Tamiya Vs Ansmann

[Prescient]

I have just built up an ansmann macnum (as it only cost £50) i.e. the truggy version of the mad rat and I was wondering how other people view Ansmanns in general to their Tamiyas. As they seem to be coming a more known name I would be interested to get peoples opinion on the cars, especially at the current pricing. The quality is reasonable for the cost but I did have a few serious issues with the build where the threads on the aluminium motor plate all stripped without ever getting a tight joint. Very poor quality really. Result was I had to mod it with some M3 threaded screws ground down to give clearance to the slipper plate then put a nut on the other side.

I have ballraced it and apart from a few other issues where the threaded screws wouldnt grip properly in the crp chassis not a bad kit especially for the money. Had a quick first run last night with brushless in and it goes well with nothing falling off.

Despite the price though in my opinion, this is not a kit for a beginner due to experience needed to overcome some quality issues I faced and imagine comes as standard across the same batches and most importantly the instructions, whilst being ok if you know what you are doing, are not suitable for a novice.

I will pop a few picks of the build up and some more detail but overall whilst this kit is technically well specified for the money with a slipper clutch, adjustable track rods, crp chassis parts, oil filled shocks (one of which I had to superglue the cap on to stop it coming off) I would take a dt-02 over it.

Now from what I read on the various forums the xt-pro kits are better but cost a lot more once you add tyres they are £120 plus and I guess not up to the Tamiya bashing quality.

[tamiya monkey]

i had looked at these kits for my son's upcoming birthday, he already has a lunchbox and a traxxas stampede, so i thought about getting a buggy, i ended up going for the carson E Stormracer Extreme Buggy from modelsport, its cheap abd 4wd and comes ready built with motor, and for 49 quid delivered i thought i would give it a try.

[madbad jezza]

I bought the Macnum a few months ago for £45 delivered from Modelsport. For that price i figured it was definately worth a try - regardless. I haven't actually built it yet so i can't comment on the quality but it looks like a great kit to bash about for fun and i would definately choose it over a Tamiya - no entry level/beginner Tamiya comes with what the Ansmann comes with - and lets face it, some of Tamiya's entry level kits are pretty naff.....i mean, the Rising Fighter? - i wouldn't accept that kit even if it was given to me! - and it's more expensive than the Ansmann!.

James.

[VinceVegaUK]

Ansmann is ok but its not even close to be on Par with Tamiya.

Tamiya's build / mould and part quality is very high, they make the best scale moulded body shells and the instruction manuals are always super accurate. Build Quality on even the cheap models are still good and solid. Ansmann I feel you get what you pay for, a few club members bought the Madrat as a cheap copy to the Team associated B4 and they just fell apart on the track. A light knock on the front took a wheel off, a wrong jump popped the threaded cap of the plastic dampers, spilling oil everywhere. Slipper nuts and motor mount screws not gripping, the list goes on.

I was going to consider a mad rat for a cheap bash around buggy to race at my local club or take to the park but i stuck with my DB01 Durga which is awesome, strong and can handle a 5.5 brushless and some big jumps.

Im not saying tamiya or the best but they know what they are doing, a cheap tamiya buggy you could look at the DT02, TL01B, DF03 RA, DF03 or the DF02.

3 Racing do good cheap kits i'm not sure if they have a buggy one atm, have a look at HPI or Traxxas too and a few Kyosho stuff they cost a bit more but last a bit longer too!

I also have a Lunch box which i bash off everything, jump it down steps and through sand, on the beach, in mud and the only thing that broke are the delicate plastic body pin mounts, so i just use a few bolts and im off again :-)

I would avoid Ansmann for hop ups too, they tend to not perform that well and break easy.

Hope this helps in your decisison making

[Prescient]

If you have one, get it built as it would be interesting to see if you have similar quality issues. I suppose its a bit of a wierd one with these regarding target audience. If the kits have quality issues like mine then without the right tools and a decent bit of technical knowhow you would never get it running. The build, fixes and final set up took me 8 hours which is long (enjoyed the challenge though) considering a Tamiya kit would be closer to 2 hours. The ready to run versions are probably ideal for beginners more than the kits. For ease of build and quality even on the entry kits then Tamiya has got to be better.

Now I have done the fixes and assuming it holds under bashing the macnum will be a total bargain.

[qatmix]

Built 2 of the kits (Madrat and Master smacker) The kits are nice, good manuals, well packaged and great value. The Madrat is great value (Same as a Macnum but with buggy wheels and shell). You only need a ball race kit (£8) and replace the shocks (the kit shocks like popping the lids off after big jumps, although I superglued mine on for a quick fix, as the shocks dont leak etc). A new set of Aluminium shocks is £10 for 4.

