02:00

Really? nope, this was a (late) april fool :-D
Today I have to present you Croky_b, a fellow optimaniac friend of mine!
He's really gifted and succeeded to repro some Lazer ZX/ZX-R, Maxxum FF and even a self-made from scratch Mini-Turbo Optima bodies!
The latter is his last work to date, he wanted his TamtechGear Hotshot to be fitted with a Turbo Optima body!!!
Problem: the Tamtechgear's scale is 1/16th, and Kyosho's venerable Baja bug series are 1/20th...
So why not build the body from scratch?
Here are some more pics of his amazing work!

Photography by croky_b

Still alive

2009-03-25T09:53:00.003+01:00

Hello fellow optimaniacs!
No, I'm not dead, but as you perhaps noticed, no news about the optima for a long time ;-)
A chap of mine is busy on a Javelin rollcage repro project, and I'm very confident he will succeed!
Apart from that, I was working on a Gallop and Progress 4WDS restoration, so the blog was very quiet recently ;-)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-15T19:25:00.004+01:00

Hello optimaniacs! finally an update... :-)
here's a shot of my Javelin runner, fitted with HPI superstar wheels...

ZX-5 optimaforever modified

2008-11-19T18:24:00.006+01:00

Hello!
Inspired by Sayroll, I decided to find a ZX-5... Yesterday I've finally got one and modified it to my taste... :-D
Gold Shocks, 360Gold motor, new shocks layout, option house wheels and tires... Isn't that lovely?
I want now to paint it with Optima Mid scheme ... I'm still not decided; perhaps in Turbo Mid SE scheme with yellow TMidSP wheels? Totally TmidSP scheme? mmmmmh...

UltimaHouse is born (built?)

2008-11-04T23:43:00.002+01:00

The sister site is born. What? you didn't know I loved Ultima too?
After all the Ultima is a 2WD Optima :-D and deserved a special "house"... LINK

Looking for OT parts number?

2008-11-03T11:41:00.006+01:00

At times you don't want to crawl amongst build manuals to find that damn little parts ref...
I think looking for the correct parts reference number will be much easier, thanks to Franco from vintagekyosho.com
Thanks Franco!

ZX-5 optima sauce

2008-11-02T23:45:00.006+01:00

You can compare this pic with the previous one:
Sorry Sayroll, I've modified your beautiful picture of your ZX-5, just to imagine how it could look with:
- modified front shock stay and suspension geometry (lower, more optima like);
- modified wing (more inferno or pro-X like);
- front bumper (from the optima);
- slightly modified canopy lines and paint scheme (more optima like);
(I liked your hole drilled dish wheels so I didn't change them)...

Mmmmmh... add gold shocks and now, we're talking!!!

Photography and body design by Sayroll, modified by Optimaforever

Le Mans Motors Sculpture - UPDATED

2008-10-19T18:33:00.008+02:00

I wanted to update the famous (?) Le Mans motors sculpture shot. By the way, these motors are NOT FOR SALE :D
Still lacking: the 240ST, 360E, the old green 480T, and le Mans HF series... I am interested if anyone would sell any NIB.

Need spare shoes for your Optima?

2008-10-17T16:05:00.010+02:00

Well... Some optimaniacs don't want to ruin their expensive shoes (OT-30, OT-66) on running, so a wise workaround is to fit Tamiya Wide Stud #5305 or oval block #50268/50269 on original Turbo Optima or Optima Mid wheels.

But even these wheels tend to become rare and I can understand that some people don't want to scuff these. Of course you can use adequate adapters to fit Tamiya hotshot wheels on Kyosho Hex hubs, but they are rarer these days as well.

So again Tamiya's modern stuff being easier to find, I've been using their 5-spoke 2-piece wide wheels #50673 and Thundershot tires #50344. Yes, it gives a Tamiya-ish touch on your optima but I'm not concerned by keeping Kyoshomania by all means... :D

Turbo Mid SE runner by TC's fantom-ep

2008-10-15T08:41:00.005+02:00

Here's a very beautiful runner, a Turbo Optima Mid SE, fitted with TMS alloy sus arms, 3rd party undercowl to better protect the chassis from scratches, and Schum tires. Notice the tinted wheels, the clean layout of the electronics, Le Mans HF Torque motor (not really visible)... Nice work!
More pics here on Tamiyaclub
Photography by Jan Behrens

Sketchy Mid

2008-09-25T12:13:00.006+02:00

A recent sketchy render of my Tmid 3D model...
I love the look of the mid from behind :D

Optima Mid Custom Special

2008-09-03T11:46:00.004+02:00

Here's a shot of my Optima Mid Custom Special runner, equipped with a 3000 mAh lipo and a Brushless motor, fitted with Akira Kogawa's HPI Superstar wheels and Lazer ZX-5 shocks.

