After a 30 year hiatus, please help with THREE buggies "for my kids"

[philoye 2]

I ran a Fox back in the 80s and now that I have kids of my own (ages 10, 8, 8), it is time to introduce them to the hobby.

• Planning on buying re-releases of the Wild One, Monster Beetle, and Hornet. I wanted all three when I was a kid, so that is guiding my purchases.
• I have already ordered a Novafox for myself to keep the memories alive.
• Zero plans to race, just to bash around with the kids.
• Three buggies (plus one for myself) gets expensive quickly, so trying to keep an ill-defined budget.

In terms of running gear:

• Will be keeping stock silver can motors all around
• Will run stock ESCs across the board.
• I ordered some cheap Futaba 3003s for servos.
• Will be getting some custom decals from MCI Racing for the hornet so my girl can decorate the car to her heart's content, plus some pseudo-originals for my novafox.
• Will be ordering bearings for all the buggies. 
• Planning on NiMH batteries to keep things simple for the kids. Looking at ~3000 mAh as a decent balance of weight and runtime.

Advice please!

• Controllers! Since I need to buy three, I want to keep costs down. Radiolink RC3S/RC4G seem to be about AU$65 each on eBay, Flysky GT3B at AU$50, Flysky GT2B or GT2F get down to AU$35. What can I get away with? Main concern is glitching and a build quality that doesn't ******* me off. A nice-to-have would be some sort of throttle limiter so the kids don't destroy the buggies right away until they get on their feet.
• Charger(s). I'm lost here. I need to keep 3-6 batteries charged, advice welcome.
• Battery brands? Hobbyking has Turnigy 3300mAh that I can land in Sydney at ~AU$20 a piece. Plausible?
• Seems like some people say that metal-shielded bearings are better for gearboxes, while rubber-sealed for wheels? True? Or is rubber-shieled ok across the board?
• What else have I missed?

I'm very out of it, but I've done plenty of research, but would love any advice you have.

Thanks!

[TurnipJF 10819]

48 minutes ago, philoye said:

• What else have I missed?

Steel pinions?

[philoye 2]

3 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

Steel pinions?

How critical is this? Presumably I would keep the same size for each, so it would it purely be for wear?

[TurnipJF 10819]

10 minutes ago, philoye said:

How critical is this? Presumably I would keep the same size for each, so it would it purely be for wear?

With 0.8 module gears it is not as critical as with 0.6 module ones, but it is still a good idea. The soft alloy stock ones break down rapidly into a grey paste which in turn accelerates wear to the other gears. Fitting steel ones at the outset prevents this.

[philoye 2]

1 minute ago, TurnipJF said:

With 0.8 module gears it is not as critical as with 0.6 module ones, but it is still a good idea. The soft alloy stock ones break down rapidly into a grey paste which in turn accelerates wear to the other gears. Fitting steel ones at the outset prevents this.

Interesting. Would you keep the same teeth count for each buggy given the stock motors? I need to dig up just what that is...

[TurnipJF 10819]

6 minutes ago, philoye said:

Interesting. Would you keep the same teeth count for each buggy given the stock motors? I need to dig up just what that is...

I would, yes. The stock tooth count is generally a good baseline for the stock motors.

[Frog Jumper 4254]

Unless you want to endlessly tinker with it, don't get a Monster Beetle...  Get a Blitzer Beetle instead...

Terry

[berman 5317]

Buy them 3 of the same car since they are so close in age. If it was me, I'd get say three lunchboxes and ask them what colour they want them (or even get them to paint them themselves) that way they dont fight and they can customise them to their tastes. Lunchboxes don't need aftermarket pinions and kids love wheelies.

[TurnipJF 10819]

That is a good point - if these are genuinely cars for the kids, rather than cars for Dad with the kids as an excuse, it would make sense for them to be the same. Then there would be less fighting over who drives what, and you'd only need to keep one stash of spares.

 

Three solid basic affordable models such as the Neo Fighter or Racing Fighter would be my choice. Or perhaps a trio of Mad Bulls if rougher terrain is anticipated?

[Maelstrom 439]

Or get DT-02s or 03s if it doesn't have to be vintage rere. Cheap, great fun for the kids to build with a little help from Dad, low maintenance, easy to drive. My 8 and 4 year old are both very proud owners of Super Fighter Gs.

And I can drive along with my DT-02 😊

My lads use Carson Reflex Wheel Pro 2 Controllers. Cheap, reliable and simple throttle limitation (very good for 4 year olds 😁)

[Dojo Dave 889]

3 of the same. I would suggest lunch box or variant... midnight pumpkin.  Unimog wheelie. All the samr chassis. Or go Mad bull as my son loved his at 5 years old but likes his unimog now hes 8. Also loves the df03.

The only worry I would have about three of the same is when they lose interest because its dads thing not theirs is you have three cars the same. Now.. wild one, Fast attack vehicle and a madbull could be fun too. I have one of each. 

[Frog Jumper 4254]

Mad Bull is a good choice...  Its like the Hornet, but a little bit more modernized, and with big off-road tires...  

Terry

 

[Pumesta 409]

31 minutes ago, Dojo Dave said:

 

The only worry I would have about three of the same is when they lose interest because its dads thing not theirs is you have three cars the same. 

