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Hmmm, that's a tough one then. I'd make him build a kit of some sort, no RTRs for sure. I want to say something off road since it would be more versatile, but hard to get under that budget with something that's not a really cheap buggy. Problem with the Tamiya stuff is that while we love them and they do have a certain charm, if the kid has seen any sort of Traxxas car in their life they'll think the low end Tamiya kit is just a junk toy that is incapable of doing anything well. I'd go with a basic TT02 kit. Let him build it, paint it and hopefully he forms some type of bond with it. I was so proud of my first RC because I build it myself. If I got an RTR as a kid it most likely would not have kept my interest for too long.

Oh I love my Blackfoot and run it often. I agree its not the greatest vehicle out there, but I love running it in stock form.

Haha, true. Funny story - I wanted a Blackfoot so bad when it was time for my first RC. I loved monster trucks and just thought it was so cool. Dad got me an RC10 instead and I was a bit disappointed. Thinking back it was the right decision on his part, but I wanted that Blackfoot so bad.

Coming from a different angle - I don't think its the vehicle that's most important, but the environment/structure it will be used in. I think getting and kid into RC these days requires some sort of usage plan to ensure they stick with it. There are so many distractions these days that I rarely see kids stick with RC unless they are in a racing environment or other structured type of activity relating to RC. When we were kids there was nothing going on so driving our RCs for 10 minutes and then charging the battery for another 30 was fine, we had time to spare, haha. Just my examples, but I've tried to get two of my nephews into RC over the years. The first got a Rustler and I think he used it 3 times max. The other started with some short course truck and he actually drove it a good bit as I got an identical one and we raced around the park a bit, still didn't last long though (maybe 2-3 months). A few years later he wanted a drift car and got a TT02R kit. Put drift tires on it, got a GTR body for it, and drove it once...reminds me I should take it from him for spare parts. My point being, I rarely see kids playing with RCs anymore, but there are always lots of kids at the track running the beginner classes and they seem to love it. My daughter is only 3, but as soon as she's ready (and willing) we'll get here whatever they're running at the track in the beginner class and she'll start racing. I think that's the only way (along with building/working on them) that you can get a kid to stick with RC these days. They need some sort of structure/goal to work towards and make it interesting. Doesn't have to be actual racing, but some sort of structured activity. Trail running, crawling, whatever. So my choice would be whatever the local track is running for novice. Latrax Rally, TT02, Euro Truck, Bandit, Slash, whatever. Or a Mad Bull, I absolutely adore the Mad Bull

1080 is a brushed ESC that you can use nimh with if you choose. It's not 100% necessary, but I wouldnt run a trail truck or crawler without one. Biggest advantage is the 7.4v BEC (the G2 has an 8.4v BEC which is awesome), but you can adjust quite a few settings that are helpful on the trail, mostly brake settings. I believe the 1060 has a drag brake, but its either 100% or 0%, pretty useless.

Lookin good. Servos and silver can should be fine, that's what I run in mine. I would recommend the 1080 over the 1060 if you'll be out on the trails, a lot more adjustment as far as drag brake and most importantly a 7.4v BEC which will help with the dual servos. They'll be a lot more responsive.

Glad you like it, the R is a great kit and was my first TT02 a few years back. I never had an interest in on road and bought it on sale at Tower for next to nothing back in 2017 or so. I built it, put a body on it, ran it once and shelved it for 5 years. About 3 months ago out of nowhere I got into on road racing and its been a lot of fun and love running my TT02s. The R is now a Tamiya Pro Spec car, I run the SRX in VTA, and we also run "stock" TT02s int he Tamiya Production Class. I love the production class, stock motor/ESC and even stock friction shocks. It's been a lot of fun and very competitive racing. Plus I finally have a use for TT02 spares, haha.

Now that's funny. The Cloo Buster cost you a relationship, haha. Probably for the best

Wow, that's outrageous. They should just shut that site down, its done. Placed all my orders with AMain in the past couple weeks. Takes forever to get from CA but at least I get charged the right amount.

Yea, the 1/8 LMTs are big and heavy - which is why I like them I'm sure I'll grab one of the little guys at some point, its just not my thing. They're already talking about adding them to the race programs here so I'll give in at some point.

Oh really? Hmm...I don't hate the box art color but I do enjoy painting my own bodies. I'd probably still get it, who knows. Of course there are much better trucks than this van for the money, but I think every Tamiya I've ever bought was "overpriced" when compared to the competition One of the greatest joys in my RC life is building a Tamiya kit bone stock and taking it for a run around the local ball fields. I just love the imperfect perfection (if that makes sense) of a Tamiya kit. That mini LMT seems a bit expensive for a brushed mini-truck, but I think everyone I know has pre-ordered one already. I'm not a fan of small scale RC stuff for some reason. Not sure why but they've never grabbed my interest.

