What is a Raw Tamiya RC Kit?
In Japan, Tamiya supply Raw kits - the raw kit is just the kit - no radio, battery, charger or speed controller is included in the Japanese kit price.

YES THAT'S RIGHT - the Raw kit as sold in Japan does not include a speed control - whereas in almost every other country in the world it does.  This is why the manual never shows you how to install the speed controller - you always have to refer to the supplement.  The standard kits we offer have a speed controller in them - the RAW kits on this page do not include any type of speed controller.

BUT DOESN'T EVERY CAR NEED A SPEED CONTROLLER? Yes, but the standard speed controller Tamiya supplies may not be what you want.  In the past Tamiya supplied mechanical speed controllers with their export (i.e. UK spec) kits - in reality the cost of this in the kit was around £5 - barely significant even if you didn't use it.  From Spring 2004, all newly manufactured kits (including many re-issues and short runs) came with TEU101BK electronic speed controls instead - this is a very good speed control but you do pay for it in the kit and we have seen kit prices rise as a result as we get newer stock in with the ESC in it.

SOLUTION: Those who know what they're doing and don't want a TEU101BK speed control, simply choose your kit from this list.  You save £15 off the standard kit price and can install your own speed control of your choice.