Newbie - What Buggy?

[ShaneyB]

I'm really keen on getting a 1:10 electric buggy for myself and 8 year old son. Got a few models I'm keen on for different reasons and would appreciate any advice you can give. I live in a nice place with plenty of dirt tracks, old bmx tracks and skate parks so decided to go for a buggy rather than touring car (even though WLRC is a few minutes away from me) as I thought I'd get a lot more neighbour friendly use from electric as opposed to nitro/petrol. I'm also not sure how often I will get to local clubs for race nights.
So.....what to go for? For different reasons I'm looking at the following models (no specific order):

1) FTX Vantage 4WD RTR for general bashing. Seen a couple live with a few upgrades and they don't look bad to the untrained eye. Very robust.

2) FTX Edge 2WD RTR as above.

3) Associated B4.1 RTR (too good for running through my local trails)? Remember I may race it also....

4) Losi 22 RTR as per B4.1

Would love to buy a kit and build it with my boy but price seems to be much higher that way and I set a budget of around £300.00 as we may both get bored (doubtful) in a few months.
Also I haven't used any decent RC vehicle before so reciever is confusing me. I quite like the idea of the wheel but I would prefer to use the throttle with my right hand finger and steer with my left. All seem to be the other way around?? Should I look at sticks instead?? Like I say I haven't used any of note so think we'd adapt to any eventually.
Sorry to rattle on but I can't wait to get hold of our new toy.

Fingers crossed I'll be at a DMS/Taplow meeting this week.

Thanks in advance.

Shane

[Dandare]

Well,

FTX Vantage, not so convinced how robust they are, plastics seem brittle, though others will say different. probably false economy if bought to race, limited parts availability (certainly if you race it as not many people around you will have parts for it). I'd say either buy it in it's cheapest form (brushed), accept it & enjoy it for what it is ie, cheap fun. To race 4wd, maybe something like a Kyosho Lazer Readyset ??

FTX Edge, as above, has all the ingredients to race, on paper, but questionable durability, parts availability, nobody else really races them etc (possible limited wheel choice too..)

B4.1 RTR, wiser choice tbh, parts not a problem, proven race design, everyone races them, certainly capable straight out of the box.

Losi/TLR 22, wise choice again for the same reasons as above, more expensive RTR than the B4.1 though mid & rear motor layout option.

The key is to know where you're going within the hobby before the spending starts to avoid buying everything twice (not easy, lol). Cheap fun with no view to progressing get a RTR brushless buggy & enjoy it, end of.
Otherwise either buy something upgradable but the cheapest variant (Ansmann Mad rat brushed RTR for £99 for example), enjoy it for a few months, then you have a good platform with lots of upgrades available to turn it into something competitive without having spent an extra £50+ on the budget brushless version which you'd junk anyway, this is better spent putting it towards better electrics when the time comes.

Or, buy a kit (no electrics), build it (handy as you'll be more capable of fixing it when it breaks) & buy quality electrics straight off.

Or, look at the secondhand market, plenty of quality buggys here..

[12-nitroman]

you may want to check ansmann,they make kits and ready to runs and their buggies aren't half bad,i had a x2c and found it to be a good strong car....but if i was in your shoes id buy the b4.1

[VintageRacer]

Or, buy a kit (no electrics), build it (handy as you'll be more capable of fixing it when it breaks) & buy quality electrics straight off.

Or, look at the secondhand market, plenty of quality buggys here..

A combination of both worked for me. New buggy kit so I got to know how it goes together (and I enjoyed building it with my son) with second hand electrics.