Javelins and Optima

2008-09-03T00:17:00.006+02:00

Hello optimaniacs! Sun was absent from our skies recently, but this afternoon was a shiny one...
Just a shot of our office's Javelins and Optima...

Nice Optima Pro! by Rob606

2008-08-04T21:39:00.007+02:00

Another optimaniac spotted on Tamiyaclub!
The Optima Pro is quite rarely seen on the net, but when I see a lovely one, I can't resist post it! :D
As you perhaps already know, the Pro is a near-standard Optima (red shocks, standard rail chassis, no stabilizers, no under guard, no motor guard) but fitted with Turbo Optima wheels and tires, modified radio (upper) plate, and no motor as the car is supposed to match "pro" needs (that's to say: an ESC). The servo had been placed backwards near the rear gearbox in order to push the batteries forward, as the speed controller servo had become irrelevant (because of the ESC). This was the main reason for asking Akira Kogawa to redesign entirely the body lines, and thus gave birth to one of the best-looking bodies ever, the Optima Pro with its superb undercowl protecting the chassis from scratches and dirt!
Great work, Rob606!!! who, btw, decided to fit his car with option house stabilizers and a Le Mans Sports H-240S, a fine connoisseur choice! :-)
I was asking myself if the regular Optima Pro used the standard Optima Suspension arms or the Turbo Optima strengthened ones... I think it used the latter, so this OpPro is perhaps a Optima converted to Op Pro?!

OPTIMA legacy lives on!

2008-07-01T13:12:00.004+02:00

Here's a beautiful paintjob by frech optimaniac Sayroll on a contemporary Lazer ZX-5!
I prefer straight lines than today's ridiculous flames motif :D
Great work, Master!
Link to his gallery

OTW-2 carbon edition: the come back!

2008-05-29T17:10:00.004+02:00

Hello fellow Optimaniacs!

I've been asked so many times that I decided to make some OTW-2 again.
This time in 2.4mm carbon (a bit tougher than previous ones), they are gorgeous on my mids :-D
Interested? send me a PM !

Ultima Shock stay Carbon Edition

2008-05-19T20:06:00.005+02:00

I made some repros of the Turbo Ultima Shock stay UM-26, in 2.4mm carbon.
Way tougher than the original FRP version, not to mention the aluminium ones (always wavy because these tend to bend too easily) ;-)
Perhaps shouldn't I advertise Ultima parts on an Optima focused site, but I happen to have nearly more Ultimas than Optimas (naaaah! impossible) and most of my Ultimas missed their front shock stay (too fragile I suppose) ... So voila! No more UM-26 web-digging headache! :-D

Optima House made UM-26 are a must!
btw if you're interested, just check ebay... ;-)

NB after all, Ultimas are 2WD Optimas, so no worries, I may post about Ultimas as well gnark gnark gnark... :-D

Belt drive kit for the OPTIMA

2008-05-13T16:58:00.007+02:00

Several optimaniacs asked me lots of questions about the belt drive conversion kit for the standard genuine optima series. Here are the useful infos.

Documentation Courtesy of David Alary aka Razorback RC

My collection of mini 4WD 1/32

2008-04-23T00:59:00.004+02:00

Hello optimaniacs!
Besides vintage 1/10 kyosho cars, I also collect 1/32 marui and tamiya vintage mini 4WD.
Here's a shot of my actual collection, so far... You can see the optima (of course), turbo optima, optima mid, turbo optima mid, rocky, turbo rocky, samurai, ninja, shogun, hunter, hotshot, hornet, fox, boomerang, bigwig, avante, avante mkII...
I've found a japanese guy who managed to build a turbo optima too.

