TrophyHusband 0 #1 December 26, 2007 for christmas we bought my son a tranformer remote control car. push a button on the remote and it tranforms from a car to a cool robot. press different buttons and the robot dances. you can hook an ipod up to it and it dances to your music. its a pretty cool robot, but it sucks as a remote control car. the major problem is that the door keep falling off and the front grill broke off within an hour of taking it out of the box. this thing cost $120, so i'm pretty unhappy about it breaking so quickly. i'm going to take it back to toys r us and use the money to get a real rc car for my son. i don't know anything about them. what should i look for? how much money am i about to spend? should i go gas or electric? if i go for an entry level rc car, am i going to be back to the hobby shop next week upgrading? an advice would be appreciated. "Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama www.kjandmegan.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nopurpose 0 #2 December 26, 2007 If you've never had a hobby level RC car I would suggest an electric. They are cheaper and much easier to mantain. They are much cleaner as well. Start with that, and then move to a nitro if you want to get more into the hobby. Definitely start with something entry level. Tamiya makes some pretty decent, cheap kits, like the Super Blackfoot for instance. Tamiya kits are mostly plastic, but there are loads of metal parts out there when you break the plastic pieces. You can get completely set up with something like this (kit, radio, electronics, charger, batteries) for around $200.00 Also, I would strongly consider getting a kit that you would have to assemble completely. To me, it is one of the more fun aspects of RC cars, and you can't beat the the knowledge you'll gain of your machine. If anything breaks, you'll already know what to do to fix it. You can't get that from an assembled model, unless of course you dismantle the entire thing and then put it back together. Check out www.towerhobbies.com before you head to the store. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Morrison79 0 #3 December 26, 2007 Another RC type toy you might want to look at is the little helicopters they have out. I bought one for my roomates kid and we have been having a lot of fun with it. The thing is almost indestructable. The kid is only 2 so when he flys it, it's basically crashing over and over. But it has lasted for about 4 months so far. Not bad for about $30 . It actually flys pretty well when you get used to the controls. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrophyHusband 0 #4 December 26, 2007 i definately want one that we will build. i also already have 2 radios for my airplanes. one has only flown once almost 5 years ago, and the other isn't finished. i'm just going to use one of those so that's one expense i won't have. "Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama www.kjandmegan.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrophyHusband 0 #5 December 26, 2007 i love those little helicopters. i'm sure i'll be getting one of those some day as well. "Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama www.kjandmegan.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
D22369 0 #6 December 26, 2007 with the gas powered, its not just a one time purchase, you will need fuel, maintanence, and trust me... replacement parts. the motors need rebuilding from time to time also (its quite easy though) the parts are fairly reasonable. The initial cost hurts, approximately 300-900$ for everything you need to play. The electric truck I got for my son two years ago for 70$ from toys r us is still going strong, has two selectable settings one for speed, the other for torque. He still loves it, and other than the missing door mirrors and roadrash its in great shape, and I believe they make much higher performace electrics nowdays, but you may have to go to a hobbiest shop to find - just add $$$ gas motors will probably irritate the neighbors (my tmax sure does) downside of electrics are no cool engine noises, and the ones I have seen are not the powerhouse the gas motors are. both are a ton of fun though. Roy They say I suffer from insanity.... But I actually enjoy it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cocheese 0 #7 December 27, 2007 Cars are for short bus people. Get him an airplane. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrophyHusband 0 #8 December 27, 2007 i've already got 2 airplanes. one pt-40 gas that i let someone fly once after i built it, and a twin otter electric. the otter is nearly ready to cover, but i haven't touched either of them in a few years. i don't even know where the nearest place i could fly, but i'll bet its at least a 90 minute drive, and its always too fucking windy here. at least with a car we could play with it in the driveway. "Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama www.kjandmegan.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #9 December 27, 2007 Skip anything that Toys R Us has and go to Tower Hobby's website. Get an entry level "hobby level" RC car/truck. You and your son will get to put it together and its so much better then anything else out there in a toy store. Then you'll get to upgrade and change the car as you see fit. Different motors, tires, wheels, bodies...There's so much you can do. Go with electric for your first, a gas car is 3x's as fast and twice as expensive.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #10 December 27, 2007 http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0170P?&I=ASCC7020 This was the hot truck 10 years ago when I was still "in" the hobby scene. Still looks like its a popular truck with some serious upgrades.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grannyinthesky 0 #11 December 27, 2007 Quote i don't even know where the nearest place i could fly, but i'll bet its at least a 90 minute drive, and its always too fucking windy here. THere is a group that flies rc aircraft in Ontario, OR. I can get contact info if you ever want it."safety first... and What the hell..... safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy POPS #10490 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrophyHusband 0 #12 December 27, 2007 thanks, i'll keep that in mind. i'm thinking that i'll pull them back out when my son calms down and takes direction a little better. "Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama www.kjandmegan.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrophyHusband 0 #13 December 27, 2007 thanks for the link. that looks like the amount of money i was expecting to spend. "Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama www.kjandmegan.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Balls 0 #14 December 27, 2007 Not sure about rc cars, but my wife bought me an rc helicopter for Christmas. It's called an airhog or something like that. it is super small (like 10 grams), $30 bucks, and it flies for 6-10 min per charge. Or you can get the package of 2 for $80 that play laser tag together.---------------------------------------- ....so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
