Tomy vs. Clone

[BillyBonz]

I just got my second Bit today, a geuine Tomy Supra. So far the clone is a good copy but there are a few things they could have done better.

The most obvious difference is in the chassis. The clone looks very ruff and has areas of flashing from the molding process. The edges are not clean and there are lots of swirls in the plastic. The detents for the steering trim are not defined well as in the Tomy. I read that companies making clones make copies of parts from the originals and use cheaper materials and processes. I believe this is the case here.

The electrics seem to be very well done on the clone. Range and steering seem to be a close match. I worked for 8 years for Lucent Tech. building electronic circuits, all surface mount stuff, and the quality of the clone is right on par with the Tomy. Not surprising since the Pacific rim is huge into SMT manufacturing, I was more concerned with the circuit design more than anything. So far perfomance is a dead tie. We'll have to wait and see how durable they are.

There was one thing on the clone that was better and that was the heat sink\motor clip thingie. The clone's sink fit better and had a more positive lock to it. However, the gears had more slop in them than the Tomy and the steering wasn't as crisp as the Tomy. I can't rate the speeds of the two since the clone has a 3.0 and the Tomy has a 1.0. I will say the 3.0 sure sucks the battery down quicker or perhaps the clone is an energy hog. Have to wait til I get a 3.0 in the Tomy to know for sure. I think I'll get some 2.2 motors and give that a try first.

All in all, my clone was a good purchase. I like the Tomy better and for a few bucks more I will stick with the real deal.

I bought the Lxx Hobby Char G Blue Skyline clone for $27.50 and the Tomy Silver Supra was $33.01 both purchased on eBay.

[323iT]

i was thinking they used the same circuit components... would that be possible?

[BillyBonz]

Yes, the board on the clone is about the same. The glass is different between the two. I checked both boards under a microscope at work (same one we use to inspect our circuits) and they match real close. Both boards passed all our standards for component placement and solder quality. Our standards are quite high since boards going into telephone switches have very strict standards and compliances with the FCC.

Gotta love surface mount technology....makes Bits a reality!