Great restored Optima in action by Supergreg

2008-04-08T14:19:00.011+02:00

Another big optimaniac from Germany :-)
The painting work is very clean, and close to box art.
Even though the car looks like a shelfqueen, Supergreg preferred instead to run it in the mud :-D
Great shots, taken by his girlfriend (wow)!
Photography Miss Kai Gräser
More pics here.
the Restored Optima here
supergreg's own RCblog here

Turbo Javelin Project from Dusseldorf

2008-03-22T11:59:00.004+01:00

Wow... I totally forgot to update my blog... sorry, optimaniacs :-)
I often receive great shots from optimaniacs all over the world, but I must admit Gerolf's work is amongst the top of the crop :-D His turbo scorpion was admirable but this great Turbo-fied Javelin restoration work really deserves shot of the day ;-)

Photography by Gerolf Reichenthaler

Optima Mid Custom Special body repro!

2008-01-12T13:10:00.002+01:00

waow! Marwan you're my star!

Good News from Kuwait !!! :-)))

2008-01-10T19:07:00.001+01:00

If, like me, you were waiting for somebody to tackle the challenge of reproducing the very rare bullet shaped body of the Optima Mid Custom Special OR (even rarer) the exquisite original body of the limited Turbo Optima Mid Special, or the not-less-desirable Turbo Scorpion, the wait is finally over!!!
Well-known kyoshomaniac / optimaniac Marwan AlNusif sent me today pics of his repro series to come:

1- Turbo optima Mid Special OT-117 (The original Shape)

2- Optima Mid Custom Special OT-125

3- Optima Mid Custom OT-117

4- Turbo Scorpion body kit

a note on OT-117 :

"Due to its limited availability of Turbo optima Mid Special Kyosho collectors tried converting their Optima Mid Custom or Custom Special to the Turbo Special version, most of the conversion parts are available as option parts except for one part!? The body (OT-117)

Turbo Optima Mid Special uses a rare or rather a non existing version of its OT-117 body, even buying a spare body won't get you anywhere because all of the available spare bodies are made with half bubble on the left side of the body which the Turbo Optima Mid Special body doesn¢t have ( I have a Turbo optima Mid Special Kit and I know this), the half bubble was made to accommodate the servo horn for the mechanical speed controller although the box photo in Optima Mid Custom is showing the no bubble one.

No matter what options you add to your Optima Mid Custom or Custom Special you'll not be able to have the Turbo Special look unless you get non bubbled OT-117 (and of course the decal sheet OT-118), I have managed to reproduce the non bubbled version of the OT-117 check out the attached photos"

my bodies features:

1- Very rigid and high quality Polycarbonate.

2- With protective film for easy painting and protection for superb finish.

3- Comes as a complete package with super quality decal, no need to search for other parts to complete your restoration.

4- Includes an instruction sheet for easy cutting, moreover as you can see in one of the photos the cut lines are marked with blue ink on the protective film for no mistake cutting (conservative cut line that might need more trimming when fitting the body, so no over cutting here)

5- Body pieces are individually rapped and labeled. Regards Marwan

Contact marwan:
marwankw@yahoo.com

Face Up!

2008-01-06T18:38:00.004+01:00

A little update...
I just finished the steering assembly; have to tackle the LeMans motor now... :-D

UP: My Mid Project

2008-01-02T10:22:00.003+01:00

Well, well... I spent part of my holidays updating my optima mid virtual model.
Here's the result, after hours of modelling, rendering, and light tweaking. I LOVE the goldshocks!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T20:59:00.003+01:00

One year already that this blog for optimaniacs goes on!
I wish you a great year 2008! and keep sending me nice shots of optima series :-)

Optima House Posters

2007-12-15T10:28:00.002+01:00

Hello fellow optimaniacs!
I finally decide to make posters to sell with some of my Optima House images.
As you can see, they look great in my office :-D
Professionally printed on glossy 260g/m² gallery quality paper.
Size is approximately a DIN A2 60x42cm .
Price is 30 euro, shipping fees will vary according to the country but will be around 15 euro.

Choice between 9 images:

Optima Mid's Shock Tower "Carbon Edition"

2007-12-05T09:30:00.002+01:00

And here's my Turbo Optima Mid Special with my custom made shock stays :)
Nothing exceptional, as you can see, the aim being that they look natural, no purple anodised custom shock tower here ;-)

Carbon OTW-2 for Desperate Optima Mids

2007-11-29T15:44:00.002+01:00

I finally managed to build custom made OTW-2 for Optima Mids!
This is the sweet name for the special shock stays released by Kyosho for Turbo Optima Mids and followers, namely: Turbo Optima Mid, Turbo Optima Mid SE, Turbo Optima Mid Special, Optima Mid Custom and Optima Mid Custom Special. They were made with black FRP, and the bad thing was that they tend to break during a race (mostly the front shock stay)... and therefore the OTW-2 is getting rare and expensive these days on ebay.
Mines are made with 2mm thick Carbon fibre panels, much stronger than FRP or aluminium (even if I prefer FRP for their beauty and authenticity).
If you are interested, I have some spares, so just ask...

