namastebuzz

Seems like you're on the right track. Also depends where you're driving too. A truck/truggy can drive on rougher ground than a buggy. A 6S Kraton is an awesome beast but needs a bit of room to run and some careful handling. Personally, I found a V3 Kraton with loadsa upgrades and spares plus 4 batteries for £320 which also came with the better standard controller so you might get lucky on eBay/Gumtree/FB Marketplace. Haven't broken anything on it yet apart from tearing a tyre I've taught both my younger kids to drive RCs as well as running a club at the primary school. My 4yr old handles a 3S Rustler on 50% throttle very well - albeit after practising on slower cars for 2yrs. The Carnage will be a bit much for your son unless you can adjust the throttle down - not sure what the Tx can do that comes with it? Or you can tape some squidgy foam behind the trigger. Good luck with it all and have fun! PS I think I was looking at that Carnage on eBay. I'm still after one so if you ever need a buyer - drop me a PM.

I wish I hadn't read this thread. Now I can see a glimpse of a whole big, crazy world of RC construction vehicles that I didn't even know existed. Must resist........ [emoji53] Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

Sounds like a good plan Jambo. Establish some safety rules and a code of conduct. Get him to help you fix any breakages so he learns. Have fun.

Is the Huina stuff any good? I noticed Banggood sell the 1/14th scale diggers for around £50 right up to full metal versions for £3-400. I've also seen them on AliExpress considerably cheaper. Are they knockoffs? It would be cool to get some for the kids to play with whilst I'm fixing the E-Maxxs. Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

How old is your son? There's a big difference between most 3yr olds and most 6yr olds. My 6yr old can handle a 6S Kraton very well after 3yrs of driving. He's probably better than me..... My 4yr old can handle a Rustler on 3S with 50% throttle. Flysky FS-GT3C is good for being very adjustable and also comes with an extra smaller grip for little hands. Plus it's rechargeable so no messing with AA batteries. Only £35. Or just tape some squidgy foam behind the trigger to limit travel. Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

XL5 is the same in either car so you can run LiPos. Personally I'd get two the same. Then you can share spares more easily when they break. Stampede if you're gonna be driving on rougher stuff or grass. Rustler for smoother, harder surfaces unless you upgrade the tyres. Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

Arrma 6S. If you wanna just go fast: Talion Go fast and jump: Kraton Just jump/stunt: Outcast You can go 4S but they don't look such good value compared to the 6S. Besides, if you turn up with a 4S someone else is bound to appear with a bigger, faster 6S and then you'll wish you'd got one. Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

As I understand, you can take Li-Pos on in your hand luggage. Some tips here http://www.axialracing.com/blog_posts/1073926121 You should check with your airline just to make sure.

Hmmmnnn.......... Probably time for the second eBay account and the alternative PayPal account. 😁😁

Good stuff! My Rustler was my first car and still my favourite. Easy to work on, easy to fix, easy to drive and easy to upgrade. Great fun on 3S with 50yd wheelies! Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

"Might order a 6s for myself just to keep him company." Yep. That's the way to do it. Trouble is, he'll be driving the 6S before you know it! My 6yr old now handles a 6S Kraton reasonably well. He has 3yrs experience of slower cars. He lands all his jumps, pretty much. Unlike his dad. The safety thing is a mindset. Let the kids know that the dangers are there. Establish rules and methods. Follow them. Ignoring the rules either ends the session or the relevant child has to sit out for a while and is then "demoted" to a slower car or a turned down throttle. They soon learn. Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

Nothing wrong with the GT3C. We use two of them. The aerial is a bit flimsy but nothing else seems bad. The rechargeable-ness is a real bonus. That power button problem was ironed out ages ago AFAIK. Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

I bought 4 of the 20kg Jx servos from Banggood for £36. Or it may have been 25kg ones. Can't remember. One's in my 6S Kraton and another in my Maverick Scout. Both doing the job. [£30.79 41% OFF]4PCS JX PDI-6221MG 20KG Large Torque Digital Standard Servo 180 Degree For RC Airplane RC Parts from Toys Hobbies and Robot on banggood.com https://banggood.app.link/0qKXavh8G1 The shipping stated 5-9 business days and they came in about a week IIRC.

I don't know as much as you but can you post up a pic of the cars and how/where the batteries are mounted and connected? These are quadcopter batteries are they not? What sort of C rating do they have?

