That "first time" experience. New beginnings for 10 year old.

[backtomyroots]

Well, I just had the honour of giving a young fella his first Hobby Grade RC Truck for his 10th birthday (after pestering his mother for several weeks).  His eyes almost blew out of his head he was very excitied.  The first thing he did - sniff the tires !  (That must be mandatory as it was the first thing I ever did) Watching this reminded me of the first time I opened my first kit  the Hornet many, many, many years ago. What a joyful experience !  Now, I'm not sure who is more excited about the build me or him [].  His first r/c package included a Twin Detonator, bearings, 2 x 3600 nimh batts, mrc 959 charger, Futaba 2PL Radio, Ofna servo saver, alloy servo mounts & a discharger. 

The best part is, I left him the kit instructions & radio instructions to look over until we can build it on Saturday.  So he's gonna be very anxious I'm sure !

[The soldier bug]

I remember the first time I got a hobby grade R/C,  it was a Radioshack Red arrow buggy. I'm pretty sure I was seven at the time . It wasn't a tamiya but it had the same type of 540 motor in it so it was fast! Me and my friend who I believe owned a Clodbuster would race around the front yard all the time...

[civilguy]

I was a bit older when I got my early Tamiyas (around 13), but am now enjoying introducing my own kids to the hobby.  My 7-year-old daughter actually took apart my old Grasshopper's gearbox and cleaned all the old grease out-- all the while asking questions about diffs and pinions and bearings.  It was one of the coolest moments I'll have with her-- ok, maybe when she wins her first race will top it!!

My son will start this weekend when he gets his "Lightning McQueen" Monster Grasshopper for his birthday( http://tamiyaclub.com/CS/forums/thread/206297.aspx - new pictures coming soon!).  They'll both have 380 powered cars to learn how to drive and also (and more importantly) fix and maintain them.

I'm not sure if I'm more excited or them!  -Jeff

[rhenbelz]

My first was a King Blackfoot. Box stock, with a Hobbico 900 charger and a Piranha 1500 pack. I decided to test the function before the body was built. I set the truck on the edge of the kitchen floor, put the battery in, turned on the big Futaba Attack twinstick, and punched the throttle. Used to toy r/c cars, I had no idea there were intermediate throttle positions. Before I could react, the truck had left 3 foot long skid marks on the linoleum and was busily making new ones with its bumper up against the stove in the corner.

I've put a lot of miles on the truck since then, I'm glad I kept it. It's fully restored now, I just wish I still had the box and original transmitter.

I think a Wild Dagger would be a great first truck for a beginner, thanks to its durability and fun value. Do let us know how he likes it. []

[rhenbelz]

Also when I have a son of my own, he's getting a Tamiya kit. None of this RTR Traxxas stuff that they all seem to get today. []

I think building the car makes you value it more, and you're more likely to want to fix it yourself. I have built Tamiya kits for people before, and when they break something they refuse to fix it and just say "I don't know how." Same with Traxxas and Kyosho RTRs.

[civilguy]

Rhen-  Cool truck!

I got a Traxxas to run at the local track-- they have the parts at the shop onsite and there is more competition in the stadium truck classes to try to beat.  []

I think I've had it about a month and it's been completely torn down once already!  Even though it was RTR, I want to make sure I know where everything goes so I can fix between qualifiers and mains!!  Plus I had to ballrace everything.  Oh, and try my Super Modified 11T in it-- ooooh boy!

Jeff

[backtomyroots]

When the top lid came off the box his reply was "I didn't think it would be so many parts" but he was thrilled.  I myself am anti-RTR but unfortunately they sell too well ! Now he's going to learn all the parts, how they work togetehr & best of all he gets to BUILD it (although he'll have to push me out of the way) !

[civilguy]

I know one of the reasons the RTRs sell so well is pricing.  When I started with my Tamiyas and RC10s, you'd be into a kit for $200, a radio for $150 and then batteries, etc, etc.  The Rustler I picked up was the old model, but I got it for $100 shipped NIB.  For something to kick around I couldn't beat the price.  Like I said though, it has basically been rebuilt once and will be again!!

Jeff

[Mad Ax]

I would always recommend a Wild Dagger / Double Blaze / Twin

Detonator as a first Tamiya for anyone, thanks to its durability and

go-anywhere chassis.  It'll do tarmac, dirt, gravel, grass, mud,

hills, and above all - it just won't break!! []

Aah, the joys of childhood...  

[Rabiedmushroom]

...The first thing he did - sniff the tires !  (That must be mandatory as it was the first thing I ever did) ...

What a good lad! Train them up proper-like I say, and start as you mean to go on [] 

[adam1973]

As we're on the "our first time experience" thing, my first Tamiya RC was a Stadium Raider, ran it stock for a few weeks until I started to hop it up. Then came an esc, full bearings, ball diff's F+R, quick-release battery holder, stainless steel suspension shaft set, stainless steel king pin set, oil shock set, I even went as far as fitting adjustable upper wishbones and steering arms, all Tamiya hop-ups with the exception of the bearings and esc, motor wise I fitted a 17turn unit, though I can't remember the brand.

 

All of these hop-ups made for quite speedy "soft-roader", but I wanted better off-roading capabilities, so I bought a Wild Dagger, whist building this I fitted, with exception to the ball diff's all of the above hop-ups made for a quicker truck, but it's off-road abilities a pretty poor. After a bit of research, I fitted Maxx shocks along with a pair of shock towers, also in view of the potential of this chassis, I fitted a set of cvd's as i was planning to enhance it's abilities even farther by "going 14.4v", fitting Ezilla/Esavage motors and esc. as this would require a new chassis to accommodate the extra battery.

 

Anyway, as my stepson was showing an interest in the hobby, using my Stadium Raider whenever I went out, I fitted a set of 2.2 Wild Dagger wheels along with Schumacher 2.2 tyres for increased off-road capabilities. As I put the twin battery Wild Dagger on the back burner, actually its in bits due to the following.... After a bit of thinking I decided to make a better off-roader for Jack (stepson, now 11) out of what I had. As I wanted to use only one battery and have great off road potential I knew that Maxx shocks would be what i needed, so I fitted the shock towers and tried it out with the standard length arms. even though it had greater length shocks the arms were what was limiting things so I fitted the arms off the Wild Dagger. This made things much better for the truck, but instead of using Wild Dagger wheels n tyres, I found 2 pairs of rear Lunch Box wheels n tyres whist visiting Snetterton.

 

Even though he rarely uses it he loves it whenever he does. (He prefers PS2 lol). Here's a pic of his truck.