My Javelin (runner)

2007-10-17T19:41:00.002+02:00

Everyday I try to run one of my cars. not the shelfqueens of course ;-)
This is my favourite runner, the Javelin (Trinity Monster Horsepower 86, Option House racing clutch 12T, Rocky tires on Turbo Optima wheels, and of course belt drive system instead of the traditional chain).

Franco's Superduper Optima Mid Custom

2007-10-09T21:59:00.003+02:00

Here's a WONDERFUL Optima Mid Custom, owned by the luckiest Kyosho fan of the planet, Franco Gaetan!
Most optimaniacs probably know him for the excellent vintagekyosho website.

OPTIMA MID restoration by fab69

2007-10-07T13:36:00.001+02:00

A few fellow optimaniacs used to send me pics of their cars, and that was great! please keep up the good work and keep sending me your pics! I'll be happy to show your cars to the rest of the optimaniacs in the world! :-D
Here a recently restored Optima Mid, by the french Fab69.
LINK
Photographs by Fabien Sanchez

Optimas caravansary by David Brown

2007-10-02T23:05:00.002+02:00

Here's a long convoy of optima, optima pro, turbo optimas, javelin, lazer (and a losi), sunbathing on the english lush grass...
Photograph by David Brown aka Kamon

AWESOME Avante CG shot by TOM

2007-10-01T10:46:00.001+02:00

Okay, it's actually not an optima related topic, but the CG works is absolutely amazing, so I post this awesome shot! Seen on TOM's blog Virtual garage enjoy the link

BLACK GOLDEN JAVELIN by Sayroll

2007-09-28T12:26:00.001+02:00

Here's a wonderful craqueur job by Sayroll from France: a black orpheus Javelin!!! you can also check his entire collection here:
link
Photograph by Cyril Mund

Kyosho Vintage Ads

2007-09-03T01:46:00.001+02:00

Have you already seen the vintage Kyosho advertisings?
Marwan Alnusif has posted some very rare ones on Youtube...
Thanks Marwan!
Kyosho Turbo Scorpion, Pegasus, Gallop MkII
Kyosho Optima
Kyosho Baja Bugs, Ultima, Optima, Turbo Optima, Optima Mid, Raider
Kyosho Baja bugs, Ultima Pro, etc.
Kyosho Center
Kyosho old race
Kyosho vintage cars

Close-up shot of the Mid's belt

2007-08-14T01:36:00.003+02:00

Optimaniac detail :-D

The Optima Mid Chassis Upside Down

2007-07-30T10:46:00.002+02:00

I did another render of the chassis updated...

Finally! an update...

2007-07-28T21:06:00.002+02:00

I haven't got enough spare time this couple of months, but I'm finally able to post this shot...
I updated the main gear, the belt, the upper deck and its supports...

KYOSHO CATALOG SCANS

2007-07-16T20:56:00.001+02:00

Due to a high popular demand, I found useful to present a selection of my old vintage Kyosho Catalog scans.

The Optima House proudly presents:

CATALOG 86

CATALOG 87

BLUE MID by Sayroll

2007-07-16T16:17:00.001+02:00

Well well well... it's been a long time!
Here's the shot of the day, a blue Mid full options by the french Sayroll!
BIG bumper, blue wheels to match the body art, definitely an interesting work!
Photography: Sayroll

Check this awesome site, mate!!!

2007-06-07T08:21:00.002+02:00

Chap Tom finally launched a sister blog, named Virtual RC Garage (VG), which showcases his outstanding work!!!
Here's a snippet of Avante tires!!! No, it's not a photograph... :-D
LINK
Image by Thomas Delcourt

A step forward...

2007-06-04T11:31:00.002+02:00

Once again, gearboxes, with FRP parts this time! The FRP plates' side is very difficult to reproduce accurately, so I'll need to create a special texture map with Photoshop... ;-)

The Project keeps going...

2007-06-02T22:16:00.002+02:00

Until yesterday I was very busy, but ...
Here's the rear gearbox!!! :-D

My New Project...

