MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Love reading this thread.
I have a Wild Willy in the loft that my dad built for me when I was a kid. Used it in the mid 80’s. I always remember that The battery used to Last about ten mins then it’d take off down the road out of control !
This has got me thinking about getting something for me and my lad to have a play with .. he’s just gone 5 so is there anything off the shelf that’d suit him at his age that’d take the odd crash here and there?
He likes monster truck type vehicles.
I’ve had a browse on model sport but I’m finding it a bit of a minefield.
Budget wise I’m Not sure what I’d need to spend - up to about £60/70 maybe?
I want a tank so bad.
It is epic! You can set it move at scale speed which makes it quite menacing, especially with the smoke on and the sound turned up to max. I'll be getting another as soon as stock is available.
@stox, I got one of the Q901 trucks from Bangood for our five year old and it seems to be holding up well so far. With the speed set to the lower setting we seem to be getting about 15-20 minutes of him driving before the battery gives out (so it may be worth getting a spare). I also got some of the oil filled shocks as an upgrade as the stock ones seemed fairly bouncy and like they may make it a little more difficult to control.
+1 for the 901. And the oil shocks. And the spare battery.
Thanks .. I’ll take a look! 👍🏻
It is epic!
Are they not about £600? 😬
RC people seem to veer between total trust, and using the cheapest clone chargers on ebay and charging without a bag, and absolute paranoia and assuming that if you don’t handle it with kid gloves it’ll burn your house down.
I work with them so have some appreciation for their burnyness.
Two danger times.
Just after hard discharge. Normally you're playing outside with your toy of whatever type at this point.
Just after charge. Yeah, well, practices vary. I only charge lipos on a fireproof surface (tiled floor) and never out of sight. As noted, quality of charger varies too.
Older cells are more liable to get smokey.
Storage isn't generally the issue. But. Mine go out of the house.
Question for those that use LiPos. I'm planning on running my WPL C14 on a 2s lipo when it arrives, but may want to get a 10th scale car at some point.
Can anyone recommend a balance charger that does LiIon, LiPo etc with storage charge functionality? Just looking for recommendations that aren't likely to burn my house down and I'm somewhat suspicious of the knock offs from Banggood, eBay and Amazon.
I went for this one and am perfectly happy with it but only done LiPo's so far;
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/overlander-rc6-vsr-80watt-7a-output-ac-dc-lipo-balance-charger/rc-car-products/408440
Actually that leads me to a question; for NiMH batteries do I use the same 4000 mAh = charge at 4 A rule that I do for LiPos? I am used to just plug and play LiMH chargers!
I got a Skyrc S65 from modelsport.
Nimh I think is the same rule but as it’s safe to leave unattended I tend to do much slower.
Thanks, I'd looked at that Overlander charger, it looks to do what I want. I'll take a look at the SkyRC s65 too.
Cheers
rogers guide says: 'While we would routinely charge a 3000mAh NiMH battery at four or five amps, a LiPo battery of the same capacity should be charged at no more than three amps'
i tend to charge under teh max capacity ( ie 3A for a 4000mah - as i do with with LIPOS) as i`m scared of overcharging!
I'd understood you charge at the C you want to discharge at on use. I charge my LiPo and LiIon RC batteries at 1C
Charge at capacity for nimh. The peak detect function on the charger works best at that sort of current.
SkyRC genuine kit is decent quality, I have an imax mini b6 unit which has done well. Also use a Turnigy Reaktor, again, been working fine for a long while now.
I have not had good results from Overlander RC6 series chargers. Two units, both had very short lives. Twice bitten - never again. YMMV.
in a word, no.
charge at 1C *
discharge at whatever
* recent lipos can handle faster charging though the amount of charge you get into the battery drops with higher charge rates
I finally got round to finishing my Impreza shell. Its posed on a TT-O2 chassis for the pics, I know it just looks wrong if its not on gold wheels.:) Subtle window tint delete for the more discerning.
The windows on the decal sheet are almost black, way too dark for me.
Its all about the shells I just build them up and sell them on, I quite fancy a tank.
Escort is next.
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How plentiful are spares of the Q901? I was looking at ftx carnage or maverick Strada MT but these look about half the price. If I can pay less for something decent I would rather!
@mrl, there seem to be a pretty decent selection up on amazon/ebay/bangood (some of them under alternate names as I think there is at least one version of this truck out there that uses a brushed motor) but most do seem to ship direct from china so may take a while to arrive.
I think my oil filled shocks took between two and three weeks arriving a couple of weeks before Christmas.
