starter rtr for young person. advise please

[Apricot Slice]

Hi folks,
A woman turned up at our club today with her young son, about 8 I'd say, and she was asking for some advise to get him started. And as you can imagine, she was a little surprised at the initial cost.

What I know is, is that if you spend a wodge of money on a nice competition model, they are tough and go where you point them.

Generally if you get something cheap they fall to bits and don't go where you point them. And lead to frustration and disappointment.

The first thing that popped into mind was a b4 rtr.

Are there cheaper rtr (brushless) alternatives that are robust and handle properly?

Thanks
Apricot

[Naushad]

Ansmann mad rat/monkey

[Nas]

I would highly recommend spending that little more and going for a b4 (secound hand from ebay) RTR. The Ansmann mad rats just break!,there not durable at ALL.

[Naushad]

Well....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RC-Ansmann-Racing-Mad-Rat-Electric-Car-Buggy-RTR-/260932887772?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item3cc0cfe4dc#ht_2168wt_909

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Associated-RC10B4-1-Brushless-RTR-2-4GHz-Red-Blue-/390396161063?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item5ae56cac27#ht_2221wt_812

The B4 may have a better pedigree, but the Ansmann is cheaper and parts are plenty.

I think the mad rat is the best to go for if you are looking for quality with a good price to boot. Ansmann have good spares service.

TO my mind, any car will break if driven poorly.

This is of course if you buy new! Maybe a second hand car though is good to test the waters!

[CrashBangWallop]

Big up for the B4 RTR ! Mad rat is a cheap car made of poorly fitting / manufactured parts. It took me 2 different motor plates to find one that the threads were fully formed so the gearbox did not fall apart.
Used it once and somebody kindly drove over the front end and broke it off for me, I repaired the damage and then sold it pronto.
The mad monkey is better - just.

The RTR B4 is a good starting point but will wear out in time (things will get floppy). If you are going to buy an Associated buggy, make sure to buy a factory team edition, they are more money but tough and durable.

Dont get me wrong the Ansmann is cheap but cheap for a reason. Yes the parts are cheap, because you will need lots of them and frequently.

To finish a race first, first you need to finish.

[Lee24h]

couldnt agree more i have x2c and its badly made it now consists of schumacher, assoiated and carbon parts

[lardy37]

yes i agree with the b4.1rtr and you can always uprage to factory team specs with the factory team parts as and when you brake bits or they wear out as the basic car uses same parts with onlya few modified parts to make it a ft car :)

[jayst]

b4.1 rtr :thumbsup:

[Apricot Slice]

Thanks guys. Pretty much what I thought.

[Nas]

Thank you, my point proven:thumbsup:

[budgio]

any car will break if driven poorly.

Agreed
Ansmann would get my vote

[Naushad]

At the end of the day each man to their own.

Maybe Apricot Slice can advise based on the experience of his fellow club members and what is popular to race.

[Naushad]

The other possibility although I don't have any experience wih them are the team c series of buggies.

Dms models are bringing them in soon. They do look promising although I ain't sure on parts and rtr

[adon30]

I think Team C are similar models to the Ansmann stuff as Ansmann effectively sell other peoples stuff and rebrand it as there own.

Another option would be a short course truck!! They bash about a fair bit and take a few knocks. However it would be dependant on whether the club you plan on racing at runs that class and they have enough competitors.
Buggys are more popular and more places run them.

Whatever you get purchase a stock motor whether brushless or brushed. The old standard 540 tamiya motors are good enough for a starter. Thats what i used when I was 10. Only thing I ever broke was the bumper or the point where it mounts to the bathtub chassis on the Tamiya I had.

[brookie]

Though fully appreciate that they are not a full-on competition chassis, have to suggest these as a relatively inexpensive option for a beginner:

http://www.horizonhobby.co.uk/autoonline/j28electrix/j28_vehicles/j28_ecx3000_boost/j28_boost_buggy.html

Have had first hand experience of one of these and have to point out that they are incredibly well made for the money, RTR right out of the box (though would suggest a faster charger) and are REMARKABLY strong and resilient!

Well worth a look as are several in the same range!:thumbsup:

[Byse]

It may just be me but you said in your first post what i try to get across to people all the time!
I can understand RTR's but do i like them is another thing! I find spending more will save less... And buying new i also find abit hard to understand for example buying a new chassis every year when the previous car chassis only came out 11 months before... Anyway i would suggest telling her about 2nd hand. I priced up a Cougar SV pro + electrics on here for just over £200 , now seeing as thats a competive start he can only get better..

If it was me at the age 8 and i had a new car (RTR) and boom somone hits me , and my turn buckle has gone to shot, it would put me off... Might just be me in my competitive nature.. not to sure :)

[Brewskie]

i do have to agree, im very new to this an bought a RTR now i wish i would of gone with a decent second hand kit

[Byse]

Oh may i just add i only do Touring :) But still onroad or off , My first car was a TT01 which was great for the first 7 laps ... I guess its not to bad if you have 2 complete chassis ... But thats my view anyway:) if i ever do get into offroad ill be looking at a competitive 2nd hand kit :)

[Apricot Slice]

Thanks again for the advise guys.
I described and wrote down the main makes and models of competition cars for this lady and explained that if the lad was going to race he would need something reasonably decent.
I also said that great second hand deals can be found. ebay, forums, clubs etc.
RTR's may not be the best thing but for a beginner there would be no confusion about all the details.. its all there in one package.
Luckily this lasy is an electronics engineer and knows all about lipo's and chargers so I didnt have to do any explaining there.

Whatever the lad ends up with, I'm sure its going to be a whole lot better than a conker on a bit of string and a slap round the back of the coconut.

The yoof of today dont know how lucky they are!