2007-05-31T20:01:00.002+02:00

Here's a pic of my new project.
Can you recognise it? :-D
I LOVE this chassis!

Wanna OT-30 Tires?

2007-05-26T22:15:00.001+02:00

A french optimaniac managed to keep ALL THOSE ORIGINAL OPTIMA TIRES neat and clean during all these years!!!
One word: AMAZING!

My life BEFORE the Optima...

2007-05-24T08:40:00.002+02:00

Here's a shot of my very first car... I was dreaming of cars like the Tamiya Frog, Kyosho Tomahawk, etc. but I was 13 and couldn't afford it, so my mother bought me a Tamiya Mini-4WD Ranger (unless it was a Toyota Pickup?!), probably the first generation of mini-4WD, so popular worldwide today. I loved this little machine but I wanted a car looking more like a buggy, so I managed to transform it into a "tomahawkesque" form...
You can see I was obsessed by working suspension, a thing mini 4WD didn't have, and I even succeeded to achieve double wishbone suspension for the front hub!!! :-D The rear being a simple coil over a swinging chassis, with a scotch tape as hinge... All the hinges are in tape btw, even the front suspension! I didn't have the tools to make bolt & screw technology, so everything is made with cardboard, glue (Bison Montagekit and Superglue-3), cotton bud and Bic pen for the shock damper, some wire for the rear spring and the shock axle, and tape.

The Best Shocks in the World

2007-05-17T01:44:00.001+02:00

For me anyway... :-D
These Option House Gold Pressure Shocks still have a huge success nowadays, and are a necessary ingredient for racing of vintage Kyosho buggies like the Optimas and the Mids.
They were available as short, medium, and large sizes.
These are actually at the origin of my recent optimania-sickness; I rediscovered them on Ebay two years ago and happened to win them.
Well,... I had 4 wonderful shocks but still... no car. :-)
So I HAD TO BUY a Turbo Optima!!!
and a Javelin... and an Optima... and a Mid... and... and... and so on, and so on...
Find them NIB on Ebay has become very difficult though. ;-)

MIDS waiting for some colours...

2007-05-15T12:45:00.002+02:00

Well... TOM and I have a lot of mids to paint... but no time to do it :-D

The Digital Optima Project - Part 2

2007-05-14T20:05:00.002+02:00

Then I modelled the famous 5 spoke wheels and the (now) super rare tires... These are definitely the optima's signature!!!

My DIGITAL OPTIMA Project - Part 1

2007-05-10T16:07:00.002+02:00

Well... It's a very old project but it deserved to be presented on this blog.
Two years ago, I decided to model an Optima from scratch in glorious 3D.

I began crawling thru the web looking for material. I didn't own any optima in 2005, so I modeled everything from manual's scans and pics found on Ebay... and from my own rememberings (I had a Javelin when I was 15).

The only app I was confident with was SketchUp v4 (by AtLast Software at that time but now property of Google). So I modelled everything with that pretty straight-forward yet powerful 3D soft.

Does Size Matter?

2007-05-07T08:24:00.001+02:00

Here's the newest addition to the Wonderful Collection of Jürgen Hach; the original Optima, the Gold Optima and its little brother, mini Optima.
LINK

The longest order ever...

2007-05-03T12:30:00.002+02:00

Finally!!!
I ordered these bodies to Keith (aka Kamtec) in december 06, just after launching this blog...
I've read lots of bad comments on forums everywhere about Kamtec's delivery speed, but I was thinking I knew how slow Keith was for making and shipping the replica bodies (I had ordered him several ones in the past), BUT this time, it was REEEEEEEEEEEEALLY SLOW (:-D)...
Keith laughed when I joked I was hoping to get the bodies within 3 months, but I was finally right ;-) and even far from reality (5 months).
I've always believed Keith would take his time but finally deliver the bodies... Nobody believed me on the forums, but, hey! The truth is that Keith always respects his orders... even when the clients have FORGOTTEN they actually ordered him anything... :-D

The Javelin Flag

2007-05-02T22:47:00.002+02:00

Yipeeee!
I finally got the famous Javelin Triplé!!!
The orange rollcage NIB is very difficult to find nowadays, but what can I say about the yellow and the green ones?! They are sooooooooo rare!!!