My first was an RC10 when I was 13. Loved building it and racing it for a few years, but for some reason I was always drawn to my dad's Tamiyas of the day (Grasshopper, Blackfoot, Clod, and a King Tiger). I guess it can go both ways - I started with a vehicle much superior to the Tamiyas of the time and now all I do is buy Tamiya re-releases and run them bone stock I still race and have suitable equipment, but if it weren't for Tamiya I can almost guarantee I would never have gotten back into the hobby and stuck with it.

Yes, exactly. I do all of the classics in box art because they are so ingrained in my head I can't see them any other way. I always do the newer stuff in my own style. Funny how that works, isn't it? It's funny you mention them sounding a bit weird to outsiders. My wife always gives me a funny look when she hears me say ClodBuster, but to me it can't be a more "normal" word.

That Neo-Frog looks awesome! Love it.

No idea why, but I all of the sudden want this thing Didn't think much of it when it was announced, but this will be absolutely perfect for some light running on the ball field in loose dirt like I do with my other stock Tamiyas. Can't wait until its released. Now to decide on a color...I actually like the box art color, but unless its vintage/iconic I tend to go with different colors on the newer stuff.

CC01 for me, I hate that thing. I bought one a couple years back and sold it as soon as it was built, never drove it. Don't get me wrong, I love my Tamiya "toys" (Grasshopper, Lunchbox, Mad Bull, etc.) but for a trail/crawler type rig the CC01 just doesn't cut it. Looks like a piece of junk. Might perform just fine, but I don't even want to look at it.

Yea, I shopped at Tower for years for Tamiya and coupon codes. Lately it seems AMain has more Tamiya stuff than Tower most of the time.

Hope you get it. They messed up an order of mine a couple months back and as an apology they were going to add 800 rewards points and it never came. I think they're just hopeless at this point.

I think he means he'll give in at some point and get one I've been eyeing it too, great looking buggy. Would be an easier decision if Tower still had generous coupons.

I agree, for some reason I gravitate to things I already have a few of or new releases that are very similar. Getting into something new just seems like work and I do plenty of that during the day already As you said, "new" stuff always requires certain fixes or hop-ups to make it reliable or functional and I'm not big on figuring that all out before I even build the kit. Recently got into on road stuff and figured it was time to step up from the TT02-based classes and bought myself a couple Xray chassis (2017 & 2018) to run in 21.5 Touring & USGT. They were delivered last night along with a ton of extra parts. I was excited and opened it up only to close it about 5 minutes later and put it under a pile thinking I'll figure all that out some other time. Those things are like spaceships compared to what I'm used to, haha.

Yes, that seems to go against all convention tuning for a high grip surface but I can see it being a lot more satisfying to drive! I haven't been in a race situation (carpet or tarmac) where that would help, but I'm sure there are cases. With the exception of my Euro Truck & TT02 Production car I typically run either front spools or thick putty in the front diff with either 3k or 5k rear oil. I have been meaning to experiment with the rear diff a bit more, but the cars have been working well and want to work on one thing at a time without making big changes. I see a lot of guys make too many changes at once and it never seems to turn out well for them.

Yes, I agree 100%. It was so much fun actually "driving" the cars for once rather than just trying to set the car/tires up for max grip and essentially running point & shoot. I've been running on black carpet nearly every weekend now and there is so much grip you actually have to dial some out in certain cases. I much prefer asphalt racing but even then there is so much grip. I heard of a local club that was doing rally racing over the summer using TT02/XV01/XV02 Tamiyas, I'm definitely going to give that a shot next outdoor season, seems like a lot of fun.

Yea, when you think about it I guess they were. I bought it in 2000 when I was in high school and it was the baddest thing around back then, did a lot of street & track racing with her back in the day. Most memorable was beating a new 2002 Z06, that guy was not happy Nowadays a stock GN would get beat by a family sedan, but I guess that's true for nearly any performance car from the 80s/90s. Still cool to look at though.

Thanks @Pylon80 I've read that and saw that he used a max 53t pinion and it looked close. I may need to run a 60t+ pinion. No harm in trying, I'll grab a few gears and see how it goes. Adding a top deck to the chassis so can always trim that just a bit if I need to.

Hey Guys - Converting my SRX into a VTA car for the winter and obviously need to do some custom gearing. Looking for ranges from 3.0-4.0 which means I'll be running some big 64p pinions (up to 62t possibly). For you guys that have done this, how large of a pinion can you fit on the TT02 before running into issues? Just want to make sure it will actually fit before I buy some gears. I'll most likely use the Carbon Gear Cover from RC-Racer so will not need to fit the top plastic gearcase cover. Any input appreciated, thanks.