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I love the MT content on here, but most of my straight axle trucks are either built, or mostly built, so I feel like I haven't been able to offer much in the way of builds and content.  As I fixed some "whoops" the other day (week?) on one of the trucks, I thought to myself, "Self, why not just create a big messy thread of random Monster Truck content and pictures from your collection?"

It seemed like a good enough idea at the time (and who am I to second guess my own brain), so I figure I may as well roll with it and see if it builds any momentum.  If nothing else, it'll be a fun place to dump a few pics before I get my basement work area straightened up enough to do some "good" photography

And so here we go... welcome to what will be a random and messy ride...

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First up: Axial SMT10 [Tiny Tyrant]

This started as a basic "daddy daughter" build with my (at the time) 6 year old daughter.  It got a bit out of hand as the build progressed, but turned into a fun runner for sure.

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The SMT10 Raw Builders Kit was the backbone.  While it was meant to stay simple, I found option parts kept jumping into carts, and before we knew it, the kit box was also stuffed with CVD's, HD gears, aluminum link/shock mounts, and a bunch of other stuff.  The truck was originally built up with stock Axial shocks and RJ Design links to shorten the wheelbase down to 13".  The shocks held oil like a sieve holds water, and after 2 rebuilds I just gave up.  I swapped out the links for a 12.5" WB straight set, and opted for a more scale looking axle shock mount.  Long (110mm?) RC4WD King shocks were added.  These look GREAT, IMO, but function like garbage.  The C/E-clips that hold the pistons in place essentially cover the piston holes, so even 10wt oil felt like molasses.  Eventually I found some 5wt oil, and that seems to work "okay".

Wheels & tires came from JC Concepts, with the tires rocking the (arguably too grippy) blue compound.  Pink beadlock rings were the choice of my daughter, and sort of set the rest of the theme in motion.

RJ Speed again supplied the rear wheelie bar, the F&R swaybars, and a "Gas Tank" battery cover.

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Those photos also shows the ebay special "Skull" diff covers that add 1000% more awesomeness.

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The kit exhaust was used, as well as the kit interior.  A doll head gave a more fun aesthetic to the interior, as did the daughter-chosen purple color for the jumpsuit.

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The body is a JC Concepts "Junior Mortician".  The general paint scheme was devised by my daughter, with unicorns, rainbows, and pink paint as requirements.  My wife and I always jokingly called our daughter the "Tiny Tyrant" (which is actually ironic, since she is a mild mannered gem), so that became the name for the truck.

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Everything was hand stenciled & airbrushed, and the pink paint was custom mix we came up with to try to match the beadlock rings.  The "Sponsor Plates" were hand panted by my daughter.  We opted to not cut out the rear of the body, but instead created a large "window" to show off the gas tank and such...

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Electronics are..... uh...... definitely in there.

It was a bit of a hodge-podge mix to get it running, especially as the project was well over budget.  I think we crammed in an old CC Sidewinder ESC I had laying around, along with a cheapo 3900kv brushless motor.  The truck was long finished before I realized I had no clue what size pinion I had installed.  Servo is a venerable Hitec 645MG (again, pulled form a parts bin) with a Kimborough HD servo saver.  Runs on a 2S LiPo.

Super fun truck overall, but not without a few hiccups:

Issues:

  • Truck is a bit slow off the start
  • Lower link ends keep breaking
  • Tires are too grippy on pavement
  • Steering is a bit sluggish

Most of these issues have very simple fixes, or explanations.  Grippy race tires were a poor choice for front-street bashing.  Link ends keep breaking because we keep driving into things really hard.  :lol:
I'd love to toss in a better servo, but for now, it's likely fine as is.  The "slow off the start" was the biggest annoyance (though 100% fine for whenever my daughter was driving).  First improvement was to put in a different battery.  It makes sense in hindsight, but running the truck on a 10-ish year old 3200mah LiPo was a big part of the issue.  Because the pack was pretty much dead.  Ha!  A newer 4000mah pack spiced things up enough to pull the occasional standing wheelie.  But it still never seemed quite what I was hoping for.  Yes, I 100% realize I'm running an el-cheapo motor with a TBD pinion..... ha ha ha!