Gold Anodised Chassis for Optima Mid

2007-04-26T00:15:00.002+02:00

I've decided to sell my precious gold anodised chassis OT-91 for Optima Mid.
This part is not the same as the OTW-3 bronze anodised one for the Turbo Optima Mid.
It matches beautifully with the Option House gold shocks, and a Le Mans 480Gold motor.
Link here

Who designed the Optima?

2007-04-18T17:37:00.002+02:00

The father of the Optima ligneage is Akira KOGAWA.
He was engaged by Kyosho when he was 18 and his first design was the Blizzard.
He is the designer of most of my beloved Kyosho cars, the Optimas of course, but also the Ultima (1st gen), the Mids, the Scorpions and Tomahawk (dunno if he did also the gas-powered Assault and Advance), the Maxxum FF and the on-road Plazma and Fantom. His last work for Kyosho is supposed to be the Maxxum and the Burns (dunno if he did the Stinger series neither...).

Mr. KOGAWA moved to the USA in 1988 hired by HPI (4 people at that time), and is now the head senior designer of the R&D department by HPI Racing USA, and codesigned the original RS4, totally designed the Micro-RS4, his latest work to date being the already famous Baja 5B, a buggy ressembling the Ultima and the Turbo Scorpion mixed together, but at scale 1/5...

What impressed me is that he actually designed the Optima when he was 23 and the scorpion at 20!!! he's a GOD for me!!!

Please note that I wrote his age next to each of his designs in the little black triangle.

Gold Optima Pro by Tomomimi Shimon

2007-04-16T22:00:00.001+02:00

Here're several cool shots of an Optima Pro by Tomomimi Shimon from Japan.
When you look closer, you'll see it's FULL GOLD CHASSIS + ARMS + SHOCKS... :-D
Photograph by Tomomimi Shimon

LINK to his website
(click RC at the bottom)

Vintage Kyosho Museum by F2G78

2007-04-09T12:13:00.000+02:00

Another Vintage RC museum, by a crazy french chap of mine, François de Gliniasty.
Photograph by F2DG78

More pics here

Javelin Hero shot

2007-03-24T11:41:00.002+01:00

Here's a new Javelin shot, my preferred of the Optima series, but you know that :-)
I was very busy these weeks, so I left my blog a bit, no time to run, too much work...

Ernest Wei's Mid Custom (CHN)

2007-03-16T16:43:00.001+01:00

Here's a cool Optima Mid Custom (long wheelbase Mid), fitted with gold shocks (unless it is a Turbo Optima Mid Special with Mid Custom Special wheels?)! One marvel of this car is its silent transmission, very smooth and reliable!
Photograph by Ernest Wei

Jürgen's Kyosho Collection (DE)

2007-03-12T20:01:00.001+01:00

Here's an remarquable Kyosho vintage collection!
Jürgen Hach (and his wife Antonia) are perhaps amongst the most famous kyosho vintage resellers of Ebay,
( better known as codename '166460')! I just realized he had a very complete collection of my favourite cars (Optima, Javelin, Turbo Scorpion, Turbo Optima, Rocky, Turbo Rocky, Ultima, Gallop), and as I was seeing his pics, I figured out how maniac he was: every line, every decal, every colour scheme is faithful to the box art!!!
I often see 'box art' (or supposed so) cars bodies, but usually a stripe line or two are missing, or a decal is misplaced, a blue slightly different from the one on the box, etc. etc. BUT Jürgen seems to be a perfectionist!!! His cars could have been the ones kyosho shot to be on the original boxes!
Look at the black line on the bottom of the body! On the box it's hardly noticeable and lot of people tend to miss it, but hey! it hasn't escaped to our eagle-eyed guy!
Amazing.
WE WANT TO SEE MORE!!! :-D
LINK
Photograph by Jürgen Hach

Optima chassis by TC Bullfrog

2007-03-03T09:03:00.001+01:00

Waow!
This is very beautiful! These optima chassis were mirror-polished, and aluminium looks like chrome!!!
Very impressing...
Photograph by Rob Geremia aka Bullfrog on TC

Turbo Mid SE by Titomaxx (FR)

2007-03-02T22:07:00.001+01:00

Here's a beautiful Turbo Mid SE restoration, by Titomaxx
more pics here
Photograph by Titomaxx

Vintage-rc.org gathering (FR)

