what should i buy?

[jpw]

My son is 13 and I think he would really enjoy the more sophisticated
RC devices. Yet, I don't know where to begin. He likes building
things, but hates painting (typical engineering type!). What
controller would be good to start, any kit reccommendations? I don't
want to buy a cheesy toysrus RC that breaks, but I don't want to break
the bank on what might not prove to be interesting. Looking for
advice.

Many thanks,
jpw

[Kevin]

jpw wrote:
> My son is 13 and I think he would really enjoy the more sophisticated
> RC devices. Yet, I don't know where to begin. He likes building
> things, but hates painting (typical engineering type!). What
> controller would be good to start, any kit reccommendations? I don't
> want to buy a cheesy toysrus RC that breaks, but I don't want to break
> the bank on what might not prove to be interesting. Looking for
> advice.
>
> Many thanks,
> jpw
a few clues would help, as its bit like your normal car so many
variations it all depends what you want it to do
1, indoors or outdoors
2, battery or nitro
3, on road off road
4, price

[GTD]

Kevin wrote:
> jpw wrote:
>> My son is 13 and I think he would really enjoy the more sophisticated
>> RC devices. Yet, I don't know where to begin. He likes building
>> things, but hates painting (typical engineering type!). What
>> controller would be good to start, any kit reccommendations? I don't
>> want to buy a cheesy toysrus RC that breaks, but I don't want to break
>> the bank on what might not prove to be interesting. Looking for
>> advice.
>>
>> Many thanks,
>> jpw
> a few clues would help, as its bit like your normal car so many
> variations it all depends what you want it to do
> 1, indoors or outdoors
> 2, battery or nitro
> 3, on road off road
> 4, price
Good questions, but to the OP, if you haven't decided, I would recommend
electric. A Traxxas E-Maxx might be a good first choice. It's a little
big for indoors, but for quiet, simple, off-road driving that can take
reasonable hits, it's pretty good. Quite a bit of upgradability in the
form of better batteries and hoped-up motors, including some brushless
setups. I believe the body comes pre-painted.

[kenji]

In article
<09254484-13e3-4467-ac43-f58bd2005025@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
jpw <jwilson@exeter.edu> wrote:

> Looking for
> advice.

you need to tell us where you want to use the vehicle the
most......smooth surfaces or curbs, grass, sidewalks, alleys....

there's great products for both on road and off road

[jpw]

On Nov 26, 8:43 pm, kenji <ke...@ripco.com> wrote:
> In article
> <09254484-13e3-4467-ac43-f58bd2005...@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
>
> jpw <jwil...@exeter.edu> wrote:
> > Looking for
> > advice.
>
> you need to tell us where you want to use the vehicle the
> most......smooth surfaces or curbs, grass, sidewalks, alleys....
>
> there's great products for both on road and off road

thanks for the responses! i think outdoor would be preferable,
however, his birthday is in December...so indoor usability might be a
plus. We also live along a river, so a boat isn't out of the
question. I thought land-vehicle would be better since the river will
probably be frozen.

off road would be his choice, no doubt! i'm not sure what the diff
btwn battery and nitro is. if you have links to go with your
suggestions, that would be most helpful. TIAA

[kenji]

In article
<201d98b9-758b-4262-9202-cca712d1238c@y5g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
jpw <jwilson@exeter.edu> wrote:

> On Nov 26, 8:43 pm, kenji <ke...@ripco.com> wrote:
> > In article
> > <09254484-13e3-4467-ac43-f58bd2005...@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
> >
> > jpw <jwil...@exeter.edu> wrote:
> > > Looking for
> > > advice.
> >
> > you need to tell us where you want to use the vehicle the
> > most......smooth surfaces or curbs, grass, sidewalks, alleys....
> >
> > there's great products for both on road and off road
>
> thanks for the responses! i think outdoor would be preferable,
> however, his birthday is in December...so indoor usability might be a
> plus. We also live along a river, so a boat isn't out of the
> question. I thought land-vehicle would be better since the river will
> probably be frozen.
>
> off road would be his choice, no doubt! i'm not sure what the diff
> btwn battery and nitro is. if you have links to go with your
> suggestions, that would be most helpful. TIAA

http://faqs.org/faqs/models/rc-cars/newbie-guide/

1/10th scale truck , $325.00 Ready to run:

http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/rustler3708/trx_rustler.htm