I finally got round to finishing my Impreza shell. Its posed on a TT-O2 chassis for the pics, I know it just looks wrong if its not on gold wheels.:) Subtle window tint delete for the more discerning.
The windows on the decal sheet are almost black, way too dark for me.
Its all about the shells I just build them up and sell them on, I quite fancy a tank.
Escort is next.
Work. Of. Art. 🙂 How long does it take you to put a shell together that beautifully?
SkyRC genuine kit is decent quality, I have an imax mini b6 unit which has done well. Also use a Turnigy Reaktor, again, been working fine for a long while now.
I have not had good results from Overlander RC6 series chargers. Two units, both had very short lives. Twice bitten – never again. YMMV.
I think I'll go for a SkyRC of some description. Thanks
It depends on the variant, some take days..
This one for example, not easy.
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Those shells are works of art. I would have a Lancia right now if I could trust myself not to destroy it.
harry, what's your secret source for cheap tanks? Not that I'm giving in and buying a tank, definitely not.
Howes for the Tiger.
Waiting for http://motionrc.eu to get a Panther G or a Jagdpanzer in. £120 ish delivered.
Ta- I think when I definitely don't get a tank it'll be the T34 I don't get
When I sell my Impreza shell I'm joining the ranks, it was the vid what done it.:)
If I wasn't thinking of getting a tank, I wouldn't think about a T34 either.
That's one dangerous-ass website... F4? Yes please!
Morning all, looking for a bit of RC advice. I know nothing but have looked on with envy for years - no point getting one for the kids, just admit it's for me! I'm pretty sure I'm after a micro-crawler (yup, Seth's Bike Hacks/Berm Peak redirect). I have a reasonable sized garden and forests 5mins away but want to use it indoors too, and affordable to check I like it. I don't want fast as I'll just crash it. I am a fiddler and will probably end up upgrading, so parts availability and model longevity are considerations. Oh, and if it's Land-rover or Landcruiser-shaped it's a plus but crawliness is priority! Cheers, Gaidong
@Merak - on the Subaru does the white make the metallic blue more vibrant? I've seen people on youtube give it a backing of silver then black.
@northenmatt
Yeah, the white and or black/silver gives the blue and lighter metallics a more opaque appearance.
So the internet says anyway.
@gaidong - SCX24. Upgradeable if you want to but small enough to use indoors, and it's a proper little crawler. I have the SCX10.2
@gaidong I'm similar to you, I'd been eyeing up crawlers for a few years but resisted buying anything till last week. I was also tempted by the Axial SCX24 but wasn't quite able to convince myself to buy one. I think that it's the best of the 1:24 scale though.
Personally I thought the 1:16 and 1:18 scale cars looked a bit more suitable for what I was after. They're more capable outdoors but can be used indoors. I get the impression the 1:24 can be used outdoors but are at their best indoors.
The FTX Mini X looked OK, I quite liked the Panda Hobby models but they were hard to find in the UK. The FMS Atlas 6x6 and the Roc Hobby Katana Land Cruiser look cool too. I wasn't sold on the combined ESC/receiver though so I didn't buy anything.
A few weeks back I discovered the WPL C14 and C24 1:16 scale Hilux trucks. They're direct from China so you do have to wait for them, mine hasn't reached me yet. Basically they're cheap, upgradeable, have a great community supporting them and are easy to modify. They come in three levels:
Ready to Run - Regarded as more of a toy
Kit - Better tyres and motor than the RTR and stronger gears
Kit Metal - Metal axle housings, bigger motor with a two speed gearbox, metal hubs, wheel weights, bearings etc. More expensive by quite a way and the axles look like a bit of a challenge to build but it's a good smallish crawler when it's built.
Both the kit and Kit Metal require you to add electronics. WPL do their own kits but I've bought mine separately.
WPL also do the C54 which is basically a Land Cruiser hard body for the C14 and C24 chassis.
I'd also take a look at the FTX Ranger XC. It's another 1:16 scale but it's a ready to run and comes with decent electronics. It's the same as the RGT 136161. I was really tempted by this, but like the idea of building the kit and having loads of upgrades available.
Just thought I'd mention the models I'd considered incase you weren't aware of them.
Another question for tye q901 owners. How are they on longish grass? I have an ecx 1/18 roost which is a desert /stadium truck wheel size and is not great. Cheers
For those doing touring cars and rally cars have a look at Eagle Racing Stealth mounts, they are super strong and don't spoil the lines of your shells with body posts and clips.
my E30
@drewd, I'm liking the look of the WPL set up, especially as you essentially get the Hilux (also like) and Landrover bodykits together. I'll probably go all metal, at the end of the month... If they're sending from China but quoting me in euros (France) does that mean Mr Taxman has his say on arrival? Point 7 on the FAQs says buyer is responsible for import duties (fair enough) but I have no idea what they would be on such an item.
