Ideas for 4wd RC buggy kit
Discussion
Fancy a 4wd RC buggy for me to play with now we've finished making my sons Tamiya Racing Fighter.
Has to be a kit, not interested in RTR. the build process is the main part of the appeal.
Budget <£200, but the Tamiya TT02B based buggies don't look great, just a touring car chassis with longer suspension. Can't see much else out there? There's the Tamiya DF-03 Dark Impact which on paper looks good (ball diffs, ballraces as standard) but they seem to have issues with the drivetrain wearing out quickly and its a 15 year old design.
Market seems to have changed a lot since I was last involved in the early 2000s. Much fewer kits available. Makes such as Schumacher, Losi etc. are all loads of money.
Anything I'm missing?
Has to be a kit, not interested in RTR. the build process is the main part of the appeal.
Budget <£200, but the Tamiya TT02B based buggies don't look great, just a touring car chassis with longer suspension. Can't see much else out there? There's the Tamiya DF-03 Dark Impact which on paper looks good (ball diffs, ballraces as standard) but they seem to have issues with the drivetrain wearing out quickly and its a 15 year old design.
Market seems to have changed a lot since I was last involved in the early 2000s. Much fewer kits available. Makes such as Schumacher, Losi etc. are all loads of money.
Anything I'm missing?
Could get something basic and cheap and chuck all the aftermarket you can find at it? I was going to do this with the Tamiya Unimog, but ended up with something inferior to the Traxxis Land Rover, but almost as expensive. Trouble with the Land Rover is I also want to build it, not buy it RTR.
Now ended up getting my old shelf queen Frog out and mildly upgrading it.
Still want a variable gear 4WD RC to play with in the garden though; half considering building my own out of Meccano - would be more satisfying than just spending money.
Now ended up getting my old shelf queen Frog out and mildly upgrading it.
Still want a variable gear 4WD RC to play with in the garden though; half considering building my own out of Meccano - would be more satisfying than just spending money.
I'm not quite old enough to remember them the first time round so the nostalgia is a bit lost on me. Would rather have something a bit more modern. I have an old TA-03R based touring car and a Schumacher SST from "my" era. Just a shame there's nowhere local to me to race them any more.
Buggies are not as popular as they once where. This means the majority of 'kits' are racing vehicles. But they are expensive, i.e. Schumacher, X-Ray, Associated.
Think more like £400-500 if you want one new as a 4wd buggy. Bit less for 2wd.
This means it leaves pretty much Tamiya as the only other option. There kits are fun to build and ok as bashers, but are generally way behind the others in terms of capability. DF-03 is the most modern, but has short comings, nice buggy overall though. That said, I'd probably opt for a Hotshot:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-hot-shot-2007/...
Hugely flawed design, but would be a fun build and fun to drive. Just don't go ott with power, or expect it to be a good racing machine.
Other options would be to look at slightly different vehicles. Many of the non buggy Tamiya kits are great for bashers. Such as the Konghead.
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-konghead-6x6-g...
Schumacher do offer a vintage racer as a kit only slightly over your budget:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/schumacher-cat-xls-ma...
It's quite a hardcore build and probably less fun than the Tamiya's to assemble. Cool buggy though, but it is a vintage racing machine, not a modern basher.
Something modern would be a Schumacher 2wd racing buggy:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/schumacher-cougar-kd-...
There are a few crawler kits that look very cool, but strictly slow speed action with these:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/gmade-sawback-1-10th-...
The next kit I buy will probably be this one however:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-stampede-4x4-...
4x4 Traxxas Stampede. Ok it's a truck not a buggy, but they don't offer a buggy. But it is an assembly kit.
Think more like £400-500 if you want one new as a 4wd buggy. Bit less for 2wd.
This means it leaves pretty much Tamiya as the only other option. There kits are fun to build and ok as bashers, but are generally way behind the others in terms of capability. DF-03 is the most modern, but has short comings, nice buggy overall though. That said, I'd probably opt for a Hotshot:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-hot-shot-2007/...