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Before the snow hit here (because Canada...), we had the trucks out one day, and were having some fun in a field near a local park.  While driving blind behind a small grove of trees (at full throttle...as you do...), a large rock jumped out and hit the front wheel.  Oh look, another link end is broken... :blink:

Luckily, thanks to the SMT10's horrific build procedure, it requires a great deal of disassembly to really get to anything (perhaps Tamiya helped with the design?).  If I have to pull a link out, you have to remove a screw that doubles to hold the center skid/tranny mount in..... soooooo, I may as well undo the other few screws and drop out the tranny/motor and see what pinion I'm running......

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Oh ya, I added metal drive shafts too early on.  Not sure what kind, but they were also cheap, and have since proven to be garbage.  Good thing they (oddly) came in a 4-pack...

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SO the link got pulled and the ball end replaced.  The spur gear cover got opened up and uh.........

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That's supposed to look like that, right?  :unsure:

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So it looks like the pinion was sitting a bit too far out on the motor shaft, allowing the pinion "ridge" to effectively eat a small bit of the spur... and then vomit it out all over the inside of the gear cover.  Whoops!  What is that, like a 15t pinion?  17t?  Hmmm.........

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Okay, well since we've made it this far....... [rummaging in parts bin]... lets see if....... yup, here it is!

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Lets pull out the el-cheapo 3900kv motor, and drop in an equally cheap 5600kv motor!  A new 11t pinion was installed (properly...), and the bits went back on the skid.

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All buttoned up and ready top get back into the belly of the beast...

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Motor wiring reconnected...

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And we're back on track.  So how does it work you ask?  No clue.  

The weather gods were against me here, and we have been knee deep (literally) in snow for weeks now, and with temperatures dipping below -25C, it has been no place for any real running.  And so for now, the Tiny Tyrant is back on the shelf waiting for warmer days...

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Every time I run my SMT, it seems like something falls off. :)  I feel your pain! 

My daughter loves the colors and the skeleton unicorn btw. 

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Getting into this hobby with your daughter is an awesome thing to do. I don't have a daughter admittedly, but I have a niece and she seems to have a real knack for driving RC cars. My sons step daughter used to drive my 4x4 Slash around and she was also quite good. I was trying to catch/drive over the Slash with my Xmaxx, she was too good for me to catch her.

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2 hours ago, OldSchoolRC1 said:

My daughter loves the colors and the skeleton unicorn btw. 

:D

 

50 minutes ago, Pablo68 said:

Getting into this hobby with your daughter is an awesome thing to do. I don't have a daughter admittedly, but I have a niece and she seems to have a real knack for driving RC cars. My sons step daughter used to drive my 4x4 Slash around and she was also quite good. I was trying to catch/drive over the Slash with my Xmaxx, she was too good for me to catch her.

My daughter likes the "concept" of driving RC's more than the actual activity.  She tends to only last for about 5 min of driving, but them loves to watch me drive, and make elaborate games out of it.  I figure who am I to complain if my 7 year old enjoys going outside and letting me goof around with monster trucks!

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Second Up: Tamiya Midnight Pumpkin(s)

Since I started this off with a pink truck, I guess I may as well go all in and show off my daughters other truck, the venerable Midnight Pumpkin.

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Yes this post is redundant, since the creation of this is well documented HERE.

Yes, this is an OG truck, with some newer chrome bits, oil shocks, and tire foams.  Built to the specifications of a 7 year old girl...

The idea for the body was the first "optional" box-art setup as shown on the original Tamiya kit box.

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I have never seen anyone actually do the white and pink version, so it seemed like a fun look to try.  Now, when you start this off, you quickly find out WHY no one is doing this paint job... it's virtually impossible.  Sure, it's super easy for Tamiya to take a 2D drawing of the Ford body and draw straight and parallel stripes across it, but in reality it's pretty much impossible to keep these visually straight for any length of time.  As soon as they wrap around a curve (of which there are many), the trajectory changes, and things get real funky real fast.

We used electrical and masking tape to "mock up" the look, and the horrific natural path of the curves made the second side look like this:

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Much less than ideal in my eyes, but thru the eye's of a 7 year old?  Dad, that's awesome!  One side is all nice, and the other side is CRAZY!  I love it!!!

