Yeah..more RC car stuff!

But, in addition to crawlers, I recently got THIS car from Amazon.
At £45 it’s a STEAL, and is a brill bit of kit for the money!

2.4ghz controller, 2 batteries (though i’ve just bought higher capacity ones). Pretty fast, pretty capable.

The only thing it needs really is some better oil-filled shocks.
Will look into getting some.

It’s normally £80, so at £45 it’s a bargain!

DrP

It’s £80 for me.

EDIT: Weird. following your link on my work PC it’s £80 but on my phone it’s £45.

£45 for me, and I’m not signed in either

The ‘want’ is strong but really I’m holding out for a fake Mini Z deal

Edit: watching the video really didn’t help me…..

Shows at £45 for me.

I’ve spent too much already recently but added it to my wishlist for future reference.

How would it cope with a beach (wet sand rather than loose dry sand) ?

And would it be ok on grass?

How would it cope with a beach (wet sand rather than loose dry sand) ?

Pay attention at the back!

Salty water and RC cars is never the best combination. Definitely fun, but things tend to go very orange very quickly, and even well sealed electronics struggle.

Yeah but it’s doing a wheelie!!!1!

Thanks – taking a punt on that for my lads 6th birthday next month!

It’s not doing a wheelie.
It’s been dropped and the undamped springs have rebounded the whole car back up into the air.
I reckon.

I’m always sceptical about Amazon “was” prices… quick google suggests actual common selling price might be around the £60 mark, so it’s still a good deal.

I do want this – but would I get bored in 5 mins 🤣 Crawler actually sounds more interesting maybe… anyone got a link to a decently able/good value one?

Only worth buying if you can reliably get spares for it, you will break it!

Can you really **** it about like in the video?

It’s a HOOT!!!

It’s what I’d call a ‘razzer’… zoom it about the park/beach/gravel.
It’s small, so long grass is a no no..

But it’s wicked in dust/sand/small pebbly things..

Because it’s small and light, the potential for ‘self damage’ is actually pretty slim..
Me and the lad were flinging it off a small ramp (like a grown up GP does).. no damage there.

DrP

EDIT – it behaves EXACTLY like in the video..! A bit bouncy though, as undamped shocks (as pointed out!)

Thank Drp juat what I needed for my son after his other one broke.

The only thing I’ll add is when choosing rc make sure you can easily get spares like driveshafts, suspension etc. EBay is a good place to look.

thanks OP took a punt for the lad (ok me)

martymac
Full Member

It’s not doing a wheelie.
It’s been dropped and the undamped springs have rebounded the whole car back up into the air.
I reckon.

Don’t yuck my yum

RE spares..

When I looked into it, Apparently it’s (kinda) the same as the Banggood HBX16889 for which LOADS of spares are available…

These are the higher capacity batteries I got.. they mostly fit into the old battery tray. the velcro strap holds them in place fine.

I’ve a ‘proper’ battery charger/balancer, so haven’t used the USB cable included for charging. No idea how long it’ll take to charge via that. But £30 for 2 batteries is pretty good.

I’m just on teh lookout for decent oil shocks..i ordered the silver ones off amazon, but they aren’t sealed well enough!

DrP

I’m always sceptical about Amazon “was” prices…

camelcamelcamel

Looks like my maverick ion.
If so they are good little cars

@mashr

Pay attention at the back!

I’m slightly skeptical of any listing on eBay/Amazon, especially when it’s in the bargain territory.

Our garden is mostly grass/gravel/slate chippings, but only 5 minutes to the beach.

So @DrP how is it on a lawn?

grass/gravel/slate chippings,

sounds perfect!
On a cut lawn it’s great..
long grass on the south downs chokes it up, but that’s to be expected.

So yup… well maintained grass is no issue..

DrP

Spare parts are always the thing but once you get outside of the most crappy RC cars, these days they tend to be in big families- the same car or the same basic car gets sold under loads of brands so it’s way more common than it used to be that you can track down spares. Like, practically nobody offers spares for the Absima version of my first truck but it’s 90% the same as an FTX Outback.

You still want to see where the spares are- waiting a month for a part is always a bummer. That’s the main reason I swapped from a cheap crawler to my Axial, the parts are more expensive but I’ll always pay a few quid extra for weeks less downtime.

But then a month’s downtime on a £45 car is definitely better than on a £250 car!

I’d still buy one!!

Thanks DrP. I just ordered one (before I read your post properly, I’m that impulsive and trusting!)

Having read further maybe I should have ordered 2 – for races at first, and for spares when one breaks. Still thinking about that.

Looks an awful lot like https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/ftx-tracer-1-16-rtr-truck-orange-1332659

So not much cheaper than getting from. A reputable supplier with some spares support…

So yup… well maintained grass is no issue..

DrP

👍👍

Up to £70 for me now. Which is probably best as I really don’t need one.

I just popped back to say thanks again for the advice, Dr P.
I’m officially the best grandad! 11 year old Ru loved it, so did everybody else who played with it yesterday afternoon in the house, on the lawn, up the lane and over the jumps. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be buying spares for it soon when it gets broken. My only regret is not getting 2.

My lads jumped out of bed this morning asking if we can get his up and running so hopefully I’ll be reporting back similar to @BigJohn!

Hi, so we bought the FTX tracer which is identical (Dr P – the spare oil shocks for that would surely fit yours?)

We paid £63 for ours from Modelsport and there’s a whole range of spares available for if (when) my boys destroy theirs!

Even at £63 the cars are a flippin bargain – very fast, tough and even my 5 yr old got to grips with the controls very quickly.

What’s even better is that Mrs RRR surprised me with a BlackZon Slyder (which is also identical and uses the same parts) so I didn’t feel left out 😃

Another big thumbs up here – Xmas finally came and I got to play with it my Son opened it, we took it to the local park and my word it’s an impressive little thing. Seriously quick, somehow controllable even when it’s going full chat sideways and a hoot to throw around. I also wish I’d bought two !

Yay!!
Great aren’t they!
Glad you guys (and the recipients) had a great time with them!

I got another one (at the £45) and gave it to my ‘step’son..
He ruddy loved it too!

Was zooming it around the inlaw’s garden with 2 yapping dogs chase it around!

I still haven’t taken a punt on better shocks yet… gonna budget a tenner a pair i think!

DrP

Can I add thanks DrP, and Keith. This thread lead me to the FTX models linked and I bought a couple for my two boys (8/11).

Knowing nothing about RC cars, I just needed a box I could open and use. I ordered a couple of extra bigger batteries and so far I reckon they are the hit of all the gifts.

They won’t let me have a go, I should have bought three…

Shame I didn’t see this originally, I had been looking for a basher truck.

Missed this but ordered a HBX16889A Pro which I believe is the uprated version, waiting for it to arrive in the next couple of weeks. Excited

Also ordered a Eachine EAT10 for my 6yr old, for a bargain £35 Inc 2 batteries.

Can’t wait for both now

Sounds like there are some very happy kids this Christmas!

….and Dad’s, go on admit it, you’re scudding them around as much as the kids.😁

Great stuff.👍

Wish rc gear was so affordable when I was a kid.

Unboxed and charged my ‘son’s’ one today and sweet jesus it’s fast! Wet car-park made for superb hooning and skidding. Great psa. Ta.

NICE!!

I took my out for a muddy walk yesterday.. had my truck carefully crawling about the place, and the amazon special zooming left right and centre!

Really great fun to have two vehicles that approach climbs and obstacles in vastly different ways!!

Two really muddy cars in the boot of the Octavia now!

DrP