R/C model kit cars anyone?

ImagesAndWords

ImagesAndWords

StayblCam.com
Nov 7, 2006
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Scottsdale, Arizona
www.stayblcam.com
I used to be big time into the Tamiya R/C kit cars back in the late 80's. Now I'm thinking of getting a couple of these cool kits for my kids for Christmas.
But - since I've been out of the R/C "scene" for 25 somewhat years, I'm sure a lot has happened since then. After some quick Googling, I noticed there are now tons more brands and stuff you can get.

I'd love to hear some recommendations and tips from guys here who own R/c cars. The kinds of cars I'm primarily looking for are these:
Tamiya America - Off Road Buggies

It doesn't have to be Tamiya, as long as it's a kit that my kids can build from scratch (I don't want pre-built cars). Preferably 1:10 scale and electric, no gas. Also - do some of the newer kit cars come complete with a radio, batteries, etc, or it still common to get all that separate?

Thanks bros....
 


I own many RC cars both electric and nitro and I would seriously urge you not to buy your kids a hobby grade RC kit to build unless your kids are geniuses! If you buy something like a savage X SS kit it is literally nothing more than a box of parts, even the shocks are unassembled. It takes tens if not hundreds of hours of time and lots of knowledge to properly build an RC kit. I built my first kit after owning many RC rigs and even though I could easily repair everything on my rigs the kit was still pretty tuff for me to put together.

You would be best off getting them a RTR rig and then letting them learn how to work on that one when they break it.

Traxxas stampede or Rustler both make excellent first RC's and are inexpensive to fix when you break them.

Feel free to PM me if you have some questions.
 
If you are dead set on a kit then I would recommend getting one of the higher quality ones by losi, HPI, or associated. Keep in mind most kits will run you about 3-400 and in most cases dont include the motor/esc, servos, batteries, radio and transmitter.

A decent kit when completed will be somewhere around the 1k range if built with decent parts but it can easily get closer to the 2k range if you use top of the line stuff.

Also be careful RC's can be very addicting! Here are my two most recent builds:

2012-08-25_22-09-21_396.jpg


2012-08-17_19-49-19_530.jpg
 
there are a lot of electric kits at towerhobbies. As far as batteries that depends on what kind of power you're looking for. I only buy from maxamps.com.
 
Deliguy said:
there are a lot of electric kits at towerhobbies. As far as batteries that depends on what kind of power you're looking for. I only buy from maxamps.com.
Click to expand...


You should try the turnigy nano-tech lipos from hobbyking .... Best lipo on the market and half the price of most others. I have been getting 3s 5000mah 90c for less than $50 shipped!
 
I had a nitro RC car when I was about 13, it was super noisy, messy, smelly and the petrol was expensive. Plenty of fun though!
 
Deliguy said:
holy crap! Okay thats a killer deal.
Click to expand...

Yeah and I have personally ran them against my venoms and maxamps and the power you get from them is like nothing else! I was scared as hell to run them but they have been in a savage flux for about 10-15 cycles now with no problem at all.
 
These pics will give you an idea of how complex and RC kit really is.

These arent mine just some I snagged from another forum I am on:

team_durango_desc410r_v2_3.jpg


team_durango_desc410r_v2_6.jpg


team_durango_desc410r_v2_7.jpg


team_durango_desc410r_v2_4.jpg
 
I've run the turnigy's in helicopters, they are extremely stable and perform just as well as other main stream brands...
 
Thanks a lot for the feedback and tips so far. :)

joshman1204 said:
I own many RC cars both electric and nitro and I would seriously urge you not to buy your kids a hobby grade RC kit to build unless your kids are geniuses! If you buy something like a savage X SS kit it is literally nothing more than a box of parts, even the shocks are unassembled. It takes tens if not hundreds of hours of time and lots of knowledge to properly build an RC kit. I built my first kit after owning many RC rigs and even though I could easily repair everything on my rigs the kit was still pretty tuff for me to put together.
Click to expand...

My kids are 12 and 14 and capable of putting shit together. Having owned and built a few Tamiya kits myself when I was 13, I am aware that they are nothing but a box of parts - but building it is half the fun!! :) Plus, it teaches them building / tool skills besides just playing with the damn things, lol.

joshman1204 said:
These pics will give you an idea of how complex and RC kit really is.

team_durango_desc410r_v2_3.jpg
Click to expand...
Yeah that looks pretty much just like the Tamiya kits I used to build. Seeing those parts makes me want to build again! :)

I am checking out some of the sites mentioned in this thread and might also pm you for specifics.

Oh and... some of the kits seem a bit cheaper on eBay so I might go that route.

Do the newer batteries have better capacity? I remember back in the day, I would charge one for 30 mins and race for like 7 mins, lol.
 
I'm currently hopping up a mini e revo for the snow. Running 3s lipos for the snow with gearing... also putting chains on the tires. Tons of fun, the kids love it.
 
This thread brings back memories. I still have my old HPI RS4 Pro 2 in the garage. One of these days I need to clean it up and get it going again.
 
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