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Taiyo Jet Racer 4WD
SOLD: AU$225 on 21st April 2015
Scale: 1/14
Type: Ready To Run
Year of release: 1987
Condition: Excellent. Clean. 100% Working.
Description
After the success of the Jet Hopper, Taiyo continued to release a series of faster and more capable 1/14 scale buggies in the late 1980s, such as the Jet Fighter and the Jet Racer. The Jet Racer was their top model – with it’s twin motors and 4WD transmission.
This Taiyo Jet Racer is an original first release Taiyo Jet Racer from 1987. This example is excellent, 100% working and extremely clean. In many respects this car is “near new” with only minimal usage, and barely any sign of tyre wear. There are only a few light scuffs underneath – and one little raised edge of the car’s battery lid has chipped off. But the lid is otherwise excellent with barely a scuff.
The car is very clean, and has been tested by carefully holding it aloft (not on the floor) and running the wheels for about 60 seconds just to confirm all functions. It is 100% functional and “like new” in operation.
Underneath, there are some light scuffs along the bumper, and nothing much else. The gearbox area has barely a mark, and being the lowest point beneath the car, this is a sign of very little use. The car’s body has some small scuffs and bits of edge wear. Overall though, it’s minimal. All decals are present. This car presents extremely well. For some reason, it has been really hard for me to locate clean Jet Racers over the years, and this one is without doubt one of the cleanest and most “shelf-worthy” that I have come across.
The box has wear to edges, and a couple of small edge tears, but it still presents quite well and is structurally intact. Overall box condition would be a 6 or 7 out of 10 in my book. The polystyrene base is in decent shape.
The early “black box” Taiyo buggies are among my favourite ready-to-run vintage R/C models, due to their high quality, great looks and real sponsor decals. All early Taiyo models were Made In Japan. This is a rare chance to add a very clean, highly presentable Jet Racer to your collection – one of the nicest you will find.
Please see the photos to understand the condition. Feel free to contact me to find out more.
History
The Taiyo Jet Racer is a 4WD off road racing buggy featuring “Turbo” and twin motors, and was released in 1987. This car was the bigger brother to the Jet Fighter (which was 2WD) and was one of the next buggies released by Taiyo after the immense success of their “Jet Hopper” in 1986. The Jet Racer is a more sophisticated vehicle than the Jet Hopper or the Jet Fighter, featuring twin motors and a top speed of around 25km/h. Much like the Jet Fighter, it’s looks were inspired by real racing buggies, and it features many real world sponsor decals. The Jet Racer was Taiyo’s most premium buggy for it’s time. In Australia, it was sold under Metro/Taiyo branding as “The Bullet”.
From 1986 to 1989, Taiyo released a number of realistic, ready to run off road buggies starting with the Jet Hopper, and all featured classic 1980s buggy looks, and were a lot of fun to drive – not to mention being surprisingly quick at their top speed. These early Taiyo releases came in stylish black boxes, and are quite sought after today by fans of ready-to-run R/C models. Being ready to run, they were all too easy to take out of the box and play with, so hence it’s difficult to find any examples in clean or brand new condition today.
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