Si Coe Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 (edited) I've always had a bit of a soft spot for really small RC's, so when I heard about a new micro from Carisma that would be similar in size to Kyosho's Mini-Z buggy but a fraction of the cost I just had to pre-order. Eventually a nice box arrived at my house. I was surprised how big it is - somewhat larger than my 1/28th scale Turnigy Tz4 (which is Mini-Z sized). Out of the box, and the first real disappointment is that the tyres are most definitely not designed for offroad use, being virtually slick. At the moment the only other tyres offered are the same pattern in a hard compound. Otherwise its all very plastic, even the dogbones and general construction is more in line with a Losi Micro T than the carbon Tz4. The steering links are lexan, not turnbuckles. The plastic shocks are just friction units with no oil. However the TX is really quite nice, well balanced and comes with a handy little rubber bumper you can use as a throttle limiter when the kids run the car. On a more positive note it is completely RTR, coming with TX batterys, a USB charger, lipo, some tools as well as a spare spurgear and a selection of pinions. Here we see it alongside the Tz4 - its a little longer, quite a bit wider and way heavier. But its still dwarfed by a 1/10th scale! The battery slots in a tray underneath. Space is pretty tight even with the supplied 1S pack but the 2S pack from the Turnigy Tz4 just about fits in too. You can remove the body, but underneath you just find this! Further access requires removing 4 microscopic screws (do not lose!) allowing you to reach the gears. I forgot to take pictures at the point though! Inside you'll find a brushless motor, esc/receiver and full proper 4wd with geared diffs and a slipper clutch. Its pretty easy to swap over the pinion with the supplied tool - a 12t is installed in the box but 13 and 14t are also included. OK, lipo charged time to switch on. No-one to help so no video. First off the servo is pretty quick, much faster than I'd expect for an RTR. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the car itself. Its too fast and too big to work well in my fairly small lounge, but outside running straight out of the box with the 1S lipo and the 12t pinion its quite slow. I'm starting to regret my purchase. I'd let my 3 year old run this! The whole drivetrain is also a little tight, though it should run in a bit. Time for drastic measures - switch to the Tz4's 2S lipo. Much better. Its now got a decent turn of speed. But its low, really low. It might be built like a buggy but at this scale even the slightest bump sends it flying. Its no better in this respect than the Tz4 despite the extra size, and its still slower than it too. Finally I decide to change to the 14t pinion as well. When I open up the car I find the tightness early is due to poor pinion mesh. Fitting the larger pinion and remeshing frees everything right up, and now the car is a lot quicker. Finally I am happy with it. So key lessons: 1) On 1S its too big and too fast for bashing around in the lounge unless you have a lot of space, but too slow to be enjoyable outside. 2) Its much better running a 2S lipo but check sizing because the tray is a tight fit. Even then the stock pinion is too small. 3) Its not really an offroader. Tellingly Carisma are showing it in the onroad section of their website. 4) Just like any larger sized RTR you may find you'll need to check screws and mesh before running. The gear mesh out of the box was far too tight. So - Should you get one? Well if you are into buggys and you want a really small one its pretty nice, and a few months back I'd have been over the moon. However I've got to say that really this does nothing my brushless Turnigy Tz4 didn't already do, for similar money (once you factor in the brushless conversion for the Tz4 vs 2S lipo for GT24B). Plus the Tz4 with its carbon chassis etc feels a little nicer than the all plastic GT24B. But I'm going to persevere with the GT24B for a while. Carisma are promising a number of interesting upgrades like proper oil filled alloy shocks and carbon towers which I think might sway me over more. If someone just made a tyre with some actual spikes on it could be a great indoor racer. I'll try to video it soon to show what it can do on 2S. Edited September 11, 2015 by Si Coe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khevolution Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 im a little behind the charisma line-up of vehicles, is this suppose to be the successor to the last GTB? or as it sounds, a newbie friendly alternative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carpmart Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 That 10th scale alongside the micro, looks like it's the size of a 5th scale Baja! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capri-boy Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 im a little behind the charisma line-up of vehicles, is this suppose to be the successor to the last GTB? or as it sounds, a newbie friendly alternative I wouldn't think so, the gtb is 1/16 scale (though very similar in size to my 1/14 LC Racing EMB). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si Coe Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Yes this is a much smaller 1/24th scale model, though since I don't currently have a micro buggy handy I can't say how much smaller. From memory (its been a few years) it seems almost twice the size of the Micro T I had, and not that far short of the RC18T. Todays Mini 8 and GTB are a lot bigger than the old RC18T and Blaze though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninderby Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 I had been thinking of getting one of these but now a bit disappointed. I'd want it just for indoors and it doesn't seem to be very well suited for that. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si Coe Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 It does depend on how big a space you have, but for living room racing I'd say the Micro T upgraded with a 2S lipo is better. It has a more suitable size and speed and is just as capable of using household objects as ramps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninderby Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 It does seem to be an in between design as though they tried to produce something that would do a number of things instead of a car optimised for one thing. What's that old saying jack of all trades and master of none. Now if they would produce a dedicated lounge racer. Doesn't have to be that fast but wants to be very tight turning, good acceleration with carpet tyres. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si Coe Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 (edited) Well I'm figuring this is meant to compete with the Kyosho Mini Z buggy in which case its half the price (and even then the Mini Z doesn't come with a TX), is brushless and runs off a lipo instead of AAA's. The big difference is that the Kyoshos can come looking like a tiny MP9, ZX5 or Optima which means they have more 'shelf appeal' if you can't find the best conditions to run them. This is similar to comparing the Tz4 to a Mini Z MR02, except that if you don't like the Tz4's rather awful generic TC shell it will fit Mini Z body sets. What I'd like to see is someone like the Micro T's electrics (or the brushless upgrade at least) and use them in a 4wd chassis of around 1/32 scale. There is a club near my parents runs Mini Z's on and offroad, so I might try and run my two babies next time I'm there. Edited September 12, 2015 by Si Coe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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