Well, after much deliberation, and a tiny bit of advice from various sources, I only went and ordered myself an SCX24 C10.
Took it for its first mini run on the included battery, totally stock and I have to say, I'm very impressed. It really is as capable as people say. Have already ordered some brass hubs and diff covers which should be here tomorrow. Will get them fitted and then it might be a shock upgrade on the cards next, probably closely followed by a new servo.
My question there is which servo is best to upgrade to?
Anyway, here's a first video, unedited, and a little rough around the edges, but I'm happy for my first attempt...