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Note: This build log is excerpted from my web site . You can check there for larger versions of every photo or further reading.

Although the current standard RC scale is 1/10, back in the very beginning Tamiya cars were 1/12. If we look strictly at touring cars, everything was 1/12 scale until the Series C chassis came out in 1990. This fact is easy to miss since the number of 1/10 touring cars since that time so vastly outnumbers the 1/12 cars from before. The first generation of TamTech kits came out in 1986 and continued until 1988. These were tiny 1/24 scale RTR touring cars. Tamiya got excited about smaller scale again in 2006 and resurrected the series in 1/12 scale, this time called TamTech Gear and using the new GT-01 chassis. There were a mix of RTR and kits available. The first four models (Porsche 934, Porsche 935, Lambo Countach, Ferrari GTO) were available either way, but the later Porsche Jägermeister was RTR only and the black Porsche was kit only (though these are both the same body with a different livery). The series has ceased to exist since 2009.

I didn't know anything at all about the TamTech gear series until reading an article about them on Black Hole Sun's web site. I was intrigued, but I was plagued by the same problem that often torments me: discovering something after it is already discontinued. Luckily I was able to find the Ferrari GTO available for a really good price out of Hong Kong so I ordered one to see what this series was all about.

You might expect a 1/12 scale version of a touring car to be a bit more "toy like" than a larger scale, but I did not find that to be true. In fact, this was one of the more complex chassis I've assembled. It has 4 wheel double wishbone suspension, front pushrod suspension, and rear wheel drive using a 370 sized motor. In addition to the mechanical complexity, the kit is fairly deluxe. It comes with full ball bearings and a ball differential standard. The body and decals are even precut. The RTRs in this series used a specially sized small scale servo which is no longer available, so that makes building the kits challenging.

What really makes these models shine though is the stunning bodies. The Ferrari GTO never existed in Tamiya 1/10 scale, so this is the only choice if you want one. The rest of the models in the series are all remakes of classic Tamiya RC touring cars. I painted mine classic Mica red which is not the color recommended by the instructions but has a bit more pop.

With the stock 370 motor the performance is pretty tame. I swapped it out for a hotter motor and now the limitations (and fun) of having rear wheel drive really come out. You need to be on your toes when driving this, but you only need a proportionally smaller space to use it.

The GTO comes in a fairly unassuming little box that is not much different in size than a 1/10 chassis kit. But inside, I was surprised to find the tremendous number of parts. Look at all those plastic parts trees! I'm not sure I have ever seen so many in another model. Part of this is because there are many unused parts which are only needed for other TamTech models. If you were thinking that a 1/12 build might be proportionally simpler than a 1/10, it appears the opposite is true.
The main chassis tub is a single part, but the wings on the side are screwed on. The ball studs you see on top will be used to support the longitudinal front dampers. This kit comes with a pre-assembled ball diff. It feels very odd to me not to build the ball diff myself and I'm not sure why they did it this way. My only thought is that the parts are so small that they were worried people would have trouble or lose parts. I did not open up the diff.
The gearbox is built next. The ball diff sits in the lowest position with an idler gear and a metal drive gear above. The other end of the drive gear attaches to the spur which includes a slipper clutch. The ball bearings you see are included with the kit. Ball diff, slipper, full bearings, you might be starting to get the idea that this is a pretty deluxe kit.
Now the gearbox is closed up and the 370 sized motor is installed. Then the whole assembly is connected to the rear of the chassis along with the rear shock tower.

The drive shafts are very unusual. One end is dogbone style and metal while the interim shaft is plastic. The u-joint is built into the assembly. The right hand image shows the completed rear suspension. The lower arms are solid and the upper links are adjustable.
The front suspension in unlike anything else I've built. It is like a little clockwork mechanism with all those brass ball joints. You need a very particular sized servo for this model. Tamiya no longer takes the TRU-02, so I managed to get a Futaba of similar size. The servo just attaches with servo tape but must be very carefully positioned. It is under the plate in the left hand image. The dual bellcranks are vertical. In the right hand image this assembly has been attached to the chassis tub. You can also see the cranks for the shock pushrods on the side of the chassis.
Time to get the front suspension and steering sorted out. Look at all those links. We have upper suspension links, steering links, and suspension push rods all packed into a tiny space. I really enjoyed building this part. The shocks are the first disappointment in this model since they are undamped. They are well built and sturdy though.
Now the shocks have been installed. You can see the unusual orientation of the front shocks which lie down along the body to keep the front end low. The rear shocks are mounted traditionally. Finally the wheels and tires are installed. This is a rear wheel drive car so there is no prop shaft. The long black line you see in the right hand image is part of a stiffening cage. You need to use fairly small electronics to stash under the driver mount. I used a Hobbywing 1625 ESC, the same that I use in my Dancing Rider. In my opinion, this is just a beautiful, intricate little chassis. I wish I had known about it sooner.

With the rolling chassis done (in the background) it is time to prepare the body. This body comes precut and predrilled so you can start painting right after applying the window masks. The left hand image shows the body after I applied the Mica Red paint. Note that the overspray film is still attached. The right hand image shows what a huge difference decals can make. The decals were actually all die cut which made the application much faster.
This is a beautiful body with great looking wheels and tires. One of my favorite things is the body mounting style. There are no visible mounting posts because they point downward and the body pins go in from beneath. This leaves a very smooth and realistic outer contour.
Lastly I prepared the tiny driver figure. I was quite pleased to see that they included this detail as it adds tremendously to the realism of the model.
There are a huge number of unused parts, more than I've seen in any other model. My suspicion is that all the TamTech GT-01 kits use the same parts trees but different models make use of different bits.

The parts in this model are generally of such high spec that I was really surprised to see friction dampers as standard. While the model doesn't weigh all that much an isn't very fast, the situation was still unacceptable. I was surprised to see that TamiyaUSA still had the long discontinued GB-01 aluminum oil shocks in stock. This is because they are so ridiculously overpriced that no one bought them. Except me. These shocks cost more than the kit. With such a small diameter they don't work exceptionally, but they do reduce the bounce of the chassis quite a bit. The shocks are sized for the buggy Tamtech series (GB) rather than the touring series (GT), but that can be corrected by adding some internal spacers. The picture on the right compares an installed stock shock with a replacement aluminum shock.
The only other change I made was to the motor. The stock 6V 370 motor was just terribly slow. I happened to have a cheap ($11) LaTrax motor lying around so I installed it and found that the speed doubled. Of course this comes with an increase in current draw and a commensurate decrease it run time, but it is completely worth it.

This is an absolutely beautiful car and an equally beautiful model. If it happened to be a convertible it could be right out of Magnum P.I. The body details and wheels are just perfect. The smaller size didn't take away from the detail at all. These photos were taken before the driver was installed. I also later backed the red paint with black so it would be more opaque and the color would not show through the interior.
Here are a couple of pictures next to my 1/10th scale LaFerrari for size and style comparison.

Ttg are very tiny rc. Compact and fun to drive. I noticed an error on the early tamtech serie. They weren't all rtr. All were sold in kit but 2 versions available. With or without radio set in a bigger box. And the f1 serie was rtr 1/14 with a cpr to and different transmitter.

I just installed some lights in my Ferrari 288 GTO and thought everyone might appreciate this picture.

wonderfull!

Great photo, makes me think we should have another go at a TB calendar ...

It's really lovely, just missing Magnum now

(Yes I know the difference between 288 GTO and 308 btw )