I know I've asked before but SWMBO & I never went down the RC Car route with our boys.

 

However, this year we have decided that our youngest is old enough to have one, this will be his 1st 'proper' RC Car but I know there isn't much point in spending too much until he either prooves his enthusiasm doesn't dis-appear within 5mins or he mis-handles it and breaks it.

 

So, I've shortlisted the below car

 

HPI Maverick Strada MT Evo

The reviews read very positive and it looks robust on the you-tube video's that I've seen.

 

The question is, are these a good starter package? I'm 99.9% happy with what I've narrowed down to

 

I'm not worried about 'upgrades' etc, this is to be a car that he can enjoy playing with and should he show enough interest then I will look at taking it to the next step and looking at taking him down to talk to the club that goto the Stocksbridge leisure centre on a weekend.

 

Thanks

Matthew

Why not buy him a tamiya lunchbox or madbull etc and build it up together with him. Pm me if you want i was into rc cars for eight years (and spent a fortune in the hobby).

They are pretty good, not brushless so won't be too quick for him to handle.

 

I regularly browse round www.modelsport.co.uk - pretty good website and they are also reasonably priced.

Why not buy him a tamiya lunchbox or madbull etc and build it up together with him. Pm me if you want i was into rc cars for eight years (and spent a fortune in the hobby).

I don't mind building a kit but I think he is a little too young to have the patience for it, also my shift pattern over xmas/new year isn't great and I won't get as long as I would like at home so would prefer a pre-made kit that we can charge up the batteries and take it out pretty much straight away.

If this turns out to be a hobby he has a great interest in (which I think it will), we can plan/build his next car together (and I can have this one to myself :) )

 

Thank you for the offer of contacting you, I may be in touch

 

They are pretty good, not brushless so won't be too quick for him to handle.

 

I regularly browse round www.modelsport.co.uk - pretty good website and they are also reasonably priced.

Thanks for the link, I'll take a look when I get home later this evening.

 

Coming from his Toy Story RC car anything will seem super quick to him , right now, its just something plug n play for him to master some skills

Have to say for me, I like the nitro based RC cars - I love the sound of one running at full tilt

rather than the near silent hum of an electric

.

 

Bought an Ishima Rave 1/8th a few years ago but unfortunately they didn't seem to take of (mine did of a number of jumps though :peek: ) and they went under.

 

HPI are a very good brand so I doubt you will have many problems - just bear in mind you will break parts so factor in some money for that (I have lost count of the money I have spent on bent, broken and worn out parts in the years I have had RC.

The original plan was to buy my brothers nitro RC car off him as its been sat on a shelf in my parents garage for around 3years but he never cleaned it after the last time he took it to the beach to use so everything is now stuck & corroded :(

Might be worth trying to strip it down,clean, lube and reassemble it. If the chassis and electrics are ok a new engine or other replacement parts might not be too expensive.

 

I used to be on the modelsport forum quite a bit as well but the last couple of years have been pretty hectic so the buggy hasn't made it off the shelf in 2 years (just hope I remembered to lube the engine the last time I had it out.

Have to say for me, I like the nitro based RC cars - I love the sound of one running at full tilt

rather than the near silent hum of an electric

.

 

Bought an Ishima Rave 1/8th a few years ago but unfortunately they didn't seem to take of (mine did of a number of jumps though :peek: ) and they went under.

 

HPI are a very good brand so I doubt you will have many problems - just bear in mind you will break parts so factor in some money for that (I have lost count of the money I have spent on bent, broken and worn out parts in the years I have had RC.

 

My girlfriend hates you... :P

 

After watching them videos you posted I just had to spend £170 on a Nitro car!

Picking it up Saturday once the shop has run it in as I fear I may break it doing so lol.

I have to admit, I'm rather excited myself about my son getting an RC car, I can see it leading onto me getting one too. The last RC car I had the use of (shared with my brother, over 20years ago) was a Mardave Meteor, like the one below

 

Wow that looks old! 

What powered that? 4 AA batteries? lol

    you cant do this with a nitro

, very important on cold wet winters evenings  . but if you thought they were fast for battery powered cars then check this out

How the hell do people control cars at that speed! 

Were they electric?

I have to admit, I'm rather excited myself about my son getting an RC car, I can see it leading onto me getting one too. The last RC car I had the use of (shared with my brother, over 20years ago) was a Mardave Meteor, like the one below

I still run my Mardave, currently got a Mini bodyshell on it but also have Ford pickup truck.

