4WD buggy....but which one?

[Bromley 681]

I have most of the  bases covered now... Monster trucks, touring cars, 2wd drive buggys, crawler, wheelie van.

But still no 4wd buggy, which is odd because it's the 4wd buggys that got me excited for RC in the 1st place. My mates ran Manta Ray's, Boomerangs and Thunder dragons BITD.

I like the Topforce, Neo scorcher, Boomerang and Hotshot. But which one will be the most fun for general light bashing and maybe a little racing. Nothing serious you understand maybe the odd heat here and there. Just to see how it goes. I have my TT02 stock racer for club events. I like the Boomer and Shot for there retro looks. The Topforce for its lovely, but admittedly dated chassis and the Neo scorcher is growing on me quite a bit, the box art does it no justice. Will it be a bit bland compared to the others? 

Please help!

[TurnipJF 9192]

I don't claim to be an expert on the Tamiya four wheel drive buggy range, however I have a few in my fleet and out of them, the Manta Ray has had the most use, and my recently completed Thunder Shot is probably going to follow a close second.

Both have suspension that works a lot better than that fitted to my Hot Shot, and they have more ground clearance than my TL-01B, Rising Storm and Neo Scorcher. This makes them more versatile in terms of the terrain that I can bash on.

[Mahjik 197]

How about an Egress?

https://www.rcjaz.com/tamiya-58583-110-rc-egress-2013-p-90063651.html

 

[Bromley 681]

5 minutes ago, Mahjik said:

How about an Egress?

https://www.rcjaz.com/tamiya-58583-110-rc-egress-2013-p-90063651.html

 

I think I'd cry every time it rolled over. And a little too pricey for bashing with my mates. Nice none the less.

[Juggular 4964]

Go with what you like to look at.  

Even if you have the advanced chassis of Avante?  If the shell on it looks like Manta Ray, you probably won't run it as much.  On the other hand, if I had full Avante, "Gem" mindset would prevent me from bashing it.  

So... not too ugly, not too good-looking either.  

Admittedly, TT02b is a bit bland.  But who cares?  It's you who's going to run it.  It's your satisfaction that's important.  Run it with pride!  Unless you won't be happy with TT02b yourself.  You could get DF02, and slap Neo Scorcher shell on it.  But the difference between the chassis is so minor, it would be cheaper to just get a metal diff.  As they say, if you look to the past, you regret. If you look to the future, you get anxiety.  So, Live today.  Trust your gut feeling (and regret it later if you must. But why should you? There is always tomorrow!). 

 

[markbt73 5316]

The Manta Ray suggestion is a good one, it's a nice balance between retro looks and modern performance. Basically a de-optioned Top Force, so there are lots of improvements that can be made, but the basic platform in stock form is a really solid runner.

I would avoid the Hotshot; it looks great but tends to be a frustrating runner. The Boomerang is a much better car to drive.

[Jonathon Gillham 4607]

Of those you have listed I would go for the Top Force or Boomerang.

The Hotshot is really expensive and by all accounts flawed and the Boomerang fixes a lot of the issues and is much cheaper.

The TT02B chassis isn't great as a buggy due to ground clearance, although handles better than the rereleases on concrete. I have a couple and they are used a lot but mostly for kids and bcakyard racing - they are the sacrificial buggies.

The Top Force or Manta Ray are probably the best all round option from your list. Decent handling and retro good looks. For bashing there isn't too much in it but the Top Force has a lot more adjustment so would be the better racer, also it looks heaps better.

Have you considered the DB01? The RR has hopups which make it a lot more capable on the racetrack, but even just a base model Durga will outperform the options you've listed.

[waterbok 1282]

As your sentences start with either Manta Ray or Top force. Go for the Top Force.

The TT02 may be newer but as mentioned ground clearance sucks and to make something decent out of it you have to spend a lot of money. Compared to the Manta Ray a TT02 is just lot of plastic.

