Tamiya alternative to Traxxas Slash 4WD

[technics100]

I lurked on here many years ago with various Tamiya cars and setups, but now I have a 9 year old boy with a want for all things RC.. He currently has a Tamiya lunchbox (ball raced, RZ sport motor) and also a RGT 1/10 Landover defender rock crawler which is a very capable machine.. He watches YouTube videos and now has his mind set on getting a Traxxas Slash 4wd.. but looking at them they are a fortune.  Is there a Tamiya equivalent that I could get him which would allow us you use the 4 x batteries, fast charger etc. that we have for lunchbox? 

[novicelad]

Saw this on the Tamico website this morning

https://tamico.de/navi.php?a=154893&lang=eng

 

[Hobbimaster]

Did you look at the 1/16 Traxxas Slash 4x4? Much cheaper than the 1/10 big brother, but can still take a good beating.

[technics100]

Yeah, had seen that but it's 1/10 he wants.. that Tamiya looks good.. why is it so cheap for a RTR?

[novicelad]

1 hour ago, technics100 said:

Yeah, had seen that but it's 1/10 he wants.. that Tamiya looks good.. why is it so cheap for a RTR?

Dont know? Tamico seem to get very good deals on, I brought a dt03 from them last month with tx, rx and servo for under £90! 

I was a bit disappointed it was RTR I would prefer kit 

[Percymon]

1 hour ago, technics100 said:

Yeah, had seen that but it's 1/10 he wants.. that Tamiya looks good.. why is it so cheap for a RTR?

It's never been a popular model, over shadowed at the time of release by the short course truck craze.  Nothign wrong with it per se but it fell a little in the middle ground between stadium truck and short course.  the Slash was bomb proof so it too all the sales.

At that price its excellent value, you could even resell the radio gear if you already have something - not sure its worth an awful lot but £20  should find a home on ebay !

 

Associated SC10 is an alternative, albeit not much cheaper than the slash new but you might find a new in box for sale somewhere at a decent price - i think i bought my ARTR 2WD version for ca £110  3 or 4 years ago.  Theres a used one on ebay currently for £120

 

[Percymon]

Even Hobbking's Trooper SCT is over £100.

 

One thing to remember with the Slash  / SC10 is that the shells gather all the dirt thrown up bu the front wheels when steering so the chassis gets plastered in sand / mud/dirt in no time at all

[technics100]

yeah, everyone likes a kit.. Will my normal ni-mh batteries work ok with the brushless setup?  

[Percymon]

15 minutes ago, technics100 said:

yeah, everyone likes a kit.. Will my normal ni-mh batteries work ok with the brushless setup?  

The quoted brushless 16T motor shouldnt have a huge current draw on the battery, so provided you have fairly new NiMHs with 3600mAH capacity or more then it should be fine.  Tamico list a 3000mAh battery to accompany it, although that might be a default add-on option rather than something specifically tuned to the Levante needs

[technics100]

cheers

 

[Prescient]

5 hours ago, technics100 said:

I lurked on here many years ago with various Tamiya cars and setups, but now I have a 9 year old boy with a want for all things RC.. He currently has a Tamiya lunchbox (ball raced, RZ sport motor) and also a RGT 1/10 Landover defender rock crawler which is a very capable machine.. He watches YouTube videos and now has his mind set on getting a Traxxas Slash 4wd.. but looking at them they are a fortune.  Is there a Tamiya equivalent that I could get him which would allow us you use the 4 x batteries, fast charger etc. that we have for lunchbox? 

Unfortunately, Tamiya don't make anything that comes remotely close to the slash in performance, robustness, scale/size or overall pricing. 

They just don't and the money you would spend getting their stadium trucks etc to an out of box NiMH slash speeds and performance would be considerable and you still won't be close. Lipo on the slash and it's another league again.

The Lavant brushless RTR on Tamico this week whilst good value isn't a patch on a Traxxas slash 4wd. Traxxas trucks are designed to go fast despite their size, Tamiya are designed for scale speeds (outside TRF/R/RRR editions etc) which is a very different philosophy.

They don't even offer anything to rival a 2WD stampede or rustler either. Falcon / WT01 chassis are poles apart and even more so once spending £££ on upgrades on a price/value/performance basis. 

I would pick a brushed rustler or stampede over the Levant. 

There are other lesser brands trucks like Maverick Strada (modelsport has good support) which are £125RTR and again, I would take that over the Levant.

The above may seem rather blunt and not accord with supporting Tamiya but it is an honest refection of where Tamiya sit against competition. 

Outside of their proper racing kits, Tamiya is all about scale model RC, pretty much everyone else is about speed & performance. If your lad wants Scale RC then Tamiya is great, the best even; but if he wants a Slash 4WD, the truck that can drive on water, jump on and off buildings, jump 50ft gaps without breaking as per their YouTube demos, Tamiya may as well be a static model.

[Jonathon Gillham]

Given he is 9yo will the performance matter too much for him?

The other thing is what will he be using it for? Is it likely you would take him to a club to give racing a go or will it exclusively  be a park basher? I have never seen a Traxxas car at the track but you could go to your local club and talk to the racers there, someone will most likely have a second hand one for sale which would fit the budget and performance requirements. The race level kits are generally robust and should survive a 9yo's best efforts to destroy them

[Prescient]

If you've seen this video then....

 

[technics100]

Awesome, I appreciate all the responses and replies.. I'm in Belfast, so not sure of many clubs about.. The car will generally be used for back garden bashing.. which his lunchbox does well, but he watches videos on youtube showing Traxxas cars and wants something similar.. Will check out the links provided.. 

PS.  I fancy a Traxxas after watching that video!! LOL.. 

[Baddon]

We are near Belfast. Me with a TT-02B neo scorcher for me and (he dont know yet as its a Chrimbo pressie) 12 year old with a Bush Devil 2 monster truck.

I also have a vintage Midnight Pumpkin.

 

Just have my Traxxas T Maxx on Ebay at min but its nitro and they are a pain if your used to electric.

[Munchbox]

EcX Torment 4wd. Still pricey and not a kit but they are unbelievably tough and with a nice brushless setup they are every bit as good of a basher as a Slash.

[technics100]

Great, thanks for the heads up.. does seem like good value.. 

PS.. still haven't sorted anything and Christmas is coming!!

[Effigy3]

I'd agree that the ECX Torment is a good basher SCT option.  For basher SCT / Monster / Stadium truck duties I tend to favor the Arrma stuff because they offer a 2-year warranty. They're really good about supporting their stuff as well.  I have a 2013 Fury Mega and a 2015 Fury BLS.  For well under $200 I've been quite pleased.