Lost in the world of smaller scale RC (1/18th, etc.)

[Saito2]

Summer's coming and I plan to finally get to building a track with the smallish 24 foot by 45 foot (7.3 meter by 13.7 meter) space I have been allotted  by my wife. I've tried with my 1/10th scale vehicles (too big even with slower motors) so I've begun to think small. The question is how small and what to get. It looks like 1/18th scale is the way to go unless even smaller would be better. I'm totally lost when it comes to options. Associated, Losi, Traxxas, and HPI as well as others all make smaller cars. I have no idea who to trust outside of Tamiya (and to a degree, Kyosho).  I'm looking for reasonable prices and longevity. I don't want the buggy or truck to be discontinued in 3 months and wind up with no parts support. If Tamiya still made Tamtech Gear buggies, it would be easy, but it looks like I'm forced to look elsewhere unfortunately.

[WillyChang]

Meh, smaller offroaders don't handle well enough to keep interest  

TamTechGear & vintage icons like Kyosho mini Optima are better indoors not out.

Thats a fairly decent size... ever considered going rallying with an M03 or MF01X?

Or go slow, built a scaler diorama 

 

[waterbok]

get into crawling or excavators, throw a pile of rocks or dirt of 6 feet high on your 24x45 and you are set to go.

[waterbok]

or battle tanks

[Munchbox]

I have a Losi Micro SCT that scoots on Lipo but you'd better get a brass pinion or you'll melt them after every run. Also it doesn't have a sealed gearbox so that means no dirt.

It would scream on a carpet track I'm sure..

[Dangerseeker]

 

i got a TLT-1. its quite small but also quite fast. probably too fast for what you are planning.

 

 

 

 

[Dangerseeker]

have a look here:

or there

 

[tamiya3speed]

17 minutes ago, Dangerseeker said:

 

i got a TLT-1. its quite small but also quite fast. probably too fast for what you are planning.

 

 

 

 

I wish these would get a second run.  I had a couple that I stupidly sold.  They were fun trucks.

[Saito2]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not really into crawling on that small of a scale outside and my wife and I plan to race. The Orlandoo Hunter though is awesome and its a kit! I think I need one just for couch crawling. I also had a TLT-1 that I sold off. I wish I kept it. I never considered the MF01X. That's a good suggestion. I currently have a M05RA chassis in need of a body that I never ran. Might have to toss some electrics in it to see how it does. Otherwise, of the options I've looked at, the Latrax Teton might work as it has a smaller 370 motor.

[WillyChang]

well I've still got my TLT  they're cute but they don't handle on a track... my runner runs SportTuned with balldiff locked with slipper pegs.

Also have had xRay M18T & M18MT. Truck is fast but not so good on rough so sold it; the MT with bigger wheels is better but still not what I'd choose for outdoors. 

AE RC18B or T would be similar; got given 1 not yet built. They might be d/c'd but still seems plenty of stock around. The RC18 tourer seems to be made by somebody else now... wonder if that helps parts availability for the offroaders. 

Traxxas mini Slash goes like stink, otherwise boring 

Vintage 959? 

[Saito2]

Now you've got me hoping for a 959 re-release too .

[Dangerseeker]

i almost forgot, got this one for the kids:

Carson 500404079 - Fahrzeug, 1:32 Micro X-Warrior 2.4G 100% RTR

cheap, toygrade, fast, but you can limit the max speed (5 steps) via the controller, so you can run it in the livingroom and it is fully controllable.

[Darat76]

you could look at the xray m18t or m18mt, be warned tho, xray cars are pricey, I can't personally speak on their quality, but given their racing history I'd say it's pretty high

[WillyChang]

1 hour ago, Darat76 said:

you could look at the xray m18t or m18mt, be warned tho, xray cars are pricey, I can't personally speak on their quality, but given their racing history I'd say it's pretty high

doubt they make them any more, haven't seen stock on sale for over 10yr

had both, good trucks very well designed & built but they're museum pieces now harking back to brushed motor era. Pretty sure the electronics motor/ESC/NiMH came in the kit (hence high price) so even if you did find a kit for sale today, you'd be buying old tech.

 

is the Losi MiniT & MicroT still around? They used to be soooo popular...

dusted off the TLT tonite & gave it a run. Still a mega hoot to drive  but it don't handle. 4wheel steer drifts...!

[Darat76]

complete rtr version at my xray importer/retailer

hard to find is the XT9

[WillyChang]

XT8/XT9 was from some yrs back weren't they? Back when I was drawing some "wheel wraps" for a pal, X-ray started doing something similar for their gas truggy.

Recent surprise newcomer is Serpent, didn't expect them to get into electric buggy after so long in the game.

[NWarty]

Got a WLtoys a959 coming next week. These little guys are super fast. 4wd, 2.4ghz and lipo. I already have aluminum upgrades en route 

[Darat76]

yup the XT's are old, they haven't released an updated truggy chassis yet due to issues with the plastics, last I heard they were tooling up to make the plastics in house, but that was something like a year and a half to 2 years ago I heard that.

My truggy and 2wd sct are both electric serpents, lipo's and brushless motors have really been a boon for electric 8th scale racing