Tamiya released the first photo of Hotshot II Blockhead Motors Edition: a new version of the legendary Buggy Hotshot II which debuted 1991. The original kit is very popular among collectors so if you want to get your hands on this new edition designed by our friend Jun Watanabe is better to pre-order.
A light jacket is now available in the popular TAMIYA x JUN WATANABE collaboration product. Designed by JUN WATANABE, who has produced numerous hit products at ZOZOTOWN. Made of polyester material, it is light and soft to the touch with no lining and is comfortable to wear.
We, at Hobby Media, are super happy to announce a new product designed by our friend and columnist Jun Watanabe!
Yes! Tamiya has released a special version of the legendary Wild One: a 2WD buggy that has been a hobbyist favorite for years! The Japanese company is celebrating the Wild One with this special release with a twist: the sticker set is designed by Jun’s brand “BLOCKHEAD MOTORS“.
Hello. I’m Jun Watanabe. In my last column, I wrote about my first encounter with an RC car more than 30 years ago. Despite being a boy with a special admiration for Tamiya, the first RC car I got was Yokomo’s Dog Fighter. Because I was his beloved child, my father, who loved RC cars more than me, wanted to give me a higher-performance RC car. However, I couldn’t find it in myself to be satisfied. To me, the RC car to have was one from Tamiya. Nevertheless, I decided to play with the Dog Fighter (to be fair, this difference in understanding is so common between parents and children. It’s likely I myself, since becoming a father, have made this same mistake). From that day, I trained my Dog Fighter for about a year. The body was painted yellow by the previous owner, and it was a bit dusty since it was second-hand.
Then, one day, I finally got a Tamiya RC car. The model was a Hot Shot 2—my first Tamiya, which I will never forget. It stole my heart with its cool shape, which was also slimmer than the original Hot Shot. Every morning, I would charge it before going to elementary school, and when I came back, it would be finished. It’s hard to believe, since these days charging takes 15 minutes or so, but back then, it took eight hours. As soon as I came back from school, I put the fully-charged battery in my Hot Shot 2 and ran out to the farm road behind the house. It was a long, unpaved, dirt road that led to a tobacco field. I played with this RC car every day surrounded by farm landscapes, the cries of crows, and a sun setting into the forest.
I’m Jun Watanabe, and from now on, I’ll be writing this column for Hobby Media. I’m a designer currently living in Japan. If you’re an avid Tamiya fan, you may already know my name. I designed an RC car called “Hornet by Jun Watanabe”, released by Tamiya in 2012. It’s Tamiya’s classic Hornet design, adorned with an unforgettable polka-dot pattern and a devilish purple and pink flare. Of course, there is a reason I designed Tamiya’s classic Hornet with such an intense colour pattern—but I’ll save that story for later.
The design of that Tamiya Hornet was a one-time project, but I have other ongoing works with Tamiya, including a collaborative line of t-shirts, nylon jackets, and bags. Although it’s not often—about once a year—I continue to work on exclusive designs for Tamiya.