R/C car - advice wanted

[HereBeMonsters]

Emsman said:

You will never regret getting a lunchbox

Oi! That's my motto!

[PeetBee]

You're both going to have fun with those!

If you're both getting slow chargers then can I suggest a fast charger something like one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IMAX-B6-Lipo-Battery-Balance...
They can cope with nimh and lipo/life so you won't have to buy a new charger if you get lipo in the future. It will also stop you getting bored waiting for cells to charge! One pack in the car whilst the other one charges, then swap - hours of fun!

I would also recommend changing the dire Tamiya connectors that come with the cars and batteries for Deans style:
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...
The Tamiya connectors are notorious for overheating and melting together. They used to do that on my Boomerang in the 1980s and the cells these days are far more powerful!

[HereBeMonsters]

Deans are st. PowerPoles ftw.

[clonmult]

PeetBee said:

You're both going to have fun with those!

If you're both getting slow chargers then can I suggest a fast charger something like one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IMAX-B6-Lipo-Battery-Balance...
They can cope with nimh and lipo/life so you won't have to buy a new charger if you get lipo in the future. It will also stop you getting bored waiting for cells to charge! One pack in the car whilst the other one charges, then swap - hours of fun!

I would also recommend changing the dire Tamiya connectors that come with the cars and batteries for Deans style:
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpec...
The Tamiya connectors are notorious for overheating and melting together. They used to do that on my Boomerang in the 1980s and the cells these days are far more powerful!

I'm definitely not going for a slow charger, I've been caught out by that before.

[pokethepope]

percymon said:

Oh bugger - i'm now fancying a Unimog for myself..

Curse you - that looks awesome, i'm gonna have to get one now and i cant afford it!

[HereBeMonsters]

pokethepope said:

percymon said:

Oh bugger - i'm now fancying a Unimog for myself..

Curse you - that looks awesome, i'm gonna have to get one now and i cant afford it!

Make sure you get the CR-01 if you want a decent crawler. I do like my CC-01 Pajero, but it has very little axle articulation.

[PeetBee]

HereBeMonsters said:

Deans are st. PowerPoles ftw.

You're entitled to your opinion
You have to admit they are far better than Tamiya connectors.

BTW Corrally 4mm connectors FTW

[Simond S]

PeetBee said:

HereBeMonsters said:

Deans are st. PowerPoles ftw.

You're entitled to your opinion
You have to admit they are far better than Tamiya connectors.

BTW Corrally 4mm connectors FTW

http://www.pit-bitz.com/product_info.php?cPath=37_40&products_id=74

cheaper than MZ and a lot less chance of reversing them than Corally type connectors.

Powerpoles are ok, but not as commonplace as Deans type when you want extras

Also worth getting a balancing lead if running 2s lipo http://www.pit-bitz.com/product_info.php?cPath=37_... as it keeps the cells at the same voltage.

[percymon]

HereBeMonsters said:

pokethepope said:

percymon said:

Oh bugger - i'm now fancying a Unimog for myself..

Curse you - that looks awesome, i'm gonna have to get one now and i cant afford it!

Make sure you get the CR-01 if you want a decent crawler. I do like my CC-01 Pajero, but it has very little axle articulation.

Absolutely spot on, but i want it more for the looks of the model than its ultimate ability. The Green CC01 based one is £175 for the kit, the orange CR-01 based kit is £330 !!

[TheMighty]

The Lunchbox was my way back into RC a couple of years when I couldn't get my hands on the re-re Subaru Brat at Christmas. I'm so glad that the VLB was sat there on the shelf at the local model shop and needing a home on Christmas Eve. Its a whole lot of fun, and with a nice set of bearings and a few suspension tweaks it will hold a wheelstand for quite some distance but still just about go round corners! I know there's some really heavily modified VLB's out there, but I enjoy mine more than enough as stock with just the few changes that make it drivable.

Since then I've also picked up a Juggernaut 2 monster truck which I'm in the process of restoring. It should have one boxart body and one Transformers2 "wheelie" body by the the time I get it done. Still in need of a few little bits for that one. There's also now a re-re Sand Scorcher sat in the spare room waiting for me to collect all the alloy bling its getting before I make a start on it.

I find it very hard to read on this thread that anyone would find that Tamiya make "toy" RC cars and that the HSP XSTR is a "hobby" grade piece of kit. If someone was likening an old "QD" Tamiya (Carson) to something like a Traxxas Slash 4x4 I could understand the criticism although I probably wouldn't agree. Tamiya build some great pieces of kit although they're not always the quickest or the most durable, but where they always score highly is the overall quailty of the model and especially the scale bodies they have made over the years.

[HereBeMonsters]

TheMighty said:

I know there's some really heavily modified VLB's out there,

Mine can do standing backflips. Brushless ftw.

Also running 5 x oil filled shocks, full bearings, locked diff, all electronics waterproofed (as per pic above!), hardcore servo to be able to actually turn those big front wheels. Ballast in the front when I want it to handle. Wheelie bar has a model aircraft nosewheel with bearing in it to enable longer wheelies...

[percymon]

percymon said:

HereBeMonsters said:

pokethepope said:

percymon said:

Oh bugger - i'm now fancying a Unimog for myself..

