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I'd also want to have a looker. It should be fun to drive, and while the TT-02 may be easy and cheap to maintain I was kinda bored with mine. The XV-01 looks great also as a naked chassis I think, feels great quality-wise and IIRC is a great experience to drive. Time to order some parts and build my second one I guess (screwed up the first one a bit). An option that I would also consider is a Kyosho legendary re-re that I don't own yet. Something like a Scorpion maybe? Looks great, looking at the reviews quality is top-notch, maintenance is easy. Only parts availability might be an issue.

Two sets of 53155 low friction aluminium damper set.

Doesn't that apply to many Tamiya kits? 😉

Missed the FF-03. I didn't miss on the white-green Lotus F1 (102B?), but sold it since I thought I had nowhere to run it, and ever regretted since.

After the 037 and Delta Integrale, a Lancia LC2 would make sense.

I did get an M08 once, and that was a very nice kit. She sometimes lacks a bit of self-confidence though, and asks id I rather had an M07 which was also on the wishlist. Takes me some effort to convince her I'm happy with her gift.

Of making what? The kids or the kits?

My wife is not into my hobby, but accepts it and gave me a baby boy who might become my RC buddy when he's a bit older.

As a LHS you have limited space. It's reasonable then that you sell the stuff that's popular. That means Traxxas and entry level Tamiya for me. The shop can order other stuff from those brands as well (as well as some other brands, but I'm not into RTR and some of the brands mentioned at the site don't exist anymore I think). I can see why they chose this way: both kits and RTR covered. If a parent who is not really into the hobby wants to buy something for his kid, it's hard to convince them to buy anything more expensive that say a TT02 or M05. The more serious hobbyist can always order whatever TRF kit they want, but they don't need to see the kit in flesh like somebody new to the hobby does. More brands or range within a brand covered won't immediately result in more sales. Now I'm glad I have a few LHS to begin with (though according to some of you, apparently as a Dutchman everything is local to me 😄 ) and I'm into the "support your local shops" camp myself, but I also shop online. Often more choice, quick delivery and cheaper. Understandable that a physical shop can't offer the same prices, but as long as I have to pay my own monthly bills my sympathy/spending has its limitations.

Welp, not the answers I expected, but the answers I needed I guess, so many thanks. I'm a bit surprised however, if these switches can cause such a risk, then why are ESC's still equipped with them? I can't remember seeing a single ESC that comes without a switch. Would this risk remain with a switch behind the cockpit on top? That's where it's located per instructions on the aforementioned Kyosho Scorpion (Turbo Scorpion, Beetle) and I think on the Tamiya DT03 as well. @skom25I've read for removing/eliminating the switch both to solder the wires and to just cut it off. Depending on the ESC I guess? Any way hoe to determine which way to do it, or just trial and error?

I noticed I find it inconvenient to have an ESC switch unreachable without removing the body. Mostly with buggies due to their body often being a tight fit. I suppose that's the reason Tamiya used dedicated slots on some of their kits, mostly in the bottom of the chassis. Only the switches used on the Tamiya ESC's fit though, and I don't wanna use those. I could try to solder the switch to an ESC of my choice, but I rather first try something bigger like power connectors. Alternatively I could try a 3D printed adapter, but I don't have a printer and so far found 3D printed stuff to be fragile. Currently I'm also looking to other brands, broadening my horizon if you like, and was looking at some Kyosho legendary kit instructions. I've noticed in kits like the Scorpion they tell you to cut a hole for the switch in the lexan body. I can't find pictures this has actually been done however. Is this doable for somebody without a lot of experience? Shouldn't it be difficult to align everything properly and make a square hole without looking crude? Or is the idea the whole switch case is placed outside, which I would think would look crude as well? Any other ideas to fit a switch outside the body?

Not Tupperware, but I did want to use/commandeer something else from the kitchen for the hobby. Our kitchen has a carousel, and when we bought it I was told that type is called a Le Mans. I immediately thought of storing/displaying some Tamiya Le Mans racers I intend(ed) to get on those shelves. Fortunately, the first one has yet to arrive, so World War 3 was averted. 😄

Are M07 and/or M08 usable on dirty asphalt? I have the latter, with small tires but those can be changed of course if that makes a sufficient difference.

I enjoyed the sound of my M08 with Torque Tuned motor and I wonder if an M07 would sound the same. Makes me also wonder if I should bother with brushless at all. The first runs with my TA04 with Carson Dragster 16T I was disappointed how noisy it sounded.