[Saito2 6686]

Top Force if you intend to race a bit. Dated or not, its superior to the TT02B. As others have said, its a good, well-rounded buggy. Go for the plastic Manta Ray version if you're trying to save some money. On the retro side, I'd go Boomerang, Big Wig  or, if you like the Hot Shot's looks, the Super Hot Shot. Aside form the the Hot Shot, the rest of the buggies don't have any real Achilles heels. Each has their own quirks. The Boomer steers the best but has a more flexy tub chassis and so-so battery door arrangement. The Super Hot Shot has a strong, rigid boxed chassis but has bumpsteer and will understeer more than the Boomer.

[Bromley 681]

Wow...mega response...thanks guys.

I think in all honesty I know where this is going. Even though we are talking exclusively 4wd buggys, there are too many differences for a 1 fits all.

So....I've got two TT02 chassis cars already and a TT02B is just too similar in construction. The Hotshot whilst iconic appears to be flawed. So that leaves the Boomer and TF. I'm struggling with choosing one....so both is my choice, I'll see what's in stock with my LHS. They are both lookers but one lends itself to racing and the other is a natural basher.

That was easy!

[Hobbimaster 190]

I have several 4wd buggies in my collection: Avante, Egress, Hot Shot, Super Hot Shot, Top Force, Boomerang, and the latest Kyosho Optima 4wd offerings. IMO the Kyosho Optima series is hands down better than any of my Tamiya's kits. That being said if I had to choose only a Tamiya 4wd, it would be the Top Force. It was the best Tamiya had to offer at the time. It is a good all around buggy with no real strange handling problems.

[Jonathon Gillham 4607]

As far as the racing goes - the Boomerang may end up in a different class to the Top Force so still be competitive.  Down here the NZRCA rules have the Boomerang in the pre-87 plastic chassis class, vs the Top Force will be in the non-plastic post 87 class.

In saying that the only club who does vintage racing just have a pre96 (I think) silvercan class which has all sorts entered, and its just fun anyway.  I really need to get along to that with the Boomerang.

The Top Force won't compete with the modern stuff anyway.  Modern tracks have far larger jumps for a start and the cars are designed to handle it.  It'd be fun though.

[Saito2 6686]

36 minutes ago, Hobbimaster said:

IMO the Kyosho Optima series is hands down better than any of my Tamiya's kits.

This is true. If you can stray from Tamiya, the Kyosho Optima, Javelin or Turbo Optima re-releases are wonderful kits. I recommend them highly. They are packed with well made parts made of quality materials. I was shocked at how amazing the "old school" rear motor design of my Optima worked when I took it for its maiden voyage. 

[ThunderDragonCy 7886]

Top Force won't compete with modern stuff, but i saw a well setup one racing vintage class indoor at the Schumacher Indoor last winter and it moved brilliantly on track. I think the key for any track work (on astro or similar) is getting some spacers inside the shocks to get the ride height down to 20mm or so. I think it still needs the plastic 50529 gearset as well. The gearing is very short unless you can find the TA02 high speed gearset so it will only really come alive with 10.5-8.5 brushless. 

My mate has rebuilt his original Optima Mid and that runs beautifully at the track. He has put the JC Racing 2.2" pepperpot wheels from Modelsport on it to kerp the looks but run modern tyres. A Turbo Optima would be great. 

[Nicadraus 6201]

When we were kids, I had a Subaru Brat converted to Frog while my dad bought my younger brother a Hotshot. I got envy and wanted the Hotshot when I saw it. But when I tried it, I swore not to own one, I kept the Frog (until I upgraded to an Astute) because it's such a lousy car (Hotshot) to drive plus the suspension is just worst. It became popular only because it was Tamiya's first 4WD. But when the rest of the new 4WD kits came including the improved Hotshot 2 (very similar to the Boomerang) and Super Hotshot 2 with both with improved and better suspension, the first release was quickly forgotten and some of my friends who also owned it never even bothered to look back.

Now going back to your question, I'd definitely pick the Top Force and Boomerang as second choice. Neo Scorcher would be third and never the Hot Shot.