What is the best Tamiya for little kids and why?

[TenzoR 62]

Lunchbox has my vote. Mainly because that's what I got when I was a kid. First r/c and still have it now.

[OrangeSport 0]

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.

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.

Sorry to disagree, but as my three main runners are a DT-02 HB, a 'Hopper and a Hornet I can say that:

Yes, the 'Hopper and Hornet are overpriced (due to their retro appeal)

The DT-02 handles better

But, the DT-02 is in no way robust. A kid could kill it very quickly. Mine has had the following "issues":

Body trashed

Tyres bald very quickly

Screws stripping the plastic in use (suspension mounts, body mounts, motor mounts)

ESC blowing (as the bath tub chassis acted just like a bath tub and drowned it)

Corrosion on some screws and fixings

In contrast, the Hornet & 'Hopper, which were both built by me and are driven just the same are fine. No issues. Although Hornets can lose their wings easily.

The Rising Fighter is even better for kids. It's cheap. It looks like a racing buggy in their eyes. It's tough. With a slow motor it's manageable, with a standard 540 it flies, the battery door is secure and the electrics sit up in the chassis (therefore not in any trapped water). It makes the older 'Hopper and Hornet look very pricey.

My 4 year old has one with a 55T crawler motor in it and it's just great. There are a few pictures here: http://tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?c...10&id=34726

The Holiday Buggy also has no front bumper to speak off...

Hope that helps...

[JeepnMike 150]

With all of this fondness for the Holiday Buggy, why not spend the extra $20 and get a Sand Viper? That way you get full bearnings and one of the nicer (IMO) modern polycarbonate bodies (looks much more like an RC-10). Ultimately you will eventually end up wanting those two things, a lot cheaper to get them in the kit.

I completely agree with folks steering away from Lunchbox or Wild Willys. That is what I wanted to buy for my kid too until I spent some time watching videos on youtube with those cars. Folks spend more time uprighting them after crashes than driving them. I think they are so fun to look at, but might be frustrating for a kid.

I still say Mad Bull The chassis is strong, it has large forgiving tires, but is on a stable platform. Definite choice #2 is a Sand Viper.

[Wandy 1527]

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned the new Fast Attack Vehicle yet. Relatively cheap, even easier to build than a Holiday Buggy and tougher too (no flimsy roof mounts to worry about for a start). A no nonsense build, near indestructable & you don't even have to paint it anymore.

To add to that it's an army vehicle with a GUN! What young 'un wouldn't like that? And it's probably about the closest thing you can find these days to the Action Man stuff we had as kids.

[matman 1499]

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned the new Fast Attack Vehicle yet. Relatively cheap, even easier to build than a Holiday Buggy and tougher too (no flimsy roof mounts to worry about for a start). A no nonsense build, near indestructable & you don't even have to paint it anymore.

To add to that it's an army vehicle with a GUN! What young 'un wouldn't like that? And it's probably about the closest thing you can find these days to the Action Man stuff we had as kids.

Well done wandy , you have a great idea . I would have to say it's the one to have . Cheap , good strong body & parts will be available in loads as it's new .

With gun & etc as you say, I'm sure kids would be saying dad that's the one ( so i can shoot my sister , or I can shoot my brother ) .

[qatmix 794]

Well done wandy , you have a great idea . I would have to say it's the one to have . Cheap , good strong body & parts will be available in loads as it's new .

With gun & etc as you say, I'm sure kids would be saying dad that's the one ( so i can shoot my sister , or I can shoot my brother ) .

I think as a dad, keeping kiddies away from the glorification of war is a good thing until they understand the horror and suffering it all entails.

Is the fav strong? My original wasn't that robust, the gun wouldnt stay on, and I cracked around the front suspension after a few jumps.. My 7yo drives a 9t brushless holiday buggy and it's all in one piece after 6 months, the shell is also in good nick as the chassis is planted so landing on the roof is quite rare.

[ParkRNDL 0]

interesting question. having just been reintroduced to the hobby by way of a used beater TL-01, i have an idea in my head that i can get a couple TL-01s for my sons (6 and 9 years old) and we'd have a ball bashing in the driveway. to paraphrase an old post i read here, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting 3 or 4 NIB TL-01s listed on Fleabay for under a hundred bucks, and with the advent of dirt-cheap radio sets and affordable ESCs, i could set them both up with new cars and mildly refurbish mine for a few Benjamins. (Not that I have ANY Benjamins lying around at the moment, nor would the wife readily sign off on THAT purchase order, but humor me here.) many have commented that the TL chassis is relatively bulletproof, and the sealed gearboxes make them pretty low-maintenance. set up with the stock 540 and the 19-tooth pinion, and with the addition of ball bearings and maybe real dampers, i think it just might work for a kid's starter vehicle...

disclaimer: my exposure to Tamiya stuff ended in high school when I sold my SRB Ranger F-150 and just restarted with this TL-01. i'm sure there's tons of stuff in between that i'm missing because i have no experience with it, but so far I'm having fun with what I got...

--rick

[Japanscaledriver 14]

Holiday Buggy 2010 has the 4 wheel independent suspension that makes it drive a lot better than the Grasshopper.

