What is the best Tamiya for little kids and why?

[Thommo]

What is the best Tamiya for little kids and why?

I love these kind of threads and I have been contemplating this question for a while. My little fella loves TC and always asks dad if he can look at radio controlled cars and 4WD's on the computer. Give me your best people?

[Static Age]

If I were to buy one for a kid then I think I would go for a Grasshopper rere.

Wont cost much to buy in the first place. Handy if you suspect they may lose interest in the hobby.

Basic & tough design.

380 motor means it wont be too quick & with a decent battery will have a long run time.

Cheap & abundance of spares if they do break the car.

Its basic construction means that as the child grows you could teach them basic manitenance & repair.

Can be upgraded for more speed for a small cost as the childs skill level progresses.

Edit: I might add that the Holiday Buggy 2010 would be great for a kid for the same reasons as above.

[TamiyaVancouver]

If I were to buy one for a kid then I think I would go for a Grasshopper rere.

Wont cost much to buy in the first place. Handy if you suspect they may lose interest in the hobby.

Basic & tough design.

380 motor means it wont be too quick & with a decent battery will have a long run time.

Cheap & abundance of spares if they do break the car.

Its basic construction means that as the child grows you could teach them basic manitenance & repair.

Can be upgraded for more speed for a small cost as the childs skill level progresses.

Edit: I might add that the Holiday Buggy 2010 would be great for a kid for the same reasons as above.

This is what I went with for my little guy (he just turned three). He hasn't seen it yet as we are going to build it together either this Xmas or for his birthday next July. For the same reasons as the Grasshopper mentioned above, it is cheap, fairly robust, and has a 380 motor. For better reasons that the grasshopper, it has more options for hopups, handles better, and is more modern.

Cheers,

Mark

[kaiser]

another vote for the grasshopper, can't go wrong with one.

it's the car alot of us 30 somethings started with and it's aged well.

[Wez-li]

My little 2 & 1/2 year old is kinda obsessed with my Tamiyas, I've bought him a couple 1/24th scale cars, and he's pretty much mastered twin stick 2 channel control now (instead of just driving straight into things lol)

Obviously 1/10 cars are a lot bigger and more powerful, and I suspect he knows I'm fobbing him off with smaller cars as he's properly interested in the larger models now.

I might try a 2nd hand qd soon and see how he gets on with it as it's too early for a proper kit imo.

[bakaguyjean]

Grasshopper=easy and slow

Lunch box=easy and fun for Kids and adults

Clodbuster= its a strech but a good truck if you want to spend more money,needs a few up grades to kid proof.

Super figther G=easy,little more modern,spacey looks,some kids like the looks

[TA-Mark]

Holiday Buggy re-re (DT02 basic kit) is another good one for kids. Also cheap and has the slower 380S motor. Handles much better than the Grasshopper ever will and gives them room to upgrade later as a teen if they stick with it.

I started my boys off young with $20 dept. store cars (Nikko, Tyco etc). The hand controllers are tiny for their small hands and it gave them an idea of how the car moves from the controller inputs. Once they were pretty good at driving them they got a hobby class Tamiya 4WD buggy (at about age 5-7). All four of my boys drive pretty good now, and the older two (14 and 16) can give me a good race when we have the same powered buggys.

[JeepnMike]

See this thread asking the same thing too:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?...c=61203&hl=

In the end I ended up buying my 4 year old son a Neo Falcon (Same thing as a Sand Viper) and I put a 55t crawler motor in it so it goes SLOW. So far it has held up extremely well even after the neighborhood kids have all had their hands (and sometimes feet) on it.

With the MadBull being re-released, I would without a doubt hold out and buy that one for the kiddo. It is sturdy and the tires add a lot of forgiveness to blunt hits and crashes.

[Ian_Gsi16V]

I bought my nephew a Lunchbox for Christmas 2009 when he was 4. Gets alot of use and i've never even had to take the shell off, its taken its fair share of hits but keeps going!

He does love my Hornet though, or as he calls it 'Number 7'

[TamiyaDan]

.

[nosthevamp]

I got my son a Monster beetle back in the day (25 years ago) when he was about that age (he was 4), Its mine now and still goes

He gave me the Beetle (without radio gear) when I bought him a Mondeo (this is where the radio gear went) about 8 years later. I've got that now and the original radio gear is back in the MB.

[OrangeSport]

Grasshopper (for the reasons above) or the Rising Fighter (similar and cheaper).

The Holiday Buggy's body is delicate by comparison.

[waterbok]

Voltec Fighter or Thunder Blitz you can still get them NIB here for about 25euro.

My gotchild and his brother both got one, first ran them on 6volt with 380 motor, later with 7.2 now its almost time for a 540 (35T).

downside not much offroad capability but perfect onroad or indoor.

[stamatis]

I went the "grasshopper" way with my 3yo son and must say, because of the ABS body, I regreted it, as the body was damaged really soon.

Now he has an Overlander with a RC4WD 80T motor and Wild Willy wheels which is definatelly more secure, as the polycarbonate body is more flexible, it handles better, has more ground clearance and durable enough.

So I would suggest something similar to it and for sure a high turn motor.

Low speed helps them to learn how to control steering.

And the smallest transfitter you can find, for these little hands...

[HunterZero]

+1 Holiday Buggy, Grasshopper and Lunch Box (with 380 motor downgrade)

- James

[taliesin]

+1 Grasshopper, Lunchbox, Holiday Buggy, or Super Fighter G with downgraded motor (i.e. 55t crawler motor as suggested).

