Tomy IR Q-steer

frizzen · Post by **frizzen** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 12:34 pm

The people at Takara Tomy just reccently released the Q-steer. Think along the lines of a Digi-Q, but BETTER.

IR controlled but instead of tank steering through the rear wheels, it has a Bit style steering rack up front, front spring suspension that looks like it conforms better than a Bit... Out back it seems to have a Bit style rear axle, what looks like a Bit size swapable motor, and what looks like Bit idlers...

Full function with 4 controler "frequencies". Looks like there are drivers available for some IR equipped cellphones to control them. Turbo booster. Oh yeah, and they have a Penny slot in the rear for the wheelie action of the Penny Racers we all loved while growing up.

http://www.akihabaranews.com/news-12574 ... oro-Q.html

Bodies offered:
- Toyota bB,
- Nissan Skyline R-34 GT-R,
- Mazda RX-8,
- Subaru 360,
- Subaru Impreza WRX,
- Honda Stepwagon.

And it looks like there may be a few other bodies available.

I don't know about anybody else, but I know one thing I want for christmas!
-
And I also just found out about a "TOMITECH Aerosoarer" that looks interesting too.

sg219 · Post by **sg219** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 1:20 pm

Here's a link to the same vid, but loads alot faster.

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech ... er-choro-q

Cool shit. I want a WRX!!

Tuner1989 · Post by **Tuner1989** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 1:22 pm

Finally something new!

richh · Post by **richh** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 2:48 pm

I have the wrx and rx-8 coming in a week or so (won them in an ebay auction). Pictures and review will be up once I get them.

Namuna · Post by **Namuna** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 3:22 pm

Sorry to piss on the parade...But these things just look like a Turbo Bit, made smaller via using IR electronics vs Radio. At least with the DigiQ, though it was tank style steering, it WAS digital proportional, these new ones ain't.

richh, how much did you pay for the ones on ebay? The ones I saw on ebay come to like over $33 each (which, IMO, is not worth it).

I will say though, if these cars (or at least the guts of em) could be had for $15 and under range...Then it WOULD be worth it, to frankenstein into a Bit or some other custom and have lots of room leftover for batteries and such.

honda_s2000 · Post by **honda_s2000** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 5:42 pm

actually I like the look of these, the turning radius looks great, and the smoothness of turning. The 2-speed is a good function, there's many choro-Q bodies around that will fit, since the motors and gears removeable/upgradeable, we might have some decent micro rc's back on the market! They seem very smooth, the front suspension looks to work well enough, and i'm happy about the small size too!

It’s just 1.5 inches (40mm) long

not too small, but small enough to race around on your table or large desk, especially with the 2speed

beanoman · Post by **beanoman** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:21 pm

not only is the car 1/64, but the controller is too!

crazydave · Post by **crazydave** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:34 pm

Namuna wrote:Sorry to piss on the parade...But these things just look like a Turbo Bit, made smaller via using IR electronics vs Radio. At least with the DigiQ, though it was tank style steering, it WAS digital proportional, these new ones ain't.

That's what I was gonna say. I'm not exactly jumpimg up and down over these, because I don't see the huge advantage over a bit, besides the cuteness, if you're into that.

If the price is not too bad, I'd probably get one though, because the front suspension seems effective, and it seems to be good for tiny areas. The penny clip is the seller for me though.

richh · Post by **richh** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:48 pm

Namuna wrote:Sorry to piss on the parade...But these things just look like a Turbo Bit, made smaller via using IR electronics vs Radio. At least with the DigiQ, though it was tank style steering, it WAS digital proportional, these new ones ain't.

richh, how much did you pay for the ones on ebay? The ones I saw on ebay come to like over $33 each (which, IMO, is not worth it).

I will say though, if these cars (or at least the guts of em) could be had for $15 and under range...Then it WOULD be worth it, to frankenstein into a Bit or some other custom and have lots of room leftover for batteries and such.

i paid $45 shipped for the two.

yea, these aren't the second coming, but they are new, a bit different, and for someone who has to have at least one of each, that's good enough for me

.

Bird · Post by **Bird** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:02 pm

They are proof of a pulse...

...true micro isnt dead.

Right about now, that's good enough for me.

beanoman · Post by **beanoman** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:55 pm

So is there something really, really, close to dead that micro rc can be compared to? lol... Hopefully the micro-t gets us some attention to the general rc community(hopefully, again, in a positive way)

I do like these, and want to get a good looksee at the front end, could be intresting... also, didnt see anything mentioned about a charger? Or was I not paying attention?

betty.k · Post by **betty.k** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:58 pm

these don't interest me too much but maybe we'll have a fresh source of motors and batts again, i'll be curious to see if there are upgrades available.

frizzen · Post by **frizzen** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:23 am

I'm not positive, but I think these use a LR44 or similar disposeable battery.

