Getting back into the Hobby...

[dyops]

As you can see with my avatar I used to own a Falcon. I don't have any real pics of it since this was 20 years ago . I never raced but I enjoyed building rc's and hopping (is that the right term?). I even sold half my transformer collection then to modify my Falcon. I also hung out at a local hobby shop and help the guy there build the models for free.

Anyway, I want to ease myself back into the hobby again so I have to start at a novice level and a small budget. I need some advice on which offroad electric buggy to invest in tha can be easily be hopped up to be contender later on. I don't plan to race soon since I need lots of practice!! Scale can either be 1/10 or mini. Here are my choices so far:

- Dark Impact
- RC10B4 RS RTR
- Lazer ZX5 RTR
- RC18B4 RTR
- Mini Inferno

Any other suggestions would be great. In terms of budget, I really want to keep it under $300 since I don't know if I will stick to the hobby or not.

Thanks in advanced for any advice and suggestions.

[ashleyb4]

It all depends on your budget what you want to do 2wd or 4wd. How serious do you want to get into the sport.

But i would recomend the b4 rs for a novice driver as its strong it has all of the specs of the b4 team kit and it is a very competative car out of the box and one of the best 2wd's on the market. And at a reasonable price. The others you suggested the Dark impact is not a very competative race car but it would be a good car to hop up. The lazer zx5 many people love them i havent ever driven one but know a few people who have and they say they arent that quick but they are cheap and so are the parts. As for the micro's that is a total diffrent thing all together the 1/10th sceane is very much developed and there are lots of clubs that run 1/10th off road and there arent that many clubs that will run the micro's. But there is anew series starting soon of micro nationals which would be interesting.

A

[jim76]

If you want to race at a club then go for 10th scale and forget the 18th as this is still a small club specific class.

THE B4 RS in 2wd is the best bet as most of the components and geometry are the same as the top spec B4 and won't need a lot of money to get it competitive if you really get sucked into the hobby.

In 4wd the lazer RTR would be a good bet, but to be honest you would be better getting one on ebay as the full spec car goes for £100 with a few hop ups. You could easily add some basic electrics to it for under £300. You could always by a second hand speedo as the market for these is also cheap now that brushless is taking off.

Your other alternative is the nosram budget brushless system. Not sure if it will be in our range but it will be future proof and need zero maintenance.

And ignore Ashley, the ZX5 is a very fast car in the right hands!!

[ashleyb4]

Originally Posted by jim76

And ignore Ashley, the ZX5 is a very fast car in the right hands!!

OK Jim

A

[dyops]

Thanks for the reply! Since I had a 2wd car, I wanted to try out a 4wd. That's why the zx5 and Dark Impact is in that list. But I was already leaning toward the B4 because of its potential.

I might even dig up my old Falcon in my parents' house and fix it up.

[matt]

Why not pop down to your local club and see what most people are running that way you will gets loads of help with setups. I run a B4 and like them.

[dyops]

I'm leaving from my office in 10 min. and drop by one of the hobby stores here before I run some "business" errands.

[dyops]

I went to 2 hobby stores here yesterday and they did not have much electric buggies there even though their websites claimed they did. It was either airplanes or nitro buggies. The only kit they had closest to my list was an RC10 B4 Stealth. Hmmm...

Both stores had the RC18B4. Maybe I should get into minis then. There were posters of Nitro and Electric buggy races and another for a mini one. Maybe if I get a 1/10 4wd electric buggy and try to join a race, I would be the only competitor and always win. Woohoo! Instant champion!

So, if I can't find any other hobby store here that offers more electric stuff, I might just get an RC18B4 and hop it up like crazy for my personal enjoyment and probably run it around my backyard. OR get a 1/10 buggy and bug the golfers in the course beside my house.

[VintageRacer]

Originally Posted by dyops

I went to 2 hobby stores here yesterday and they did not have much electric buggies there even though their websites claimed they did.

Is this the case in most places? The model shop in Kiddy doesn't stock much electric and even less 10th scale buggies. Mostly nitro trucks and a few electric trucks.

I found this very surprising given there is a 10th off road club in the town and the track is used for regionals and nationals. Where do all the kiddy club members get their stuff?

[dyops]

I forgot to mention I live in Alberta, Canada and not in the UK. Recently, a pro hockey player's wife compared us to Siberia! I registered with this site because I found a lot of stuff here, especially the reviews, useful.

I've been to around 5 hobby stores here and they carry a very limited selection. At least some of them carry parts for the B4. One small store here is trying to bring back the 4wds. They had a lazer zx5 and will bring in the B44's when they're out. Unfortunately, they are way above my budget. I am looking through ebay and online shops to find great deals. So far I found a decent deal on a B4 RS. I'm still debating if I should shell out $300 for a zx5 RTR. So far no stores here carry kyosho parts except for that one store that had a zx5 and as of now they still do not carry kyosho parts.

I would have to rely on online stores for hop ups if I decide to get the zx5 and shipping costs are going to kill me!

Everytime I look through the internet I'm practically drooling over the cars and the mods I could do to them. But like I said earlier, I'm now considering a mini especially after a couple of articles I read about hopping these up to go insanely fast (including the tamtech article here).

BTW, thanks again for the advice so far!

[dyops]

I just won a zx5 RTR from ebay, so I'm hoping to get it in a couple of weeks. So I may be more active in this forum to ask for advice on hop ups I can do to it. But I must practice first and get used to the trigger controller (I used the stick setup a long time ago).

Also, I noticed someone was selling original Falcon parts on ebay. If I can get them dirt cheap, I may resurrect my Falcon and get a new receiver and maybe a brushless system for it .