Charles101 Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Well....big sigh! I used to be big into RC and had a hpi baja 5b which I adored but ended up selling many years ago. I'm now finally in a position to buy one and they have stopped making them! the second hand ones seem to be over run over modded dogs. I was really hoping for the SS version to build myself, so I ask to all you lovely people- What are my alternatives?! I love the 1/5th loved the baja, and would love to build one.....what you reccomend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James.S Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 (edited) Hi there mate, welcome to the forum 👍 That's a shame that HPI have stopped making them now. But there is an alternative! There's a company that makes a copy of the old baja and they're meant to be pretty decent (fast & reliable enough). At the moment they're only £360 on Banggood if you want to take a look https://www.banggood.com/Rovan-1-or-5-2_4G-RWD-80km-or-h-for-Baja-RC-Car-29cc-Petrol-Engine-without-Battery-Toys-p-1287229.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN Edited October 11, 2020 by James RC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomr Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Have a look here https://www.rcmodelz.co.uk/rc-cars/1-5th-scale-petrol-rc-cars.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Hi and welcome to the forum 🍻 There seems to be a lot of clones out there nowadays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bajadre Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 theres rovan and kingmotors clones about for cheap prices but tbh id ask myself if you bought a SS would u keep it stock? i hardly even seen anyone with a stocker back in the day by the time you buy a decent pipe little upgrades here there etc id check the second market look for a near stocker with a few upgrades should be around the price of the clones anyway :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles101 Posted October 11, 2020 Author Share Posted October 11, 2020 Hi guys! Thanks for the replys! Yes, I have noticed numerous clones pop up over the years with the 2 main ones seeming to be the Rovan and the King motor. Now, of course, biggest drawback is they arent a hpi baja and I'm sure the post has been covered numerous times but which one?! Lol. If I was to go for the Rovan it would be the AS1 the 36cc jobby. Seems to have some nice anodized parts too. https://www.rcmodelz.co.uk/rc-cars/1-5th-scale-petrol-rc-cars/rovan-as1-baja-in-green-30-5cc.html Is it just me but what happened to RC? I mean I know all the brushless seems to be the craze which is great and astonishing at the speeds and power at the things but i miss the days of the firestorm and baja where every aftermarket part imaginable was available Haha. Dont get me wrong some of arrma stiff looks very cool, I dunno, man I just like me some petrol power haha. I am looking for a used hpi baja that isnt silly money and that isnt trashed. I shall keep my eyes open but theres something nice about buying new. Why did HPI stop all their good cars? The nitro RS4 range was pretty awesome too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James.S Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 25 minutes ago, Charles101 said: I am looking for a used hpi baja that isnt silly money and that isnt trashed. I shall keep my eyes open but theres something nice about buying new. Might've found something here that's pretty suited to what you're looking for mate. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HPI-Baja-5B-Original-V1/143780461518?hash=item2179fbbbce:g:7hAAAOSwwZBfgbWN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles101 Posted October 11, 2020 Author Share Posted October 11, 2020 43 minutes ago, James RC said: Might've found something here that's pretty suited to what you're looking for mate. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HPI-Baja-5B-Original-V1/143780461518?hash=item2179fbbbce:g:7hAAAOSwwZBfgbWN Awww man, I been looking at that one but then I ask myself the question... Is my nostalgia getting the better of me? Afterall that's a 8 year old car at a guess. Like would I be better going for the rovan I linked? I'm sounding like a indecisive child I know, apologies haha, I've just been out the 'loop' so to speak for so long I fear I'm just sticking to what I know? either way I be intrigued to hear your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James.S Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Well I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with sticking with what you know. Buying new tends to be the best option in most cases, and maybe most especially here because the parts for the HPI may be hard to source now that they've been discontinued. So really it just depends on whether you're willing to give the Rovan a go and hope that's its similar enough to your old Baja for you to enjoy it the same way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles101 Posted October 11, 2020 Author Share Posted October 11, 2020 Wise words. To be honest, if the rovan was in kit form- like the ss was, then it would be a no brainer. I really miss that. I think theres a real gap in the market for something like that. Hmmm tough choice. Arent all the parts interchangeable between the rovan, the baja, and the