Toyota’s full-size Tamiya Bruiser

In a follow-up to my previous article, it appears Toyota UK have continued their cross-promotion with Tamiya by now creating a full-size Tamiya Toyota 4×4 Pickup Bruiser.

Also, a quick update from me about the future of this website…

---

Continuing their earlier cross-promotion effort, Toyota UK have now released a full-size one-off “replica” of the famous 1/10 scale Tamiya Toyota 4×4 Pickup Bruiser, which was first released in 1985. Complete with a bonnet clip, detachable aerial, and more features copied from the R/C model, this full-size Bruiser even comes with a full-size kit box.

Not a bad effort.

It’s all just a one-off promotion piece of course, put together by an Icelandic off-road specialist called Arctic Trucks, together with a local UK model-maker. The vehicle is based on the 2012 remake of the Tamiya Bruiser kit though, not the 1985 original. Which means it actually has the remake toy’s fake sponsor decals – like “Z-Point”, “R.P.M.”, “T.V.A” etc – brands that never actually existed. This is because all of Tamiya’s remakes of their classic kits have left out the original sponsor decals, in favour of cheaper (non-licensed) pretend decals.

The vehicle itself is of course a modern 2017 Hi-Lux, not a 1985 Hi-Lux (like both versions of the toy).

For the record, the original 1985 Tamiya Bruiser R/C kit decal sheet is shown below. Accurately based on real Hilux pick-ups of the mid 1980s, the kit’s decals were originally packed with sponsor logos like “Valvoline”, “BF Goodrich”, “Champion”, “Bilstein” and “Monroe” etc. I know I go on a lot about authentic decals on this website, but – it was precisely those small touches that added to the appeal of the original models.

Anyway, check out the replica in action below. And it’s fun to see some recognition of a model car from the manufacturer of the real thing, as this inevitably leads to some mainstream news coverage as well.

 

All of this 1:1 replica-building seems to be inspired by some earlier, and highly accurate independent efforts, such as the full-size Tamiya Sand Scorcher, Tamiya Wild Willy and Fast Attack Vehicle that were created by car restoration workshops. These creations are truly incredible, right down to the tyres (and the genuine sponsor decals). And they appeared at the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed, also in the UK.

Note: The video below has been filtered by someone else to look “old”, but it is from the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed. It features an interview with Olivier Ellerbrock, perhaps the worlds biggest collector of R/C models, who also owns at least one of the full size vehicles shown:

 
And while we’re on it, there have been many other independent efforts over the years as well, such as this excellent Tamiya Bruiser which is much more authentic to the original model…