Best kit for getting back into the hobby? Agrios?

[RCRob85 2]

Hi guys, I'm new here. This is a great website, I can tell that someone spends a lot of time looking after it.

I'm getting back into the hobby, I'm 35 now, when I was in my teens our first RC car was a Bush Devil, I later then bought a Wild Dagger and Baja Champ, which I still have and I've recently revived with new ESC's. They are still great fun to drive and very capable vehicles.

I'm looking to buy a new kit to build to get back into the hobby. I would prefer a Tamiya but it's not essential, either a monster truck, larger buggy or truggy. The latest Tamiya chassis that I could find is the Agrios / TXT-2, is that right? 

I'm not really interested in a crawler.

Let me know your recommendations, from other brands as well, it must be a kit.

Thanks

[Fabia130vRS 2098]

I will recommend what I never had and It is high up in my wishlist.

a so called Pre-Runner truck. Been really dragged to them lately over social media like instagram. These trucks look really great and perform outstanding.

 

I had my eyes on the Kyosho Outlaw Pro... or the normal Outlaw but its body is different.

https://tamico.de/Kyosho-Outlaw-Rampage-1-10-2WD-Truck-white-RTR
the cheaper version.

https://tamico.de/Kyosho-Outlaw-Rampage-Pro-1-10-RTR-Red
more expensive version.

 

a video of the pro

I looked up the chassis on google and its design is really nice

just a thought... but any Trophy Truck / Short Course Truck / Stadium Truck will be amazing fun.

 

dont know about Tamiya... I guess the XV01T chassis could be someting...

 

[Mad Ax 9329]

What sort of driving do you want to do?  The Agrios is an impressively-sized monster and will be a good fun build, performance-wise it will drive like a big heavy beast because that's what it is.  Don't expect it to handle like a lightweight buggy and don't expect it to survive the sorts of jumps you'd do with an Arrma or Traxxas truck because they are very different beasts.

Buggy or truggy-wise, if you want to stick with Tamiya then you're limited to 1:10 size, as opposed to the 1:8 which is more popular from the aforementioned basher brands.  Although I'm a Tamiya-fan all the way through, companies like Arrma and Traxxas are making better, faster, more robust vehicles out of the box.  So approach your Tamiya ownership with the right expectation.

What sort of terrain will you be running on, and how much space do you have?  If you have a huge great field, you might want something big enough to fill it.  If you have a tiny garden with long grass, some kind of smaller truck or truggy with big wheels.  If you have short grass and a bit of space, a buggy would work well.

Are you looking for a nostalgic build and driving experience, or do you want to see how far things have progressed since you last owned a Tamiya?

[RCRob85 2]

23 minutes ago, Mad Ax said:

What sort of driving do you want to do?  The Agrios is an impressively-sized monster and will be a good fun build, performance-wise it will drive like a big heavy beast because that's what it is.  Don't expect it to handle like a lightweight buggy and don't expect it to survive the sorts of jumps you'd do with an Arrma or Traxxas truck because they are very different beasts.

Buggy or truggy-wise, if you want to stick with Tamiya then you're limited to 1:10 size, as opposed to the 1:8 which is more popular from the aforementioned basher brands.  Although I'm a Tamiya-fan all the way through, companies like Arrma and Traxxas are making better, faster, more robust vehicles out of the box.  So approach your Tamiya ownership with the right expectation.

What sort of terrain will you be running on, and how much space do you have?  If you have a huge great field, you might want something big enough to fill it.  If you have a tiny garden with long grass, some kind of smaller truck or truggy with big wheels.  If you have short grass and a bit of space, a buggy would work well.

Are you looking for a nostalgic build and driving experience, or do you want to see how far things have progressed since you last owned a Tamiya?

Good questions.

I'll be mostly running this in a medium size garden and on small cul de sac street. I'll occasionally take it out to the park or woods.

I've looked at the bashing RC's that Arrma and Traxxas make, I've been eyeing up the big rock. But they look very quick, I'd always have to take that out to a larger space. Also, Arrma doesn't seem to have any kits, Traxxas has the stampede kit which could be an option.

I am a bit disappointed to see that Tamiya's top sellers don't seem to be anything that they've released in the last 10 years, it looks to be the the classic monster trucks and buggies that either haven't been updated or have had minor updates made to them.

