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#1
01-01-2014
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Beginner Kits
Happy new year all.
Over Christmas my 5 year old has been talking about coming racing with me and wanting his own car for his Birthday in Feb. He seems keen so I'm considering this but I've had a look and apart from competition kits everything else is RTR. I want to get him a kit we can build together so he learns this is something more than just a toy and gets an understanding of how it works. When I started it took my Dad and I a week doing an hour a night to put together a Mardave Meteor. It was that time, doing stuff like filling the shocks with engine oil, which really immersed me in this hobby. Back then all RC cars came as kits. I'm sure if I'd have taken my first car out the box and driven it within minutes, the first time I broke it or something went wrong I'd have pushed it in a cupboard and that would have been the end of RC for me. So what is the point of all this rambling? I want to buy a complete starter deal, around £250ish, like you get in an RTR package but with a kit to build. I'm thinking 10th off road, 2wd, electric. Is there anything on the market that fits this? 
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#2
01-01-2014
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Andy,
Why don't you buy a competitive pre - owned as it's called these days and strip it down and rebuild it with your lad? Or as you've been to Ribble and Blackpool before would your lad consider 12th scale Mardave or Supastox. Lee
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#3
01-01-2014
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I've thought about stripping an old B4 and building that with him but the exciting thing for a kid is getting and opening a new box.
Taking all the plastics out the bags, off the mouldings and cleaning them up before putting them together so that sort of kills a pre-loved model. The second thing about an on road car is a fair point but he could only use it at a club, I want him to get used to driving by doing ovals around two cones, then figure of 8's in the garden so it needs to be an off road car. Also he can mess about with it, do donuts and stuff, who doesn't love doing that! I'm going to bring him on this Friday to Ribble, I think its on. I'm hoping to introduce him to other kids who race, I'm hoping it'll encourage him if he see's others his age racing.
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#5
01-01-2014
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If it's a 2wd buggy then you'll struggle a bit to get a kit to build, plus all the electrics for your budget. In general, competition cars are in kit form & don't come with electrics whereas RTR's have electrics (brushed or brushless) but are obviously already built.
Assuming you already have a charger yourself & want to buy new, you could go for this for example: Hobao H2 kit (£119, MB models) http://www.rccarshop.co.uk/index.php...buggy-kit.html Absima CR2S steerwheel 2.4Ghz radio/reciever (£29.99, Modelsport) http://www.modelsport.co.uk/absima-c...roducts/376271 Speed Passion Revention-S/brushless motor combo (£64.99, Modelsport) http://www.modelsport.co.uk/speed-pa...roducts/379168 Hi-tec HS-311 servo (£6.99, ModelSport) http://www.modelsport.co.uk/hitec-hs...products/13907 2 x Turnigy Nano-Tech 4200Mah 2S 'A' Spec shorty lipos (£39.91 "one time offer", HobbyKing) http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...arehouse_.html Total: £260.88 (plus some postage) This gives you everything you require, a descent kit to build & improve with & parts back up, all electrics. Just need tools, paint for the shell & maybe some extra tyres & connectors (battery/ESC...)
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TLR 22 3.0/3300kv brushless Lunchbox/Helion 2wd sct/Dromida MT4.18/Orlandoo F-150/Mardave Cobra/Re-re Cat xls w/uprated tranny/Re-re Top Force/Carisma GT24R http://www.norfolkbuggyclub.moonfruit.com/
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#6
02-01-2014
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I’d say 5 is a little young to expect him to be too interested in sitting too long building a car with you but only you know your son. I started my son racing at 6 and he was only really interested in the racing – in between races he was much more interested in playing with the other kids.
Just remember it is all about reliability - nothing is going to put him off racing more at that age than his car not finishing races or having to go home early as you do not have the necessary spares. If you definitely want to go new and with a kit then £250 is do-able (as example above) but it is going to lead you to buy everything based on price which is not going to necessarily be the best option. He is going to need something strong and something you can get spares quickly and easily, preferably trackside. It is a bit of a balance as I appreciate you do not want to spend a fortune on something that is probably going to get a fair amount of abuse but if you go too cheap then you are going to spend a lot more in the long run keeping it running and risk putting your son off racing as you struggle to get spares. Second hand Losi, Yokomo, X6 is the sensible choice but I know that does not meet your new-build criteria. Maybe compromise and buy a higher spec second-hand car and fit the electrics and rebuild the shocks etc together?
