Remote Controlled Cars

[DeskJockey]

Eldest is turning eight soon and I was wondering about getting him a slightly more serious remote control car. He's been having loads of fun with a £25 one he bought, so something a bit better and more capable would be a good option.

Don't want to build it myself, budget about £100. Any ideas for what to look for?

[Zonda_]

Have a look here. https://www.modelsport.co.uk/ They have a massive range from basic to advanced. Lots are ready to run.

[DeskJockey]

Excellent. Cheers!

[simon_g]

FTX and Absima do some nice stuff under £100.

Else lots of good wltoys ones via the chinese shopping sites or often on amazon now too.

[DeskJockey]

Bought this one:

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/ma ... ck-1330634

Ticks the boxes and shouldn't be too hard for him to use.

[DeskJockey]

It is silly fast!

Also first outing to the park ended with the o/s front driveshaft being bent and ripped from the car. Have ordered spares.

[DaveE]

It is silly fast!

Also first outing to the park ended with the o/s front driveshaft being bent and ripped from the car. Have ordered spares.

A friend of mine in school was into RC cars (Tamiya) back in the day

I remember him saying to me that I shouldn't buy one because I want to drive them, I should buy one because I want to build and repair them (as that's what I'd spend my time doing)

[DeskJockey]

Can believe that!

[16vCento]

I've just bought a Traxxas TRX4M Defender for the boy, and it's epic

We've just spent all evening building all sorts of obstacles for it and it just goes, has sport, crawl and another mode and it's great fun.

Seems durable as has been down the stairs outside and inside several times without fault, and through a puddle deeper than the top of it without a hitch

I wish I'd had one when I was little!

[DeskJockey]

That sounds like fun.

[Mito Man]

They’re incredible aren’t they, I remember being blown away at how well the diff locks worked. Liked it so much I ended up buying the actual thing

[John]

I've just bought a Traxxas TRX4M Defender for the boy, and it's epic

I've been looking at crawlers for the last year and do like the look of these. The internet says they have a weird steering issue where lock is better one way than the other. Probably not noticeable for the average (me) user

[16vCento]

It's very good fun, we've had it doing all sorts of acrobatics, i wish we'd got one ages ago now!

[Zonda_]

I've just bought a Traxxas TRX4M Defender for the boy, and it's epic

I've been looking at crawlers for the last year and do like the look of these. The internet says they have a weird steering issue where lock is better one way than the other. Probably not noticeable for the average (me) user

Our MK1 Golf had that!

[Zonda_]

I've just bought a Traxxas TRX4M Defender for the boy, and it's epic

We've just spent all evening building all sorts of obstacles for it and it just goes, has sport, crawl and another mode and it's great fun.

Seems durable as has been down the stairs outside and inside several times without fault, and through a puddle deeper than the top of it without a hitch

I wish I'd had one when I was little!

I’ve nearly taken the plunge on one for my nephew but been put off buy the shocking quality of a Traxxas Hawk I had in the late 90s! Where did you get it from?

[16vCento]

Modelsport in Otley, nice place, very helpful in there, got a few cars out for us to try.

[Mito Man]

My recent rainy day project has been recommissioning this angry strimmer

Can’t really drive it hard as parts are all NLA but redid the fuel system, cleaned the carb (yes the ultrasonic was useless as usual), adjusted the servos it started up on the third pull after 10 years.


Also drove straight through a bollard without noticing. Wouldn’t want to get hit in the shins with it.


And that’s that for another 10 years. Need to get some of the really old ones out for a run.

[integrale_evo]

I’d like a nitro rc car, mainly because they were mythical things a few people I knew had as a child but never seemed to run well / properly. They look a bit messy, noisy and a faff though.

I have hoarded a few cars over the years…

During the 90s most of my paper round money went into a tamiya touring car, was actually an Alfa 155 dtm on the ta02 chassis. Usually wears a bmw e36 body, signed by Jo winklehock at snetterton one year.



Skip forward a few years..

Christmas 2023, because I never get any actual Christmas presents, I asked for a tamiya lunchbox. My best mate had one when they were still pretty new, I had a tamiya hornet, and regularly messed around with them together.



It’s rubbish, bouncy, top heavy, massive weight transfer, crazy positive camber on the front wheels, wheelies, open diff etc. but it’s just so much fun!

June 24, similar, asked for a mantaray for my birthday. This is a weird one, I don’t really like how it looks, but I like what it was. I couldn’t afford several ‘good’ cars back in the day, so never owned one. Painted box art, but left the canopy clear ( instructions say to paint all that section black)

Feels a lot more ‘proper’ than the lunchbox. Basic, but very smooth oil filled dampers, decent travel double wishbone suspension all round. Honestly, it drives really nicely. A fun build and fun to drive. Highly recommended if you fancy a tamiya kit. It’s not a racing buggy or a skate park basher though!



The mantaray donated chassis tub and gearboxes to their first ‘narrow’ 1/10th scale 4wd touring car with ta01 chassis.

They shortened the tub and made a few suspension changes making the ta02.

Tada



Then this Christmas I bought myself a tamiya Topforce. Tamiyas 100th rc kit - original number 58100.

This was an attempt to turn the mantaray into a racing body, and came with quite a few upgrades.

Ball diffs front and rear, hardened prop shaft, cvd front driveshafts, frp shock towers, frp twin deck chassis, adjustable upper arms, more suspension mounting options, lower sleeker body. Much cheaper to buy a Topforce than upgrade a mantaray to similar spec. Mine will only ever be a display piece.

Not a fan of green, but I wanted it box art, so green it is. It’s actually a really nice metallic green.







Photos don’t do justice to how much lower and more purposeful it looks




Then while browsing eBay I spotted a tamiya QuickDrive super sabre. One of these was my first proper fully functional rc car, back when they were brand new, I adored it and drove it until the tyres were slicks. They take 8 AA batteries which used to take 8 hours to charge!

Boxed, great condition, love the wheels, drivers name is Harry Hurryup


Which fits in with my other couple of quickdrive cars I got trying to fill the void of not having a supersabre…
Thundershot, supersabre, thunderdragon, the first three QD models they did.


Also have a tamiya tamtech 935. Only ever a display piece.



And a tt01 chassis delta integrale. I went and picked it up in my delta ~ 2004 it was only ever a display piece, but recently decided to try driving it. Bought some rallyblock tyres as the originals had cracked.

Massive dissapointment. Barely any suspension travel, stiff bouncy friction dampers. Considering making a ta01 chassis for it like the original early 90s release would have had. You can still buy the wheels, body and decal sets, they’ve rereleased it so many times on so many different platforms.



I’ve still got my original hornet somewhere at my parents house as well as several other touring car bodies. There’s loads more cars I want, I love building them, but that take up quite a lot of space

[speedingfine]

Excellent post, straight in the childhood. Model shops are few and far between now aren't they

My last foray into R/C was at Xmas when I bought a plane for a friend's son. First flight, disappeared over the horizon, never to be seen again. Luckily only £40. As it should be

[Rich B]

i had a Vanessa’s lunchbox that was a hand me down from my brother (when he got a Vanquish) and reshelled as a midnight pumpkin with an overhaul by my dad. Silly fun with lots of suspension movement and a solid rear axle!