First RC Car

[lawrence567]

Looking for an RC car for an 8 year old for xmas.
Ideally i'd like to get something that's not from the Argos book - budget is £75 and it needs to be an off roader ideally.
It'll be 'our' first car so i'd like a better one than the Argos book for the fun factor & the fact i get to play with it!

Any suggesions?

[HereBeMonsters]

I don't think you'd get anything other than "toy" grade at that budget, maybe an Ansmann and some second hand radio gear?

[lawrence567]

Is this more of a 'proper' RC car or just a hyped up Argos special?

http://www.wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/118552/

[HereBeMonsters]

lawrence567 said:

Is this more of a 'proper' RC car or just a hyped up Argos special?

http://www.wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/118552/

It's 1:18 scale, so it's tiny. Cheap Chinese copy of a "hobby" grade car, not quite the real thing. If it's small you want, check out the Losi stuff:

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/losi-mini-desert-truck...

I have one of these: http://www.modelsport.co.uk/losi-micro-desert-truc... - really small, but a total laugh.

If you want a proper sized car, then I don't think you're going to find better than: http://www.modelsport.co.uk/ansmann-racing-mad-rat... unless you go second-hand.


Depends what you want, really. For me, the build (and being able to repair it) is as much fun as driving it, so I'd always look for a decent kit. If it only has to last until Boxing Day, just go down to Model Zone and get a £20 thing that runs on AAs...

[Arklight]

Have a nose here http://www.nitrotek.co.uk they may have something that will be a great present.

I have had one of the 1:10 buggies from there and it was bulletproof and happily bounced off most things, also they are good on spare parts in case you hit something a little less bouncy..

this one is around your budget http://www.nitrotek.co.uk/fs-racing-bolt-2wd-elect...

[lawrence567]

Yeah i was looking at the Losi ones, it'll primarily be used on the local playing field & i'm just a bit sceptical that the Losi would'nt run over the grass?
It is only for a young lad though, i was just looking at it with the view that if he does'nt take to it i could use it instead, hence going for something a little bigger!
Boat wise i was looking at the Magic Cat that they had on the Gadget show, that looked pretty epic!

[wacattack]

lawrence567 said:

Yeah i was looking at the Losi ones, it'll primarily be used on the local playing field & i'm just a bit sceptical that the Losi would'nt run over the grass?
It is only for a young lad though, i was just looking at it with the view that if he does'nt take to it i could use it instead, hence going for something a little bigger!
Boat wise i was looking at the Magic Cat that they had on the Gadget show, that looked pretty epic!

On grass, unless its been cut very short, a 1/18th scale car would seriously struggle to get through it. 1/10th is definitely the way to go

[lawrence567]

Arklight said:

Have a nose here http://www.nitrotek.co.uk they may have something that will be a great present.

I have had one of the 1:10 buggies from there and it was bulletproof and happily bounced off most things, also they are good on spare parts in case you hit something a little less bouncy..

this one is around your budget http://www.nitrotek.co.uk/fs-racing-bolt-2wd-elect...

Looks ideal!
I've found it cheaper on the web but they offer a price beat service, thanks for the help, i'm sure it'll keep the little un, (aswel as me entertained)!

[Rude-boy]

lawrence567 said:

Arklight said:

Have a nose here http://www.nitrotek.co.uk they may have something that will be a great present.

I have had one of the 1:10 buggies from there and it was bulletproof and happily bounced off most things, also they are good on spare parts in case you hit something a little less bouncy..

this one is around your budget http://www.nitrotek.co.uk/fs-racing-bolt-2wd-elect...

Looks ideal!
I've found it cheaper on the web but they offer a price beat service, thanks for the help, i'm sure it'll keep the little un, (aswel as me entertained)!

Another vote for Nitotec. Not the most advanced stuff but the one my fiancee bought me is the only Nitro r/c car I have had which has lasted longer than my interest in it IYSWIM. Far more expensive ones have broken beyond repair or just p'eed me off so much they have been boxed where as a few hours stripping down the Nitrotek sourced one will have it running again even after being on the shelf for a few years.

They are also very good for parts which i have found to be a fairly major issue when sourcing. I have a fantastic Thunder Tiger that needs a load of parts after an off and after searching around the internet about the only way i am going to be able to get half of them is to buy a s/h one to rebuild mine from, not what i wanted to find out.

[Arklight]

lawrence567 said:

Looks ideal!
I've found it cheaper on the web but they offer a price beat service, thanks for the help, i'm sure it'll keep the little un, (aswel as me entertained)!

You can get one each easily changeable frequencies on these.

[defblade]

Arklight said:

Have a nose here http://www.nitrotek.co.uk they may have something that will be a great present.

Nitrotek said:

Gift Ideas
•Gift Ideas
•Gifts For Boys 10-14
•Gift Ideas For Men 14-16
•Gifts For Men 17+

No sign of the ladies..... I think they know their market!

[Simond S]

Rude-boy said:

I have a fantastic Thunder Tiger that needs a load of parts after an off and after searching around the internet about the only way i am going to be able to get half of them is to buy a s/h one to rebuild mine from, not what i wanted to find out.

speak to Amerang. They import Thunder Tiger.

http://www.amerang.co.uk/contact.asp

[Fun Bus]

I'm another looking for my lad for this Christmas! He's 7 and only had 'kiddie' RC cars so far so I'm thinking this Christmas I get him (well, us) a 'proper' car which will go off road and be quicker than what he has had previously. I really like this one:

http://www.nitrotek.co.uk/raptor-radio-controlled-...

I've looked at some which are 'brushless'? What does this mean? I was all set to go the Tamiya route but looks like there is much better value out there.

[vdubbin]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brushless_DC_electric_motor

More expensive, more powerful, and more efficient than an equivalent brushed motor.

[TheMighty]

Fun Bus said:

I was all set to go the Tamiya route but looks like there is much better value out there.

You may find cheaper but I don't think you'll find much better value than Tamiya. I've just been waiting for someone to come along and tell the truth about the Nitrotec stuff. I've seen, used and had to help people out with their stuff when it doesn't do anything as expected. It is far from "hobby grade" RC. More like a toy with parts availability.

I'm not just a Tamiya fanboy, I'd quite happily recommend HPI, Losi, Ansmann, Traxxas or any of the big names. They are the big names in RC for good reason.

[vdubbin]

Forgot to add, another Tamiya vote here.

[HereBeMonsters]

Definitely go Tamiya if I were you.

Buy cheap, buy twice.

[Fun Bus]

Hmm. Thanks chaps. I'd love a 'Vanessas Lunchbox' as it's something I always wanted but not sure if it will stand up to my Son's desire to build ramps for it. Anything Tamiya would be a good move up from the 'kiddie' type RC's? More speed and on-grass/off-road capability is what I would like to see.

[HereBeMonsters]

Fun Bus said:

Hmm. Thanks chaps. I'd love a 'Vanessas Lunchbox' as it's something I always wanted but not sure if it will stand up to my Son's desire to build ramps for it. Anything Tamiya would be a good move up from the 'kiddie' type RC's? More speed and on-grass/off-road capability is what I would like to see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAdqhuxqv-w

[Fun Bus]

HereBeMonsters said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAdqhuxqv-w

Can't watch on work laptop and copying pasting a PITA on iPhone!