1/18th Ready to Run, $175.00:

http://www.losi.com/Products/Features.aspx?ProdId=LOSB0219

[Kevin]

jpw wrote:
> On Nov 26, 8:43 pm, kenji <ke...@ripco.com> wrote:
>> In article
>> <09254484-13e3-4467-ac43-f58bd2005...@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
>>
>> jpw <jwil...@exeter.edu> wrote:
>>> Looking for
>>> advice.
>> you need to tell us where you want to use the vehicle the
>> most......smooth surfaces or curbs, grass, sidewalks, alleys....
>>
>> there's great products for both on road and off road
>
> thanks for the responses! i think outdoor would be preferable,
> however, his birthday is in December...so indoor usability might be a
> plus. We also live along a river, so a boat isn't out of the
> question. I thought land-vehicle would be better since the river will
> probably be frozen.
>
> off road would be his choice, no doubt! i'm not sure what the diff
> btwn battery and nitro is. if you have links to go with your
> suggestions, that would be most helpful. TIAA
I would make sure its something he wants rather than something you want
him to have? as going left right forwards an backwards on your on soon
gets boring, be it a boat or a car

[jpw]

On Nov 27, 3:03 am, Kevin <dontemai...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> jpw wrote:
> > On Nov 26, 8:43 pm, kenji <ke...@ripco.com> wrote:
> >> In article
> >> <09254484-13e3-4467-ac43-f58bd2005...@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
>
> >> jpw <jwil...@exeter.edu> wrote:
> >>> Looking for
> >>> advice.
> >> you need to tell us where you want to use the vehicle the
> >> most......smooth surfaces or curbs, grass, sidewalks, alleys....
>
> >> there's great products for both on road and off road
>
> > thanks for the responses! i think outdoor would be preferable,
> > however, his birthday is in December...so indoor usability might be a
> > plus. We also live along a river, so a boat isn't out of the
> > question. I thought land-vehicle would be better since the river will
> > probably be frozen.
>
> > off road would be his choice, no doubt! i'm not sure what the diff
> > btwn battery and nitro is. if you have links to go with your
> > suggestions, that would be most helpful. TIAA
>
> I would make sure its something he wants rather than something you want
> him to have? as going left right forwards an backwards on your on soon
> gets boring, be it a boat or a car- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Good point, about whether he wants this...I know I don't care. I
think he'll like to do it. Do these things come with the
controllers? How about a vehicle that you have to build, I think he'd
like that in particular...that would make it somewhat less boring, I
think. Any cool kits you know of?

[Smed]

"jpw" <jwilson@exeter.edu> wrote in message
news:f64906ae-afe2-4370-bad1-08e73b469c50@s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
> On Nov 27, 3:03 am, Kevin <dontemai...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>> jpw wrote:
>> > On Nov 26, 8:43 pm, kenji <ke...@ripco.com> wrote:
>> >> In article
>> >> <09254484-13e3-4467-ac43-f58bd2005...@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
>>
>> >> jpw <jwil...@exeter.edu> wrote:
>> >>> Looking for
>> >>> advice.
>> >> you need to tell us where you want to use the vehicle the
>> >> most......smooth surfaces or curbs, grass, sidewalks, alleys....
>>
>> >> there's great products for both on road and off road
>>
>> > thanks for the responses! i think outdoor would be preferable,
>> > however, his birthday is in December...so indoor usability might be a
>> > plus. We also live along a river, so a boat isn't out of the
>> > question. I thought land-vehicle would be better since the river will
>> > probably be frozen.
>>
>> > off road would be his choice, no doubt! i'm not sure what the diff
>> > btwn battery and nitro is. if you have links to go with your
>> > suggestions, that would be most helpful. TIAA
>>
>> I would make sure its something he wants rather than something you want
>> him to have? as going left right forwards an backwards on your on soon
>> gets boring, be it a boat or a car- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> Good point, about whether he wants this...I know I don't care. I
> think he'll like to do it. Do these things come with the
> controllers? How about a vehicle that you have to build, I think he'd
> like that in particular...that would make it somewhat less boring, I
> think. Any cool kits you know of?


