Entry level RC car for rough terrain?
Discussion
Hi, I was thinking of getting an RC car to encourage my 8yr old to switch the iPad off and get outside. (Plus I like them!)
Budget is £200ish, including enough batteries for an hour or so of use. I have no idea whether that will be enough, but my wishlist is:
Electric not nitro due to noise
1/10 scale rather than 1/18
Able to handle rough terrain - I want to use it in the woods behind the house, so tree roots, undergrowth, banks and jumps
Outright speed not important but I don't want a 2mph rock crawler as we'll get bored
A kit to build and maybe upgrade rather than just a box to open
Can someone give me an idea where to start?
Budget is £200ish, including enough batteries for an hour or so of use. I have no idea whether that will be enough, but my wishlist is:
Electric not nitro due to noise
1/10 scale rather than 1/18
Able to handle rough terrain - I want to use it in the woods behind the house, so tree roots, undergrowth, banks and jumps
Outright speed not important but I don't want a 2mph rock crawler as we'll get bored
A kit to build and maybe upgrade rather than just a box to open
Can someone give me an idea where to start?
Take your pick in the FTX range. Great value for money and the spares are really cheap and easy to get hold of.
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/rc-electric-models/rc...
Shortly people will be along to increase your budget and talk about brushless and LiPo batteries.
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/rc-electric-models/rc...
Shortly people will be along to increase your budget and talk about brushless and LiPo batteries.
Just got one of these for my 8 year old https://www.modelsport.co.uk/ftx-comet-1-12-brushe...
Seems an absolute bargain for £60 though if you want to do really rough stuff you might want something a bit bigger?
Personally I thought this was a good on to get started with, not too fast and cheap to fix when it gets broken. If he takes to it then we can get something bigger / faster for Christmas.
Seems an absolute bargain for £60 though if you want to do really rough stuff you might want something a bit bigger?
Personally I thought this was a good on to get started with, not too fast and cheap to fix when it gets broken. If he takes to it then we can get something bigger / faster for Christmas.
Thanks guys. If it was really a present for him I would definitely be tempted by the cheaper options, but chances are I will get just as much fun from it and I like the idea of being able to take it apart and upgrade stuff.
I can't believe how much you can get for your money these days, I used to mess around with them years ago and spent many hours drooling over the Tamiya catalogue.
I can't believe how much you can get for your money these days, I used to mess around with them years ago and spent many hours drooling over the Tamiya catalogue.
People are no doubt board of my posts on this topic as i am a bit vocal 
There are many makes and versions out there. For those that are 'serious' then they can look at all the tricksy and wonderful specials.
You can get some very good ready to run stuff with brushless for your budget but i always find that the fear of lack of spares gets to me.
When i started to get back into playing with these though I bought a Neo Scorcher on the Tamiya TT02B chassis. All in you should get a deal for about £150 leaving you £50 to ball race it (vital and do it from day one of the build - about £20) and a new set of shocks and dampers off Amazon to raise the ride height and resilience (£10 to £20 each end).
Over three years now of bashing about mercilessly (including being run over my my Super Clodbuster regularly ( )
New sets of wheels and tires are less than £15 on Amazon as well so you don't care about burning them out doing donuts and other than a steering knuckle that lost to a brick wall flat out, corner first, the only thing i have had to replace due to damage is the rear wing as the last got eaten by a terrier who finally managed to catch it when the battery died
There are many makes and versions out there. For those that are 'serious' then they can look at all the tricksy and wonderful specials.
You can get some very good ready to run stuff with brushless for your budget but i always find that the fear of lack of spares gets to me.
When i started to get back into playing with these though I bought a Neo Scorcher on the Tamiya TT02B chassis. All in you should get a deal for about £150 leaving you £50 to ball race it (vital and do it from day one of the build - about £20) and a new set of shocks and dampers off Amazon to raise the ride height and resilience (£10 to £20 each end).
Over three years now of bashing about mercilessly (including being run over my my Super Clodbuster regularly (
)New sets of wheels and tires are less than £15 on Amazon as well so you don't care about burning them out doing donuts and other than a steering knuckle that lost to a brick wall flat out, corner first, the only thing i have had to replace due to damage is the rear wing as the last got eaten by a terrier who finally managed to catch it when the battery died
Yeah the FTX range blow tamiya out of the water, they just trade on nostalgia.
I havent looked for while and that Kanyon looks a lot of fun for the money. Their Outback model used to be good too but they have upped their game a bit with the Kanyon. It looks massive too on the reviews.