The car is better than any 2wd Tamiya ever made. The first batch had a few issues like some motor mounts being threaded, and the T-piece being a bit weak, and the shock caps mentioned above. These are all sorted now and Ansmann replaced any parts that broke on the first batch FOC. (Great UK customer service.. something Tamiya UK might want to consider as I still have a df02ms without the main metal shock parts bag!!!!!).

Their new 4wd buggy also looks great, as does their new Short course truck.

Ansmann is pushing RC quite heavily atm, as much as I am a lifelong Tamiya fan and still would rather be blue than green after 30 years of buyign their kits, they are not the only option nowadays, and the price of their kits due to the strength of the Yen etc really is becoming an issue.. You could get the new 3 Racing Sakura Zero for about the same price as a std TA05-v2!!

I would get a Macnum for bashing as the bigger wheels etc will be more fun (and protective) but check on the price of the new Ansmann Blizzard (the 4wd buggy) that might be sweet.

[Prescient]

Built 2 of the kits (Madrat and Master smacker) The kits are nice, good manuals, well packaged and great value. The Madrat is great value (Same as a Macnum but with buggy wheels and shell). You only need a ball race kit (£8) and replace the shocks (the kit shocks like popping the lids off after big jumps, although I superglued mine on for a quick fix, as the shocks dont leak etc). A new set of Aluminium shocks is £10 for 4.

The car is better than any 2wd Tamiya ever made. The first batch had a few issues like some motor mounts being threaded, and the T-piece being a bit weak, and the shock caps mentioned above. These are all sorted now and Ansmann replaced any parts that broke on the first batch FOC. (Great UK customer service.. something Tamiya UK might want to consider as I still have a df02ms without the main metal shock parts bag!!!!!).

Their new 4wd buggy also looks great, as does their new Short course truck.

Ansmann is pushing RC quite heavily atm, as much as I am a lifelong Tamiya fan and still would rather be blue than green after 30 years of buyign their kits, they are not the only option nowadays, and the price of their kits due to the strength of the Yen etc really is becoming an issue.. You could get the new 3 Racing Sakura Zero for about the same price as a std TA05-v2!!

I would get a Macnum for bashing as the bigger wheels etc will be more fun (and protective) but check on the price of the new Ansmann Blizzard (the 4wd buggy) that might be sweet.

Thanks for the reply. I must have got an early batch one which means my view may be a bit more negative than had I got a recent kit. Do I just get in contact with ansmann directly about a replacement motor plate etc?

[qatmix]

Looks like you fixed it in a similar way that the new manual would tell you to do. the only difference is that they supply bolts with a thinner head. So I wouldnt bother, as your solution will be rock solid.

[DCLXVI]

Now I haven't got any experience with the Ansmann cars and trucks, I do however have experience with the DT-02 (Desert Gator) and while it's practically bulletproof (I've bent some rods and a driveshaft or two, nothing that needed spares) IE, the quality is great, I feel that it is a great dissapointment for me design wise, it just feels so dated...and all the hinges and such are so sloppy, I modded this by drilling up the holes in the a-arms and c-hubs and inserted brass tubing and then I used screws and nuts to keep everything in place...

And the steering set-up feels old fasioned and just two gear ratios...I even felt that the size of the gearbox itself was quite a turn off (compare it to the size of the B4 gearbox)...

But my question is,

Why are people mostly refering to the DT-02 as a good kit? Is it because it's the only recent Tamiya 2WD buggy? Or did I miss something with mine?

Well, I do like the ruggedness (the upper links could be abit beefier, and the screw that keeps the steering knuckles in place does crack the c-hub in the mould seam)

(I've used a 6500kv BL system with a nice LiPo in mine so there is no problem with the rugedness of gearbox, except for the stock cheese pinion)

[c_a_r_t_e_r]

I've posted about this elsewhere, and without sounding like too much of an Ansmann Fan-boy, the Mad Rat is excellent value for money at £43 delivered!

Yes, the manual was a bit vague at first in some areas, but I've built 2 now, and once you get familiar with the sizes and types of screw it becomes almost as easy as building a Tamiya. No tools provided though, so I couldn't recommend it for an absolute beginner. And yes, the motor mount plate is pretty flimsy, Ansmann could definitely improve on this - one half turn too many with the screwdriver and the threaded hole is toast!

I'll let you know how I get on when it's had some serious bashing. Actually I'm in the middle of a custom project with mine at the moment, watch this space...

Tim.

[Prescient]

I have my macnum running really sweet now with no issues. Was thinking of selling to fund a chrome clod though lol.

I adapted the macnum to take my blackfoot xtreme body as well and it looks awesome.

[Jonny Retro]

My first thought when I my Ansmann Mad Rat arrived was "How come Associated haven't sued?". I no longer have my RC10 B2 to compare it to directly, but it looks like the only thing they changed was the threads - from imperial to metric