I was wanting the latest Tamiya monster truck, that seems to be the Agrios. It looks like a beast, a similar size to the clod buster. I would enjoy the build but maybe I wouldn't run it that much.

The RC world has changed a lot. There's a lot of choices, it's confusing.

[RCRob85 2]

38 minutes ago, Fabia130vRS said:

I will recommend what I never had and It is high up in my wishlist.

a so called Pre-Runner truck. Been really dragged to them lately over social media like instagram. These trucks look really great and perform outstanding.

 

I had my eyes on the Kyosho Outlaw Pro... or the normal Outlaw but its body is different.

https://tamico.de/Kyosho-Outlaw-Rampage-1-10-2WD-Truck-white-RTR
the cheaper version.

https://tamico.de/Kyosho-Outlaw-Rampage-Pro-1-10-RTR-Red
more expensive version.

 

a video of the pro

I looked up the chassis on google and its design is really nice

just a thought... but any Trophy Truck / Short Course Truck / Stadium Truck will be amazing fun.

 

dont know about Tamiya... I guess the XV01T chassis could be someting...

 

Thanks, i'll take a look at this. The short course trucks seem to be able to take a beating.

[burakol 462]

I would say a Clodbuster if you want the monster truck feel... Pricewise, it is about half the cost of the Agrios, but will probably give the same build satisfaction... and I think it would give you more option should you choose to modify it... 

but with any Tamiya kits, they are not built for extreme bashing like the Traxxas/Aarma cars...

[RCRob85 2]

4 hours ago, burakol said:

I would say a Clodbuster if you want the monster truck feel... Pricewise, it is about half the cost of the Agrios, but will probably give the same build satisfaction... and I think it would give you more option should you choose to modify it... 

but with any Tamiya kits, they are not built for extreme bashing like the Traxxas/Aarma cars...

The clod buster looks great but it seems like I'd need to spend the same amount or more on upgrades to sort out the steering issues. I suppose doing it up could be part of the fun.

[Mad Ax 9329]

It's certainly a dilemma if you want to keep with Tamiya.  A TXT-2 or Clod will work in a medium-size garden, my garden isn't that big and I run my TXT-1, Clods and SMT10 in there, although I built some ramps from plywood to make it interesting.  Just going around in circles gets boring quickly.  With a set of ramps you can convert a small space into a proper monster truck track - check out the Trigger Kings channel on Youtube to see what sort of fun you can have with a there-and-back-again track.  Bear in mind the pro-mod class trucks are seriously modified, you won't get that performance or robustness from a stock TXT-2.  Even then, the pro-mod guys break parts a lot.

The Outlaw Retro class on the Trigger Kings channel has stock and nearly-stock Clod busters, that shows you what you can do with a stock truck.  A standard Clod is very bouncy thanks to its limited shocks and the steering is terrible, but there are plenty of upgrade paths, and you're starting with what is still the most popular kit for building a competitive monster truck.  That's not to say the Agrios is a bad idea - I love my TXT-1, although the standard sway bars aren't up to much, probably the same with the Agrios, if you're running in a small space you might want some stiff sway bars to stop it swerving off towards the wall every time to hit the throttle.  If you're handy with tools you make a lot of upgrades yourself.

The Outlaw as linked above would probably be good in a small space.  I don't have one but they look excellent.  From Tamiya's stable, the XV-01T runs really well on short grass, it demands a scale approach to the driving style as it will roll over if turned hard, but it handles great and looks good while running.

You're right that pretty much anything Arrma / Traxxas will be too big for a garden.  My E-maxx almost never gets run.

[Cas446 6]

17 hours ago, RCRob85 said:

Good questions.

I'll be mostly running this in a medium size garden and on small cul de sac street. I'll occasionally take it out to the park or woods.

I've looked at the bashing RC's that Arrma and Traxxas make, I've been eyeing up the big rock. But they look very quick, I'd always have to take that out to a larger space. Also, Arrma doesn't seem to have any kits, Traxxas has the stampede kit which could be an option.

I am a bit disappointed to see that Tamiya's top sellers don't seem to be anything that they've released in the last 10 years, it looks to be the the classic monster trucks and buggies that either haven't been updated or have had minor updates made to them.

I was wanting the latest Tamiya monster truck, that seems to be the Agrios. It looks like a beast, a similar size to the clod buster. I would enjoy the build but maybe I wouldn't run it that much.