Hugely flawed design, but would be a fun build and fun to drive. Just don't go ott with power, or expect it to be a good racing machine.
Other options would be to look at slightly different vehicles. Many of the non buggy Tamiya kits are great for bashers. Such as the Konghead.
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-konghead-6x6-g...
Schumacher do offer a vintage racer as a kit only slightly over your budget:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/schumacher-cat-xls-ma...
It's quite a hardcore build and probably less fun than the Tamiya's to assemble. Cool buggy though, but it is a vintage racing machine, not a modern basher.
Something modern would be a Schumacher 2wd racing buggy:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/schumacher-cougar-kd-...
There are a few crawler kits that look very cool, but strictly slow speed action with these:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/gmade-sawback-1-10th-...
The next kit I buy will probably be this one however:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-stampede-4x4-...
4x4 Traxxas Stampede. Ok it's a truck not a buggy, but they don't offer a buggy. But it is an assembly kit.
some interesting ideas there, thanks. This is mainly due to having a bit more spare cash left at the end of the month due to spending zero on petrol for 5 weeks.
The Dark Impacts failings look solvable, apparently someone is making a hardened idler gear to solve the transmission issues. Need to do more reading.
But this might all be moot as apparently Tamiya in Japan have shut down due to C-19, and Hobbyco (UK importer) are running low on UK stock.
Could get another Racing Fighter but wanted something different having just built one.
The Dark Impacts failings look solvable, apparently someone is making a hardened idler gear to solve the transmission issues. Need to do more reading.
But this might all be moot as apparently Tamiya in Japan have shut down due to C-19, and Hobbyco (UK importer) are running low on UK stock.
Could get another Racing Fighter but wanted something different having just built one.
Edited by lufbramatt on Wednesday 22 April 14:29
Edited by lufbramatt on Wednesday 22 April 14:31
Not 4wd but just ordered a tamiya aqroshot after looking for something that had some ground clearance but not too high, was a good basher, in kit form and had hop ups available. Was either that or the blitzer buggy but didn't think it was worth the extra. Main issue looks to be UK stocks are low or zero in most shops. Ordered mine from Germany as it was cheaper and crucially in stock:
www.modellbau-berlinski.de
Went for the aqroshot, brushless and lipo kit which was £203 delivered. Hopefully will arrive early next week! Worth adding that this is going to be my first RC build, what I lack in experience I make up for in obsessive research
www.modellbau-berlinski.de
Went for the aqroshot, brushless and lipo kit which was £203 delivered. Hopefully will arrive early next week! Worth adding that this is going to be my first RC build, what I lack in experience I make up for in obsessive research
Edited by Terra1 on Wednesday 22 April 14:48
I think the Aqroshot is the same chassis (DT-03) as the Racing Fighter but with a truck body. Really enjoyable build. Did it with my 5 year old, who managed a lot of it himself. Had some great chats about why ballraces were better than nylon bushes, what a differential does and how gearboxes and shock absorbers work as we were going through the build.
Edited by lufbramatt on Wednesday 22 April 14:55
Same here as Lufbramatt - saving about £200 per month on petrol and sandwiches...Got to the stage where I'm looking forward to the Lego Ducati even though I'm not into bikes.
Don't want to hijack the thread, but is there anything equvalent to the Traxxas Land Rover (or any multi-gear, realistic looking 4WD chassis) that's in kit form?
Ta.
Don't want to hijack the thread, but is there anything equvalent to the Traxxas Land Rover (or any multi-gear, realistic looking 4WD chassis) that's in kit form?
Ta.
dr_gn said:
Same here as Lufbramatt - saving about £200 per month on petrol and sandwiches...Got to the stage where I'm looking forward to the Lego Ducati even though I'm not into bikes.
Don't want to hijack the thread, but is there anything equvalent to the Traxxas Land Rover (or any multi-gear, realistic looking 4WD chassis) that's in kit form?
Ta.