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____________________________ Rob Warren Yokomo Cal3.1 Yokomo YZ4 SF2
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#8
02-01-2014
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Durango 210 RTR
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#9
02-01-2014
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If you want something that he can do more hands on I'd suggest a Kyosho Sand Master kit.. Okay so it's not a comp racer but it's a great little kit with some of the parts factory assembled so he can do a lot more for himself with supervision etc. It's something he could do almost all by himself while the two of you shared making something a bit more racy.
At only £80 the Sand Master is great value for a first hobby grade car and has a few hop ups on the way. At the same time as he is tackling the build of his own car you could maybe share the build of a Tamiya DT-02 chassis based buggy... They are a little more complex and include diff builds etc but can be upgraded to be relatively competitive. They are a dream to drive for a newb and a lot of fun. He may not win a race but he'll have a lot of fun driving. And again at only £80 for a holiday buggy you can't loose. They are almost indestructible too with a bit of commonsense driving. For your £250 you can get 2 cars, all the RC gear and up grades and make the whole experience last longer and be more rewarding. You could probably get another DT-02 within your budget and start a new class at the track and race with your son at his level  K
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#10
02-01-2014
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I agree with the hoboa H2 they drive really good my mate and his son have been running them at our club for the last year with no problems. They are as strong as any other car losi Durango Schumacher AE and are cheap if parts are needed from models sport uk, the parts are not as popular trackside as a B4 for sure but they are as easy or easier to get than losi 22 parts and are very cheap.
The H2 is not going to break any more than any other buggy from my experience and is a great choice and really good value.
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#11
02-01-2014
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Quote:
I think Those batteries are only 1 cell
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#12
02-01-2014
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Cars have a age rating or used to get him something like that practice at a park until hes ready
Any racing (even if your not running mod others might be) is dangerous for a 5 year old especailly I know if any of my cars full chat hit a 5 year old they would do some damage and probally quit racing I personally think there should be a min age of 10 When racing im not try to put you of but cars are getting faster and faster Especailly with brushless and boost common place
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#13
02-01-2014
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Quote:
I only picked the shorty packs as I wasn't sure whether you'd have to use a more expensive low profile servo with standard stick packs or saddles (depends how you want to configure the ESC/receiver I believe)
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TLR 22 3.0/3300kv brushless Lunchbox/Helion 2wd sct/Dromida MT4.18/Orlandoo F-150/Mardave Cobra/Re-re Cat xls w/uprated tranny/Re-re Top Force/Carisma GT24R http://www.norfolkbuggyclub.moonfruit.com/
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#14
02-01-2014
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Andy,
Just my pennies worth but why don't you get him the same car as you, therefore you only need spares for the one car and you won't need to master another kit.. I have 3 kids aged 7,8 & 9 We now have 3 b4's and 2 x60's the youngest isn't really into it yet, my decision then will be another b4 or new kit for Dad!!! The one thing I would recommend would be that you use Battery's with a connector on them,it always puts the fear of god in me when my boys used to get hold of there lipos before I got some with connectors on. I have seen kids older than mine and adults connect battery's up wrong (they were very lucky) it will not only protect them but your kit too. Have fun deciding which path to go down
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#15
02-01-2014
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I have been thinking about this myself as my lad is 4 at the moment but I am planning ahead incase he gets interested in racing. When I started there was cars like cougar club 10 and traxxas rad2, both kits with manual speed controllers and silver can motors. Those sorts of starter kits are not available now which is a really shame. Also to that point indoor racing was also limited to stock motors!!. Personally I think for youngsters starting out gt12 or mardaves or whatever the class is now called is ideal. They are robust, slower and you go quicker by driving better. In considering age limits that is a bad idea as its the kids in the sport that keep it going, but I do believe parents have to be responsible in the amount of power they allow their children to use/have available as too much will not help them. Personally I do like the 1/18th scale buggys and trucks as standard they are easy to drive and slow enough to control but have the tuning ability of the Big brothers and can be upgraded, and are also relatively cheap, a good start I think but you need at least 5 to start a class I believe. Maybe it could just be ran as a junior formula I.e. Under 12's?? Just a thought. Also I think there should be more assistance from top drivers for New starters and juniors for car setup, driving and marshalling but that is my own opinion and not aimed at anyone :-)
__________________
Yokomo BMAX-2mr 2nd is 1st placed loser!! 
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