Okay then... not my truck, not my rules..... well, except for the tailgate which was my idea... hand cut from styrene and constructed in secret much to my daughters delight upon the reveal.

The tailgate font color was the result of my daughter wanting to custom mix a teal color.  Okay fine..... have at 'er.

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Tamiya X14 (Sky Blue) and X15 (Light Green) were selected by her at the LHS, and a disgusting blend was created using THE WHOLE BOTTLE of blue, and maybe 2-3ml of the green.  It looks gross.  My wife thinks it looks fine.  My daughter loves it.  I realize I've lost this fight and just go ahead and paint it on...

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The color was later added to door handles and the front grill for some assemblance to continuity...

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And speaking of continuity... this monster too gets a girly driver; this time a similar-vintage She-Ra c/w a low-effort interior.

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Electronics are a plain old silver can motor, old school Futaba S-148 servo, and Team Associated SC200 esc.  The servo has since encountered some centering issues, and will be replaced over the winter.

Overall very happy with how this one tuned out.  Super fun, super unique (IMO), and my daughter loves it.  The only real downside is that it was supposed to be the "quick and easy" runner to the box art shelf queen I was building..... and really, her truck just ended up being infinitely more interesting!

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Third up: Axial SCX10 [Chaos Theory]

This is project in progress... but comes with a mess of a back story, and a 3+ year build time.  That timeline alone implies something really awesome, but temper your expectations... this is a story of a different sort.....

Up until a handful of years ago, I had a 2000 Jeep Cherokee Classic as one of my 1:1 cars.  I bought it off my mom 10 years after she bought it new.  It required a lot of work over the years (Because JEEP = Just Empty Every Pocket), but eventually turned into something pretty cool (to me).

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It had a 2.5" lift, 32" tires, a nice stereo, and a few other mods.  As I started getting more into scale/trail trucks, I decided it would be fun to build up a 1:10 version.  It was based on an Axial SCX10.  Leaf springs (Tamiya, at that...) were added to the rear, and the front got a CMS and a more scale suspension setup.  The truck got driven a lot, and hard.  It's still a runner to this day.

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As my 1:1 Cherokee kept progressing (1" more lift, cowl intake, flat fender conversion, cut & tuck rear quarter panels with armor and a new rear bumper, etc...), I started to want to build a "Jeep 2.0" crawler as well.  This would be an RC version of whet my 1:1 XJ would look like if I had unlimited funds and no life responsibilities.  I again started with some SCX10 parts... chassis, links, and such, but went a bit deeper into the options world.  CMS again, more aluminum upgrades on the axles, ****** tires, nicer bumpers, fender flares...... the list went on and on.  The project was supposed to be quick and fast, but languished one winter when I ran into some parts incompatibilities, and got sidetracked with an awful lot of fatbiking.  And so it sat...

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Eventually I wound up selling my 1:1 Jeep, and suddenly I lost all motivation to build another XJ.  I sold the Cherokee body/interior I had done, and decided to put a different shell on it.  I got sidetracked by being a Dad, and it sat even longer.  Eventually it got shuffled off the work bench completely when my daughter and I started the "Tiny Tyrant" truck.  That also ended up being the impetus to give it a new life.  I had picked up a set of Axial "BKT" tires early in the Tiny Tyrant project, that ended up being too small for the look I was after.  I had them tossed next to the Jeep 2.0 project, when I got the idea of using them to build a smaller MT.

I stripped the truck down, and added a chassis lift kit.  Links were left alone to keep the 11.3" wheelbase.   Axles were unlocked, and some HD gears were installed.  I had some nice long cheapo shocks from CPE that fit perfectly and looked the part.  A set of CPE swaybars were added creatively as well (mounted at the axles using Tamiya CW-01 parts...). 

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At this point I had also stubbled across an "Ian Malcolm" toy while out with my wife and daughter one day, and my wife suggested using it as a driver.  As Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies (and a big family favorite too...), the purchase was made, and the theme of the truck started to take shape.  I had an old rubber RC4WD driver seat which was the right size, and so I started focusing on building an interior.  Zip ties shrouded in paracord formed a convincing drivers harness, and I fabed up a floor for the seat out of some aluminum, and mounted it to the chassis with some servo mounts.  A dash was started out of styrene.