@gaidong They do look like good value kits. I've ordered the C14 all metal kit myself at the start of this month but it's still on it's way to me in the UK. The last tracking update a few days ago said it left Hong Kong airport.
I'm not sure what duty it'll attract, if any. A few people have reviewed them on YouTube but no one's mentioned import duty and this is the first time I've ordered direct from China. I'll post an update when it's delivered.
Same boat, narrowed it down to the FTX Ranger XC or WPL C14-1. Decided to go for the WPL C14-1 RTR simply down to cost, upgradability and looks of it - kit would be nice but short on time at the mo and didn't want to be precious over something the kids could quite easily trash!
Ordered the C14-1 RTR with an extra battery and the softer kit tyres from Banggood, cost about £50 and took a week to deliver with no additional import fees. Overall very impressed with it for the price, kids love it and impressed with just how capable it is. Some of it does feel a bit cheap/plastic but way better than I expected for the money.
If the kids get into playing with it I'd be tempted to order a metal kit version with a couple of upgrades for my self!
@mrl we have been running ours pretty much exclusively on grass so far and it's been fine. Not sure I what you would class as long grass but this has been normal sort of park length type, so a fair way up the 75mm tall wheels but not to the point that they start to disappear.
That sounds good, should be perfect for what I need! Just need to convince myself I don't need a 1/10!
I have a CC01 Landfreeder, with a few mods, but I am getting a twitchy finger about buying an SCX10 clone for a bit more trail/crawl action.
Bought a couple of FTX Outlaws for some lockdown entertainment for myself and my daughter. But now I have an urge for a touring/rally car, probably just for carpark use.
Is the Tamiya TT02 the go to car for this, any others to look at?
Boat update! Managed to get a bigger battery from the bay of E.
The teeny tiny black one is the old one, the blue is the new and improved 1300mah version. Although physically bigger it fits fine in the boat (Volantex SR48 brushed). When I ordered it I'd thought that the plugs might have been compatible - they weren't. Bought a couple of robust looking connectors with trailing cables off of eBay and cut the existing connectors off and soldered / heatshrinked it all up. All tested and working fine. I then cut the connector off the old battery and soldered a new one in so we've got double the run time by swapping the battries. Happy days.
Don't know if we'll be able to do a water test at the weekend as it's frozen solid up here in the North East but will post a vid when we do 🙂
Feeling flush?
Vintage tamia
It went for £909!!
I had an original Rough Rider way back in the day, which I think I gave to my neighbour (also way back in the day) when I snapped the chassis.
Fast forward to about 6 years ago when I bought the re-released version. All of the bushes are now cartridge bearings and the servo operated speed controller is no more. The steering is still a bit iffy as it has the "Servo Saver."
Very nearly as uncontrollable as the original (high centre of gravity, rear wheel drive, all of the weight at the back) but just as much fun as I remember from my childhood.
My WPL C14 kit arrived this morning so I'm looking forward to starting the build over the weekend.
For those interested I ordered it directly from WPL on 1st Feb and it was delivered via Royal Mail today. No additional fees so far so hopefully there won't be any. It was well packaged too so I'd happily order from them again.
pah! not going well. the wheel fell off my absima amt at the skatepark yesterday (iffy jumping technique) snapped the wheel axle!
now i've just driven my classic sonic fighter flat out into the post for the swings in the garden - arrrgh. managed to rip out a bumper screw and cracked one site of teh chassis (its gone before so its the old 20yr repair that failed). I'm not how i'm gonnx fix the bumper mount that robustly! maybe i'll fibreglass on the broken bit and a metal plate screwed over.
more bits arriving for teh Absima (loads available online at the moment luckily) and more fibreglass fixing for the sonic fighter!
that said - half teh fun is in the tinkering anyway! also glad it was me and not the kids that broke it haha!
Wow the pic of that Rough Rider brings back memories. I didn't have one, but my pal Paul did. His Dad had built it up for him and we had brilliant 10 min dollops of fun back in 1980.