Curse you - that looks awesome, i'm gonna have to get one now and i cant afford it!

Make sure you get the CR-01 if you want a decent crawler. I do like my CC-01 Pajero, but it has very little axle articulation.

Absolutely spot on, but i want it more for the looks of the model than its ultimate ability. The Green CC01 based one is £175 for the kit, the orange CR-01 based kit is £330 !!

Well i've resisted the temptation to blow £165 on the green Unimog in favour of a bit of a restoration project. One used but hopefully not too abused Grasshopper on route to me. Motor and ESC present but no servo (£5 in local hobby shop) or radio gear (can swap from the other car post Xmas !!). This forum could cost me dear lol!!

[RRS_Staffs]

It is vitally important that 8y old girls know how to assemble a differential

And then teach their 5y old sister how to drive like a maniac

The Lunchbox works for us
They built it under minimal supervision
It was actually a good educational experience - so I keep telling meself

Its not too fast for the little one to handle and spares are readily available as you said
We hopped ours up with an oil damper upgrade from Hong Kong via Evilbay which really improves the handling

Cheers

Ive posted these before:

[HereBeMonsters]

Brilliant pictures. Love how enthusiastic they look about vintage Tamiya!

Next step - get a Sport Tuned motor for it. Runs with the stock ESC, enables longer wheelies but still easily controllable.

[clonmult]

HereBeMonsters said:

Brilliant pictures. Love how enthusiastic they look about vintage Tamiya!

Next step - get a Sport Tuned motor for it. Runs with the stock ESC, enables longer wheelies but still easily controllable.

+1

I think my older son (who will be the lucky recipient) will have a similar enthusiasm.

And I'm pretty sure that my 2 year old car mad son will practically explode with excitement. He'll just jump around pointing at it saying "car, car, car, car"

[Emsman]

Op-

I don't know if it's of any use to you, but I have a tamiya rising fighter (entry level type thing) sat in the shed, gathering dust.
From memory, the steering arms are a little bent, but I will plier them straight.
I've got the speed controller somewhere, so you would need a reciever (although I may have one of those too- will have a look) a pair of crystals, transmitter and a battery.
If it helps you out though- and enables your little one to have a play on Christmas morning, or indeed, allows the two of you to play with them together, you would be more than welcome to have it. Pm me if interested, I will strip it down, clean it all up, and post it to you.

[percymon]

percymon said:

Well i've resisted the temptation to blow £165 on the green Unimog in favour of a bit of a restoration project. One used but hopefully not too abused Grasshopper on route to me. Motor and ESC present but no servo (£5 in local hobby shop) or radio gear (can swap from the other car post Xmas !!). This forum could cost me dear lol!!

That last statement is coming true.

Still waiting for the arrival of the Grasshopper 2, but in the meantime i've acquired the following resto projects !!

Tamiya Manta Ray buggy
Tamiya Fighter Buggy
Tamiya Blitzer Beetle


..and i have my eye on a few others

[HereBeMonsters]

percymon said:

percymon said:

Well i've resisted the temptation to blow £165 on the green Unimog in favour of a bit of a restoration project. One used but hopefully not too abused Grasshopper on route to me. Motor and ESC present but no servo (£5 in local hobby shop) or radio gear (can swap from the other car post Xmas !!). This forum could cost me dear lol!!

That last statement is coming true.

Still waiting for the arrival of the Grasshopper 2, but in the meantime i've acquired the following resto projects !!

Tamiya Manta Ray buggy
Tamiya Fighter Buggy
Tamiya Blitzer Beetle


..and i have my eye on a few others

Nice work on the Manta Ray. Remember it's a DF-01, so loads of choice hop-ups available. Mine ran various hot motors up to an EZ Run 9T before it comprehensively broke. Slowly rebuilding, going to have a Dynatech O2R for vintage feel.

[percymon]

HereBeMonsters said:

percymon said:

That last statement is coming true.

Still waiting for the arrival of the Grasshopper 2, but in the meantime i've acquired the following resto projects !!

Tamiya Manta Ray buggy
Tamiya Fighter Buggy
Tamiya Blitzer Beetle


..and i have my eye on a few others

Nice work on the Manta Ray. Remember it's a DF-01, so loads of choice hop-ups available. Mine ran various hot motors up to an EZ Run 9T before it comprehensively broke. Slowly rebuilding, going to have a Dynatech O2R for vintage feel.

Will see what sort of state they are in when they arrive before i get tempted to buy loads of bits for something that may be only fit for the skip. Manta Ray was never that popular so i'll probably just go for a Lexan body from Kamtec for £12..

http://www.kamtec.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.produc...


The Beetle is likely to be a money pit - a genuine body, glass and decal set is around £60 !. Woder if the Kamtec lexan Street Rod one will fit, despite the description saying M chassis cars (pic looks like a Blitzer Beetle to my untrained eyes)

http://www.kamtec.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.produc...

[philnotts]

Hello

How about

http://www.hpiracing.co.uk/piw.php?partNo=101263

Everything included in the box, bar the AA's for the controller and 2 years parts warranty on all Hpi items!

Thank you

phil