vegas34

I'm ready to get back in to RC cars/trucks, this time with my son. When they were first made I owned the Tamiya Grasshopper and Monster Beetle and loved them...anyway, my question is what recommendations can you guys give us for brands/kits to buy to get back into it. I did just drive a co-workers Traxxas Bandit that was MUCH MUCH faster than the old models I just mentioned. He did say it was a brush motor and brush less is much faster...? He did say you could buy them in a full kit (car, battery, charger, and controller) as opposed to the old days.

I would like us to buy a car/truck that we actually build/put together like I did with mine as a kid. So anyway, I know this is very general I know, but ANY help and suggestions are much appreciated!

sheograth

Tamiya
Associated
Losi
HPI
Traxxas

Those 5 brands come to mind (in no particular overall order) Associated, HPI, Tamiya, and Losi have more kit options. Traxxas is more RTR or ARTR stuff.

vegas34

And I only have experience in electric, so stick to that or venture into gas or nitro? Thanks again!

Anthoop

Electric vehicles are plug and play but of course you need to wait for a battery to charge or have a few battery packs if you want to keep driving....gasoline (petrol) and nitro (glow fuel) vehicles of course just need fuel added to keep running (other than the electrics required by the radio system)......gas RC are mainly large scale, engines are easy to use but you have to mix oil with the fuel....nitro RC generally are smaller scale, engines can be quite finnicky and short lived with inexperience but the fuel, although expensive is ready to run (just be sure you are buying the correct fuel for the engine in question).

Only you can decide what fits your needs....but be sure there is help and advice here and everywhere on the internet for you....I would personally decide on the power option first and then the type of vehicle....buggy/truggy/truck/rally/gt/on-road....and whilst you are from an era where kits were prominent (me too), these days things are a little different....mostly the kits are higher end that require many other parts....never forget it is easy to take apart/rebuild a RTR (Ready To Run) vehicle.

vegas34

Also, better to buy online or from a hobby store here in town. I live in Vegas, and honestly don't know how many there really are. Thanks.

sheograth

I do most of my shopping online. There are tons of hobby stores in the bay area but most are overpriced, arrogant, old fashioned, and barely have anything in stock. I only regularly patronize one, and it's owned by a friend. He has a small store but can order anything and it arrives fast. Plus he matches online prices for anyone, and for me he generally just charges cost.

For example, there is this one store in San Francisco which I won't name that told me I was an idiot for buying HPI products because Traxxas is by far the only hobby grade company out there :/ He also insisted that (for RC planes) carbon fiber and fiberglass are scams and balsa/tissue is the only way to go.

I'm sure he's suspicious of LCD screens too and only buys CRTs

1QwkSport2.5r

On the bold - now THAT is rich! LoL. You'd probably be labeled a heretic if you went in with a plane covered in Monokote.

I started in RC with a Traxxas Nitro Sport. It was cheap, easy to run, and never got ruined by me. Put a few engines in it ending up with a 3.3 and and just about any upgrade part I could find... Then it got stolen 13 years after I bought it. Stupid people.

Anyway, I'm partial to Traxxas - I've had several stadium trucks, worked on T-Maxxes for a friend, and I think they're suitable first RC vehicles IMO. Parts are plentiful for most, well known, and their warranty is usually quite good. I'm also partial to Losi. Their MTs are hard to beat. I haven't tried one of the brand new Gas MTs yet, but I've heard they're as tough as they always were but the engines might still have a bug or two. Never had or wanted an HPI, so I can't advise on those.

sheograth

HPI is one of the best brands out there for entry level through competition grade stuff. Anyway, I didn't mean to put down Traxxas, it was just an example. Traxxas is fine too..

But seriously, you should see some of the older hobby shops in San Francisco, If I were to walk in with a brushless motor I would probably be burned at the stake,.

SyCo_VeNoM

I would say they were... most their newer models are kinda crap though like the trophy line.
The old Savages, firestorm, blitz, and even wheely king are solid things though from them


BTW that hobby traxxas lover shop sounds like the only one left by me when it comes to anything ground based the guy looks at you funny, and will ignore you if there are any other customers in the place as all he cares about is airplanes. Last time I was in there he had like a 7 year old stampede on the shelf with dust all over it, for higher then MSRP.

06cumminsman

I have looked at a few, and both my son and I want to get the RC4WD Trail Finder 2. You have to paint the body so you can choose any color you want, and it comes as parts to be built. I know there are others but that is what we have seen that we like.

RustyUs

Just because someone has a brushless motor, doesn't mean it's faster.
This subject comes up a lot. I normally buy kits to build. I love that feeling of the suspension moving, and a 4wd tranny moving the tires on my car stand...knowing if there's something messed up...I'm to blame . The sad thing is...RTRs are the "norm" these days when it comes to purchasing a RC car/truck for a person just "starting out". I would love to see manufacturers put out basic kits for people to understand the workings of the vehicle. I'm so glad Axial has stepped up to the plate with kits for the scaler/crawler/rock racer RC community to enjoy. They (Axial) are just plain awesome in my book. I was in the middle of a search for a new ride, and low and behold, the Yeti came out in kit form! I knew immediately that was the new ride I've been holding out for. I'm not saying one should go out and dump some $$$ on a Yeti kit to start out with, I'm just saying that the Yeti build was the most enjoyable "wrenching" (literally... a lot of it) I have even done since 1983.

vegas34

Great stuff guys, I really appreciate all of the input. IF there were brushless motors in 1983-ish when I got in RC cars I sure don't remember them.

I owned 2 vehicles both made by Tamiya, that are probably DINOSAURS now: The Grasshopper and the Monster Beetle. My friend had the Hornet. I used to like building the cars on my own, fixing broken control arms, painting the bodies, changing wheels/tires, upgrading motors, etc ALMOST as much as I liked driving them. I live in Vegas now, but was born and raised in KC and there was ONE indoor track that I knew of. The Monster Beetle would win me a lot of races (amateur) because of the body shape - it'd roll straight over to the tires if you miss timed the throttle on a jump! The BAD NEWS----- my mom sold the whole lot of my RC stuff at a garage sale my freshman year of college for $25.

Oh to h#ll with it, I'm buying myself one now as well as one for my 13 year old!!!

Just realized I'm going to have to learn how to use the trigger looking controller, as my old stuff was the 2 sticks. :-)

RustyUs

Ah yes, sounds to me the addiction is creeping in and one has fallen off wagon, or about to .

Tamiya has been doing the re-release thing for years now. I believe the Monster Beetle is the latest re-release to be put on the market. I started out with Tamiya's Frog. I loved every minute of it. There are so many great models out there to be given a chance nowadays. Some manufacturers offer more for your money, and I would have bought another RC model that started my addiction, but I can't justify some of the prices of ABS/hard plastic RC kits that include plastic shocks with sub-par performance.

One RC that I might splurge on, if it ever makes it to the re-release stage and comes with a belt drive offering, the Kyosho's Optima...I can't wait with fingers crossed forever though.

Anthoop

You can still get stick sets, even though a RTR will come with a pistol set....I use stick never got on with pistol.

vegas34

Great to hear you can still get the "sticks" controller! And I just found the "re-released" Monster Beetle you guys mentioned...HOLY CRAP I can't believe they still make it! Might just have to buy one. *the fever is coming back at age 41!!!!