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I had sold the wheels that came with the SMT10 Raw Builders kit, so I picked up a set of JConcepts wheels to go with the BKT tires.  A JConcepts body would also work it's way into the picture, as did a HobbyWing 60amp ESC and a cheap 3900kv brushless motor.  The Axial transmission got all metal gears.

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The engine from the SMT10 Builders kit got mounted up as did some "fire and smoke" from it at my daughters insistence (it's the road flare from the Ian Malcolm figure).

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Another Hitec 645MG servo was used, and placed back on the axle.

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More interior shots... you can see his "glass of water" and his walkie-talkie mounted up...

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In profile, I feel like the truck looks really good.  Proportions seem bang on.  Wild Willy fire extinguisher added in case things get too crazy...

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And this is how it sits for the moment...  Paint has been decided, but is down the cue of a few other projects.  Hoping to get it finished up over the next month or so.  This one should be fun... ;)

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Great, thread, thanks for posting.  Love both trucks, they look great!  Also encouraging that your daughter is (somewhat) involved with the hobby.  Mine just turned 2 and of course loves to watch them go and squeeze the tires when they're sitting on shelves etc. but I really hope she can get into it a bit when she's older.  Would love to have a racing partner that can travel with me to races.  Probably wishful thinking, but you never know.  

Interested to see how the SMT runs with the new motor/pinion setup, should go pretty good on 2s.  I run 15-16t pinions with 5700 3650 motors for racing so you may want a bit more pinion on there.  For bashers I always recommend 3660 long can motors, the extra torque/less heat is much welcome when running full packs through them.  3800-4700 is ideal on 2s. 

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On 11/20/2022 at 12:43 PM, 87lc2 said:

Interested to see how the SMT runs with the new motor/pinion setup, should go pretty good on 2s.  I run 15-16t pinions with 5700 3650 motors for racing so you may want a bit more pinion on there.  For bashers I always recommend 3660 long can motors, the extra torque/less heat is much welcome when running full packs through them.  3800-4700 is ideal on 2s. 

Ya, I'm not 100% convinced it will be ideal... but it was free from stuff laying in the parts pile, so it seemed like a good starting point.  It's -20 and snowing, so it'll be a while before spring testing, but it wouldn't surprise me if the Tiny Tyrant ends up with a full electronics swap at some point in the future.

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2 hours ago, bRIBEGuy said:

Ya, I'm not 100% convinced it will be ideal... but it was free from stuff laying in the parts pile, so it seemed like a good starting point.  It's -20 and snowing, so it'll be a while before spring testing, but it wouldn't surprise me if the Tiny Tyrant ends up with a full electronics swap at some point in the future.

-20 and snowing?  I'm cold just thinking about it.  It's dipping into the 30s here overnight and I'm already freezing.  Good luck up there :)  

As far as the gearing, by all means go with what you already have lying around and go from there.  I typically just throw the stock 14t Axial pinions in all of my trucks for the initial test (no matter what motor is in there) and then tune as necessary.  Monster truck gearing is not nearly as critical as some think.  I spent last night regearing all of my Sport Mod race trucks from stock 14/56 to 17/54 and if there's an increase in speed I can't tell...I'm sure there is, but hardly noticeable and that's a pretty big jump ratio-wise. 

 

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Managed to spend some time on Chaos Theory, and after 2 days of masking and painting, it's looking close to finished...

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The overall "feel" isn't quite what I was hoping for, but this has been on the back-burner for over a year now, and was still suffering from some "painters block".  I opted to just "go for it", and managed to get it finished up despite some bad paint (FasKolor does not last forever...lol), and some airbrush issues.  Just a few teaser pics for now... I want to stage up for a few better shots, but the house is a mess and the outside..... well, it's currently -36°C out here... :blink:

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That looks pretty cool!  -36C is unbelievable, I don't know how you can stand it.  Where do you paint in the winter?  That's currently one thing that pretty much stops me dead in my tracks in the winter.  If I have to I can bring parts/bodies to work and spray, but its a hassle so I dont do it often.  Have been meaning to set something up in the garage so I can paint in the winter, but with my 1:1 classics in there I don't want to take any chances with overspray on the cars. 

