An early Mini 4WD, released at the same time as the Chevrolet Pickup 4x4. Hotshot Jr. (June 16, 1986: Racing Mini 4WD) – An early Racing Mini 4WD. Avante Jr (December 15, 1988: Racing Mini 4WD) – Said to be the first appearance of a mini 4WD for serious racing use. Sonic Saber (September 7, 1994: Fully Cowled Mini 4WD) – An early Fully Cowled machine, released at the same time as the Magnum Saber. Nitro Thunder (November 18, 2005: Mini 4WD PRO) – An early Mini 4WD PRO, released at the same time as Nitro Force. Aero Avante (July 14, 2012: Mini 4WD REV) – An early Mini 4WD REV, featuring a new, aerodynamic, and monocoque chassis design. Lord Spirit (August 28, 2021: Laser Mini 4WD) – An early Laser Mini 4WD, featuring a chassis with removable front and rear bumpers, and special clear-colored parts to help with the car's stability. They also produce very high end mini four-wheel drive models in the EVO chassis. These are chassis that have carbon fiber and aluminum components. Other Tamiya produces components for moving toys and models (such as their Fun Craft Series), and also produces kits to make simple robots. Another popular product is the older Mabuchi Motor, which runs in water. In 1960, beginning with the Honda F1 (RA273), Tamiya dealt with many plastic models of Formula One (F1) racecars. This led the company to sponsor Team Lotus in . Since 1976's Tyrrell P34, Tamiya pays royalties to the teams whose cars their models were based on. Because of Tamiya's reputation for quality, they built strong relations with the teams, even to the point where the teams' well-guarded engineering designs (CAD data) were shown exclusively to Tamiya and no other model makers. However, recently this sort of arrangement has lessened, models are based on alternative references (like news photographs), and royalties demanded by F1 teams have risen. Thus, sales of new models have become more difficult in recent years. Other model companies have taken over the F1 market (such as Model Factory Hiro) and now have the connections that Tamiya used to have with current and past F1 teams. Tamiya's 1:48 Mini Military AFV, complete even to the point where it was given weathering, aimed to expand the market for completed, painted models. In order to accommodate that, Tamiya employs about 1,200 workers to make finished die cast models which