Anyone here into RC hobbies?

[Jason Musgrave]

We got my 6-year old son a little cheap $75 1/18th scale rc truck from Amazon for Christmas which is proving to be a costly mistake lol. The kids are getting way into it so I just picked up an older used (but supremely dialed for carpet) T5M as a way to spend some more fun time with them...I'm about to buy at least 1 maybe 2 Losi Mini-Bs for the kids as everyone is having a lot of fun with it and we have a local carpet track about 15 min away. These things are so much fun and even though our track isn't cheap what an awesome family Sunday it would be during cold winter months once I have enough batteries to get our monies worth for the day! Plus the tinker-factor is off the charts for anyone into messing about with stuff.

Who else here is into racing (or just bashing)? This thread can be about boats and airplanes too.

[zachateseverything]

I raced a Losi XX (1/10th scale 2WD electric buggy) a bit as a kid but mostly just tore around the backyard with it. It was a great tool for tinkering with a car setup on the semi-cheap and seeing what does what. I still have it. I brought the chassis into work to use as a prop for teaching vehicle dynamics stuff to tire designers. No idea if the electronics still work as they're sitting in a box in my garage. I'm sure the brushed DC motors are fine but those ni-cad battery packs have to be dead.

I can only imagine how good this stuff has gotten with LiPo batteries and brushless motors. My childhood experience was that you'd get a really fun 10 minutes of play time out of a battery charge but I could only afford enough packs and chargers to reasonably get about an hour of action after school.

My brother and I also had the Tyco RC Hovercrafts when we were kids. Super fun in the basement or our grandparents pool.

[zachateseverything]

I should also add that there's a public dirt RC track at the one park not too far from my house. I've been tempted a couple times to get some kind of RTR setup for messing around out there after doing a couple mtb laps.

[sbornia]

We're about 24 hours away from getting into it, as I bought a Traxxas Bandit 1/10 scale buggy for my daughter's 9th birthday. She tried a friend's car a couple months ago and was fascinated by it, so I figure this will be fun to play with together. I admittedly didn't do my usual over-the-top research on what to buy, but that model seems like a good one for outdoor use and somewhat varied surfaces.

[cbiker]

I got my kid a cheap $40 crawler for his 5th birthday after we saw this group of adults driving them on a gnarly shale streambed nearby. These things are so much fun, even the cheap one we got. If you want to spend more like $300 it’s amazing how capable the fancy ones are. My son has used his all over, on hiking trails, playgrounds, in mud and even snow. It’s been a great way to coax him outside this winter.

As my son’s skills have improved we’ve picked up a few more RC toys. It would be cool to find some indoor or outdoor tracks and races for him to progress with. I didn’t know those existed.

[Jason Musgrave]

I raced a Losi XX (1/10th scale 2WD electric buggy) a bit as a kid but mostly just tore around the backyard with it. It was a great tool for tinkering with a car setup on the semi-cheap and seeing what does what. I still have it. I brought the chassis into work to use as a prop for teaching vehicle dynamics stuff to tire designers. No idea if the electronics still work as they're sitting in a box in my garage. I'm sure the brushed DC motors are fine but those ni-cad battery packs have to be dead.

I can only imagine how good this stuff has gotten with LiPo batteries and brushless motors. My childhood experience was that you'd get a really fun 10 minutes of play time out of a battery charge but I could only afford enough packs and chargers to reasonably get about an hour of action after school.

My brother and I also had the Tyco RC Hovercrafts when we were kids. Super fun in the basement or our grandparents pool.

Those vintage cars are worth a bunch of money these days! I had a RC10CE (gold-pan) back in the early 90s as a kid and remember the 10 minute run-times well. This T5M is blowing my mind how good the setup is with a sensored brushless motor and LiPo battery. Has lots of titanium, a small fan blowing on the motor, and even genuine Kashima coated shocks. The Losi Mini-B is taking the micro racing class by storm (it's 1/16th scale) and only costs $150 as a complete RTR out of the box. I think the small platform is going to be great for teaching them to drive as they are so light and not superfast out of the box (though there are plenty of brushless conversions that make them insanely fast).

[CJones]

I have an Axial Deadbolt 4WD 1/10 crawler that is soooo much fun! I love it and it's amazing what it can do. We drive it all over the yard and take it on the local trails. I also have an older Tamiya Wild Willy II.

Axial_Deadbolt.jpg

[zachateseverything]

Those vintage cars are worth a bunch of money these days! I had a RC10CE (gold-pan) back in the early 90s as a kid and remember the 10 minute run-times well. This T5M is blowing my mind how good the setup is with a sensored brushless motor and LiPo battery. Has lots of titanium, a small fan blowing on the motor, and even genuine Kashima coated shocks. The Losi Mini-B is taking the micro racing class by storm (it's 1/16th scale) and only costs $150 as a complete RTR out of the box. I think the small platform is going to be great for teaching them to drive as they are so light and not superfast out of the box (though there are plenty of brushless conversions that make them insanely fast).

yeah, it looks like the XX's are going for $100 for a basketcase to $400 for something complete and nice. maybe I should sell it and trade it in for something a bit more useable. something to think about.

[sailor]

I got my kid a cheap $40 crawler for his 5th birthday after we saw this group of adults driving them on a gnarly shale streambed nearby. These things are so much fun, even the cheap one we got. If you want to spend more like $300 it’s amazing how capable the fancy ones are. My son has used his all over, on hiking trails, playgrounds, in mud and even snow. It’s been a great way to coax him outside this winter.

