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  • Electric RC Cars – Please help a noob (and make a 8yr old happy)
  • Buzzard
    Free Member

    Ive finally gone down the RC car rabbit hole. Having never had this as a kid. My 8yr old is desperate for a decent RC car for his birthday. Ive read the RC threads on here but still struggling to make headway. Can the collective please help.
    MAX budget (including extra batteries, fast charger etc) is around £125
    Crawler or Truck is his preference (needs to be robust for an 8yr old)
    Much prefer RTR as we are starting out.
    30min runtime
    As its his first, I assume brushed should be fine?
    I dont mind looking at 2nd hand but where can I look for one with some degree of confidence?

    Ive looked at the hobby websites but its a minefield especially trying to assess extra batteries and chargers.

    Recommendations gratefully received (and details on exactly what I need regarding batteries and chargers?)

    lesgrandepotato
    Full Member

    I’d go for something a bit bigger if you want to use on grass. Famous lunchbox or pumpkin is a classic and easy to build and cheap to fix.

    Buzzard
    Free Member

    Lunchbox RTR is significantly more at around £185. Afraid I cannot stretch to that. Definitely want to use on grass but only short grass?! I was looking at 1/10 scale – maybe a strada but again cost seems prohibitive

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    Buzzard
    Free Member

    Actually even is kits the Lunchbox is out of price range. Is this moon on a stick??

    VanHalen
    Full Member

    get mad bull kit. go anywhere – fast fun fairly robust and loads of upgrades and spares available (suspension and ball bearings are a must)

    you can get kits fairly cheap from time tunnel models and i`d shop around for controller and reciever and batts.

    If you want really cheap the rising fighter is only £50 for a kit. I recon you can get a working car and controller and fast charger for £100.

    (my tamiys sonic fighter is dieing and i`l looking into a cheap replacement for chasing kids/cat around the Garden)

    keithb
    Full Member

    How Bout an FTX Comet?  1/12th scale, about £60 but fully rebuildable.  Addtional batteries are about £10, available in 4 body types.

    I think the Core RC Mauler is the same chassis

    https://www.modelsport.co.uk/core-rc-rc-electric-models/rc-car-manufacturers/1140/9900/990010

    https://www.modelsport.co.uk/index.php?search=1&search_string=FTX+Comet

    I’m thinking about getting one for my eldest who turns 7 in the summer.

    Note I have no direct experience with these, but used to race 1/10th scale 2WD buggies about 25 years ago…

    Cheers,

    Keith

    steve_b77
    Free Member

    I just got my lad this 1/10th buggy for his 7th Birthday and it’s ace, works fine on grass and tarmac alike, it’s bloody fast at 40kph max and has an alloy chassis.

    stumpy01
    Full Member

    For grass running, I would look at getting something with big wheels & a decent ground clearance.

    I’ve got a Tamiya Neo Fighter & even when the grass has just been cut, it sits very low so has to drag itself through the grass.

    Something like the Tamiya Mad Bull would be ideal, but is over your budget.
    My nephew has the Maveric Strada MT you mention above – it’s a decent truck and has good ground clearance but probably a bit pricey.

    Having said all that about ground clearance…..there’s someone on ebay selling a new Tamiya Rising Figher RTR with all the bits you need for £125.

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TAMIYA-RC-Car-Buggy-Kit-RTR-Bundle-Deals-Everything-Included-Choose-Your-Car/221881191993?hash=item33a9264e39:m:mJfTfskqnLAO0M0SijVPnoQ

    I’d consider getting a bearing kit for that & swapping them over before running.

    Buzzard
    Free Member

    Steve_b77 – whats the run time like on the included battery pack?

    FTX comet looks good for the price, will take a closer look at those.

    The Funtel (in the link above) looks good too – Flasheart, hows that getting on for you?

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    Flasheart, hows that getting on for you?

    My son* loves it. He’s learning to control it really well, and it seems pretty bombproof so far. Good on almost any surface, and the 4WD helps grip and steering a lot by the look of it. Really fun on dry, dusty lanes around us recently.

    Also, spare body shells etc are available. Handy.