Actually, any of the DT-02 models would be great if you use the smaller 380 motor or a 540 crawler motor.

I thought about the RC Boys models like the Voltec Fighter, since they are clearly aimed at a young crowd with the funky body shapes, but frankly if you want to get him interested in the building and maintenance part of the hobby they just seem a bit too simple. It would depend upon the age and interest level though.

[TA-Mark]

I went the "grasshopper" way with my 3yo son and must say, because of the ABS body, I regreted it, as the body was damaged really soon.

The body is polystyrene. The chassis is ABS. Hence why the body is damaged easily. Lexan (polycarbonate) bodies are much more durable in a roll over.

[tonysmini]

If he'd prefer a truck rather than a buggy, you can't go wrong with a Twin Detonator/Dagger chassis car. Twin motors, and fitted with 55t motors, they are slow enough to control by a kid, and they are virtually indestructible.

I liked my son's so much, he got two silver cans fitted once he could control it, and I pinched the 55t's bought another one and turned it into a crawler. now we have boys days out with our trucks, great fun.

[B.M.T.]

In consideration, a Wild Dagger/Dual Hunter with twin 55 turns is a damned good suggestion.

The Holiday Buggy might have a more fragile body than the Rising Fighter etc, but, when the child is up to more speed you can put a 540 or something faster again in it and it will be just as easy to drive. Where the live axle cars get quite tricky.

Although, something I remember from days of yore, the kids who started racing with Hornets could eventually drive the wheels off anything. The kids that started with RC10s and Ultimas got into trouble when the track was a bit off or anything like that.

[stamatis]

Also it should be mentioned that in a Wild Dagger/Twin Detonator/etc the two motors could be connected in series which will slow down even more the truck, and almost any esc can be used that way...

[matman]

Grasshopper Or hornet with 380 motor . As it is cheap . $89 to about $150 . << car only .

Most will have radio gear etc .

Getting crawler motors & wild daggers and the rest is getting a bit pricey ?.

Need hornet with grasshopper rear shocks , motor & tyres , << if you don't already have them . As later you can up grade them to make it faster with the hornet stuff ,

As come on they are kids & when you put these on & tell them it will go faster . Just look at the smile that would be beaming

Off they face . What kid don't want to go faster ( daddy faster ) . I'm sure you have heard that before .

Well something like that , As remember they are kids & it's dad i want this dad i want that , dad is it done yet , dad it's not going

dad can it go faster dad , Mum dad won't play , whats wrong I'm sure you have gone through that

" then again do you want to go through this "

[qatmix]

The best option is a holiday buggy, it's easy to assemble. Looks better than 99% of other buggies and it has a cowboy driving it! You can also easily upgrade it to be even better as time goes on.

Rc boys Voltec fighter/thunder blitz are brilliant cars if you are just driving on the street, they are 4wd so interesting to build (but easy as well) they handle well and have bag of character which is important. Their isn't a lot you can do to them to upgrade though apart from a larger motor and bearings but they are sooo cheap (about £45 Inc postage) it's not a problem as it will be strong and handle well to teach you how to drive (again only on a flat surface)

Both the above cars have 380 motors in the kit so are manageable for a kiddy and can easily be upgraded to a 540 when the time comes.

Okayish options would be

The madbull, but only on really large areas as it has the turning circle of a barge.. Your son won't really learn much about actually driving a car with this.. But large wheels look impressive and it's fun on rougher terrain.

Cars I would avoid are

Lunchbox / pumpkin.. They do wheelies and that's about it.. The shells soon look sad as they roll alot and the body mounts will break. Also the car is frustrating to drive for a beginner after the novelty of doing wheelies wears of.

Grasshopper / hornet / rising storm - rubbish cars which cost more than the better looking and handling dt02 cars (holiday buggy etc) they are not tuneable, the solid rear axle makes them almost a bad joke for handling.. They are also no more robust than the dt02 cars. (the grasshopper shell looks nice on a shelf though.

Really the holiday buggy is the best choice it ticks lots of boxes will be fun on or off road, is cheap, strong and has bags of character and you can upgrade it cheaply with your son and learn about chassis handling etc with him which is fascinating and ultimately fun.

[kalsh]

The rere Mad fighter at about $92 US would be ideal. They are a great simple chassis's that just keep going.

[mike_o]

Also it should be mentioned that in a Wild Dagger/Twin Detonator/etc the two motors could be connected in series which will slow down even more the truck, and almost any esc can be used that way...

Good idea, I have tried it, and it also extends battery life by a factor 2 or more. Only problem is that the series connection also acts as an efficient front-to-rear diff, removing the better part of the Dagger's off-road capability... But if you run it in you house or reasonably flat surface it's good solution. The twin engined trucks are a bit costly for a small kid though.

The Boy's racers are not a bad idea, if your not going off road. Because of the huge front bumper and wide rear body the wheels are better protected than in the buggies, like DT-02 SUper Fighter G etc. I have bought a bunch of Thunder Blitzes for next to nothing, and we are having a lot unexpected fun with them :-)

[Igottamiya]

What is the best Tamiya for little kids and why?

I love these kind of threads and I have been contemplating this question for a while. My little fella loves TC and always asks dad if he can look at radio controlled cars and 4WD's on the computer. Give me your best people?

I'm currently rebuilding my twin detonator with some 55turn motors for my little boy. It will run with a Unimog body.

Will be awesome and unstoppable.