Where do I start?
Discussion
Lockdown has got me spending time on frivolous purchases. I've bought nick-nacks and recently bought a drone. I've now got my heart set on buying an RC car.
I remember having a Tamiya RC car, TT01 if memory serves correct. Was a CLK DTM shell and was a full assembly kit and I had a fantastic time building and running it. A few house moves later, no idea where it is now.
I started looking at the Tamiya's and I see them starting at £150 or thereabouts plus the radio gear. Scope creep then started and I'm now looking at Traxxas Maxx's which are well over £1k. I realise technology has moved on since the Tamiya TT01 and looking at all of the youtube videos, the Traxxas is a real basher, going through water, jumps, mud and looks a lot of fun, but realistically, over-engineered to what I want.
The more I research, the more brands I'm seeing. Tamiya. Traxxas, Ho Bao, Kyosho and many more. There's an RC store local to me, but understandably, it's closed with no foreseen opening. I'm looking at websites such as modelsport.co.uk and the more research I'm doing, the more confused I'm getting.
I "think" I've settled on the right car, Traxxas e revo 2 https://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-e-revo-2-0-br...
It's £650 via the link, usual price seems to be £699. Will need to add batteries and charger, taking it to closer £900
Am I being stupid? Are there equivalent cars for less? I like Traxxas due to the spares available, I know things will break, but also, I know I will want to do upgrades eventually.
Are there any other brands / cars I should be looking at that would be just as reliable / upgradeable? Traxxas seems to be the Rolls Royce of Electric RC but if I can get the same quality from a different brand, I'd be happy to receive some guidance.
Also, do any PH'ers own RC stores? Happy to support a PHer
I remember having a Tamiya RC car, TT01 if memory serves correct. Was a CLK DTM shell and was a full assembly kit and I had a fantastic time building and running it. A few house moves later, no idea where it is now.
I started looking at the Tamiya's and I see them starting at £150 or thereabouts plus the radio gear. Scope creep then started and I'm now looking at Traxxas Maxx's which are well over £1k. I realise technology has moved on since the Tamiya TT01 and looking at all of the youtube videos, the Traxxas is a real basher, going through water, jumps, mud and looks a lot of fun, but realistically, over-engineered to what I want.
The more I research, the more brands I'm seeing. Tamiya. Traxxas, Ho Bao, Kyosho and many more. There's an RC store local to me, but understandably, it's closed with no foreseen opening. I'm looking at websites such as modelsport.co.uk and the more research I'm doing, the more confused I'm getting.
I "think" I've settled on the right car, Traxxas e revo 2 https://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-e-revo-2-0-br...
It's £650 via the link, usual price seems to be £699. Will need to add batteries and charger, taking it to closer £900
Am I being stupid? Are there equivalent cars for less? I like Traxxas due to the spares available, I know things will break, but also, I know I will want to do upgrades eventually.
Are there any other brands / cars I should be looking at that would be just as reliable / upgradeable? Traxxas seems to be the Rolls Royce of Electric RC but if I can get the same quality from a different brand, I'd be happy to receive some guidance.
Also, do any PH'ers own RC stores? Happy to support a PHer
If you are ok with the money that Traxxas is a bloody good truck.
Once you get into the 6s+ brushless setups, there is no cheap option.
As you say the support, parts and community behind Traxxas is huge.
And to be honest, beyond tires and shell (well maybe RPM arms) there isnt much need to upgrade (unlike crawlers for example).
That truck will be fast enough to to go almost anywhere and do jumps etc.
Otherwise, just wait till something breaks then go shopping with your credit card.
People will recommend alot of other stuff but starting out the best thing is to just get one and use it. Believe me you will get a buzz when it arrives and see how fast it is.
Oh and forget anything you ever knew about Tamiya RC in the 90s lol They are like the Morgans of the RC world.
Once you get into the 6s+ brushless setups, there is no cheap option.
As you say the support, parts and community behind Traxxas is huge.
