Tamiya and other R/C vehicles (not just for Christmas)

I picked up one of these for my 3 and 5 yr old. so far very impressed. its made by pandahobby and gets good reviews online. you can switch the power down so it is usable for the 3 yr old, and so far seems relatively robust, and importantly looks like you can fix it if it breaks.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07RKWC9BM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

much more sensible than my axial smt10 to let them loose with

This thread finally got to me – I raided the loft to see what was left of my old collection:

https://imgur.com/a/h75dmT4

Sandscorcher – wrecked

Super Champ – wrecked

Fast Attack Vehicle – wrecked

Mardave Marauder – wrecked….but maybe salvageable…..hmmm….🤔

I really need to get the second shell painted and fitted, that’s just being done a plain red with no spoiler (the one that came with it will go on the original shell).

I have nearly finished my Impreza shell for the XV01 now. I think the Lacia shell needs to be fully decaled to look nice but then I really enjoyed putting on the decals. The Impreza comes with pre cut decal sheets and I actually missed having to cut out the decals in the Lancia.

Managed to start adding camber and toe, I think I got to the point where it can do with a little bit more power.

It’s still running silver can on 3s. Last time I took it out, the motor got red hot. So added a fan to cool and a temperature gauge to keep an eye out on the temperature.

Turns out all it needed was a bit of ventilation. It never went above 30 degrees even when I was absolutely pushing it.

Finished the rolling build of the Absima:

Was a nice and calm build. A few of the instruction pictures were a bit hard to read but easy enough to figure out. Everything went together really well, much higher quality and tolerances than the Tamiya stuff I’ve built so far. They’ve used a few different specs of plastic in different places so bolds well for it being more durable than the Bugsta! Looks really good with the body on too:

Now just to decide on whether to run the standard brushed gearing that is in it now or to fit the metal gears that go with the brushless setup.

I had a moment of weakness after getting annoyed halfway through clearing up my workspace, and accidentally bought a Topacc MN-99 off Gearbest for £35. Just arrived, and it is, well… It’s sort of crap, obvously, but it’s also absolutely incredible for £35. Runs off a pair of 18650 lipos, proper servo, looks nice, decent steering angle… Needs weight in the wheels and the tyres gluing on and it’ll be ready to do some actual crawling. I’ll put a 1040 in it probably as the stock esc is an open circuit board, but already it has a pretty decent aftermarket.

Considering even a year ago £35 bought you an absolute piece of crap from WPL, I am impressed.

I’m very much looking forward to this.

https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/products/tamiya-rc-ford-escort-mkii-rally-pb-mf-01x/

@DT78 how are the kids getting on with it? I have a 3 year old who would love one of these, but there is always the worry of it all being a bit too much at that age!

Awaiting delivery of oil shocks for the Mad Bull. My six year old was playing football with it (as in dribbling the ball and dead ball kicking it with the front bumper) on the shale / all weather pitch at the weekend. Happy days.

@v7fmp they are getting on with it great, with it throttled down it is easily manageable for the 3yr old, he has had a bit of experience with a much bigger truck though! 5yr old is starting to be able to steer it quite well, I set up a track off the ground with various bits of old decking board they have to navigate around.

Obviously the first thing he did was launch it off a 3ft drop, it survived. I reckon the light bar will be the first thing to go on it. The lights are a big hit as it means they can play with it after school when it’s getting a bit dark

@DT78 awesome stuff. thanks for the info. Sounds like I need to get one ordered with Santa!

I’m very much looking forward to this.

https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/products/tamiya-rc-ford-escort-mkii-rally-pb-mf-01x/

The local FB group I’m in has gone nuts for those. One of the local shops has done a deal on them for members and they sold all their pre-orders within an hour! Doesn’t hold any special draw for me though so saved me a few quid. If it was a 6R4 on the other hand…

6R4 Shell

(Sorry)

No you’re not! Prefer the Rothmans livery though, or the one Will Gollop used in Rallycross.

That LandL 6R4 isn’t the best to be fair. I’ve seen it built up, the decals let it down badly.

Be nice to see a Tamiya 6R4…

I’ve succumbed and preorded that Mark II
It’s the only one I’ll ever be able to buy.😁

Brushless Maverick Strada MT10 arrived earlier. All feels very sturdy, and the suspension damping (drop test!) is excellent. Lots of set up, running mode etc stuff to do, want to make sure it all works before putting away until Christmas.

Impressed so far, even if it was just a dash around the breakfast room!

