Nixzero

Hi all! I'm pretty new to the forum, but it's helped me out immensely. I own or have owned an Axial SCX10, a Traxxas Rustler VXL, a Traxxas Slash VXL, a Losi XXX-S, a couple of HPI Savages, and an RC10 T3. As you can tell, I've owned a fair number of vehicles, all with their own unique strengths. However, none of them are truly "unique" in the sense that they all fit into very specific classes. I'm not a racer (yet!), and I just want a decent vehicle that's unconventional and fun to drive; Not a short course truck, or a touring car, or a stadium truck... something in a class all by itself. You can argue about the differences, but at the end of the day, every stadium truck, whether 4wd or 2wd, Traxxas or Associated, still looks like a stadium truck.

I have the most fun with RCs when I'm doing things I could never do in a 1:1 car - huge jumps, bashing through debris, flippin and rollin all over the place... So I really could care less how close a model car looks or handles like a 1:1 counterpart. I understand that many existing RCs are based on tried-and-true track-tested designs, I'm willing to sacrifice performance for sheer fun. I guess I want the gimmicks you'd expect in a toy RC, but in a hobby-grade package. If it looks goofy to you, it probably looks awesome to me!

Basically, I want something that would never be allowed at the local track. Do you guys know of anything that fits this bill or am I just gonna have to build something?

baileysup

what about making a 50 MPH tank! just a thought, but i've never seen anything like that, and it sounds cool. i'm sure it could be done

TIZAO

iTrader: (11)

One of the crazy neighbors came up with the Idea of Building a big bomber type plane then having turrets and have 2 or more teams of 3 or more people fly them and shoot each other down.... (or maybe lasers activating smoke_ for safety)

delta_wiskey

sorry realy quick question since you used to own the Slash VXL. I just bought the 5807 model and was wondering how was it? I can't wait till it comes in but want to know what i am getting myself into. I am going to be doing alot of sand driving. what would you say with your experience?

jabo5779

Hey nix.... seems like you want something really unique but it also seems like you haven't tried the 1/8th buggies yet.... nothing that you have had so far will fly further or bash harder then a buggy, and when you are ready to race a 1/8th buggy is really fun and easy to setup for the track.....

On a second note if you haven't seen the 5t 1/5 scale from losi check that out if you want to go bigger...

If neither of those suit you then I think it's time for you to reconsider land rc and think about air.... I quit the land game about 2 years ago and went into heli's.... worked my way up to 600 size nitro and electrics and did mild 3d which is awesome once you get it... It's new and exciting and if you want a break from the bashing it gives you something challenging and also teaches you a lot more about how the electronics in this hobby work. I quit the heli's recently and came back to land but strictly as a racer. long story short, bashing got boring, heli's gave me something new (but expensive), and racing has now got my by the nuts lol.

Nixzero

Thanks for the quick replies!

A fast tank would be awesome! Google Mattracks. I guess Radio Shack made a Mattracks Hummer, and you can by the treads on ebay, but I'm not sure if they could take the speed I'd throw at it.

Delta_wiskey, the Slash is really fun to run off-road and pretty durable out of the box. With sand paddles tires and a good prepping, it'll make some BIG rooster tails!!

I have a few helis, a Blade CX2 and an MSR, both are too small for heavy payloads. I did take some video with the CX2, but bottle rockets are illegal in AZ, and the ones I have acquired are too big! I have some mini rocket engines I want to try to launch from it one day, I just gotta rig an igniter somehow.

Jabo, you're absolutely right. The 1/5 stuff a bit too expensive for me right now, but I would LOVE to get my hands on a HPI 5B! Its ironic, I started getting into cars because of buggies, I love the vintage RC10s and Tamiya Super Champ/Grasshopper/Frog stuff, but I always end up with trucks! It's inevitable that I get a 1/8 buggy after I do my research and practice tuning on my Savage!

I'm actually trying to trade my RC10 T3 for something else, so far the offers are a Factory Team Mambified RC18T, a clean vintage RC10 Championship edition with box and radio, and a blinged up Aluminum TMaxx 2.5 with 3.3 engine.... I'm leaning towards the RC18, you guys have any input?

Starlite033

iTrader: (10)

Have you seen the VSTank Pro? They come as either an airsoft version or an infrared so you can have the enemy tanks pretend to get hit.

My LHS carries them but only the IR version, been looking for an airsoft one from overseas.

Just thought maybe it might interest you.

blis

The flaw I see is that physics will ultimately turn your dreams to a sad reality. It's either going to be slow and robust like a rock crawler, or it's going to be fast and light weight like an onroad car. The 1/8 nitro buggy is probably the best bet but that is going to require expensive parts to get that kind of power via transmission and into the air and then back down again.

After all we are talking scale models, and what 1:1 car do you know of that will launch 100 Feet into the air and land on the flat land in one piece..

Maybe buy a MotoX 250 2 stroke, juice it up with some nitro, hop on it and see if you're up to it!

Nixzero

I would love a dirt bike or ATV, but I don't have the space- hence the RCs! 'm well aware of the performance trade-offs involved, I just thought it would be fun to have something unique.

Here are some models that caught my eye:

-Dumas Swamp Buggy kits - perfect for when the park is flooded
-Airsoft Tanks - If there's one that can take moderate bashing...
-XTM Rail - I heard bad things about it, though
-Tyco RCs (Terrain Twister, Rebound, etc.)

Nixzero

So, I've been looking around more, and while there are a few unconventional models out there (Kyosho Blizzard, military vehicles, etc.), most of them are going for scale looks, and wouldn't be very much fun to drive (or maintain). All of the "basher" vehicles that I've found are just beefed up racing vehicles (The Rustler is just a beefier RC10T)

So, it looks like I'm gonna have to build something! I have a few projects in mind, but I'm taking inspiration (and maybe some parts) from toy-grade RCs, so I'm sure I lost a lot of you...

I would really like to build a custom vehicle like a Rebound. It was a 4wd Tyco truck with HUGE tires so that it could keep going if it flipped over. It's currently sold in a waterproof version as the JLX Overdrive. It looks like it would be a lot of fun if it was built well...

RickSlick

How about taking a small light buggy like a Team Associate B4.1 and ripping the motor out and putting a turbine jet engine in it?
You could mount the engine in the center where the battery would go and just strap on the fuel tank somewhere.

Nixzero

A jet propelled car would be a lot of fun for speed runs! I'm more of an electric guy, but I thought about making a car or airboat using an EDF jet engine. The Dumas Swamp Buggies are too cool, but from what I hear even a brushless motor is too weak for it. I was gonna try to use an EDF fan instead. If you apply that same thinking to a car, you get a rocket car!

You know, though, since we're getting crazy here, I could always attach wheels to the airboat and make an amphibious vehicle.

I actually just picked up a Tyco Terrain Twister for $20 on Craigslist. It's a goofy looking amphibious vehicle that uses twin augers, kinda like an Archimedes screw, to propel itself. On dirt, it's slow and hard to control forward, but it scoots when you go sideways. When moving sideways, you can shift the weight of the vehicle to turn. In the water, it's not the fastest thing in the world, but it drives effortlessly. I convinced a buddy to buy one, too, and we have a blast when they flood the park. It's a nice change of pace, and we can't help but laugh when we run them. We can't wait to try them out in the snow or some soft sand!

Scorpirus

Hmmmm an edf propelled car sounds like a neat project. Any ideas on and edf/esc/battery setup for something like that?

I have been thinking about an 8x8x8 Clodbasher for goofing around in the winter using 4 clod axle sets, 2 of those novak esc/dual motor combos and a couple battery packs. Wiring it all to one receiver would be interesting though.