KM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spents Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 as dre said above mate, would you keep ahpi one stock if you found one ? you have a few options though, the rovan and km as stated above, my opinion is the km is the better option, but rovan are getting better, yes for the most part everythings interchangeable between hpi/rovan/km, although same as any platform some minor mods may be needed, so you could buy a second hand hpi and so a complete strip and rebuild, that way you make it into a kit then rebuild, buy a new km or rovan and do a complete strip, again make a kit and rebuild, scratch build from parts, and add the mods you want from the get go, and fit engine you want, 26cc/ 29cc/ 32cc etc etc, the last option could be expensive though buying all new parts and then building, but you could build the car you personally want, i-rc chassis and chassis brace , bonehead rc carbon parts or turtle racing or uber or i-rc etc, do a little research and do yerself a price list on parts, then decide if thats the way you wanna go, rcmodelz stock every part km and rovan, plus the area rc and various other upgrade parts, an alloy diff case/gearbox is a must if you bash hard, turtle racing do the gearbox as do km/rovan, whatever you do DO NOT build a full alloy one if your gonna bash it, it will bend and break, keep a few plastic parts in there that will flex a little and take some of the shock out in a big crash, ie; bulkheads, a arms etc, or you could just buy a used hpi or new km/rovan, bash it, break it and repair with upgrade parts as ya go, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4inbrain Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, Charles101 said: Is it just me but what happened to RC? It went with the times, and imho it's a good thing. Back in the day, "RC enthusiasts" had two options: slow or nitro/petrol. Now it's different, nitro/petrol is slower than brushless, meaning that people don't need to run nitro/petrol anymore to get their fix. I for example enjoy the driving part of RC, i don't mind wrenching every now and then either, but forced after run maintenance/care, carb tuning etc wasn't fun to me. It was a chore i had to go through to have fun - a chore that isn't needed with brushless. Not to mention that i usually am considerate, so a screaming nitro/2stroke is a hard sale to my neighbours or the park where i'm running. Usually legal, but i'm not the kind of guy who screws over a picnic of a couple just because i technically am allowed to. I don't have any spots where i'm far enough from people to not be a nuisance. Nitro/petrol is for people who enjoy wrenching/tuning their RC. I want to drive it. I also want to drive it fast (sadly, the DBXL-E 2.0 is slightly lacking in that department, around 45mph) - my X-Maxx tops out at 53mph (for now....), my EXB according to calculator is going to top out at around 64mph and my Dementor (allegedly) at 70mph, haven't tried yet though. To me, nitro/petrol is just inconvenient. I understand the appeal to some, but i don't share it - nor do many other "non-enthusiasts" like my neighbour who bought a Kraton, a few batteries and goes out every few days thrashing it in the field, who's mechanically inept. As a sidenote, i would argue that your best shot is on facebook, a group called (sorry, no idea how to prevent the formatting from going bonkers when pasting something)"The 1/5th R/C Arena ( Losi,baja,fg,vekta,mcd And All The Rest)" Just join and ask if someone has an unmolested Baja lying around. Edited October 11, 2020 by m4inbrain 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bajadre Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 i never found that with petrol tbf brain was simple to tune and always kept it :) my baja was the one rc i never had problems with and thats over elecy models is was more the cost of hopups and noise i sold mine back then,i tried nitro twice never again lol my mate had a dbxle last year only ever ran it on flat but of been a one off as it broke constantly lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impreza30 Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Battery cars are basically toys, petrol cars are real mens machines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4inbrain Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 (edited) On 14/10/2020 at 07:54, Bajadre said: i never found that with petrol tbf brain was simple to tune and always kept it my baja was the one rc i never had problems with and thats over elecy models is was more the cost of hopups and noise i sold mine back then,i tried nitro twice never again lol my mate had a dbxle last year only ever ran it on flat but of been a one off as it broke constantly lol I got a DBXL-E and it's the only RC that not once broke anything, neither are there many complains in the forums (other than it being slow-ish out of the box, though that's relative - it's faster than most petrols out of the box). And it runs on an MX track (a mild one, granted), usually. My excursion into nitro, well, Trophy Truggy 4.6, sold after two weeks. 1 hour ago, Impreza30 said: Battery cars are basically toys, petrol cars are real mens machines Right. Edited October 18, 2020 by m4inbrain 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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