Model for a kid

[Bobzilla]

My son loves cars and loves (proper) lego so I'm looking to take him on to the next stage of building, being an RC car.  Looking offroad rather than on, and suitable for a 6 year old (so no brushless, no nitro, no super-fast or fragile).  I also have a few pet hates - no tamiya solid rear axles, decent suspension upgrades available and easy to fit (whilst its fun doing serious structural modifications, it can be a bit expensive).  And because he's 6, not an expensive model (say up to about £100 excluding radio/esc as I have a few knocking about).  From a cursory look on ebay, the only Tamiya options seem to be Neo Fighter/Scorcher which look pretty good for the money with double wishbone suspension as standard and 4wd.  I know that there are a few things that need fixing on them (metal gears for instance) but I'm pretty handy with mechanical stuff so mods are not an issue for me.

Any other suggestions?

[Nitomor]

I'd suggest it would be well worthwhile looking into the WT01 (Search WT01 on here). Incredibly strong and bashable, reliable, and child friendly, 119 euros. For some reason none of the UK shops seem to stock them anymore, fortunately Tamico are fantastic!

http://tamico.de/Tamiya-Mud-Blaster-II-Monstertruck-WT-01-Bausatz-58514 

 

[Bobzilla]

8 minutes ago, Nitomor said:

I'd suggest it would be well worthwhile looking into the WT01 (Search WT01 on here). Incredibly strong and bashable, reliable, and child friendly, 119 euros. For some reason none of the UK shops seem to stock them anymore, fortunately Tamico are fantastic!

http://tamico.de/Tamiya-Mud-Blaster-II-Monstertruck-WT-01-Bausatz-58514 

Thanks.  Looks like a slightly simpler version of the Blackfoot series.  Shame that the gearbox is pre-assembled - that for me was the most fun part of the model.

[Nitomor]

It's the first thing you disassemble to put metal bearings into it and throw out the plastic bushes!!  

I enlisted my little helper to do mine...

The WT01 is available as a Blackfoot III, or Bush Devil 2 as well as the linked Mud Blaster 2. There is also a narrow arm version available as an Amarok, the WT01-N.

WT01 also meets your requirement for upgradable suspension, photo's here with GPM strut towers and Gmade suspension...

 

 

[Jason1145]

Just to add to this current topic, I’ve just received my WT-01 (Mud Blaster 2) from Tamico.de delivered to the UK in 4 days, great service.

The box is still sealed and has a lovely sticker on the outside saying “Includes an electronic forward & reverse speed controller”, not sure if it does but I didn’t expect it to have one, and “bonus parts included”, probably bearings for the wheels.

Don’t worry about the gear box being pre-assembled you can still open it up to add bearings in there if you want, am sure the manual shows how to open it up etc.

Some might not like the chassis for it’s looks but I can live with it for the lovely Subaru Brat body that will sit atop it ;p

[Nitomor]

The manual does show the gearbox, (at the end of it from memory). Bonus items on the Mud Blaster 2 is indeed bearings, only enough to do gearbox or wheels (8nr included you need 16 to do the lot), though you'd be better to put them in the gearbox and get rubber shielded ones for the wheels. Not all the WT01's come with the bonus item bearings, my Mud Blaster II did, the Blackfoot III didn't.

 

 

 

[Mad Ax]

WT01 is a fantastic entry level chassis with plenty of scope for improvement or full-blown customisation and always one of the first I recommend.

My advice would be to stick with a polycarb shell version rather than the hard plastic of the Blackfoot III - it's bound to go upside down a few times and the hard plastic will break sooner or later and as a child, I always found that really devastating.

Lots of people don't like the long wheelbase of the WT01 because it doesn't match the arches of the shells supplied by Tamiya, however if you want to get creative you can buy larger lexan shells from the likes of HPI or Proline which might fit better.  Lots of shells also allow you to take big chunks out of the arches for clearance or better aesthetics over a long wheelbase.

The only other consideration is terrain - a big-wheel truck like the WT01 will go over rougher stuff than a buggy without getting hung up, but a trade-off is it will turn over easier.  That means more scratches on your body.  The WT01 is actually pretty stable unless you're bouncing over very bumpy ground or you're on a grippy surface.

Since you don't like solid axles the Mad Bull is out, in which case I'm finding it hard to recommend anything other than a WT01  

[Problemchild]

Lunchbox - it does wheelies and looks cool and is lovely and basic

however I'm in the same situation as you and I've decided to go for the Kyosho Nexxt as its a simple build so won't have me taking over and parts are mega cheap and it looks supe funky and its Kyosho so a good make. Plus it has ESC inc for £55

 

JJ

[Nitomor]

I spent a fortune on my Lunchbox, and while I really enjoyed building it and the challenge of improving its handling, it's an awful runner imho, it rolls, bounces and clatters off in every which direction which would be frustrating for a child, the shell scratches badly, the body posts are regularly sacrificial and its a rigid axle. It's also a little small at 1:12 scale.  

Here's a vid of my Lunchbox, admittedly with many handling mods and brushless and my sons WT01 (4x4 version).

And a short clip of the WT01's in action, mine is the Brushless Subaru...

As Mad Ax says, the HPI 1:8 shells look to be 280mm long judging by the General Lee I bought on ebay...so could be the best option for these...

 

Regular 1:10 shells can also be cut back slightly on the arches and still look great...

I agree with the comment of sticking to Lexan on a first model...

[Illogical]

How about the GF-01 Dump Truck?

https://www.tamiyausa.com/items/radio-control-kits-30/trucks-36500/rc-1-24-heavy-dump-truck-58622

CC-01 is also a good model, it's got lots of detail but is still really easy to build and there's all sorts of mods. My Unimog shell seems to be very robust - even the wing mirrors. Mines been down a set of 5 concrete steps and lived to tell the tale. CW-01 is also available with the Unimog shell.

Obviously the CC-01 rear axle isn't your thing, but it's very realistic and works very nicely wih the four link suspension.

I believe both CC-01 and GF-01 models come with the TBLE-02S ESC and a silver can 540 motor making them both a great deal.

[Nitomor]

GF01 and WR02 are both great chassis and fit the bill, just a little bit dearer though. 

[Matt888]

My 6yo daughter has a Pink Neo Scorcher and she thinks it's the bee's knees, she loves driving it and the kit was fairly cheap.

Obviously don't get your boy a Pink one I don't think you'd be very popular. 

[Terz1]

How about a stadium blitzer? Big tyres to tackle the rough stuff, polycarbonate shell to take the knocks a 6 year old might give it. Plus it can be upgraded at a later date as he grows up and and learns how to handle it. It can be upgraded to a level us big kids can appreciate yet with the standard silver can it will be suitable for him.

The there's it's brother the blitzer beetle. It has a hard shell though and tends to be slightly more expensive because of this. Places like kamtec do polycarbonate beetle shells though so you could easily buy one and paint it and buy the decals so it looks just the same but takes the knocks that bit better than a hard shell. I bought a beetle shell from kamtec and I was really impressed.

I've got a wt01 monster beetle and they are great too. For pure toughness and versatility the wt01 is hard to beat.