I'm looking for a remote control car for a 6 year old boy. Needs to be good on pavement, but really needs to be able to go in grass. Thick grass. Not tall, but thick.
In comparison the last one was a el-cheapo Jeep from Walmart that ran on AA batteries. That one held the attention for quite awhile but was indoor only and spent more time being picked up and moved than driven. I've been told an outdoor one would be better.
Suggestions?
Also are rechargeable batteries the best option?
I play with 1/10 scale rock crawlers, but hobby grade not toy grade. Probably a bit slow for what he wants. They make some really nice hobby grade trail trucks with replaceable and upgraded parts but your looking at 400 bucks or so for a good rtr.
Nitrorcx.com has a good selection of lower end hobby grade stuff. If you want to stay cheaper and disposable my kids have 1/8 th scale trucks from toys r us. They seem pretty durable but the battery life is crap. About 25 mins per charge.
Yes, there are a few of us here who plays with RC cars.
If you are going toy grade there are one or two decent ones. My son has this one: http://www.amazon.com/Maisto-Crawler-Control-Vehicle-Colors/dp/B003ML36HI/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1448829063&sr=8-5&keywords=rc+truck+rock+crawler
Still runs on AAs but it is stupid capable for $25. I'm about to convert it to a 7.2v hobby grade battery pack.
This one looks promising, even though it is tank style steering: http://newbright.com/rccar/61208-rc-rhino/#prettyPhoto
The best toy grade RC I have is actually an old Radio Shack 4x4 with a 7.2v hobby grade battery. It is almost unstoppable. Too bad they don't make them anymore.
As for hobby grade, Traxxas is mentioned a lot. They have a "learning mode" that slows down the vehicle so you can still learn.
I let my 6 year old drive my Wheely King, but only one function at a time. He can either work the throttle or the steering.
This Red Cat is ready-to-run for only $100: http://www.redcatracing.com/Volcano-18 You will have to teach your son how to drive it, but it should make for a great yard basher.
I almost forgot about redcat! I had great luck and fun with the old MOA crawler.
Now im contemplating an avalanche to turn into a trail truck.
You can get a nice hobby grade truck for maybe $150-200. Sounds expensive, but if you regear it low, the batteries will last for an hour, easy. The cheap Kmart stuff won't last, and the price of D batteries will bankrupt you.
https://nashville.craigslist.org/tag/5333969859.html
https://nashville.craigslist.org/tag/5331130100.html
Toy grade/hobby grade. I didn't even know that much.
Thanks guys. I have a lot to learn in this realm.
Can you guys think of any that look like a Wrangler (TJ) or a Porsche. I'm just sayin....
Axial makes an scx10 with a wrangler body. But if you buy a hobby grade you can find most any common body. They make most any jeep body in tenth scalr because jeeps are so popular in the offroad world.
Hobby grade body's are removable and replaceable. They have multiples of both the ones you are looking for.
I know you've done local cars and Coffee here in Knoxville, so I'm assuming you know the area well. In the Turkey Creek shopping district, straight down the road beside carmax is Hobbytown, and they have a great RC selection for entering the hobby on a slightly above dept. store level.
Edit: careful cyberstalking ("reading your public profile") indicates you might live in Nashville. If so, Here's your local store.
Travellering-- you are correct sir. I actually avoid TC during the holidays but I may venture over there now. I can see HobbyTown from the interstate as I cruise to work and have always wondered how a "model airplane store" can stay in business there. I guess it is more than model airplanes.
I will check them out.
How is his attention span and interest in building things?
I have been wanting to build an RC kit with the nephews, and after some consideration, my winner was the Tamiya Lunch Box.
It's cheap by hobby standards, it's easy to build, and it provides a large canvas for creativity with the flat-sided van body. It's not super crazy fast, but that can come later. It'll be fast compared to most department store cars, and it will handle grass far better. It's also really prone to wheelies, and likes sweet jumps.
Love the lunch box
I always wanted to do an A-Team motif on one.