for a first vehicle, look around for RTR (Ready To Race). it will come with
the engine/motor, servos, radio, and tires already installed and can be
ready out of the box as soon as the batteries charge.

also, in my opinion, look around for the Traxxas. it is WAY
faster/cooler/fun than the old Tyco RC's that we had when we were little.
they are very durable and have tons of after market parts in case something
gets broke or he just wants to customize his vehicle. and yes, sometimes
these vehicles will break. even the best driver breaks stuff from time to
time. the great thing about Traxxas is you can replace EVERYTHING so its
not broken for very long. plus fixing these things is half the fun. and
the replacement parts really aren't that expensive.

electric or nitro? go with electric. less fuss for a young driver. the
old batteries used to be 15 minutes of charge for 5 minutes of run. but
these new batteries can last around 20 minutes. adjusting the carb in a
nitro is an art that changes with humidity, temp, altitude, etc.

good luck.

[K Van]

Smed wrote:
> "jpw" <jwilson@exeter.edu> wrote in message
> news:f64906ae-afe2-4370-bad1-08e73b469c50@s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
>> On Nov 27, 3:03 am, Kevin <dontemai...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>>> jpw wrote:
>>>> On Nov 26, 8:43 pm, kenji <ke...@ripco.com> wrote:
>>>>> In article
>>>>> <09254484-13e3-4467-ac43-f58bd2005...@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
>>>>> jpw <jwil...@exeter.edu> wrote:
>>>>>> Looking for
>>>>>> advice.
>>>>> you need to tell us where you want to use the vehicle the
>>>>> most......smooth surfaces or curbs, grass, sidewalks, alleys....
>>>>> there's great products for both on road and off road
>>>> thanks for the responses! i think outdoor would be preferable,
>>>> however, his birthday is in December...so indoor usability might be a
>>>> plus. We also live along a river, so a boat isn't out of the
>>>> question. I thought land-vehicle would be better since the river will
>>>> probably be frozen.
>>>> off road would be his choice, no doubt! i'm not sure what the diff
>>>> btwn battery and nitro is. if you have links to go with your
>>>> suggestions, that would be most helpful. TIAA
>>> I would make sure its something he wants rather than something you want
>>> him to have? as going left right forwards an backwards on your on soon
>>> gets boring, be it a boat or a car- Hide quoted text -
>>>
>>> - Show quoted text -
>> Good point, about whether he wants this...I know I don't care. I
>> think he'll like to do it. Do these things come with the
>> controllers? How about a vehicle that you have to build, I think he'd
>> like that in particular...that would make it somewhat less boring, I
>> think. Any cool kits you know of?
>
>
> for a first vehicle, look around for RTR (Ready To Race). it will come with
> the engine/motor, servos, radio, and tires already installed and can be
> ready out of the box as soon as the batteries charge.
>
> also, in my opinion, look around for the Traxxas. it is WAY
> faster/cooler/fun than the old Tyco RC's that we had when we were little.
> they are very durable and have tons of after market parts in case something
> gets broke or he just wants to customize his vehicle. and yes, sometimes
> these vehicles will break. even the best driver breaks stuff from time to
> time. the great thing about Traxxas is you can replace EVERYTHING so its
> not broken for very long. plus fixing these things is half the fun. and
> the replacement parts really aren't that expensive.
>
> electric or nitro? go with electric. less fuss for a young driver. the
> old batteries used to be 15 minutes of charge for 5 minutes of run. but
> these new batteries can last around 20 minutes. adjusting the carb in a
> nitro is an art that changes with humidity, temp, altitude, etc.
>
> good luck.
>
>
Maybe you could gauge his interests by ducking into a local hobby shop
"since we're here" or cruise some on line videos while he's around and
see what grabs his eye.