@VanHalen - yes, you're right there's lots of fun in the tinkering - or at least there has been for me. Got the Unimog batteries on charge ready for some more destruction testing in some icy and snowy conditions on this purpose built Unimog park. Assuming we can get there when there's no scooters / bmxs / etc on it. Hopefully the -4 temps overnight keeps it clear of folk!
haha! posh cv driveshafts for teh absima have just turned up. along with some ball bearings for the wheels.
hopefully the posh driveshafts/wheel axle A)fit!! and B) will be stronger than the cheap dogbone cast wheel axle. they certainly feel heavier! less play too!
so friday eve will be spent tinkering (with a couple of beers on the side) rather than talking to teh wife - win win!
Some photos from RC adventures in the snow...
FTX Mini Outback 3.0 ordered, with what I hope to be the correct spare battery. Will I be hooked? Will I get bored? Will I spend all my money on RC now I have no more room for bikes??? Come on delivery service!!!
You can only speak as you find but I am so enjoying building the Delta (and it's gonna take me aaaages yet), I'm already pondering what to get next.
Did I see someone mention buying a second-hand Schumacher Cat or similar cheap off of Ebay? Tempted by a restoration job.... 🙂
First hiccup - turnbuckles. 🙁 Both cup ends fit fine on one end, but neither fit well on the other, it's like one end's just slightly bigger than the other, but too big for the cup ends to comfortably fit. I've used oil and a cutting tap, but I'm not confident it's up to spec, manual specifies a 24.5mm gap on the shaft between cup ends but mine are both around 25mm and turning them further doesn't seem to be moving them on any further so, super-tight as they are, I think the threads are fubar'd. 🙁
So - any links to decent upgrade turnbuckles and cup ends for XV-01? 🙂
That £3 on stainless cap head screws was well spent (plus another £4.50 on a Wera 2mm hex driver). Looks much tidier than the Tamiya crosshead ones. On to bag o' bits B tomorrow.
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Wow the pic of that Rough Rider brings back memories. I didn’t have one, but my pal Paul did. His Dad had built it up for him and we had brilliant 10 min dollops of fun back in 1980.
The advances in battery technology over the last 40 years means that it will for half an hour per charge!
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50937903538_856d03d94e_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50937903538_856d03d94e_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2kBd55b ]DSC_0105[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/192115655@N03/ ]Chrispoffer Lawrence[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50937904128_cebeb5e181_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50937904128_cebeb5e181_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2kBd5fm ]DSC_0040[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/192115655@N03/ ]Chrispoffer Lawrence[/url], on Flickr
A Unimog enjoying life in the snow yesterday. The scoot park was predictably still covered in the thick white stuff so we had great fun in a car park - some deep snow and some compacted. Some ice too. It coped pretty well and the wheel problems are now a thing of the past now I've sorted out the hubs. Went through 2 batteries which is a record for us - usually something wheel related breaks!
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Holiday Buggy got a run in the last of the slush today..
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Merak, outstanding as usual. 🙂
Been working, so everything is in bits at the moment......
The 2CV bodies aren't finished, but it's now got a Hi-Torque servo saver, as has the Lunchie and TT02B.
If anyone knows the best way to fit a set of Tamiya 5400 shocks to the MO5, I'd love to know.....they're built, but fit very poorly using the standard step screws. Ball ends? Eyelets? No idea which ones fit.
The Arrma was taken home in a bucket after an experiment with 3S, a parked car and a wet road...fixed now at a cost of less than a fiver, but will be saving the 3S experiments for better weather.
I got the LiPo fear and bought one of these.....
......probably overkill but better safe than sorry. Very impressed, seems like a quality bit of kit.
My mate has bought an Axial SCX10.II kit.
Damn, it's ace. Spendy though.
Soooo, if anyone has an SCX10.II or TRX4 they fancy getting rid of, let me know, eh? 🙃
That Escort looks awesome. I'm sure if I tried to build one it would look rubbish, bodies are definitely not my forte.
Having said that, the 2CV Rally arrives on the 11th March, really looking forward to building it.
I also got the fear about LiPo, the son's boat has 2 lithium batteries and the charging leads look shonky to say the least. I bought the bag below from Amazon look OK
@RustySpanner
There are SCX10 ii clone kits out there for a little over £200, RTR.
Thank you, I'll have a look!
But is a clone kit easily replaceable or upgradeable?
I spent more than I'd planned to on my SCX10.2, and to be honest haven't used it in a while, but that's largely as I've been too busy. When I sort out my house move I'm back on it!
Never had the axial clones myself but supposedly they're pretty much dimensionally interchangable with the real parts. TBH my RGT Outback was about 50% SCX10 by the time I replaced it so interchangability doesn't require perfect equivalence, the things basically hang together by a few bolts and the suspension linkages.
