Looking for r/c car kit for my son

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newbie003
Posts: 722
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:25 am

Looking for r/c car kit for my son

Post by newbie003 »

I'm looking for an all-inclusive kit (car, controller, battery, motor, etc...) that my almost 13 year old can build. He likes taking apart old computers, and he likes the decent ready to go rc cars we've bought on amazon, so I'd like to get him a 'real' rc car that he can put together (screwing, soldering if necessary...). I'm assuming something along these lines is what we want, but I'm just not sure: https://www.hobbytown.com/ready-to-run- ... eq2zwwyeue

It's been probably 30 years since I've done one myself, so I really have no idea what to look for/where to start these days. Though I do recall that when I got my R/C 10 kit back in the day it didn't come with a controller or a reverse module (so, again, I want to make sure that whatever I buy now is 100% inclusive).

I don't want to spend more than $400ish, give or take.

Again, as it's been 30 years, I'm not sure what else to look for/mention here in terms of what we need/want.

Thank you for any thoughts/suggestions/links to specific items.
onourway
Posts: 3778
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2016 2:39 pm

Re: Looking for r/c car kit for my son

Post by onourway »

At $400 you are kind of in no-mans land for 1/8 scale kit buggies. You can get a great entry level ready to run at that price from Arrma or Losi, etc, but the kit market for this type of vehicle has mostly been left to the higher end serious hobbyist or racer. Something like the Tekno EB410.2 would be where I'd look if you decide you want to spend more but while the kit is about $400, it doesn't include a motor, ESC, battery, steering servo, radio or even a body. All together those parts will double the budget for even a bare-bones build. Building the kit is a great way to understand everything on the vehicle, and he'll then as a result, know how to repair it himself - and Tekno has great manuals, parts availability (a big issue for many other manufacturers) and support. However you really build EVERYTHING - including things like the differentials from the gears up, and even the shocks themselves from the pistons and o-rings and shock bodies.

If that sounds like overkill, I would go with a RTR from Arrma, especially if his tendencies are more towards bashing than racing. The Arrma cars are inexpensive, very durable, incredibly fast, and he'll have plenty of opportunity to tinker as breaking things on RC cars is inevitable.
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