2007-03-01T08:31:00.001+01:00

I'd like to see this kind of things more often, really!
The fellow chaps from french forum Vintage-rc.org met at a gymnasium in Louvres, France.
Here's a snapshot of Daddy Turbo Optima (Sean Connery) and Junior (Harrison Ford) :-D
Photograph by Tom4
Pics here
More pics on Vintage-rc.org thread:
http://www.vintage-rc.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2107
or on Tom4's website

Razorback/Smocky's Mid Cus SP restoration

2007-02-28T12:43:00.001+01:00

A very clean and beautiful restored Optima Mid Custom Special, by the Vintage-rc.org forum goer Smocky!!!
More pics here

Photograph by Smocky

Optima House Artwork

2007-02-25T20:42:00.001+01:00

Hello fellow optimaniacs! I was so happy with my recent Javelin's shots I decided to make some posters of them.
They look very cool in my gallery... :-D
btw, please tell me if you're interested ;-)
optimaforever@gmail.com

OT-14 for Valentine

2007-02-14T20:05:00.002+01:00

February 14... 14... makes me think at this infamous OT-14 part. The one which get bent sooooo easily with the smallest of frontal accidents. Kyosho seemed to have noticed that, and provided a reinforced OT-14 (2mm thick instead of the standard 1.2mm) with the Turbo Optima. I have one different OT-14 per optima, this is really a very personal part of each car! A kind of signature :-D

OPTIMA HOUSE N°1

2007-02-11T12:00:00.001+01:00

Here's my first attempt at integrating two things I love: modern architecture and Javelins. I love the sense of space, and plays of light of this house... not to mention its remarquable location, on the top of a cliff, above the sea.

POLI HOUSE
Architects: Pezo Von Ellrichshausen arquitectos
Situation: Coliumo, Chile
Link

GOLDEN ROLLCAGE JAVELIN

2007-02-04T10:56:00.002+01:00

Here's my latest fantasy about Javelins. I had too many orange Javelins, so what if I painted the rollcage in, say, gold? Gold chassis Javelins with gold motor guard and gold sideguards are relatively common (though rare and desirable), but I'd never seen a golden rollcaged Javelin... I left the original aluminium parts in their natural colour, to create a constrast with the gold cage. I kept the regular red shocks as well. Gold on gold would be too much. :-D
ah! notice I don't like kyosho body pins (I prefer Tamiya ones), but it's even better without any!!!

Duc@t's Turbo Optima in Action!!!

2007-02-03T12:29:00.001+01:00

Wonderful action footage from France! I can feel the raw power of the Turbo Optima on this uneven, very hard dirt (the Carol Circuit, actually a 1/1 pit-bike track), it's really amazing! The driver and owner, Duc@t from the french Vintage-rc.org forum, is a Tamiya freak but recently decided to try an Optima. He says he was astonished by the car's behaviour! :-D Thanks Duc@t for the pics!!!
Photograph by Pierre Vercambre

LINK

THE JAVELIN FAMILY

2007-02-02T21:32:00.002+01:00

Today is a special day. 20 years ago, in 1987, I touched for the first time the box of my Javelin. I was hoping for several weeks that my uncle came back from Japan with the big orange box. It must have been a pain in the *** for him to travel in the trains, airport and plane with a luggage that huge... not to mention fragile! It caused my first love for the Javelin and even 20 years after, I can remember the precious instant when I discovered the beautiful box art after removing carefully the wrapping, my joy when I lift the cover off and discovered the superbly crafted shocks, tires, wheels under the blisters... aaaah sweet memories...
And yes, the Javelin was released in April 86 so this year we are celebrating its 21st anniversary...

STINGER: the Gas Powered OPTIMA

2007-01-26T15:51:00.002+01:00

Today my chap Tom finally ran a Stinger MkII, for the first time in his life! Why am I posting a Stinger on an Optima blog? well... because if you look carefully at a Stinger, you'll soon realize that it shares 50% of the parts with the standard Optima! So the Stinger is the base of the Stinger MkII, which became Burns, which eventually became the now famous Inferno... with the success we know for Kyosho (6 times IFMAR world champion)! It's also the first gas-powered car we run in our office's small courtyard... and I can tell you it's noisy as hell!!! not to mention its gas perfume :-D It's like a living creature, the engine litterally breathes!!!
And for the details sake, this Stinger MkII is fully equipped with Option House Gold Shocks, 100% ballraced and driven by the famous belgian driver TOM :-D
Photograph by Thomas Delcourt