The RC world has changed a lot. There's a lot of choices, it's confusing.

If you want a truggy and to stay Tamiya and kit, then you might consider the Aqroshot. However when the kit arrives, get rid of the following. The motor - it only works on road with small tyres, the pinion - it's too small and made of cheese, the plastic rear shock tower - it will break, the stock damper oil - it's a compromise of both the front and rear, the servo saver - servos have developed in the last 30 years this servo saver has not and lastly the tyres - the are a compromise to make the gearbox and stock motor combination work.

Then buy the following Tamiya hop ups, the 19t hardened pinion and the GRP rear shock tower. Then buy a decent servo saver and use thread lock to your servo and 500 rear shock oil and 200 at the front. A budget 13.5t sensored brushless motor for the stock ESC. Lastly furnish with some truggy tyres, a big NiMh battery and have a blast. Nice and quick without being dangerous, and robust enough.

[Badcrumble 4204]

19 hours ago, RCRob85 said:

The clod buster looks great but it seems like I'd need to spend the same amount or more on upgrades to sort out the steering issues. I suppose doing it up could be part of the fun.

I run Dual Hunters in the back garden and the beach on holiday, I'd go for a monster truck rather than a more modern truggy.

I have an Agrios to build and kinda wish I'd bought a Clod. I thought a 'modern' Tamiya monster truck chassis would be the way to go but I still had to get an ESC, dual servoes and associated wires for 4WS and most people then go for Clod wheels and tyres which require an adapter.

Had the black Clod been available when I bought the Agrios (on sale) I probably would have bought the Clod as the parts support is so much better and I want my young son to run it.

But I love the look of the Agrios chassis so I got what I wanted in that respect, the Clod doesn't hold the same appeal for me with the tub chassis.

[RCRob85 2]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the replies.

I saw Rckicks video on youtube on the clod buster vs agrios. I would prefer something that runs fairly well when stock. I find it amazing that the clod buster performs so poorly but sells so well.

I think I'm leaning towards the stampede kit, it's the closest thing to what I'm looking for.

It's a real shame that Tamiya doesn't have a good direct competitor to the brushed stampede. They don't seem to be innovating much anymore, I wonder what happened, maybe the owner stepped down as CEO. When a company loses its magic, it's often that the founder has little or no involvement anymore.

 

[Re-Bugged 10155]

The Stampede has had some good mentions on here. 
The Bigfoot version looks cool but I think is only RTR (same as a Stampede chassis) but you could always buy the body separately and I believe the wheels & tyres from it give a different drive experience too.

I love my Tamiya Blackfoot for backyard fun, but the Traxxas would probably be better suited for guilt free bashing. 

[B.RAD 240]

I can highly recommend the Stampede kit. It's a really fun build, and as a basher the truck is unbeatable. It's absolutely fantastic. I'm running 2s lipo through the standard motor and ESC and it goes really well, initially I thought it was a bit slow but it seems to have really picked up after a few battery packs. It's quick, nimble and smashes through and over everything!

[davidwj95 152]

12 hours ago, RCRob85 said:

Thanks guys, I appreciate the replies.

I saw Rckicks video on youtube on the clod buster vs agrios. I would prefer something that runs fairly well when stock. I find it amazing that the clod buster performs so poorly but sells so well.

I think I'm leaning towards the stampede kit, it's the closest thing to what I'm looking for.

It's a real shame that Tamiya doesn't have a good direct competitor to the brushed stampede. They don't seem to be innovating much anymore, I wonder what happened, maybe the owner stepped down as CEO. When a company loses its magic, it's often that the founder has little or no involvement anymore.

 

I agree, I'd love to see something new from tamiya that has the same proportions as a blackfoot but without all of the weak points and using better materials.  Most trucks from other companies look a bit toyish, they are too wide or have horrible wheels and unrealistic bodies. That Traxxas bigfoot looks good though.

Other than the XV01 and a couple of re releases I've not been interested in any tamiyas for a few years now, I'd probably get a kyosho next time.  

[RCRob85 2]

It looks like my Wild Dagger is the most capable 1/10th scale monster truck that Tamiya have ever made. I bought that around 20 years ago.

I'll keep my eye out for the latest Tamiya buggies, I would love to build a modern Tamiya. For now, I think I'm going to get the Stampede kit.