And to be honest, beyond tires and shell (well maybe RPM arms) there isnt much need to upgrade (unlike crawlers for example).
That truck will be fast enough to to go almost anywhere and do jumps etc.
Otherwise, just wait till something breaks then go shopping with your credit card.
People will recommend alot of other stuff but starting out the best thing is to just get one and use it. Believe me you will get a buzz when it arrives and see how fast it is.
Oh and forget anything you ever knew about Tamiya RC in the 90s lol They are like the Morgans of the RC world.
Fas1975 said:
Lockdown has got me spending time on frivolous purchases. I've bought nick-nacks and recently bought a drone. I've now got my heart set on buying an RC car.
I remember having a Tamiya RC car, TT01 if memory serves correct. Was a CLK DTM shell and was a full assembly kit and I had a fantastic time building and running it. A few house moves later, no idea where it is now.
I started looking at the Tamiya's and I see them starting at £150 or thereabouts plus the radio gear. Scope creep then started and I'm now looking at Traxxas Maxx's which are well over £1k. I realise technology has moved on since the Tamiya TT01 and looking at all of the youtube videos, the Traxxas is a real basher, going through water, jumps, mud and looks a lot of fun, but realistically, over-engineered to what I want.
The more I research, the more brands I'm seeing. Tamiya. Traxxas, Ho Bao, Kyosho and many more. There's an RC store local to me, but understandably, it's closed with no foreseen opening. I'm looking at websites such as modelsport.co.uk and the more research I'm doing, the more confused I'm getting.
I "think" I've settled on the right car, Traxxas e revo 2 https://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-e-revo-2-0-br...
It's £650 via the link, usual price seems to be £699. Will need to add batteries and charger, taking it to closer £900
Am I being stupid? Are there equivalent cars for less? I like Traxxas due to the spares available, I know things will break, but also, I know I will want to do upgrades eventually.
Are there any other brands / cars I should be looking at that would be just as reliable / upgradeable? Traxxas seems to be the Rolls Royce of Electric RC but if I can get the same quality from a different brand, I'd be happy to receive some guidance.
Also, do any PH'ers own RC stores? Happy to support a PHer
That’s a serious piece of kit to start off with, its great but do you want to start off with such a big spend, it’s up to you of course but £900 is a lot of cash, even if you’ve got it to spare and spend on toys.I remember having a Tamiya RC car, TT01 if memory serves correct. Was a CLK DTM shell and was a full assembly kit and I had a fantastic time building and running it. A few house moves later, no idea where it is now.
I started looking at the Tamiya's and I see them starting at £150 or thereabouts plus the radio gear. Scope creep then started and I'm now looking at Traxxas Maxx's which are well over £1k. I realise technology has moved on since the Tamiya TT01 and looking at all of the youtube videos, the Traxxas is a real basher, going through water, jumps, mud and looks a lot of fun, but realistically, over-engineered to what I want.
The more I research, the more brands I'm seeing. Tamiya. Traxxas, Ho Bao, Kyosho and many more. There's an RC store local to me, but understandably, it's closed with no foreseen opening. I'm looking at websites such as modelsport.co.uk and the more research I'm doing, the more confused I'm getting.
I "think" I've settled on the right car, Traxxas e revo 2 https://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-e-revo-2-0-br...
It's £650 via the link, usual price seems to be £699. Will need to add batteries and charger, taking it to closer £900
Am I being stupid? Are there equivalent cars for less? I like Traxxas due to the spares available, I know things will break, but also, I know I will want to do upgrades eventually.
Are there any other brands / cars I should be looking at that would be just as reliable / upgradeable? Traxxas seems to be the Rolls Royce of Electric RC but if I can get the same quality from a different brand, I'd be happy to receive some guidance.
Also, do any PH'ers own RC stores? Happy to support a PHer
What if you spend all that and decide your not that into it?
I would suggest starting off a little further down the range.
Perhaps something like this?