Finished the rolling build of the Absima

That Absima looks incredibly good value. It seems very similar to my Losi Mini 8ight-t, only better. I’m now very tempted as it could be a replacement for the mini 8ight-t once it’s sold.

On the XV-01, I finally had a chance to take it out somewhere else other than the broken bit of tarmac outside my house and it was good. The Lacia Delta shell is now well worn in but the Impreza shell is now ready:

I did buy a set of gold wheels to match the shell but I think the Lancia wheels look pretty decent on it.

My first car was a Mk II Escort… wonder if you can get an 80s style kit, ready to be painted beige 😀

Loving this thread. Is it possible to get the following:
RC buggy / truck for 8 year old
£75 all in inc controller
Self build kit ideally
Fast and strong enough to use on grass and gravel and do small jumps.
Any recommendations?
Thanks

@linchpin the two budget models I linked to on the last page have turned up now and look fairly promising, though they are both ready built.

I’ve only very briefly run the Q901 in the house to check that it worked (it was far too fast to get much of an idea how it will go outside) but the XLF F16 got a slightly longer run outside and did pretty well on the mixed patch of ground I tried it on (tarmac and grass). It did travel ok in the grass but I suspect it would benefit from some bigger wheels/tyres if it was going to see a lot of this. so the Q901 might be the better option for you as it comes.

Well, after being tempted by that Absima, came across on Facebook someone close by letting go of his brand new M03 chassis for a reasonable price, so snapped it up instead.

I am always curious what a front wheel drive RC car is going to be like. It’s completely standard, didn’t come with any wheels and had a L and L Fiesta rally shell.

I had to buy some wheels as they are so much smaller than a standard 1/10, then I should have enough parts in my spares to get it moving. However, I went a bit mad after reading them up a bit more. Probably something to do with it being my first weekend off since mid August.

-Put the spare super mini CVA (oil filled) shocks on, but the springs are the wrong length so bought a set of springs.
-It came with bushes so went full ball race
-The Fiesta shell wasn’t done very well, so went and bought a classis mini shell (think it suits the chassis a lot better) They are apparently very easy to roll so that Fiesta shell would be a good basher shell.
-Bought a Hobbywing brushed ESC as want to run it on 2S and the ESC in my spare box doesn’t have Lipo cutoff

With these M03 being so simple, I think that’s pretty much all the worth while upgrades bought.

Some of the bits not turned up yet so here it is next to my XV01 Lancia. The ride height is all wrong because of the springs:

What a simple chassis:

And here’s one of my XV-01 in Subaru shell with the right wheels on:

Any text drives of that absima yet?

Can it be waterproofed to some degree?

I’ve just broken my wrist so bikes are off the menu. Looking for entertainment… I want a decent cheapish upgradeable 4wd bomber monster truck

@linchpin wltoys 144001 fits the bill except the self build part

@nicholas_yiu what are those little black protuberances on the body for?

@DT78 – I picked one up for my daughter. looks to be a decent bit of kit for the money. Love the apple-esque packaging. Lets hope she is as impressed as I am!! 😀

@v7fmp – yes its great isnt it. we’ve been building tracks at the beach for it and both 5 and 3 year old are getting really good with it.

I bought a new battery as the existing ones last about 20mins.

ZOP POWER 7.4V 850mAh 25C 2S Lipo Battery JST

from amazon just about fits, and lasts about an hour

only problem I have now is the two of then fighting over whose turn it is.

perfect, I will get one on order!

Bit of advice please chaps – I’m in the market for 4 cars this Christmas for my bams aged 10-13. After reading much of this thread and general nostalgic browsing I was all set on a pair of lunchboxes for the younger 2 and the modern 4×4 Tamiya buggies (neo scorcher?) for the older ones as their more likely to have the care to drive well. We’ve got a world class BMX track within 100 yards of the house that’s underused so jumping about on that is the likely use case.

Anyway I called the local shop yesterday and he kinda put me off all of those on the basis that for my use case he could do better/stronger/cheaper with other brands

He’s recommending either some team corraly thing I’ve never heard of that he’s got some stonking deal on making it significantly cheaper than the tamiyas or a kyosho mad van which is apparently far superior to a lunchbox

I’m going in today for a poke and a prod but has anyone got any thought on these? 4 cars is a hefty sum of money but I definitely don’t want to not spend enough and be disappointed

@bigginge I bought the brushed version of the q901, xinlehong 9135, for my son to play around with. It’s proved to stand up to some pretty wince inducing crashes (10ft skate park jumps etc). I bought a q901 since and it seems a more durable build than the 9135, metal drive train for one. Mind you the 9135 hasn’t broken anything. The only let down are the shocks, they get rough very quickly and seem to seize up. Swapped them for oil filled ones and they are a lot better. My son loves the monster truck look too.