Much as I bow down to Tug's near godlike status on most things RC I don't agree about the Rustler (heresy, I know). 😉 My first car was a 2WD Rustler and it's been brilliant. Easy to work on, easy to upgrade, unlimited choise of spares and HUGE knowledge base out there to draw on. Mine has been lost on a drive-away and crashed into a fence at full speed (user error), been on fire (cheap ESC) and been to the bottom of a lake (also user error) but come back strong each time. Sure, it'll break if you launch it off huge jumps or crash too hard into solid objects. However, the ONLY car that's been on every day out we've had over the past couple of years has been the Rustler because either it hasn't broken or it has but it's been easily fixed. Everything else has broken more or taken longer to get parts and fix. Plus, it's huge fun to drive. I like the RWD sliding around and you can pull 50yd wheelies with no effort. Put a few unbreakable RPM parts on it, decent tyres (Proline Trenchers) and off you go. A new chassis is only £8 if you get it badly wrong. I know Traxxas are an obnoxious company and the Rustler is a 25yr old design but I still love it. PS - There's nothing wrong with the FTX stuff I've used. Bit flimsy at times, maybe, but decent value and spares are really reasonable.

Still for sale?

Cool truck. Saw your vids on YouTube/Facebook of it running on 4S. I'm a bit of a n00b so took me a while to figure out what you're getting here. So it's somewhere between a Truggy and a Monster TRuck? About the size of a 6S Kraton? Uses two servos mounted asymetrically in that M2C mount - was that mount originally for a nitro car with steering/gear servos? In pic 2 is the big black box for the battery and the smaller for the receiver? I take it the arms/suspension/towers are all XTM Mammoth? I guess you could drop in an Arrma 6S power system plus a radio and off you go?

Hmmmmn - I really should examine my charging procedures. I often charge the batteries in the cars because I'm too lazy to remove them (especially from the Kraton). I do keep an eye on them whilst in the workshop but I think I'd better go to the ammo box method - seeing as I have some.

The FTX models are good. They're fun. Easy to fix - if also easy to break. You can also use 2S batteries to start for more maneagable performance. I'd say get one each. If you can. Then you can both play, which is more fun. Plus, something always breaks so having more than one car prolongs the session. If you get into it, then you can move to bigger, faster cars. My 6yr old can drive a 6S Arrma Kraton quite well now, after 3yrs practice on slower cars. Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

I've never soldered a male deans connector on to a battery. Nope. Would never do that. Obviously, if anybody was stupid enough to do that the plug would spark on everything it touched. Not that I'd know, you understand, just guessing...... [emoji20] Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

Hey RC4us - come back and let us know how you get on after Christmas. One thing I'd say - it's really hard teaching/overseeing kids doing something when you don't know how to do it yourself. You wouldn't try teaching someone to ride a bike if you couldn't already ride one yourself would you? Take your own car out before Christmas, on your own, and spend time getting used to it and learning what can go wrong and what tools to have along. Then, when you're out with the kids you can spend more of your attention getting them up to speed. (TIP - tighten all the wheel nuts up before every run and have the tool with you.)

Err..... I didn't. I said you'd get better run times (LiPos) and wouldn't need to upgrade later (brushless). BUt yeah, you're right an FTX Carnage or similar makes more sense to start off with. If the OP and his son get into it then they can move up to bigger toys later. Half the fun is planning what your next car is.

Yeah it's a tough one. Once you've tried driving a car AND supervising a kid driving a car at the same time you'll realise. My 6yr old can handle a Kraton 6S pretty well now but that's with 3yrs experience under his belt. I'd say get 2 cars the same. Makes fixing and modding a lot easier. Aftermarket controllers like an FS-GT3C make customising the power delivery simple so you can have profiles for 25%, 33%, 50% power for kids to get used to first. Obviously you can drop the number of cells and run a 6s car on 4s or a 3s car on 2s etc. I'd say go straight to brushless and lipos. You'll get way better run times and won't have to upgrade later. Arrma 4S or 3S I reckon. Make SURE you have chunky tyres that grip on wet grass. Powerful RC cars just spin their wheels otherwise. Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

The Rustler comes in XL-5 (brushed) and VXL (brushless) versions. It's dead easy to work on. Unlimited amounts of spares and upgrades are available. It is 2wd but great fun to drive and I've broken very few bits on it over the years. With brushless setup and a 3S LiPo it's truly mental! Plenty of used ones with decent upgrades come up on ebay and gumtree. Sent from my S55 using Tapatalk

Good stuff 😀