The quoted controller range is crap. It looks like each of the cars can only run on 2 of the 4 "frequencies", an A+B chassis, and a C+D chassis; the tx can send on any of the 4. And it'll probably be a couple weeks before there is anything definately known about them, just like the hype with the Bits when they first came out; hell I still see bit clones come up for sale that say there's a capacitor in the car that is what gets charged up by the remote to provide their power.

Yes, I realize that these are STILL not the perfect scale full-propo highly modifiable vehicles, that cost under $5 which we've all been lusting for since 2002, but remember the last new thing we had to get excited about was the "Cars" movie line of ZipZaps. We're (I'm) grasping at straws, but these are atleast some pretty interesting looking straws. Yes, the ones on ebay right now are hideously over-priced, but digging into the japanese hobby sites these seem to be pretty close to dirt cheap (1,219 yen - or under $11 + whatever shipping) over there and the ebay guy is just price gouging. Though a full function Penny-Racer might just get some new people interested.

Piss on the parade all you want, it's atleast proof that there's still somebody in an international maufacturing firm who cares about these, and we're not just standing around jacking off until we all run out of the few toys we managed to hoard way back when they were popular.

honda_s2000 · Post by **honda_s2000** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:39 am

frizzen wrote:atleast proof that there's still somebody in an international maufacturing firm who cares about these, and we're not just standing around jacking off until we all run out of the few toys we managed to hoard way back when they were popular.

This is what I care about!

honda_s2000 · Post by **honda_s2000** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:24 am

This post could get pretty long, but here goes.

First up check out the official webpage for them :
http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/qsteer/

Apparently, they are selling out in japan!

This info posted by "camaro7" on MRCC (See, some good stuff does come out of that site once in a while!)

Yes, these are made by Takara Tomy. I was lucky enough to get over to the Tokyo International Toy Festival and see these a few months back before they were released and have been waiting ever since. I got to give them a test run at the toy show and was really impressed. These were just around the corner from the new ChoroQ cars, so they’re from the same family for sure. The bodies look almost identical to my ChoroQ cars, and if you check out the ChoroQ website there’s a link to the QSteer page. I haven’t tried putting a ChoroQ body on one of these yet, but I may before too long.

As for the steering, it looks like its actuator controlled. The instructions that come with the QSteers show that a big part of the steering system can be removed, so it may be another area for future customization.

Now that I’ve had some time to really give these a good run around the house I still love them. I do wish the turning radius was a little sharper, but who knows what the future holds. The instructions say that the IR receiver should work up to 1.5 meters if you are at the right angle, but I think it’s better than that. I’ve run mine from room to room, and as long as I have a clear line of sight it keeps cruising with no problem.

There are two types of QSteer sets being sold. One is the car and controller and the other is just a car with special paint job. So finally, the lineup of cars:

Released at the end of September (Car with controller):
Skyline GTR 34
Subaru Impreza WRX
Mazda RX-8
Subaru 360
bB (Sort of micro car)
Step Wagon

Supposed to be released at the end of September but didn’t make it (Car with special paint job):
Skyline GTR
Subaru Impreza WRX
Mazda RX-8
Subaru 360
bB (Sort of micro car/van thing)
Step Wagon

October release (Car with controller):
Skyline GTR 32
Estima

November release: (Car with controller)
Mitsubishi Evolution 8
WagonR RR (Sort of micro car/van thing)
Special edition set with two cars painted in their racing colors (Skyline GTR 32 and GTR 34)
Special edition set with two cars painted in their racing colors (Subaru Impreza WRX and Mitsubishi Evolution

That’s all I know for now. After a quick trip to the toy store today I noticed these were cleared out. One poor soul was standing staring at the void on the shelf where the QSteers once were, holding a brochure for them.

Just checked the "official" website for the QSteers and there was a nice update. I caught a few screenshots and did a little translating.

Found a few more pictures today and thought I would share them. Sorry to say, but I had to cut them down a lot so I could post them. I think they'll give you an idea of what to expect in the future.

The sets pictured below will be sold with two cars and controllers for around $30.00, I think.

Hmm, look impresive IMO, not to mention all those choro-q pullback bodies should be able to be used, i'll be picking up one of the starlet bodies pubejoolz modded then !