Originally Posted by
chem_fun
Yikes....This hobby takes a lot of research. $700 - 1000 is about the total I spend on everything for everyone. While I know I'd get some descent cars it's out of the question.
As far as priorities....I'm still talking this over with my wife. The current line of thinking is to get a cheap car that will move in the grass and be sure that he's going to like the hobby. Having said that, Bermbuster...you're absolutely correct. If I were to do this "right" I'd spend about $500 on two cars and accessories and I'd be fully aware that I'd be spending more later. I learned a long time ago that it's important to purchase quality. In this case though, I've got to cut a few large corners to be sure that my son is going to keep playing with RC cars/trucks.
JatoTheRipper...great information. I'm glad you feel the same way about research. I was up way to late last night, and found out today that there's still a LOT to learn.
My mother is coming up from STL on the 21st of this month. When I was young I had a crappy toy that ran off 5 AA's. Maybe it will be slightly stronger than the cheap toy my son's got now, and I'll cut the grass.
Hopefully this will give us a better idea of how long he'll stick with the hobby.
Ugh...I didn't even think about the 1/10th being to large for indoors. Our living room/dining room is about 28x20, but we'd need room for all the couches and things if we made a track. The game room down stairs is about 20x15 same story.
If I had to guess, our order of priority would be...
Grass
Dird Road/Asphault
Beach
packed snow/ice ?
indoors
Corn Field
As I write this though, the corn field is empty from about September till May. Though it's covered with snow for a large chunk of that depending on the year. That might be our largest source of excitement.
Is it even possible to get into two worth while cars for "cheap." Keeping in mind he's 7. I'd be more than willing to get a better car in the future once we've worn out or broken most the parts on the first cars
I was looking at the Mini Baja, and the Mega Monster Baja, and more recently the Traxxas Rustler or Stampede seem more in my price range since I'd like to get two cars. I've still got to look into the differences in the VXL models. The High Roller might be an option too.
I'm glad you mentioned the brushless being to fast for indoors, I didn't even think of that.
Would the 1/16 E-Revo even do well in the corn field?
Is this the correct Tamiya buggy? How long are they going to hold up, and what would the suspension and motor cost?
Can't post URL's yet. Ebay Item #360183939124 is that the right Tamiya?
THANK YOU!!!
You could get one RC and share it with your son. That's another option.
Grass is about the worst thing for RCs. It saps power to begin with and you need a large amount of ground clearance to prevent the chassis from dragging. About the only RCs that go well in grass are large monster trucks which are on the expensive end of the RC scale, except for something like a Stampede or High Roller which are relatively inexpensive.
At this point I'm thinking you should get one of the 1/18th scale RCs I recommended. The winter is coming and soon you'll want to be able to run them indoors because there are lots of days you'll be stuck inside. If you get the larger RCs they'll probably largely go unused during the winter because of the snow and you might be bored with them before you even started unless you get a big 4WD monster truck like a T-Maxx or E-Maxx. But any RC, including the 1/18th scale RCs, will run on hard packed snow if it's smooth.
Plus, you have a large driveway where you can run these 1/18th RCs. And the initial cost will be much cheaper than going 1/10th scale if you stick with a Mini-T or RC18T. You can probably get the RC18T dirt cheap since a new version (the SC18) is coming out soon. And Mini-Ts are cheap to begin with. But motors will be something you'll want to upgrade on the Mini-T and shocks will be things you'll want to upgrade on both. A cheap, but faster motor can be had for about $10-$20 while shocks will run you about $25 if you go with 3Racing. If you can find any of the Mini Bajas or Limited Edtion Mini-Ts they come with faster motors and better electronics so they're the way to go. The limited edition Mini-Ts are like the Mini Bajas in that they have a faster motor and better electronics, but with a truck body. One thing to note - Mini-Ts are rear wheel drive while the RC18T and MT are 4WD.
The Stampede would be a better option than the Rustler because the Stampede has more ground clearance. Both would be great first vehicles. VXL is Traxxas's name for their brushless motor system. You can buy the brushed version and upgrade to the VXL or similar brushless system down the road if you feel the need. Your 7 year old doesn't need brushless power!
I doubt the E-Revo or any other 1/18th scale would be good for a corn field. They usually have pretty deep plow marks or tractor tire tracks in them.
Yes, that is one of the Tamiya Tamtech buggies I was talking about. The Hornet, Buggy Champ, Wild Boar, and Hotshot are also offered. I think the Hotshot is the only 4WD one, but they will be more expensive. The rest are rear wheel drive.
The motor and shocks for these should be similar to the prices I listed about for the Mini-T and RC18T - about $15 for a motor and $25 for shocks per vehicle.