Cars for the Kids!!!
 

Now I need some advise, I have two step grand kids and as a little Xmas gift want to get them an rc car now one is 4 and the other is 8 and they are destructive little sods so no way am I getting them a decant car or rtr as I suspect it will be in bits by Boxing Day

Any one have any ideas ???

Tamiya lunchbox for the 4 year old, traxxas grave digger for the 8 year old
Strong, fun & easy to fix if they manage to break them
Job done :D

I forgot to mention cheap !

How cheap? :D
Got one of these in the sales last year for my younger son, drives on water & all sorts
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...s|14417875.htm

Sub 100 really as not there main gift

I've been trying to find the same for a 3 & 5 year old. Been looking at some great reviews on an American site. Problem is cant find half the cars in the uk. Least not at a reasonable price.
Are you look for toy/ pre built or racers?

I will get the link and some more info for you. One to look at for the 8 year old may be the Amax Gobi on eBay. They do a truck, truggy & buggy for about £60. There's a good rock crawler (cant remember name) that may be good for the 4yr old. Isn't fast but will drive over stuff around the house and garden.
A couple of the new bright cars are ok. But a lot are pants.

£100 & not their main gift ! Give 'em an orange each & tell 'em to be grateful :lol:

Hi. What about the Ansmann Mad-rat, or the Macnum?. Both are tough, except for the bodyshells, but the spares are dirt cheap too, as there are so many models based on the Mad-rat,( Which was loosely based on the Kyosho Ultima RB5 anyway.). Either of them are available as a "ready to run", (Without battery or charger.), from JE Spares for less than £90 !!.
I raced a Mad-rat for 10 Months, and only broke the shock absorbers and 1 front arm, and stripped the 28tooth idler gear once: They're great value :lol:.

Yes I no !!!

Toy really to see if they like it ! That would be fantastic if you could

Here's a link to the review site. There are videos on the more recent ones. It also gives you an idea of what to look for yourself when you are shopping around.

http://www.rctoyreviews.com/search?u...max-results=50

The smaller cars seem to be better as far as power to weight except some have really strange battery configurations.
I bought a pair of New Bright trucks a year and a half ago for I think £15 each. When new they were ok around the house, but put them on gravel, grass or a slight incline and they stopped. The one cars still working but the other has a binding in the gearbox and the motor struggles to overcome it. Yes it has that little power.

Ones that look good are also the tonka ricochet models but there a bit more. It depends what you want out of it and where its going to be used. The tanks look fun too as they aren't quick and you have a moving gun on them as well.

The Amax Gobi is here:
http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/13075...var=sbar&cbt=y
Search about incase theres better details as this is the first link I found. There is a video of it driving around somewhere on the web but I can't find it but it does go a decent pace compared to the cheaper cars and there are spares available.
There may be others but I haven't found anything yet.

Thanks for all your help

I cant remember the thread but there were some briiliant little buggies about 4-5 inches posted about last year. They were almost impossible to break, did all the jumps stunts etc and were not too expensive.

Tomy GX Buggy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IzgKUQZqdo

Thats the one.
http://www.oople.com/forums/showthre...highlight=tomy

on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOMY-GX-RA...item1c2b9fe2d6

There are also the Carrera RC range of toy/model cars to consider - suitable for the child range you've mentioned, all good and not overly pricy, longish run times with a reasonable bit of speed so they don't get too bored.

http://www.carrera-rc.com/en/product...ed-jumper-102/

I've got one of the Tomy GX buggies,my son has one aswell. Brilliant for playing around with in the house and outside.
We make tracks up in the house and race each other:woot:

Sad I know,but its a good laugh!

They look fab

for around £100 each get a couple of 2nd hand losi mini 8ight's for them both,

that way you only have to buy one type of spares and with the alloy front pivot blocks thay are virtualy indestructable,

my son is 8 and doesnt know what corners are yet, or it seems he doesnt, lol,

goes head on into everything and everyone and it never ever breaks,

My son had great fun with a Losi Micro T when he was around 6. No good on grass though, but good fun indoors or on paved surfaces. We used to use ours a lot at the nearby park on the rubbery floor round the kids climbing stuff.

Got one of these Losi Mini LST off DMS
http://www.losi.com/Products/Feature...rodID=LOSB0217

Look decent and can be upgraded further if you want. Plus they have spares etc. May be a bit much for the kids at the moment but i'll have some extra fun!!
Seen them with brushless motors and lipos fitted as well as other hop up parts. Comes with oil filled shock absorbers and set up can be adjusted. Looking at ways of gearing it down and seeing if I can get a slower motor for them. But I should have it Monday and let you know how it goes ;)


The Micro's look great for indoors. Losi even sell a track for them!! However when I saw a review it said the steering mechanism wasn't very accessible so you can only use it on clean stuff (no dirt) otherwise you could clog it up.

I've also got some Air hog mini racers Mater & Francesco versions
http://www.rcmania.com/air-hogs-ligh...ueen-micro-rc/
They were in the bargain bin at smyth's for £5 instead of £25. Ace for indoors and a great stocking filler.

GX buggies we all got for xmas last year and loved em but not really for outdoors. and not on carpet or you spend ages getting fluff out the axles.

I am Biased of coures so bear that in mind but the new Kyosho Sandamaster and Nexxt buggy are cheap and great! Kit form if you prefer a basic build option too!!.

I got my son a Maisto Rock Crawler Junior http://www.modelzone.co.uk/rock-crawler-junior.html

It goes over plenty of stuff, sadly the steering could be much better. But overall not bad for under 20 quid which is what I paid :)

I can't wait till my kids are old enough to have a hobby grade RC. Something like a Midnight Pumpkin or Lunchbox would be cool!