As my son’s skills have improved we’ve picked up a few more RC toys. It would be cool to find some indoor or outdoor tracks and races for him to progress with. I didn’t know those existed.

What did you get and how is it holding up? Would be a fun toy for my son when he turns 5 this summer.

[funcrusher]

i was into a phase about 10 years ago...built up a jammin chassis with a pico engine...that thing hauled butt, but i sucked at driving it and crashed it a bunch...and those little parts are pricey!!

during the pandemic, built up a traxxis stampede with my 12yo as a project...the battery powered ones are much more practical...he loves bashing it around

[Jason Musgrave]

What did you get and how is it holding up? Would be a fun toy for my son when he turns 5 this summer.

I can confirm the Haiboxing 1/18th trucks on Amazon are great beginner trucks for $75. Miles hasn't broken anything yet and the nice thing is the remote has a "slow mode" with a flick of a switch so he can learn nice and easy.

[cbiker]

What did you get and how is it holding up? Would be a fun toy for my son when he turns 5 this summer.

We got this one: https://www.amazon.com/DOUBLE-Dual-M...dp/B07SZ77VV2/

I see the price is higher now, but it looks like the same company has other models that are functionally similar. Some may have smaller batteries, not sure.

It has held up amazingly well through puddles (although I would NOT let it get submerged in water the way you can with some of the more expensive ones), stairs, jumps, drops, and other abuse. The axles got a little bent, and I'm currently waiting on replacement parts for the steering servo, but the customer service for replacement parts has been good.

[gt6267a]

i raced a RC10 back in the day. Drove that thing all over the local streets. loved jumping it, crashing, and repairing. Every engineer should build a car from scratch, race, and repair it. So much real world knowledge about engines, torque, suspensions, tires, transmissions, etc etc.

Bought a team associated 1/32nd scale rtr. Thought it would be fun but its not. Definitely looking for something more robust.

[gggross]

I have been into model aviation since I was a kid. I am 59 now. I never got into the RC car or boat thing. I have a full shop to build RC aircraft, control line stunt and racing aircraft and powered free flight aircraft. It’s a blast but the old time hobby shops are gone and I mail order 99% of the stuff I need. Balsa wood has become extremely expensive since wind turbine blade cores are made from balsa (and once the blade reaches end of life, which is sooner than you think, it ends up in landfill). Model aviation fuel is becoming more difficult to find as well at a decent cost point so mixing myself is in my future.

I encourage young folks to give it a try - whether aircraft, cars or boats. Maybe that will encourage the development of problem solving skills while they are having fun.

[j44ke]

Seems like Kris Henry might dabble in this a bit.

44 Vintage RC // Duck Racing by Kristofer Henry, on Flickr

[bcm119]

^^ wow, that looks like a mint condition Tamiya Grasshopper. That was the one to buy as a kid if you couldn't mow enough lawns to afford a Hornet or Frog.

I was a total RC car nut as a kid. The Tower Hobbies catalog was my bible. Over the years, I've owned a Kyosho Pegasus (my first as a kid), an Associated RC12i (1/12 scale carpet racer), Kyosho Ultima II, and HPI RS4 (1/10th 4wd nitro touring). The HPI was by far the fastest and most fun, but nitro engines are messy and loud.

Every now and then I still get the itch to drive an RC car, and half considered getting back into it. I would go with a 1/8 scale, 4wd touring car, preferably shaft driven (had a lot of problems with HPI belt drive). I like the power of nitro, but these days I assume there are no down sides to electric. And I think the 1/8 scale parts would be a little easier to tinker, with my aging eyes and clumsy fingers.

I don't have kids but would highly recommend it as a hobby-- so many lessons to learn, not least of which is saving up for an expensive toy and then taking care of it. But you also learn a ton about cars, especially if you get the kit and build it yourself.

[Jason Musgrave]

I have been into model aviation since I was a kid. I am 59 now. I never got into the RC car or boat thing. I have a full shop to build RC aircraft, control line stunt and racing aircraft and powered free flight aircraft. It’s a blast but the old time hobby shops are gone and I mail order 99% of the stuff I need. Balsa wood has become extremely expensive since wind turbine blade cores are made from balsa (and once the blade reaches end of life, which is sooner than you think, it ends up in landfill). Model aviation fuel is becoming more difficult to find as well at a decent cost point so mixing myself is in my future.

I encourage young folks to give it a try - whether aircraft, cars or boats. Maybe that will encourage the development of problem solving skills while they are having fun.

We need some pics of your airplanes!!! 🤓

I used to fly control line some - what a hoot! I haven't looked for about 10 years but I couldn't find fuel for my Cox Black Widow any longer. Tell me about mixing your own?

P.S. As an aviation buff I've always wanted to get into flying and have always had intentions of building a big sailplane to hang in the garage/man-cave (~10' wingspan)...someday!

[Jason Musgrave]

Every engineer should build a car from scratch, race, and repair it. So much real world knowledge about engines, torque, suspensions, tires, transmissions, etc etc.

Couldn't agree with this more! The rtr stuff is missing such a huge piece of the big picture for this reason imho.

[cny rider]

Kinda the same but different.
This beauty just arrived yesterday and I have to show it off:

IMG_2171.jpg

[zachateseverything]

Kinda the same but different.
This beauty just arrived yesterday and I have to show it off:

IMG_2171.jpg

what scale?