It seems to be that just about anything that will fit an SCX10 will fit a clone, and vice versa. There are 100s of reviews on Youtube and head to head comparisons. Loads of aftermarket parts too - usually aimed at the SCX - but these will fit the clones too. A search for "SCX10" on Ebay returns over 34000 results.
Some of the clones seem to come from the same production lines as the Axials, according to Youtube/Forum reviews.
I am umming and ahhing regarding a purchase of a £200ish SCX clone.
Well in fairness, I did buy a cheap plastic interior from China and it fitted my SCX10 pretty well with a big of tinkering
I've been REALLY impressed at the stuff it will do. I'm sure a clone will be similar. The comparative torque/power to weight vs a full size crawler is unbelievable.
I was planning to enter a scale trailing comp but haven't got around to it, plus Covid has impacted a lot of that
And tinkering is partly why you bought it in the first place...
@RustySpanner I replaced the step screws on my DT03 with ball ends and they fit much better. Step screws were really sloppy even when shimmed. No idea if it makes a practical difference on a cheap buggy, but may well do on a road car.
Just bought a bag of ball ends on eBay. Measure your step screws and order appropriate size.
THere's a few things that you can't really shortcut on- UJs for the steering, good metal gears in the gearbox, that have to be not just solid but well made. I went through a load of steering axles before just getting axial's own UJs and haven't broken one since.
But, you don't even get those in all the axial kits so they're sometimes an upgrade part even if you got the real thing. So I guess the question is how much do you like tinkering and how much do you hate breakages? My scaler usually only gets taken out for long drives so it's got to be reliable which in the end mostly means sticking to mainstream parts and avoiding any unknown quantities. If I was doing short runs or tearing round the garden, I don't mind breakages so much (That's what my big ax10's for)
Thanks folks!
Bit of a rethink on the scaler.....
Went out today with my mate Al, his SCX10.II and my Maverick Scout.
Swings and roundabouts, tbh. The Axial has more torque, a better turning circle, a higher speed and obviously looks better.
However, the Maverick was more capable on the seriously nadgy stuff, has more articulation and doesn't get hung up - better clearance, longer shocks.
The Maverick should in theory have more torque with a 55t, as opposed to his 35t, but it didn't work out like that.
He's using a £35 Absima motor/ESC combo which is bob on. Low speed control and top speed about 8mph.
My stock Maverick has very little torque and tops out about 3mph.
Soooo, I'm going to get the Absima motor/esc, lower the battery tray and find a nicer body.
And save about £500 in the process. 🙂
So much fun this afternoon - really impressed by the Scout and the SCX10.II.
Love to all.
Pretty cool r/c rescue https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2746893135572083&id=146505212039213
I finished this tonight.
It's a fantastic kit, I really enjoyed it.
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Can anyone recommend a mini crawler?
I've no idea about them just want something for messing around with.😁
That escorts looks stunning, makes me want to get one. Would it be possible to fit Led's in the front lights?
That Escort looks amazing! Far too nice to use.
I've decided that our local scoot park (pic further up the thread) is the perfect home for the Unimog. It's all tarmac and the jumps aren't too huge. Great fun.
Unimog pretending to be a spring lamb -
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50992242361_6fd8f4bc8c_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50992242361_6fd8f4bc8c_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2kG1z7r ]Uni[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/192115655@N03/ ]Chrispoffer Lawrence[/url], on Flickr
We also had my son's Xmas boat out at the local pond again. It was about £50 to buy in December and it's really quick - 30kmh according to the specs. It came with a diddy 850mah lipo battery which gives around 6 mins of flat out fun. I got a slightly bigger battery from eBay (1300mah) which gives it around 11 mins. We were slightly worried that the battery could die while it was in the middle of the pond with no way to retrieve it - but it actually has a 'limp home' mode as soon as the power drops so we didn't need to roll up our trouser legs.
Boaty McBoatface -
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50991548088_41f52bf266_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50991548088_41f52bf266_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2kFX1Jd ]Boat1[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/192115655@N03/ ]Chrispoffer Lawrence[/url], on Flickr
@Merak the Axial SCX24 seems a very capable and fun mini-crawler, we've been having a good time indoors and out with ours. There's a few different Youtube vids out there comparing it with the cheaper ones, several of which also look pretty good.
Having been frustrated by the much cheaper RC offroad toys I got my kid I decided to just get the safest bet I could afford this time and went with the Axial.
Thanks, that's the clarification I was after.
I have seen a few reviews that endorse your findings. I agree that you get what you pay for. It seems the Axial is the winner.
Loving the Unimog, I'm going to have a go at one of these. The boat looks excellent!😁👌