Hi Sven,

In any upgrade there is a cost. But it should not be so much, so to end up with double the money (or even many times more) than the stock helicopter.
If it needs so much upgrades to be good then it is no good (as stock) and so you must not buy it in the first place.

But a Lama2 V3, a Lama V4 or Dauphin or Co-Comance is a good helicopter that flies good out of the box.
In addition it is a cheap helicopter with cheap spare parts also.
Which means anyone can have one.
And have no worry if it`s crashed or something, as its spare parts cost so little.

Now if we add this cost (of all your ideal upgrades) to the cost of a V4 then we have an indoors heli that it is not affordable.
Add some batteries, accessories and spare parts you will use and we have an expensive hobby that only a few could afford.

If we add also an xtreme tail boom kit and a brushless conversion then it becomes a heli that has left behind the meaning of an inexpensive one for good.
And only very few could afford it.

So my advice (to Nick) would be to stick in stock, put some inexpensive upgrades as for the looks and to have the feeling you`ve "improved" it or you have a better heli than the stock (or the neighbor) and keep a low profile in your upgrading plans.

The xtreme tail boom kit is nice as it can help also to have some outdoors use, and looks very nice also. If I had a V4 (frame) then I would like to have the kit installed, for sure.
But it is too expensive in comparison to the price range of this helicopter.
It costs about the 3/4 of the price of the helicopter.

PS. Out of the small lama I would have gone for a V3, as it`s the one that costs less to maintain, the lightest (for what it means for the motors) and maybe I would put a flexible tail.
Although it`s ugly (at least for me) the V3 I think it`s the ideal indoors heli. But then again someone else has other priorities and other preference.

Spiros