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/hobao-hyper-vs-1-8-rt...
I personally prefer Nitro, and there’s lots of choice for Nitro Truggys from HoBao, but of course it’s a bit noisy and smelly, so you can’t run them in the same places as Electric.
As mentioned above, you will have to spend a fortune on 6S packs, and even if you have 4 of them, you going to need to have a portable charger running off your car to charge them in the field.
That’s the reason we like Nitro for the bigger scale models, it’s easier to run them for longer and no sitting around waiting for ages whilst the batteries charge up.
@Jackal & Nigelpugh
Appreciate your input. £900 is an obscene amount of money to spend on a toy, and bear in mind I was looking at £150 Tamiyas, it's one hell of a scope creep.
The Ho Bao at that price point looks super interesting, however, a lot of the appeal is in the "look" of the vehicle. I took a look at a couple of YouTube videos and it certainly looks super capable, but I can't get over the looks.
I guess, is there anything with the looks of the E Revo at the price of the Ho Bao, that would be the sweet spot.
Appreciate your input. £900 is an obscene amount of money to spend on a toy, and bear in mind I was looking at £150 Tamiyas, it's one hell of a scope creep.
The Ho Bao at that price point looks super interesting, however, a lot of the appeal is in the "look" of the vehicle. I took a look at a couple of YouTube videos and it certainly looks super capable, but I can't get over the looks.
I guess, is there anything with the looks of the E Revo at the price of the Ho Bao, that would be the sweet spot.
I think I’d have a word with yourself if it’s really crept from £150 to £650 haha.
I guess really it depends what you want out the hobby. If you’re serious about this (new to me) trend of ‘bashing’ then those Traxxas things seem to be the thing to have.
I’ve recently got back into RC cars for the second time since my original intro in the mid 80’s and had no idea about how crazy things had got. Amazing how strong cars are these days, there’s a bloke on YT who seems to have made a (partial) career out of smashing the arse out of RC cars and it’s quite something to see what they go through.
The Traxxas type stuff holds very little interest for me as RC is more a nostalgia trip back to the excitement of seeing the Tamiya boxes in model shops as a kid.
The Kyosho Mad Van doesn’t took bad money for a bit of fun though? Or you set on that exact truggy look? Even the FTX stuff seems decent enough for the money and is still pretty tough unless you’re wanting to do the kind of crazy 30ft jumps or driving full pelt into walls or whatever crazy stuff goes on today.
I guess really it depends what you want out the hobby. If you’re serious about this (new to me) trend of ‘bashing’ then those Traxxas things seem to be the thing to have.
I’ve recently got back into RC cars for the second time since my original intro in the mid 80’s and had no idea about how crazy things had got. Amazing how strong cars are these days, there’s a bloke on YT who seems to have made a (partial) career out of smashing the arse out of RC cars and it’s quite something to see what they go through.
The Traxxas type stuff holds very little interest for me as RC is more a nostalgia trip back to the excitement of seeing the Tamiya boxes in model shops as a kid.
The Kyosho Mad Van doesn’t took bad money for a bit of fun though? Or you set on that exact truggy look? Even the FTX stuff seems decent enough for the money and is still pretty tough unless you’re wanting to do the kind of crazy 30ft jumps or driving full pelt into walls or whatever crazy stuff goes on today.
uncleluck said:
I think I’d have a word with yourself if it’s really crept from £150 to £650 haha.
I guess really it depends what you want out the hobby. If you’re serious about this (new to me) trend of ‘bashing’ then those Traxxas things seem to be the thing to have.
I’ve recently got back into RC cars for the second time since my original intro in the mid 80’s and had no idea about how crazy things had got. Amazing how strong cars are these days, there’s a bloke on YT who seems to have made a (partial) career out of smashing the arse out of RC cars and it’s quite something to see what they go through.
The Traxxas type stuff holds very little interest for me as RC is more a nostalgia trip back to the excitement of seeing the Tamiya boxes in model shops as a kid.
