TOPIC:

Hi guys,
Is the bigwig easy and cheap to restore?
I know that it is a mythic but fragile tamiya. From the same family as the boomerang. But I don't know if the bid I placed is good or too high. The auction end is for tomorrow night.

Buy a new one?

Expensive and I love restos vntage are funnier

I don't know what the differences between the re-re Bigwig & the original are, but chances are the parts are compatible enough that restoring a vintage one has got a whole lot cheaper/easier if appearance & function are your priorities, rather than 100% originality. The "problem" parts - i.e. the sub-chassis (battery retainer), wheels and steering rack rubber boots all look very similar; the body & decals (though not the fake "radiator" parts) have been available as repros for some time; the Technigold motor (often missing) tends to be widely available ... the only problem I would see if if you want a more original car is the original MSC - these seem to be difficult to find so if you want one, make sure it's on the car to start with.

A re-re kit (though the price seems high) is probably the better option (apart from the motor), but it's easier to justify restoration with man maths: used car + parts + more parts + even more parts + near certaintly of breakeages requiring even more parts > cost of re-re kit, but feels < as the individual prices are smaller, and more importantly there's often not a box that the spouse will notice

thanks Jonny. I didn't win it. The price with shipping was higher than a rere. And largely out of budget. I did a similar resto with my boomerang and Its price was 2x what I paid the chassis and higher than a rere. Thanks

Jonny wrote:

A re-re kit (though the price seems high) is probably the better option (apart from the motor), but it's easier to justify restoration with man maths: used car + parts + more parts + even more parts + near certaintly of breakeages requiring even more parts > cost of re-re kit, but feels < as the individual prices are smaller, and more importantly there's often not a box that the spouse will notice

Jonny I don't think I have ever seen put it put so perfectly That is exactly how my brain has always looked at these things...I don't know if that is good or bad It does mean I have a lot of un-finished projects on shelves and in boxes for what that's worth. The great philosophical debate continues I guess.
Years ago near when I was at the end of my vintage Volkswagen phase I had a friend who normally had always done his own work but one day he showed up at a cruise with a beautiful bug none of us had ever seen before, turns out it was even recently in a custom magazine too. When I got around to asking why did he buy someone else's project he said something that involved your explanation, but the bottom line was he wanted another custom bug and what it would cost in time and parts was more than this already finished one was selling for and he could enjoy it right now....hmmmm ......did make me think a bit about it all. Hard to call it your own in my opinion but I also understood where he was coming from too.....