As result of all this playing around with RC cars, I have a arrma kraton exb on order….

@petrieboy i think the tamiya stuff basically sells on nostagia and other brands would actually offer better actual kit for the money. I dont know enough to advise propertly though and will leave that to others.

I got one of these a few weeks ago based on internet and You Tube reviews:

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/axial-scx24-deadbolt-rock-crawler-rtr-green/rc-car-products/446253

£114 delivered, includes controller and batteries. Hobby spec standard so bits are replaceable and able to upgrade.

I’m really impressed with the performance. Climbs really well and loads of fun creating courses in the house out of boxes and books etc.

I’ve already started modding it and fitted some copper wheel weights.

Yep, the joys of Tamiya are principally nostalgia for old gits and the fun of the build, neither of which are relevant to young kids. Modern stuff is way tougher and better performing for the same (or lower) budget.

Also maybe worth nothing that my very local BMX track has a specific ban on RC cars, so I would check you are not going to be seen off by the local club.

@Clong, that’s all good to hear; I’ve already got a set of the oil shocks on order for it and hopefully they will turn up in time for me to fit before it gets wrapped up. The only issue now (apart from the risk of it being riven straight into a wall) is that I’m starting to think I should have probably ordered some extra batteries to go with it.

Any text drives of that absima yet?

Can it be waterproofed to some degree?

Only had a quick blast with it round a car park and it’s miles better than the Bugsta. Handles properly and doesn’t try to roll over ever 30 seconds or so. I’ve only got it on the brushed gearing right now so it’s a bit slower than it could be but it makes it better in small spaces and has plenty of grunt to accelerate.
Easy enough to make it pretty waterproof, diffs are decently sealed an you can put rubber sealed bearings in it rather than the metal sealed ones. Add some waterproof electrics and it should be fine. I’m keeping it for drier days as I’ll most likely get a crawler for muddy days.

I have a Traxxas TRX4 Defender with Lipo battery all in good condition that I am about to sell due to just not being able to get to use it (and my ‘little’ girls are now embarrassed to have me take it out on family walks so my one opportunity to use it has gone). DM me if you are interested (collection from Harrogate).

@reluctantjumper

thanks – might get one then – ideally i think i would want the monster truck version but they dont do that in kit form sadly just RTR. maybe i`ll just get the monster wheels and adjust the gearing to suit.

half the fun is buggering about with it anyway!

@csb

They are the body post for holding the shells on. They really ought to be trimmed, but I keep changing bodies so like to keep them long. A bit like fork steerer. I am an avid frame changer so I am guilty for not cutting steerers on my bikes as well.

It’s been too wet to take out the XV-01. It’s got so many parts it just takes forever to clean after a wet run.

So decided to do a bit of “crawling” in the local stream yesterday. All the electrics claim to be waterproof so thought it would have been fine, but the electrics went a bit mad after about 10 minutes. Turns out it was the receiver that didn’t like it after a bit of diagnosis. The receiver is definitely waterproof so it must have been the connectors shorting.

Looked up on crawler forums and people who do “submarine runs” just put the electrics in a balloon. I’m not going to do a submarine run so just put the receiver in a balloon and generous amount of dielectric grease on all the other connectors:

(Yes, my son is 4 today, I honestly bought the balloons for his birthday, not to waterproof my electrics)

It all went well today after the waterproofing, and wasn’t just me who had fun, even the dog walkers stood by to watch and had a chat:

The only failure was the prop shaft popping off towards the end. I was wondering why it became so difficult to get over obstacles:

That looks good fun! How does it cope with wet roots?

Had an unexpected delivery today, a new set of chrome rims for the lunchbox I had ordered months and months ago. They were on back order and only £12 so didn’t worry about cancelling. Just fitted them and it looks much better now with the dark, dark blue paint job I went with.

Looks much better now compared to the standard yellow rims. I know it’s basically the same as the black edition they do but that wasn’t available back at the beginning of the year when I ordered it, neither was the correct yellow paint for the shell. Might still order a new body and do the yellow, will have two Lunchboxes then for very little outlay.