Beginner to RC cars
Discussion
I haven't played with RC cars since I was a lad, but with my son (only 18 months) taking a serious interest in cars already (naturally), and already able to drive forwards, backwards and sort of steer a cheap RC bought for him as a present, I thought I'd get a head start and rekindle my enjoyment too.
Where do I start though? For basic use mainly on soft ground (grass) with possibly a few jumps (ex golf course), should I go for Electric or Nitro? How much should I be spending as a starter kit and how involved will I be in the building process? Is there anything meaningful I should know before I start, like buying a certain type of battery in batch loads so I don't have to wait hours to charge for 5 minutes of pleasure?
Taking modelsport as an example (no idea if they are any good, just saw a previous thread on here with them mentioned a few times), would this car be a good start point? http://www.modelsport.co.uk/ftx-vantage-1-10-4wd-b... Picked it for the non-scientific reason of I liked the look of it!!!
Thanks for any guidance you can offer me.
(PS - keeping it relevant to Pistonheads, I have a 'real' Cayman GT4 coming in June, so need something to keep me entertained until then!)
Where do I start though? For basic use mainly on soft ground (grass) with possibly a few jumps (ex golf course), should I go for Electric or Nitro? How much should I be spending as a starter kit and how involved will I be in the building process? Is there anything meaningful I should know before I start, like buying a certain type of battery in batch loads so I don't have to wait hours to charge for 5 minutes of pleasure?
Taking modelsport as an example (no idea if they are any good, just saw a previous thread on here with them mentioned a few times), would this car be a good start point? http://www.modelsport.co.uk/ftx-vantage-1-10-4wd-b... Picked it for the non-scientific reason of I liked the look of it!!!
Thanks for any guidance you can offer me.
(PS - keeping it relevant to Pistonheads, I have a 'real' Cayman GT4 coming in June, so need something to keep me entertained until then!)
Ready to Run. Good if it matches your requirements but you run the risk of effectively buying a lot of other bits that long term will be a waste of money.
But cheaper for someone just wanting a car to use and not really think about, in other words probably 90% of people.
As a good example I got bought a RTR Thunder Tiger Phoenix buggy some time ago as a present, it needed a charger and batteries buying but otherwise everything was in the box, it was great for bashing and all in probably cost about £120 plus another £30-40 for batteries and charger.
Were I to have built a similar quality kit up by the time I've taken kit, paint, hop ups, radio, motor, esc. I'd have been looking at closer to £200 plus the cost of the batteries and charger same as the other car. The difference being that the gear I'd have chosen would then have transferred to other cars in the future where as the Phoenix is pretty much throw away if it ever dies in a big way/wears out beyond economical repair.
That said RTRs make a lot of sense for most, and there are good buys out there, the model described above for instance is a remake of an old RC10 B3 as the parent company owns Associated now, the car is excellent about the only downside is the turnbuckle ends are a bit brittle but a pack of associated turnbuckle ends are less than a fiver, and the shocks are crap but again easily changed. It drives like a dream. So pick your RTR carefully and you can have a good experience, sadly a lot of them are not much more than toy grade cars packaged up to look like a hobby grade car, it used to be that removable shell and separate servo/receiver/esc marked out a "proper" model but these days the chinese crap is much better looking and to the amateur eye it's hard to tell the difference, but they drive poorly and break regularly with parts being very hard to get and often expensive.
But cheaper for someone just wanting a car to use and not really think about, in other words probably 90% of people.
As a good example I got bought a RTR Thunder Tiger Phoenix buggy some time ago as a present, it needed a charger and batteries buying but otherwise everything was in the box, it was great for bashing and all in probably cost about £120 plus another £30-40 for batteries and charger.
Were I to have built a similar quality kit up by the time I've taken kit, paint, hop ups, radio, motor, esc. I'd have been looking at closer to £200 plus the cost of the batteries and charger same as the other car. The difference being that the gear I'd have chosen would then have transferred to other cars in the future where as the Phoenix is pretty much throw away if it ever dies in a big way/wears out beyond economical repair.
That said RTRs make a lot of sense for most, and there are good buys out there, the model described above for instance is a remake of an old RC10 B3 as the parent company owns Associated now, the car is excellent about the only downside is the turnbuckle ends are a bit brittle but a pack of associated turnbuckle ends are less than a fiver, and the shocks are crap but again easily changed. It drives like a dream. So pick your RTR carefully and you can have a good experience, sadly a lot of them are not much more than toy grade cars packaged up to look like a hobby grade car, it used to be that removable shell and separate servo/receiver/esc marked out a "proper" model but these days the chinese crap is much better looking and to the amateur eye it's hard to tell the difference, but they drive poorly and break regularly with parts being very hard to get and often expensive.
Just to add to the good advice already offered, I would avoid nitro for the time being. The setting and tinkering (which does need to be done) can be fun, but also takes time which, if my recent experience is anything to go by, is a precious commodity when you have a toddler. If you can spare the time in the evenings over a couple of weeks, buy a kit, it's quite therapeutic. I would use the time to grab a beer, build a couple of pages worth while catching up with Fast n Loud on the TV. If you have other things to do in the evenings, but a cheap RTR to use and decide from there what you want to do.
I bought a Traxxas T-Maxx in the summer, as I've always wanted a nitro car since I was a kid. Its been round the garden twice. The electric stuff gets a lot more use.
As for suppliers, all my stuff comes from Wheelspin Models, Radshape (as they are local-ish to me), Modelsport or Jadlam Racing Models (owned by Russy01 on here). Never had any issues with any of them.
I bought a Traxxas T-Maxx in the summer, as I've always wanted a nitro car since I was a kid. Its been round the garden twice. The electric stuff gets a lot more use.
As for suppliers, all my stuff comes from Wheelspin Models, Radshape (as they are local-ish to me), Modelsport or Jadlam Racing Models (owned by Russy01 on here). Never had any issues with any of them.
I have just ordered a FTX Hooligan which will hopefully turn up in a few days so I will let you know what it is like. These seem to be on offer for good prices most places, plus I thought the rallycross styling was a bit different to the usual buggy or monster truck.
I havn't had an RC car since I was about 12, and that was a mardave mini stock, so this will be a bit different!
I havn't had an RC car since I was about 12, and that was a mardave mini stock, so this will be a bit different!
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