I havent looked for while and that Kanyon looks a lot of fun for the money. Their Outback model used to be good too but they have upped their game a bit with the Kanyon. It looks massive too on the reviews.
Wild Willy 2?
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-wild-willy-2-w...
Basic bundle is just under your £200 budget, a full set of bearings will take you just over. You will also need some paint, cheap rattle cans from Halfords will do or you could go full on scale modeller with airbrush etc
Or just leave the body in the green plastic with stickers.
Plenty of options for future upgrades.
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-wild-willy-2-w...
Basic bundle is just under your £200 budget, a full set of bearings will take you just over. You will also need some paint, cheap rattle cans from Halfords will do or you could go full on scale modeller with airbrush etc
Or just leave the body in the green plastic with stickers.Plenty of options for future upgrades.
Sorry to crash in on this but I've been debating an RC car for a while now but having seen how awestruck my little boy was within RC buggy at the beach recently, it's prompted me think about getting something that he'd like too... granted, he's only two so couldn't work it but he'd be fascinated by it and it'd keep me happy too.
I did debate a rally car initially, something like the Tamiya TT-02 chassis or similar as I really don't like buggies but I'm now thinking my needs are similar to the OP... the terrain would be mostly the farm track, rough grass areas and into the woods and the beach so outright speed is probably no use hence the FTX Kanyon appeals, plus he'd be blow away by its sheer size plus the facts he's got a ride on Defender too and loves it.
My only slight concern is that is might be too slow? I take it it's a rock crawler first and foremost so putting on a big grass area or a beach would be like watching paint dry? No huge powerslides to be had?
A rally car on an AWD chassis is no use now, it'd neber run on the terrain I have available so it'd need to be a truck or some sort...
Any words of wisdom?
I did debate a rally car initially, something like the Tamiya TT-02 chassis or similar as I really don't like buggies but I'm now thinking my needs are similar to the OP... the terrain would be mostly the farm track, rough grass areas and into the woods and the beach so outright speed is probably no use hence the FTX Kanyon appeals, plus he'd be blow away by its sheer size plus the facts he's got a ride on Defender too and loves it.
My only slight concern is that is might be too slow? I take it it's a rock crawler first and foremost so putting on a big grass area or a beach would be like watching paint dry? No huge powerslides to be had?
A rally car on an AWD chassis is no use now, it'd neber run on the terrain I have available so it'd need to be a truck or some sort...
Any words of wisdom?
hyphen said:
How old is he?
Who's that to? Op has said his little boy is 8 whereas mine is only 2... in my case, he wouldn't be driving or at least not without help. Hence something that does 700mph and would kill him on impact it no use, which is why, following extensive Youtubing, I think the Kanyon could be a good shout.
Oh my...
Wish I hadn't clicked on this thread now. I had loads of RC cars when I was younger including a crazy HPI Savage nitro monster truck and am MST drift car with a carbon chassis that both cost me hundreds of pounds.
Looking at those FTX packages though I'm now thinking that my 3 year old daughter (that loves Disney princesses, doggy's and pink stuff) also needs one..
Wish I hadn't clicked on this thread now. I had loads of RC cars when I was younger including a crazy HPI Savage nitro monster truck and am MST drift car with a carbon chassis that both cost me hundreds of pounds.
Looking at those FTX packages though I'm now thinking that my 3 year old daughter (that loves Disney princesses, doggy's and pink stuff) also needs one..
DarthtaterM16 said:
Oh my...
Wish I hadn't clicked on this thread now. I had loads of RC cars when I was younger including a crazy HPI Savage nitro monster truck and am MST drift car with a carbon chassis that both cost me hundreds of pounds.
Looking at those FTX packages though I'm now thinking that my 3 year old daughter (that loves Disney princesses, doggy's and pink stuff) also needs one..
Same although my 19 month old daughter wants one even more Im sure of itWish I hadn't clicked on this thread now. I had loads of RC cars when I was younger including a crazy HPI Savage nitro monster truck and am MST drift car with a carbon chassis that both cost me hundreds of pounds.
Looking at those FTX packages though I'm now thinking that my 3 year old daughter (that loves Disney princesses, doggy's and pink stuff) also needs one..
I can strongly recommend one of these - not a kit, but ticks all the other boxes and plenty of spares and options available. My son got one for Christmas this year and it's taken a good beating without problem:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/index.php?product_id=...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rteg6ZvNOo&li...
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/index.php?product_id=...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rteg6ZvNOo&li...
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