I'm personally in to Nitro, the sound, smell and noise is part of the
experience, and in my mind, more mechanical.

Yes, it's different than electric, and there are real pluses in ease of
use. I like polishing and porting, tuning, etc., I have a racing
background and have been around engines since day one.

My first RC was nitro, and there is a little learning curve, but once
you get to know your engine and play with it, it's all second nature. I
am designing my own Savage to Electric conversion too, but I hammer on
my toys hard, a couple are on HPI's website...

So anyway, I would not rule out nitro, but maybe you can glean info from
the kid and see what he likes. You'll obviously know him better than
any of us online.

Shameless plug, my friends and I messing around:
http://videos.socalcrew.com/links.php?go=67
But it has many different things running around in it, from buggies,
electric, nitro and gas (Baja) and more at videos.socalcrew.com, tho
I've been really lazy about keeping the links up to date...

[Richard]

"jpw" <jwilson@exeter.edu> wrote in message
news:f64906ae-afe2-4370-bad1-08e73b469c50@s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
> On Nov 27, 3:03 am, Kevin <dontemai...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>> jpw wrote:
>> > On Nov 26, 8:43 pm, kenji <ke...@ripco.com> wrote:
>> >> In article
>> >> <09254484-13e3-4467-ac43-f58bd2005...@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
>>
>> >> jpw <jwil...@exeter.edu> wrote:
>> >>> Looking for
>> >>> advice.
>> >> you need to tell us where you want to use the vehicle the
>> >> most......smooth surfaces or curbs, grass, sidewalks, alleys....
>>
>> >> there's great products for both on road and off road
>>
>> > thanks for the responses! i think outdoor would be preferable,
>> > however, his birthday is in December...so indoor usability might be a
>> > plus. We also live along a river, so a boat isn't out of the
>> > question. I thought land-vehicle would be better since the river will
>> > probably be frozen.
>>
>> > off road would be his choice, no doubt! i'm not sure what the diff
>> > btwn battery and nitro is. if you have links to go with your
>> > suggestions, that would be most helpful. TIAA
>>
>> I would make sure its something he wants rather than something you want
>> him to have? as going left right forwards an backwards on your on soon
>> gets boring, be it a boat or a car- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> Good point, about whether he wants this...I know I don't care. I
> think he'll like to do it. Do these things come with the
> controllers? How about a vehicle that you have to build, I think he'd
> like that in particular...that would make it somewhat less boring, I
> think. Any cool kits you know of?

IMO only kit manufacturers to consider are Tamiya (www.tamiyausa.com) or
Kyosho (www.kyoshoamerica.com). There are many more that mainly deal with
top grade vehicles and I'm sure would cost far more than you would want to
spend.



IMO your initial outlay in cost for a kit would not be to different to
buying a complete RTR from such companies as Traxxas or Losi and you'll get
a warranty on the vehicle, which you don't normally get with a kit.



Some of the differences between a kit and a RTR is that most kits from
Tamiya (don't know about Kyosho though) come with plastic bushings (not
bearings) and a mechanical speed controller. These two items are something
that will need replacing sooner or later. Bearings and an electronic speed
controller are fitted as standard to most of the Traxxas and Losi RTR
vehicles. Don't forget that with a kit, you will also need paint to paint
the body too.



We went through a similar situation with my 12 year old nephew last year and
it was decided that he would be far better off with a RTR as a first vehicle
than a kit. Mainly because we figured he wouldn't want to wait 3 days after
getting his new truck to actually get a chance to drive it. After giving him
his present I asked if he would have preferred building his truck from a kit
and he said NO WAY!!!



A year down the track and the only thing that my nephew has had to replace
is a $3 gear.