The Kyosho Mad Van doesn’t took bad money for a bit of fun though? Or you set on that exact truggy look? Even the FTX stuff seems decent enough for the money and is still pretty tough unless you’re wanting to do the kind of crazy 30ft jumps or driving full pelt into walls or whatever crazy stuff goes on today.
You're right about having a word with myself. it's a crazy budget creep I guess really it depends what you want out the hobby. If you’re serious about this (new to me) trend of ‘bashing’ then those Traxxas things seem to be the thing to have.
I’ve recently got back into RC cars for the second time since my original intro in the mid 80’s and had no idea about how crazy things had got. Amazing how strong cars are these days, there’s a bloke on YT who seems to have made a (partial) career out of smashing the arse out of RC cars and it’s quite something to see what they go through.
The Traxxas type stuff holds very little interest for me as RC is more a nostalgia trip back to the excitement of seeing the Tamiya boxes in model shops as a kid.
The Kyosho Mad Van doesn’t took bad money for a bit of fun though? Or you set on that exact truggy look? Even the FTX stuff seems decent enough for the money and is still pretty tough unless you’re wanting to do the kind of crazy 30ft jumps or driving full pelt into walls or whatever crazy stuff goes on today.
but, "boys and their toys...."After some more research, I think I've decided on the way forward.
Arrma Outcast 4S
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/arrma-1-10-outcast-4x...
£380 base price or £500 with the LiPo battery kit / charger and gubbins. I think that's the price point I'm comfortable with. Arrma seem to have good parts supply and based on some youtube videos, seems to do everything I want in terms of street / bashing and general fun
Will wait until the end of the month before ordering, if there's any additional advice or guidance, would always be welcome
Anything from Modelsport will be ok. As long as a place sells spares for it you will be ok. Modelsport have good customer service too. Dont be afraid to go to them with problems first rather than the internet lol
As you say, you have to like the look of it.
Arma come very well recommended.
The hobby is so far advanced now, even the cheap stuff is good, because its all made in china from the same factories.
As you say, you have to like the look of it.
Arma come very well recommended.
The hobby is so far advanced now, even the cheap stuff is good, because its all made in china from the same factories.
The_Jackal said:
Anything from Modelsport will be ok. As long as a place sells spares for it you will be ok. Modelsport have good customer service too. Dont be afraid to go to them with problems first rather than the internet lol
As you say, you have to like the look of it.
Arma come very well recommended.
The hobby is so far advanced now, even the cheap stuff is good, because its all made in china from the same factories.
Thanks. I think I’m nailed on to the decision of Arrma Outcast 4S. It looks and works great out of the box but lots of upgrade options in terms of servo, suspension etc so if I break it, I will be covered. Will wait to the end of the month before ordering. Will keep you posted. Appreciate the advice. There will be more questions I’m sure!As you say, you have to like the look of it.
Arma come very well recommended.
The hobby is so far advanced now, even the cheap stuff is good, because its all made in china from the same factories.
My lockdown purchase was an Arrma Notorious 6s and I have never had such an enduring big grin from a toy. Running it and working on it are just a joy. From what I understand from youtube, the 4s Outcast is just as much fun and seemingly durable enough to really take some punishment without having to open your wallet as much as maybe you would with a Traxxas.
Just make sure that when you take it out of the box go over EVERY screw to ensure they are correctly tightened, including the grub screw on the pinion gear, you can guess how I know this is a good idea!
Buy it and enjoy it, I cannot imagine it will not live up to high expectations if the 6s version is anything to go by. My batteries have just finished charging so am off out now for a play
Just make sure that when you take it out of the box go over EVERY screw to ensure they are correctly tightened, including the grub screw on the pinion gear, you can guess how I know this is a good idea!
Buy it and enjoy it, I cannot imagine it will not live up to high expectations if the 6s version is anything to go by. My batteries have just finished charging so am off out now for a play
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