A bit of a bump, but I think that's better than opening a new topic. Some time has past, I have some new opinions/ideas but also some questions. First the M08. I noticed there are two different sizes of M tires and it appears I have the small ones. Could the larger ones make enough difference in ground clearance to get it going on asphalt which is okay I guess but not super smooth? Does the M07 have comparable clearance to the M08? Likewise, I might try the same surface for postal racing for my TA04SS. Chassis is finished (though I had trouble eith making a decent wiring job), bodies not (yet). I'm definitely going to build the XV01LD. For now I'm going to use a Hobbywing 1060 brushed and a torque tuned, so I can upgrade to Lipo later on. For brushless I first want to read a bit into what gearing to use. Maybe a regular XV on the long term, though I would sell the Lancia body since I've even seen experienced people struggle with the stickers. How beginner friendly are ball diffs? I felt the rear one on my DF03 is way too loose, but I thought I tightened it up firmly. I ask this because the basic Carten T410 seems to be equipped with those. Also every F1 and Group C, and I regret selling the Lotus with Tamiya sponsoring so if that one ever became available again I'd possibly buy it right away. The Dirtmaster goes on the wishlist. 😀

My LHS is well-known locally I think. At King's Day (and before that Queen's Day) they have a demonstation with RC cars somewhere in town, the last years at the market square. People who learned about my hobby immediately asked if I knew about this shop (Peperkamp). I know what you mean, it's always a treat to visit a LHS. Boxes stacked from the floor to the ceiling, no wasted space whatsoever, quite opposite to fancy phone shops for example. Very dangerous for my wallet though. The owner's wife has a cake shop right next to it, in fact she made our wedding cake.

Just as I reserved a Savox SC0253MG for my XV-01, I read here that it might be a bit weak. 🤔 Did you replace the pinion for a steel one? You did mention it in the opening post, and it's something I upgrade on all of my vehicles.

I wanted to ask what your secret is, and had to get my XV-01 to test it. Turns out I have two different types of XT60: one with just a housing of which I bought a bunch to solder myself. This one just fits diagonally through the hole. Another one was soldered as a replacement connector of an ESC by a webshop and came with a grey "collar" which doesn't require a heat gun to shrink. This one is more rounded and works well, but I couldn't find any way to pass it through the hole. I wanted to post a picture, but can't seem to upload it.

I'm afraid the XT60 connector is too big to fit the hole to the battery compartment in an XV01. Maybe you can modify it, but it was reason for me to get a converter connector Deans>XT60. I didn't care too much about power loss, but I've had the Tamiya connectors disconnect quite a number of times already, with the wires themselves getting out of the connector itself.

Probably not the answer you were looking for, but I immediately had to think of this.

I remember to go to a nearby city for shopping by train, which took 30 minutes, which was a whole happening for me as a kid. Once a year, and so train travel was something special, as well as the shops they had over there. I think distance is relative. The Netherlands is small and maybe I'm spoiled. I know somebody had no problem driving 8 hours for a Lego show (another (kinda former) hobby of mine) which is something I couldn't imagine. I may just not be enough into the hobby (yet) to do it, and want it to be something I just do inbetween on a saturday afternoon. Reading the comments I shouldn't be afraid to get into brands by ordering everything online I guess. I could still be going to the LHS for more general help, electronics et cetera. It used to be 10 minutes by bike for me, now it's about 10 minutes by car. Nice owner, it's just that he decided to deal in other brands. Looking how he managed to stuff everything in his shop I doubt he could carry more brands. And Kyosho has quite a number of kits as well, which he has covered with Tamiya, whilst Traxxas offers something different with mostly RTR bashers, at least that's what I assume is part of the reason behind it. Another shop about 30 minutes by car, that's the one who I believe has stopped with Traxxas, but I haven't visited them yet, nor heard of any replacement brand they want to start with.

Hi all, I wonder to what extend you make your purchase decisions whether your local hobby shop supports that particular brand in case you ever need service of some kind. In my case, my interest in Kyosho and Carten starts to increase. Neither brand is supported by any shop in the vicinity. It would make it easy to order from webshops since my conscience won't protest I'm not shopping locally. But what if you have to return an item? Maybe I'm overthinking, I didn't NEED to visit my lhs for my Tamiya stuff yet, but I'm a sporadic user of my RC stuff so that may have to do with it as well. Would like to order some stuff and I doubt I could convince them to change their stock, though one stopped with Traxxas so I keep my fingers crossed. Curious about your opinions.

Maybe a bit offropic, but I find Hobbywing names unclear. I assume the Quicrun is one of the more economical lines, but searching for 10BL60 or 10BL120 I see various different esc's in the results. MAX10 one step above it?

The R has the high speed gear set and alloy shaft, I think those are the main features that the S lacks? I believe it's easier to get an S and have those bits added, than it is to give an R the superior suspension of the S.

My LHS is asking about 15 euros for a PS can I think, and often you need two or more cans for multiple colours or backing. I'm a firm believer of supporting local businesses, but my budget has limits. Then some of the bodies by Killerbody actually become a viable option for onroad cars. I've read somewhere else RC-specific tools are overpriced, but quality tools in general aren't cheap and I don't want to always have to search where I left my screwdriver, so I want additional tools regardless. Then again, an Olfa knife can be found for 15 euro, the exact same knife with Tamiya branding costs about twice as much. Some of the Tamiya cars have a slot for an on/off switch, as an autist I NEED to use it, and I see only a few options for these unless I go solder myself. One is the limited Tamiya esc, the other is one of Castle (which I'm not even sure it fits) which is in general well beyond my budget.