Rusty Spanner Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 Hiya. 49 year old relative newbie with a Tamiya Plasma Edge, a gift from my wife last Christmas. Amazingly, I've not broken it yet. ☺️ It's been jumped on by grand-kids, chased by dogs and still works. So, 40 year Tamiya itch scratched (Until Christmas, at least, when I'm hoping Santa is going to bring me an M series 2CV). However, fancy something a bit more capable for bashing and general naughtiness. Live next door to a huge park with lots of varied surfaces and big wide open spaces, so speed appeals too. My requirements: Good quality. Tough. Decent handling. Fast. Repairable, with decent spares support. Much better ground clearance than my TT02B. Under £300 complete with electronics and controller if poss. Happy with kit or rtr. And I'd like it to look good. ? After reading lots of great advice on here over the last year or so, a couple of models really appeal, namely the HPI Firestorm/Blitz Flux and the Team Associated Trophy Rat. Like the idea of trying to master 2wd and both seem to get excellent reviews. I'm aware HPI have had their issues and the Firestorm/Blitz are older models, but they seem to have lots of support and would appear to suit my needs. The Trophy Rat could be a bit more fragile, but much newer, so possibly spares will be available for a longer time? Not tied to a particular style but would like decent ground clearance and the ability to handle some rough stuff. Not really interested in a crawler and I don't think I know enough to buy secondhand. I'd prefer to buy from a real shop. All advice and alternative suggestions very welcome. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesp2812 Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 The trophy rat looks a good truck. Traxxas is another one to throw in the mix if you don't mind the way they do business! Not sure on parts availability for the rat rod only because I haven't seen it as a popular choice over here I could be wrong. Personally I would go for a proline mt 4*4 however it's £39 over budget and there does seem to be a question mark over parts availability over here. Sent from my LLD-L31 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCbutcher Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Check out the used market you can get just about anything for 300 but ask lots of questions be sure they give you info on rebuilds then check the diffs ect. Alot of sellers talk crap even on here. But many many are A1 and some go above beyond for happy buyers. It could be the best move. Just find good sellers and see what they have. I try to stick to 99% minimum sellers on ebay. Itz not hard to stay 100% so dont mess with private sellers at 95% ish lol. This forum has feedback pages to read too. If a seller on here has something cool ask for their feedback page. Most have one. Ide say a traxxas 4x4 1/10 ther old enough every part has a 3rd party option no need to deal with traxxss lol. Used market and 3rd market will keep the slash ect going another few decades lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCpete Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 How about going 1/8th scale with the hyper VSe, a tiny wee bit over budget but a nice car with good parts availability. A 1/8th scale buggy is the best RC around IMO as long as you get a decent one to start with....Hobao Hyper VSe or the Arrma Typhon (if you can find one) would be my choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Spanner Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 (edited) Thanks for your responses. Quote Personally I would go for a proline mt 4*4 however it's £39 over budget and there does seem to be a question mark over parts availability over here. Looks great, but a bit much for me at UK prices, tbh. Not sure about Traxxas, tbh. They do seem a bit pricey for what you get, plus I'm not keen on their business practices. May well make a lot of sense if I decide to go secondhand though. Quote Hobao Hyper VSe or the Arrma Typhon (if you can find one) would be my choice. Hyper VSe looks excellent for the cash, it's on the list. ? I'm just up the road from RossMod, so will pop in and have a chat, see what they advise. Much appreciated. Edited September 3, 2018 by Rusty Spanner 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistonhead Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 (edited) 1/10 Stadium Trucks are amazing fun, similar in width and slightly shorter than a 1/8 buggy and just as fast and capable. Look at the Hyper TT roller, pretty strong and really fun to drive, plus it’s 4wd which makes it more capable, and you can be fully RTR for under £300, look at the Turnigy TrackStar and HobbyWing Xerrun motors, both in a range of turns and come in at under £40 each, and the HobbyWing 10bl120 sensored esc for another £40, half decent servo for £20-30 and £25-30 for a Flysky radio. https://www.arrowmodels.com/hobao-hyper-tt-1-10-scale-transformer-truck-80-assembled-rolling-chassis Spares isn’t an issue with literally everything on eBay, they’re proving to be valuable too, in the States, used rollers are fetching around $300... Edited September 3, 2018 by Pistonhead 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Spanner Posted September 20, 2018 Author Share Posted September 20, 2018 Quick update. I went to look at the Hobao VSe and it's an amazing bit of kit. I don't think I could settle for a plastic chassis 1/10th scale equivalent after seeing both side by side. However, after adding the cost of new batteries and remembering how much fun I enjoyed building the Plasma Edge, I had what I believe is referred to as a ''moment of clarity'. £400 is a bit much for me at the moment. I'm a novice and think I need a bit more experience before making such a big commitment. So I'm buying a Lunchbox. ? I've read the big thread and think I'd probably have just as much fun for less than half the price, even with some nice upgrades. So, a Lunchie, spare Midnight Pumpkin body, some alloy body mounts, nice shocks, foams, AMPRO brace, a Sport Tuned motor and bearing kit. I'm sure my 5 year old grand daughter will love it as much as I will. Once again, many thanks for all the advice, I'll stick some pictures up on the big Lunchie thread once built. Only question is do I buy it now and get the 2CV as a Christmas present or hold on for a couple of months? RossMod have the kit at a very reasonable price, so I think I already know the answer to that one. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamiyafanboy Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 8 hours ago, Rusty Spanner said: Quick update. I went to look at the Hobao VSe and it's an amazing bit of kit. I don't think I could settle for a plastic chassis 1/10th scale equivalent after seeing both side by side. However, after adding the cost of new batteries and remembering how much fun I enjoyed building the Plasma Edge, I had what I believe is referred to as a ''moment of clarity'. £400 is a bit much for me at the moment. I'm a novice and think I need a bit more experience before making such a big commitment. So I'm buying a Lunchbox. ? I've read the big thread and think I'd probably have just as much fun for less than half the price, even with some nice upgrades. So, a Lunchie, spare Midnight Pumpkin body, some alloy body mounts, nice shocks, foams, AMPRO brace, a Sport Tuned motor and bearing kit. I'm sure my 5 year old grand daughter will love it as much as I will. Once again, many thanks for all the advice, I'll stick some pictures up on the big Lunchie thread once built. Only question is do I buy it now and get the 2CV as a Christmas present or hold on for a couple of months? RossMod have the kit at a very reasonable price, so I think I already know the answer to that one. ? You can't go wrong with a Lunchie! this is mine got me back into the hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesp2812 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 I 2nd that although I got a midnight pumpkin same chassis different shell! Love pulling wheelies on emSent from my LLD-L31 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamiyafanboy Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 5 minutes ago, jamesp2812 said: I 2nd that although I got a midnight pumpkin same chassis different shell! Love pulling wheelies on em Sent from my LLD-L31 using Tapatalk My wife has the midnight pumpkin its just as much fun, only issue is has more pretty chrome bits that break off ! We tend to run it without Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesp2812 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Yeah they do tend to get a bit messed up lol! Springs are prone to rusting after a while as well. We will meet up for a bash sometime got to wait til missus has had baby though. Sent from my LLD-L31 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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