As you can see, I'm not the only experienced guy here saying kits are the way to go, they are more than worth the extra $s (thanks rctruckracer )

I would ORDER you to do it, if I thought it would make any difference. My Hyper ran through 3 litres, and I realised I loved this class. I went out an bought an Xray XB8 three weeks later with an RB S5 engine and some crazy servos, shortly after I bought a good radio, and basically, the Hyper has been sat now for over a year (it's actually being sold tomorrow!). I don't know what your expectations are to be honest...but I can't help thinking you'll feel like me and just wish that you'd spent a few extra pounds to get something really good from the start. The Mugen is an excellent, COMPETITION class racing buggy, it really is a LOT better than the Hyper 7. You can be fast around the track with either, but you will just end up with lots of parts you don't want if you go for an RTR, and end up probably spending more in the long run. Put it like this...if you are like me, you may be slightly disappointed with a stock RTR, adn want to start upgrading it immediately. If you get teh Mugen, you'll be happy as a pig in poo from day 1. It's that simple.

I just checked the kit you sugeste foxy, it's waaay to far out of my budget. The kit is £250 in the UK, the Engine is £100! (when the exact same one is only $125 there in america) that's £350 (almost $700USD) before I have even got anything else.

I'm english too, man, I live in greece, so yeh, I'm used to the yanks getting everything half price too, but what are ya gonna do!?...Where are you looking? Are you anywhere near Crowthorne?? Have you checked out Apex Models?

If you say the best price you can find the mugen for is 250 quid, then I would say 'SCROO THAT!', get one of these... it's what mine started it's life as...

http://www.apexmodels.co.uk/product-...at=kits&id=369

I realise it's tough to justify the cost, but you must find a way. Seriously.

Oh, and on my expectations(again sorry t double post) I don't have many if any really, i want it to be fast, but i' be comaring it to a toy electric RC i played with when i was twelve, i want it to be challenging/fun to build and be able to take it any terrain.

I doubt i will be racing it since as far as i know there are no tracks near me, the best case could be that i built a track myself just to race it round. That said, i still like quality, I like thing sto look and sound the part, make a statement.

Preferrably i would like to by the parts over a longer period (the amount of money i get monthly is small, i have other costs and my major sums come at specific times of year, special occasions, student loan day etc.

Only problem with this approach is, can be sitting there with a nice new kit and new engine, just wasting away the warranty.

It's not that i don't want to spend the money, i just prefer not to spend it all at once. Although like you all say, i would like to get the stuff i want from the start and not end up with crap i'm gonna lose money on because i replace it the day i get it with something better.

Well done, you've just grasped the most important concept about buying your first RC. I assume you saw my post above yours (we posted at almost the same time).

Yeh, that was in reply, you are right, problem is, for £270 i will have a fully working RC (the Hyper 7) that i could upgrade slowly(if it all)

whereas with the Mugen or the Xray, I can get either for £250

but then I need Engine: £100, Radio: £50, Servos: £50?, Receiver: £20, Misc: £40-£60

That comes to atleast around £500. I don't know if i can judtify that at all for something i havn't tried and don't know if it will get dropped the next month like all my other stuff.

I think if i absolutely push it, i can only just about make the £300 mark. What do you think i could do with that?

First choice - this... http://www.apexmodels.co.uk/product-...at=kits&id=520

Second choice - this... http://www.apexmodels.co.uk/product-...at=kits&id=397

Third choice the Hyper 7 TQ you already mentioned.

You don't really have many other options with your budget, but both of these will serve you well. The only things you will need to do immediately is receiver pack and 1 servo, very soon after an adjustable radio (it's no good having a strong servo if you can't set the endpoints of it's travel with your radio). Bearing this in mind, the cheaper Hyper 7 TQ may be the way to go, at least you'll be able to get a few other things. To get set up with a 1/8th buggy for 300 quid will be quite an acheivement.

Are you saying i won't get a receiver with any of the choices? Or that i will need to get a better one? Straight off.

Say I did go for the Xray XB8R, and you say that .21 engine which is going to be another £100 that's £350

Or I found one with a Nosram RS .21 EVO Buggy Engine for £349 (KIT + Engine)

What else do I need?

Can you recommend parts for each of the extra things i will need (you're convincing me to go this way)

I'm gona create a part list, if i can get family to buy the other parts that i havn't yet mentioned, then this won't be a problem, but family and "gifts" and i shouldn't expect them but i do [&o] they might decide not to ask me for the first time ever and get me socks or something.

Anyway, So far on the list I have:

XRay XB8R Off Road Bugy Kit - £245
+
Thunder Tiger Pro 21 BX-R - £108.30
or
Xray XB8R Off Road Buggy Kit w/ Nosram RS .21 EVO Buggy Engine £349

Radio: ?

Receiver: ?

Servo: ?

Tube?

Wat else do I need to buy?

I might buy the parts, if i can get a list together/get people to buy me stuff and aim to have a complete car by christmas. That way i can spread it out a bit and still get an ace car.

Problem is, i can't see myself ever racing it, i can't find any race tracks near me so i'll just be drivin it round like mad for fun, anywhere i can find.

OK, definitely go with the Nosram engine (it's not realy made by Nosram, it's made by LRP, as are the Thunder Tiger engines, I believe, it may even be the exact same engine, even if it isn't I have experience with Nosram engines, they are good).