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15 minutes ago, 87lc2 said:

That looks pretty cool!  -36C is unbelievable, I don't know how you can stand it.  Where do you paint in the winter?  That's currently one thing that pretty much stops me dead in my tracks in the winter.  If I have to I can bring parts/bodies to work and spray, but its a hassle so I dont do it often.  Have been meaning to set something up in the garage so I can paint in the winter, but with my 1:1 classics in there I don't want to take any chances with overspray on the cars. 

Ya, the weather is pretty brutal right now... we're in the middle of a bit of a deep freeze... supposed to get a break on Saturday, so it'll be a balmy -10°C!  :lol:.

In the case of this body, I just did my painting indoors in my basement.  The Parma FasKolor paint is water-based and essentially oderless, so it's not a big deal.  I do have a heater in my garage that'll I'll turn up from time to time to paint in the small shop I have set up in there, but it's not worth the gas to try to do it right now with the mercury so low.

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17 minutes ago, bRIBEGuy said:

Ya, the weather is pretty brutal right now... we're in the middle of a bit of a deep freeze... supposed to get a break on Saturday, so it'll be a balmy -10°C!  :lol:.

In the case of this body, I just did my painting indoors in my basement.  The Parma FasKolor paint is water-based and essentially oderless, so it's not a big deal.  I do have a heater in my garage that'll I'll turn up from time to time to paint in the small shop I have set up in there, but it's not worth the gas to try to do it right now with the mercury so low.

Wait - Parma paint is oderless?  I was not aware of that.  I could definitely paint in my basement if there was no odor.  

A few years back I wanted to paint a body for my TT-02 in Mid-January so figured why not do it in the basement?  Painted the body (left the window open of course) and then went out for a few hours.  Came home an immediatley knew I was in big trouble :)   Entire house smelles like Tamiya PS, it was awful and the wife was not happy.  That was the last time I tried to paint inside.  

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sweet builds Mark!

My daughter runs a Tamiya GF01 Dump Truck as her main rig.. not quite as detailed as yours but we built it together 2 Christmas's ago after she asked Santa for a dump truck.  What radio do you use for yours?  I have an old Traxxas 2.4Ghz but she finds it a smidge too big for her hands.

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Really impressive builds, and the paint jobs came out really good! Chaos Theory looks like it should be a fun truck once things warm up.

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On 12/20/2022 at 8:20 AM, 87lc2 said:

Wait - Parma paint is oderless?  I was not aware of that.  I could definitely paint in my basement if there was no odor. 

Yup, generally seems to be "wife approved" for indoor use.

 

On 12/20/2022 at 11:26 PM, clobbo said:

sweet builds Mark!

My daughter runs a Tamiya GF01 Dump Truck as her main rig.. not quite as detailed as yours but we built it together 2 Christmas's ago after she asked Santa for a dump truck.  What radio do you use for yours?  I have an old Traxxas 2.4Ghz but she finds it a smidge too big for her hands.

My daughter was using a tiny RC4WD radio until this yearm and has now moved up to a Futaba 3PV, which is surprising small.  It does however have the WORST menu/button system ever.... completely different than any other Futaba radio I have used.

 

4 hours ago, RustyHunter said:

Really impressive builds, and the paint jobs came out really good! Chaos Theory looks like it should be a fun truck once things warm up.

Thanks!
 

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8 hours ago, bRIBEGuy said:

It does however have the WORST menu/button system ever.... completely different than any other Futaba radio I have used.

Would you recommend a 3PV for someone looking to get a nicer multi-model radio? I'm interested in the 3PV and Sanwa MX-6

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12 hours ago, RustyHunter said:

Would you recommend a 3PV for someone looking to get a nicer multi-model radio? I'm interested in the 3PV and Sanwa MX-6

Honestly, probably not.  I picked it up based on the smaller size, and in that aspect, it is quite nice.  For a kid, it's a great option, since it's smaller and lighter.  But for the price... I'd save up an extra few $$$ and go with the 4PM instead.  MUCH nicer radio all around IMO.

I have no real experience with the Sanwa stuff.

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I use a 4PLS Futaba and love it.  Seems to be discontinued, but the 4PM is its replacement I believe.  If its similar to the 4PLS you'll like it.  Great radio, easy to use, and adjustments for anything you'd possibly need.  

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