As someone else said, it can also easily be upgraded with motor and shocks, body and other parts to make a very competitive race buggy if the child decides to want to try out offroad racing.

Having said that, the local clubs should have a 380 motor class too! Or just a Holiday Buggy class!

[DynaHead 0]

I will definitely be getting my nephew a super fighter GR, or something like it, for Christmas when he hit 2-3 years.

[Kenny G 258]

I think a good choice (although more expensive) is a CC01 like the Land cruiser or Bronco.

Very slow with a 55T motor, it helps minimize roll-overs and jumps.

My son loved to drive mine, however, he had a hard time holding the transmitter. Someone should invent a miniature transmitter for liitle hands. I wish I hadn't sold it now.

[Falcon#5 594]

I think a good choice (although more expensive) is a CC01 like the Land cruiser or Bronco.

Very slow with a 55T motor, it helps minimize roll-overs and jumps.

My son loved to drive mine, however, he had a hard time holding the transmitter. Someone should invent a miniature transmitter for liitle hands. I wish I hadn't sold it now.

You sold this fantastic looking piece?

[Kenny G 258]

You sold this fantastic looking piece?

Yeah, took a big loss on it too

[Falcon#5 594]

Yeah, took a big loss on it too

Ouch!

[Sayer 742]

I think a good choice (although more expensive) is a CC01 like the Land cruiser or Bronco.

Very slow with a 55T motor, it helps minimize roll-overs and jumps.

My son loved to drive mine, however, he had a hard time holding the transmitter. Someone should invent a miniature transmitter for liitle hands. I wish I hadn't sold it now.

I second this, but suggest an XB Pajero. Looks scale, has LED lighting, not too too quick, the body's molded in the red plastic rather than being painted (so dings aren't as noticeable) and if they want to get into scale crawling later, they're already a chunk of the way there.

[Kenny G 258]

I second this, but suggest an XB Pajero. Looks scale, lights, not too too quick, they body's molded in the red plastic rather than being painted (so dings aren't as noticable) and if they want to get into scale crawling later, they're already a chunk of the way there.

I did not know that the body was molded in color, thats a really good idea.

I bought this a couple of weeks ago since they were a pretty good deal at towerhobbies ($234.99 shipped). I was going to save to go with a Scorcher body i have to make a glorious Shelf Scorcher, however, my son went nuts when he saw it (porbably the same way I did when I saw my first Tamiya kit in those huge glossy-white boxes with the colorful and beautiful art-work). Anywa, he "helped" me build it. And by "helped" i mean he kept loosing screws and taking off with the body, but he feels like he helped none the less, and that's what it is really about I guess. I plan on giving it to him for his 4th birthday. I figured it wont be too fast and we can upgrade it with the ball diff ad some better shocks eventually.

[OrangeSport 0]

The main thing is to get something the kid will like (which is probably nothing like any of us would expect). So, let them chose (with a little nudge if required). I gave my daughter a free choice (she was 3 at the time), but was nudging towards a Grasshopper or Lunch Box. She chose the Rising Fighter and loves it!

But kids like what they like, not what's "best".

[Thommo 1217]

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone that has replied so far. I really value all of your input and appreciate the great help on offer. Needless to say that I will be re-reading this thread several times before a decision is made. Please keep the great advice coming.

[HunterZero 76]

Saw someone mentioned the Mad Bull, then realised it's been re-released. This is another very good choice for a beginner.

- James

[WillyChang 1814]

get them a Slash, Blitz, etc SCT...

[Thommo 1217]

What about a Pajero Wheelie, Blitzer Beetle or Sand Rover 2011

Looks like the kids are the winners with these releases.

My boy said "no way" when I showed him a Sand Rover, what would kids know

[Thommo 1217]

Bump. What about the re-re F150 Baja with a crawler motor? Are these things any good?

[TA-Mark 195]

Bump. What about the re-re F150 Baja with a crawler motor? Are these things any good?

Yeap great model. It's just a TA01/TA02 with big wheels and a truck body.

Set of TA01 bearings and toss the aluminium pinion in the trash and fit a steel 0.6mod pinion and it's good to go. You can also gear this model slower than standard with a 16 tooth pinion.

[Oldie-schrauber 0]

I would suggest the Tamiya Fighter Buggy RX.

It was my first 1/10 scale RC car back in 99. Its just ideal, like the Grasshopper 2 really cheap if not cheaper and also nearly unbreakable. My one runs fine still to this day and I was driving it really hard sometimes.. Also you can upgrade this modell really great.

Regards

Lukas

[EddScott 134]

My daughter is 9 and unlikely to ever want to race RC. So I showed her an RC website and she wanted a stadium truck. I bought her a Stadium Blitzer and its been great. We run the cars over the old horse race track near me as we dont have an RC track anywhere near. Plenty of space to give thr cars some beans. It came with an EZrun 9T system so if nothing else its giving her good throttle control to keep the nose on the ground!

[rjsdavis 0]

Why not by something used off Ebay?

I just saw an excellent looking Dirt Thrasher go (with full radio gear!) for just £32. He could thrash the nuts off it, kill it, throw it away and you wouldn't go too far wrong... It's a lot of buggy for little money - then buy a new one to build together if he gets into it, and when's a bit older?