Only runs with the main battery pack unlike my old Tamiya Grasshopper or Wild One which had dedicated 4xAA cell pack for radio gear.

Dead simple bit of kit and kids love it.

I am a big Tamiya Fan and Collector, Have been since I was a kid, Currently own an Original Bruiser, Monster beetle, Grasshopper 2, King Hauler with flat bed trailer. All restored and in mint condition, Plus another 10 or so New in box kits in the loft all from the 80's period.

 

Why not buy a Lunchbox, But one of the XB kits, Pre built and ready to go!! :clap:

 

My King Hauler, Cost a lot, but its well worth it!!!

    you cant do this with a nitro

, very important on cold wet winters evenings  . but if you thought they were fast for battery powered cars then check this out

Can't do that anyway in the winter - nowhere I know off with a big enough hall for it. So the nitro sits out the winter apart from the odd day that it is dry (both sky and ground conditions)

 

Sonix - have a look on Modelsport if you want to meet up with other RC drivers. Most areas have clubs or meets that happen fairly often. Great to have the company of other drivers while bashing about - helps you learn about the cars and how to control them and tune them.

I've had loads of RC models over the years, can't remember them all! You can't really go wrong with a Tamiya, the assembly instructions are good and they are pretty robust. HPI have been around for a while now so probably a safe bet too.

 

Some cars I had over the years:

Tamiya Striker

Mardave Mini

Schumacher Viper Mini

1/10 scale Yokomo touring car with a carbon fibre chassis

1/10 Associated TC3 touring car

Tamiya Fighter Buggy

 

Racing the 1/10 touring cars was great fun though I found some people took it very seriously and it can get very expensive. The cars I had were fully adjustable and had independent suspension. Playing around with them taught me all about the effects of changing camber/toe etc.

 

General things to beware of:

Off road tyres will wear out very quickly on tarmac

When (not if) the car gets crashed suspension and steering components are likely to break, so have a look at the price of spares for whatever parts you buy.

 

Shops I used to use for mail order are:

Modelsport

Apex Models

Cleveland Models

 

Enjoy!

I would echo the comments about the tyres and breakages - buy a set of slicks/semi slicks if you are planning on using it a lot on tarmac. By the same token the slicks will be next to useless on grass so a set of block tyres will be best (for wear rate/grip trade off).

Love a good weekend with the RC cars out and about. I've got a couple of thunder tiger eb4 nitro cars. One has a .21 engine and the other has a .28 engine. I also have a traxxas tmaxx with a .21 engine aswell, which is a great all rounder and seems indestructible!

Nitro is definately more fun in my opinion but not as quick to get going etc.

Eb4 .28

Eb4 .21

My old 33cc chainsaw engined marder...... That was a bloody handful! Lol

Edited 14 November, 201411 yr by mattievrs

Marders are evil - one of them tried to break my leg (might have something to do with my mates driving). They weigh a ton compared to an 1/8 scale so you feel it a bit when they hit. I actually found myself thinking about wearing shin guards for the next time out!

I really fancy getting myself a nitro RC car.

 

When I was 12 my parents bought me a Tamiya Subaru WRC kit (electric) that me and my dad built up on Christmas day / boxing day. (He enjoyed it just as much as me)

 

i've still got it although I suspect it would be a non-runner!

 

Anyway, do you have any reccomendations for Nitro kits? preferably touring rather than buggies!

Marders are evil - one of them tried to break my leg (might have something to do with my mates driving). They weigh a ton compared to an 1/8 scale so you feel it a bit when they hit. I actually found myself thinking about wearing shin guards for the next time out!

Yeah, the one above is now sold as it was too fast and destructive to warrant keeping. The first time I took it out I wasn't fully prepared for its sheer lunacy and destroyed a part of someone's panel fence with it! The second time I took it out, I smashed it into a small metal post and bent the marders chassis. I stripped it down and hammered it back into shape then decided to sell it!

Edited 14 November, 201411 yr by mattievrs

How the hell do people control cars at that speed! 

Were they electric?

You think that''s fast, check out the Traxxas XO1!

 

even the little brushless cars I bought to the August meet would top out at 40+mph

Edited 14 November, 201411 yr by s0niX
Removed Link - Were on twice.

How are they getting it to that speed????

How are they getting it to that speed????

Here you are, the official webpage. A RC car that gets to 100mph faster then most of the cars on the forum get to 60

 

http://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/64077xo1