mllittle

My original Tamiya Hornet was damaged when the house that I am renting took on water in the basement. I see that Tamiya came out with the Hornet years ago, but I was wondering what you recommend as a potential replacement. I definitely want to go with an unassembled kit, so I can get my kids involved with the assembly. In order to avoid insurance fraud, I need to keep the replacement to approximately the same value as a new Hornet. Is there anything in the same price range? Unfortunately/fortunately, I did not use the Hornet much, but I did recently replace the speed controller and added bearings. Also, what do you recommend for a controller, batteries, and charger? I plan to use the car/truck casually. If anyone is in the southern Maryland area or if there is a club in the area, I would be willing to get together, but I currently don't know anyone that has an r/c car/truck in the area. I would like to be able to customize the car/truck later down the road once I am proficient at driving.

Thanks in advance. Feel free to bash/ask away.

FlapJackFred

First recommendation ....AMP MT 1:10 2wd Monster Truck:BTD Kit (ECX03034): ECX RC
The ECX Amp MT has quite a few hop up options as it uses same components as the Circuit, Ruckus, and Torment. Not much to choose from in kit form other than Tamiya models, "racers", and a few cars here, and there. If you want to buy electronic gear one by one, then hopefully someone will jump in here and give ideas.

mllittle

After stopping in at the local RC shop, I think I need to change my thought process. I guess the RC world changed drastically over the years. I was told that the overall majority of the unassembled kits are mainly for racing instead of around the house use. Also, the RTR cars/trucks are a lot better now compared to years (many years) ago when I entered the RC hobby.

What are your thoughts on the Traxxas Slash 4x4? Seems that the Traxxas cards/trucks have a lot of potential.

FlapJackFred

Local hobby shop? Great! Support them with what they sell. There is nothing like running to a brick and mortal store to get your rc back up and running. Traxxas is good (if you ask me they maybe a bit overpriced). Lots of aftermarket goodies to turn their rc cars into greatness.

RustyUs

I have to ask, what is your thoughts of approximate value of a new hornet? Was it $400 worth of gear in the Hornet?

mllittle

Maybe a little less, but I am not sure. Hornet, transmitter, 2 ac/dc rapid chargers, and 2 battery packs.

Where in Central PA are you?

RustyUs

Approximately 69.7 miles east from Central PA...

RustyUs

A new Hornet, charger (s), good radio, and two good LiPo packs can be had for under $300.