    *I bought it for him. Yes. Obviously for him.

    nofx
    Free Member

    Hi. I’d go for an ftx outlaw. It’s 4×4
    with a solid rear axle ,it’s half truck half crawler The brushed one tops out at about 20 mph. But that can be improved in with a brushless combo from goolrc for 40 quid when he gets used to it. The supplied battery lasts about 20 minutes. Buy batteries for them are pretty cheap. Have a look at the outlaw section in msuk. There’s acres of knowledge there .

    vinnyeh
    Full Member

    I’ve an excellent condition boxed Vaterra Slickrock if you’re interested.

    wiggles
    Free Member

    Ftx ravine is in budget if you want a crawler

    johndoh
    Free Member

    A bit out of your budget but for the win….

    steve_b77
    Free Member

    Steve_b77 – whats the run time like on the included battery pack?

    It does about 20 – 30 minutes

    DT78
    Free Member

    shouldn’t have opended this thread. Temptation. 4yr olds birthday soon…!

    spoonmeister
    Full Member

    Personally I’d go for a kit (most shops have suggested finishing kits anyway – ESC, battery etc) as it helped me immeasurably when I started out as it meant I understood how to fix it. Not as plug and play but it means you know where the booby-trapped spring loaded parts are, if any.

    keithb
    Full Member

    That rising fighter has the terrible solid axle rear suspension and friction (not oil) dampers .it’ll handle terribly as my hornet did 25 years ago.

    wiggles
    Free Member

    Also personally my kids have benefitted a lot from driving crawler type trucks (have a HPI crawler/wheelie king hybrid, cost £100 2nd hand and added my own electrics) as it teaches them a lot about control and if they do crash it’s much slower and less likely to break anything.

    When they first drove the faster stuff they would just blast around full speed until they crash usually and then something is broke and time to go home… but have learnt to drive a bit now.

    bigdean
    Full Member

    We got a tamiya Grasshopper kit for the son. Fun building it and better when I got my old frog from mums.

    Buzzard
    Free Member

    After much deliberation, I decided on the FXT Outlaw (suggested above). It comes as a complete package from the off but with a massive amount of scope to build and mod if my son* gets into it. It also offers very simple LIPO upgrade in the future. Thanks all for help & suggestions

    johndoh
    Free Member

    @buzzard

    If you get a Li-Po make sure you you are *very* careful with the care/storage of it as they can be very volatile. Get a fireproof battery bag at the very least but ideally a secure lidded tin.

    nofx
    Free Member

    Hi. Good good choice 😊. Have a look at the lipo guide on msuk. I’ve beaten the crap out of loads of Rcs with lipos in them. 20 ft up out of a quarterpipe & landed on the trucks roof. 40 mph into concrete steps ) I can thank our little un for that). No explosion or fire. Lipos are everywhere. In phones, cars, laptops etc. They only go poof if mistreated. I’ve only had 2 go poof. They were old & not holding a charge,so I charged them outside. Then stuck a screwdriver through them. Quite spectacular 😁. The best place for lipos is hobbyking. I’ve got 2 Hardcase lipos for the outlaw from them. & About 25 normal ones ( over a few years) for the various other RCSAgain no disasters. Just treat them well . The outlaws not a skatepark basher. Watch king of the hammers on YouTube. That’ll give you an idea of what they’re for. Have fun. I bet you’ll have an RC for yourself within 6 months 😁

    mrmonkfinger
    Free Member

    The best place for lipos is hobbyking

    Definitely this, no better value exists. And they shift a lot, masses, so the stock is fresh and not “on a shelf for a year”. Can’t help with anything else here though, sorry, my last ground based RC was 30 years ago.

    Absolutely do charge & store lipos outdoors (garage/shed) or at the very least on a large inflammable surface with plenty space around and some easy way to get rid if it goes (on a tray you can chuck out the window or something). They don’t go bang very often but when they do they are literally impossible to put out until the lithium is gone and they tend to result in very hot and somewhat expensive fires. RC cars in particular hammer them, physically and electrically, and that increases the chances of blowups. Age (# of uses, as well as calendar age) increases risk as well. Having seen one or two results of lipo fires, they are not pretty. Source – day job involves lipos.

    Other opinions available.

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