Then you fix one up for the shelf, one as a runner and the other as some mad money sucking project 

[Macinnis 226]

TT02B MS - easy to build, comes with a fair amount of metal hop ups, and quick little racers stock.  Not to mention there are 4 or 5 variations of the TT02 platform out so lots of interchangeable spares. 

[philoye 2]

Thanks for the feedback on the car choice. I wrestled with this for a while. I definitely want each car to be distinct and their own.

I was staying away from newer ones (though I was definitely considering the blitzer beetle instead of the monster beetle) because let's face it, the pain in the *** factor is part of the fun with these things. They roll over, they need repairs. But maybe I'm over fixated on this.

And I'm not going to lie, if they turn out to not care, then they are mine so I might as well as enjoy them / get my nostalgia on.

[berman 5317]

Up to you, quickest way for kids to lose interest is for one to have something better than the other.

Then they can be yours... ALLL YOURRSSS!!!!

btw is you wife reading this? 😁

[Dojo Dave 889]

Definitely Wild one, blitzer beetle, madbull, hotshot, Dark impact and bruiser then. 

[SNAKEBITE 40]

8 hours ago, philoye said:

I was staying away from newer ones (though I was definitely considering the blitzer beetle instead of the monster beetle) because let's face it, the pain in the *** factor is part of the fun with these things. They roll over, they need repairs. But maybe I'm over fixated on this.

The *** factor soon wears off. Running after cars and putting them the right way up for your kids whilst trying to drive yours soon loses its appeal!  

I bought the Rising Fighter for my son at Christmas and he loved it. I tried to update the suspension and have had nothing but "issues". Now if I had endless spare time these issues would be fun and interesting to deal with, however I have had to try and fix the problem whilst doing all the other things that need doing! If you have time then go for it, if you don't then go for a chassis that just works, my DT-03 Neo Fighter is perfect.

Now I'm not complaining as such, as I have learnt a lot from the tinkering, but sometimes it's nice to just pick the cars up and just drive them!

[Peter_B 997]

I showed my twin boys (3 and a half) some pictures of cars and YouTube clips of some running.

One has decided he wants a Lunchbox and the other chose a Mad Bull.

Not bought them yet, but after doing the same a couple more times they've both stuck to their original picks.

Now just waiting for the OK from the other half

[Jonathon Gillham 4709]

I like the approach of buying them ones that you want since you have to build and maintain them anyway.  I've found that once my son showed proper interest (approx 5 batt packs per week for a few months) I got the green light on everything else without question. That includes an obviously not for 3yo racer, although he likes going to club meets. I haven't taken him when I've been racing yet though.

I can't comment on your choices for them as I've never had any of them, but I've found a modern TT02B to be bulletproof in the hands of a 3 1/2 yo ( when he got it, hes 4 in a week) but the Novafox got broken within minutes of him being handed the controller. The lack of adjustability in low end modern buggies means less chance for breakages, stuff like turnbuckles will just bend when they crash.

For chargers, I have a couple of these ones for the NiMH. They charge the batteries in about 5 hours (3800mAh) but it means both can be used and charged at the same time so no fights (yes betwwen me and my son). I paid about half that for them though. A decent quad charger will be squillions but do all battery types, balance charge, storage etc. I just have a single charger for lipo.

http://www.rcnz.co.nz/Shop/Service/Detail/Product/6801/Ni_Mh___Ni_Cd_Chargers/RCNZ___7_2V_Wall_Charger_230V.html

[philoye 2]

Thanks everyone, though the only thing I had decided was the car choice but now I'm back to square one!

[philoye 2]

Ok, after further reflection (and your advice!) it seems like getting three DT03s is more sensible. Now planning a neo fighter, a racing fighter, and an aqroshot. More modern and more durable, plus all three can share spares. 

That said, the aqroshot is just ugly. Maybe a blitzer beetle and a stadium blitzer, along with a neo fighter? Decisions. 

[Aleblanc 57]

Dt03 is a fantastic platform but my kids 6&8 love the Grasshopper and Lunchbox the best. I would get them all Grasshopper II kits and start with that, their skills aren't going to be good enough to handle much speed yet. I also built a Lunchie and a Midnight Pumpkin for both my nephews 6&4 and they can't get enough of them.

 

 

[TurnipJF 10819]

11 hours ago, philoye said:

Ok, after further reflection (and your advice!) it seems like getting three DT03s is more sensible. Now planning a neo fighter, a racing fighter, and an aqroshot. More modern and more durable, plus all three can share spares. 

That said, the aqroshot is just ugly. Maybe a blitzer beetle and a stadium blitzer, along with a neo fighter? Decisions. 

The DT-03 idea is a great one! A common platform makes a lot of sense.

Do you really think the Aqroshot is ugly? Eye of the beholder and all that I know, but I think it looks great! However if it is not to your taste, you could always fit a Stadium Blitzer shell instead.

[berman 5317]

DT-03 is a good choice, they will stay planted more being a buggy but the trade off is it won't go anywhere something with big wheels will.

I think the neo fighter AND the aqroshot are both ugly, the racing fighter looks cool though 😆