Gmade, there is a link to a Jeep in my earlier post. Traxxas can be bought as a kit too.Don't want to hijack the thread, but is there anything equvalent to the Traxxas Land Rover (or any multi-gear, realistic looking 4WD chassis) that's in kit form?
Ta.
300bhp/ton said:
dr_gn said:
Same here as Lufbramatt - saving about £200 per month on petrol and sandwiches...Got to the stage where I'm looking forward to the Lego Ducati even though I'm not into bikes.
Don't want to hijack the thread, but is there anything equvalent to the Traxxas Land Rover (or any multi-gear, realistic looking 4WD chassis) that's in kit form?
Ta.
Gmade, there is a link to a Jeep in my earlier post. Traxxas can be bought as a kit too.Don't want to hijack the thread, but is there anything equvalent to the Traxxas Land Rover (or any multi-gear, realistic looking 4WD chassis) that's in kit form?
Ta.
And I thought the kit version of the Traxxas LR wasn't the same as the ready-built one?
lufbramatt said:
I'm not quite old enough to remember them the first time round so the nostalgia is a bit lost on me. Would rather have something a bit more modern. I have an old TA-03R based touring car and a Schumacher SST from "my" era. Just a shame there's nowhere local to me to race them any more.
I am old enough Boomerang, Acoms radio and the Beaties bag...lufbramatt said:
I think the Aqroshot is the same chassis (DT-03) as the Racing Fighter but with a truck body. Really enjoyable build. Did it with my 5 year old, who managed a lot of it himself. Had some great chats about why ballraces were better than nylon bushes, what a differential does and how gearboxes and shock absorbers work as we were going through the build.
Ah yes, good point! If your 5yr old can manage then hopefully I should be fine Edited by lufbramatt on Wednesday 22 April 14:55
I thought they were more complex than that, will get my 6yr old involved.Yes it’s a very straightforward build, no fiddly ball diffs or suspension angles to set up. I think it took us about 6 hours to get the chassis together, but that was with me talking him through what to do and helping with tight screws and cutting the hefty bits off the frames.
I did the body shell over a couple of evenings by myself as cutting it out was a bit tricky although I did let him do a little bit of painting (under strict supervision, in the garden on a breezy day).
Top tip- get hold of a number 1 and 2 JIS screwdriver, they fit the tamiya screws more securely than a Philips.
Trickiest bit was getting the front uprights the right way round, they have a tiny diamond shape moulded in to the top to identify them. And make sure you use the smaller silver screws in the diff casing not the brown ones- which fit but means you’ll be short later on.
I did the body shell over a couple of evenings by myself as cutting it out was a bit tricky although I did let him do a little bit of painting (under strict supervision, in the garden on a breezy day).
Top tip- get hold of a number 1 and 2 JIS screwdriver, they fit the tamiya screws more securely than a Philips.
Trickiest bit was getting the front uprights the right way round, they have a tiny diamond shape moulded in to the top to identify them. And make sure you use the smaller silver screws in the diff casing not the brown ones- which fit but means you’ll be short later on.
What about buying a tatty old buggy someone made years ago and dismantling it, giving it a thorough service, body repair and a new paint job? Could be quite rewarding to bring something back to life. I bought a few buggies years ago intending to do just that and I've finally got the time to make a start on them.
This looks like it would be a massive challenge for someone.... Needs some new receiver/transmitter gear, some big buggy wheels and a lot of time and effort no doubt!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TAMIYA-NDF-01-NITRO-THU...
This looks like it would be a massive challenge for someone.... Needs some new receiver/transmitter gear, some big buggy wheels and a lot of time and effort no doubt!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TAMIYA-NDF-01-NITRO-THU...
Defo could be an option. Not nitro though. I used to race 1/8th ic buggies (borrowed a mates spare Kyosho chassis) so know about the faff they are to keep running- and how noisy they are!
This looks interesting though https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tamiya-Durga-DB01-with-...
This looks interesting though https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tamiya-Durga-DB01-with-...
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