Radio - Futaba 3pm with ONE servo ($100, don't know how much in blighty, but can't be that much more) put this default servo on the throttle/brake. All radios come with compatible receiver unless they say TX ONLY.
Servo, most torque you can afford, 150oz-in or more, don't worry too much about the speed of it at first, you can always get a pro one later, the torque is the important thing.

Tube? Don't know what you mean, but you will still need the following...

Hex wrenches (maybe you already ahav a lot of tools??)
Receiver battery (6v stick for the Xray) - (20 quid??)
Peak charger
Glow ignitor (15 quid)
Fuel.
Cross wrench (ask your LHS, important but cheap)

That should do it. Maybe some spare glow plugs, etc...

So I'm lookin about £400 plus the little bits you mentioned down there, i can get all that for about £40. Tools, hehe, I'm an Engineer, and so is my dad, If a tool exists, we probably have atleast 2!

Good news my girlfriend is going to contribute £100 for my birthday, so i'm definately going to go for the Xray XB8R

Now all i have to do is spend the next 4 weeks passing my exams that i'm currently all set to fail. [&:]

See you soon guys.(&gals)

Good for you man, you'll love it and as an engineer, you'll go NUTS for the Xray build quality. If you ever need anything, help, advice, don't hesitate to pm me.

Thanks foxy, you're very kind! I WILL be back!

I'll be waiting for pics.

enjoy the web presentation by Xray...

http://www.teamxray.com/teamxray/pro...me=XRAY%20XB8R

And let this be your bible...

http://forum.teamxray.com/viewtopic.php?t=64

holy ****, that is a lot of parts, how long do you think we're looking for assembly time?

I'm not worried about putting it together, i'm a little worried about all the adjustability though, i'd hate to get something not right and damage it.

Thanks for the links, just downloaded everything from the Xray page

looked at that forum guide and saved an offline version of it ready to print![:-][X(][>:][&:][8D][:@][:'(][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-]

See you all soon!!!

Did mine in about 8 hours I would say (but it was like the 20th car I've built ) over 2 days.

the manual will give you all default setup options. Record them on a blank setup sheet, so you have apoint of reference when you make changes. Here's my best RC tip ever (especially if you race), don't tell anyone else! [:-]

Take a nice laser printed copy of the setup sheet to a photocopy store, and get it laminated. Use a fine CD writing permanent pen to make changes to it, then at the end of the day if you found a setup you like, name it and photocopy onto regular paper for reference, then clean the laminated sheet with pure alcohol (like those little bottles people have in their medicine boxes for cuts etc.), the pen comes straight off like it was dri-wipe.

Ok, that's a cool idea, i know what i could do, write a crappy setup and laminate it, then leave it around for people to read, named "TOP SECRET RACE WINNING SPEC SETUP - DO NOT READ"[:-][:-]
heheheh

That sounds cool then, i'll prob get it done in 3-4 days....ehr weeks (missed the bit about it being your 20th car.

So how long you reckon for me? I'm gonna take it very easy, and one it's together i'm gonna quadruple check everything, then post pictures here for you to possibly suggest corrections.

I have a 10MPX digicam so don't worry about the detail, you'll be able to tell exactly how many 5th of turns i'v made

I'm gettin impatient now, too bad my bday isnt till august [:'(][&:][:@][&o][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-]

Don't worry about how long it takes, it'll take as long as it takes, like you said you'll take it slow. Make sure you don't make a mistake and have to back track. Putting together an Xray kit is easy as pie, best instructions and manuals on the market.

I just got in with my NT1! haha!! Check it out on xrays website. It's a track BEAST. By far the best 1/10th nitro on the market, not even the mugen fanboys can disagree, it's streets (no pun intended) ahead of the rest. I'm a happy bunny lalalalalala.

You got a long wait.

Wow, that does look nice, yeh, i gotta wait ages

So, how do i know which servos are better, i'm looking at some and they all seem to have a 3 or 4 digit number like 325 or 625 or other 4 digit numbers, is this related to the torque? also are there different types that i would need for the steering? Obviously there is a certain type of horn i need, that will be with the chassis anyway wont it?

Thanks.

The kits come with different horns for different servos, don't worry about that. As for the servos themselves, the numbers bear little or no relationship to the specs. You need to look at the torque rating usually expressed in oz-in (although more commonly in UK stores, expreseed as kg-cm), then the transit time. Like I said before, at the start you don't need anything special on brake duties, but get the best steering servo you can afford. Look for more than 150oz-in of torque. A good servo will cost you between 60 and 100 bucks. If you can afford it, look at the ACE DS1013 and DS1015, both are excellent competition quality servos for a very good price.

If budget is really tight, here's a cheap one, but it's only just adequate.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXUZ89&P=0

Ok, so i found some servos, not the ones you mentioned but hitec ones but with more torque than the one you linked but they have two rating at different voltages. Which battery would i be using a 4.8 or a 6v? What kind of battery do i need? Or is that supplied with the receiver? Assumin i go for the futuba set you mentioned....


EDIT: Would this do?

[link=http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpecification&ItemID=18148]Link[/link]

Linked servo will do very nicely. Good find. You will be using a 6v battery.

Hmm, i think I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here, i'v just added up everything i am going to need and it's far more than i can afford or justify affording to spend on it.

Even with help this is far too much.


If that's the kind of figure i'm looking at I just can't do it. I'm going to have to scrap the whole idea.

Well, you don't need tyres straight away there's some good ones in the kit (proline knuckles 2 usually), and 50 quid is waaaay too much for a pipe. You can also get a cheaper radio (that radio is $100 in the us, you're price is like 3 times too much)

No doubt you could find a cheaper servo too.