David Allen

A missed opportunity by Futaba in my opinion. Nice to see the possibility of using modern (cheaper) 2.4GHz receivers with a stick set - but why the fragile external antenna? Why no fingertip controls for steering rates (or other settings)? Still not a match for the 3VC in terms of ergonomics.

I think you underestimate the allure of the top of the range cars. I'll wager there are 10

Ask at the track about the most popular class that is raced. You will also get some good advice about what tyres suit the surface. There is a huge range of electrics out there so impossible to give advice without knowing your budget. When in doubt, run what you can get trackside assistance with.

That's a very old video. The 418 has DCJs as standard and I expect the 419 will too. So not really sure how a Spec R "upgrade" to a lower quality version of the same part is newsworthy.

Rotors are usually specific to the motor, also for BRCA rules you can only use the correct rotor. Have you tried ordering one from abroad?

There are a couple of permanent outdoor tracks that you can practice on if you are a member. Cotswold club is closer to Chippenham - http://cotswoldmcc.co.uk/ and there is also the Mendip club - http://www.mendiprcraceway.co.uk/

"Vintage" touring hasn't happened as a class (yet), the cars are mostly a bit too recent although when you look at those old tourers they are very different to modern cars, much more variety in the design than you have now, so maybe in a couple of years people will want to race them again. You can still race them, or drift them, only problems are that the cars are not designed for square-cased LiPo's and some cars will struggle to fit a brushless motor neatly due to the shape of the endbell. And you can't get spares.

I race at Chippenham from time to time, very good club, great venue. You'll get lots of advice about the possibilities if you visit, 17.5 Blinky TC is generally the most popular class but there are usually GT12s, Mini's and 13.5 boosted cars knocking about too.

Double check what the class they actually run is. A GT14 carisma is a very different car to a Mardave.

So what class is it you will be racing in? GT14 suggests a micro buggy?

They have been running them at the "Essex" one-off meetings, haven't seen them at any other events.

Suffered from many flaws in the first place. Not worth buying as a runner. M06 is definitely more interesting.

Is there any particular kind of wheel you were trying to fit? It looks like the Siege has the Associated style of front axle, nothing wrong with these and there are plenty of tyres available to fit that sort of wheel. If you really, really want a 12mm hex you may be able to find parts from a different 2wd buggy and fit them, probably more hassle than it is worth, and the offset may not be right for the kind of wheel you want anyway.

First step should be to find a club to race at. If you haven't looked already, go to the BRCA website, or look at the map on the Schumacher website - http://www.racing-cars.com/sitepage/uk_rc_clubs.html Bear in mind that neither of theses lists are kept completely up to date so it is worth talking to local shops and racers, Facebook is where a lot of club activity happens nowadays. If you want to run indoors it has to be electric, and that's what the majority of racing is now anyway. I don't think any of the electric indoor classes have to be that expensive, I race Mini's, Touring cars and 2wd bugggies personally and the initial cost of each car is quite similar, but the buggies tend to need more tyres and suffer more breakages.

You can use the discharge function to check the capacity of your battery. A 7.2v NiMH will run anything that a 7.4 lipo will, you just have to bear in mind that the NiMH packs are much less capable than Lipo. I wouldn't spend money on NiMH, they are OK for an rtr or to get a model going,but not as an upgrade.