Tamiya products are great if you enjoy building your own kit.
Interesting
When doing projects (wood or Lego) his attention is pretty good. But...I have learned with wood and building projects everything needs to be laid out beforehand. There is no "freestyle" at this time. If freestyle occurs he loses interest.
octavious wrote: Interesting When doing projects (wood or Lego) his attention is pretty good. But...I have learned with wood and building projects everything needs to be laid out beforehand. There is no "freestyle" at this time. If freestyle occurs he loses interest.
Hmm... Tamiya kits come in a box with a lot of individual bags and parts sprues. You do not open any bags or clip any sprue until the manual tells you to. You lay all of the parts out, and proceed in an orderly fashion to the end. There are scale illustrations of the fasteners, so if you're confused, you just hold the fastener over the picture in the manual. If you buy a ball-bearing kit with the truck, or oil-filled shocks, you might deviate slightly from the script, but only very little.
It's up to you if you want to freestyle the van body, but most of it is freestyle-free. If you want a truck that looks like the photo, follow the instructions there too.
I personally would not reccomend any Tamiya re-re's as a basher. Plastic injection molded bodies are fragile, top heavy and expensive to replace. Any replacement part on a re-re is sketchy as you are competing against restorers. Also, you are running antiquated tech. The Lunch Box is basically a Grasshopper with bigger wheels. Don't get me wrong, I love to run my Scorcher and FAV re-re's but my basher is my "big block" (Mamba Monster on 11.1v) LCG Slash 4x4.
I remember an earlier thread with somebody who got an HPI Wheelie King and LOVED it.
As I see it:
A kit Tamiya re-re Lunch Box, ARTR, will be fun to put together but will be far from precise in handling and fragile, and will run approximately $200.
A pre-built HPI Wheelie King will be fun to upgrade as skills improve, handle better and be more rugged for $230.
With that in mind, that Slash on CL is a good deal.
Tower Hobbies has that ARRMA Raider (first CL ad) with a brushed motor RTR, new for $160
phaze1todd wrote: I remember an earlier thread with somebody who got an HPI Wheelie King and LOVED it.
That was me. When I was younger I dreamed of a Clodbuster or a Bruiser, but when I finally decided to buy my dream hobby grade RC I just could not beat the deal that the HPI Wheely King offered. It is built like a real monster truck, with a transfer case, real solid axles, long travel suspension, and hidden steering linkage. All for $200 ready to run with free shipping from Tower Hobbies.
I only wish the speed control had a learning mode like Traxxas offers. My son's first hobby grade RC will probably be a Traxxas truck of some sort. My wife has been warned that within two years I will be dropping $200 on a hobby grade RC for him.
I also love cheap toy grade RCs. Most of them can handle being switched to a hobby grade battery, which gives EPIC run times. We have several New Bright sub $30 trucks we run in the driveway.
I'd give that $100 Red Cat a try. It is 1/18 scale but 4WD, so it should tear through grass no problem, plus it should scoot on the road.
Have fun! Just remember that a few people here have left hobby RCs because it was CHEAPER to play with real cars.
i know you were talking about mostly offroad rc cars but last year i got an AWD drift rc car off of amazon for ~$40 and it has been a blast. it does need a little more room then a driveway but if you live on a quiet street or near a parking lot its perfect. I love it, my 4 year old loves it, and my 8 year old nephew loves it.
Yeah the downfall to hobby grade rc is it can get pricey fast if you let it. Check out rccrawler.com some of the scale builds cost more then challenge cars.
Id start out with a slash 4×4 or a stampede myself. Both traxxas. Parts can be had anywhere that does rc. They're kind of considered the toy of the rc world, but damned if they arent strong. The best part is, the traxxas catalog is like legos, you can make damn near any traxxas truck out of any other traxxas truck with the right combo of parts. I wholeheartedly support all the other hobby choices listed, i just know from experience that sometimes, they can be a little more fragile and temramental than traxxas.
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