father and son rc car

jaapbond

Hi everybody, I would like to get the son into model cars .. he is 8 years old and mad for lego including the technics.
Want to know if any of you could recommend a car that we both could build and maybe paint and when ready we could race together.
I think the building would teach him a lot about how things work and I think it would be a nice thing to do together.
Budget wise nothing crazy expensive but don't mind scrimping either ...
Anybody any suggestions for models, or even just places to start looking ?
Thank you very much ...

Mickb

Hi,

I you would like to start racing would be worth taking a trip to the Dublin Model Car Club. We race 1/10 scale electric buggies on a Sunday.

Details on club website: http://dublinmodelracing.com/

MiCk B. :-)

T-Maxx

How about a crawler? Some very nice kits available from Axial.

Slower = less damage = less repair work for dad

The Doktor

Go to a few of the clubs near you. See what people there are racing and what gets you interested. Ask the people there for advice, its the best advice you will get.

jaapbond

Thank you for the replies so far ... Having a good luck at the axial cars, is there anywhere in Ireland selling them or a website in the uk doing postorder ?
We live in the sticks in west cork so not to many clubs about, but I was more talking about racing each other.
First we can build one car each more as a sort of learning process along the way.
Just like to tear him away from the temptations of screens (xbox/ipad/tv)

The Doktor

how about cork rc car club?

http://www.crccc.ie/

MrMaki

Hi jaapbond
Very good idea!

Rc car was something I dreamed about since I was a child, so I was really looking forward for a time when My son grow up a little bit to have an excuse for my wife to spend a money on a car.

As a starter I bought a Tamiya Dt-03 a buggy which cost under €100 + transmitter, charger and few battery packs in total it was around €180
Neo buggy rc car arrived in parts ( no matter what car make sure it is not RTR ( ready to run))
I think it was something like 150-200 parts including screws
My son was 5.5 at the time and he screwed every single part ( i have only helped him with adding some more strenght after he finished, he filled oil shocks etc, then I painted body in a color he wanted ( paint is toxic and kids won't be able to paint body to a nice looking finish)
We both run one car for some time but after few months it started to be boring for me as I was standing beside him and watching for most of the time, so I bought myself a beast
Traxxas Slash Ultimate.
It is great for bashing in forests mud, sand etc But unfortunately the tamiya dt-03 is 2 wheel drive and slower with less torque so my son was not able to keep up to speed on the difficult terrain.
This year after he learnt how to clean his car, how to handle it and how to drive it I bought him a traxxas e-revo vxl, tsm 1/16

Www.traxxas.com

It is quite fast 4 wheel drive little basher , my son is very happy with it and he absolutely loves it. His tamiya is now in hands of his 4.5 years old daughter...


I think that tamiya is great starter car it is a buggy, you can drive it on road or slight off road, but pretty soon you will notice that it is only a starter car you will want to have quicker car with more power and you will buy something better.

Please don't buy no names - you will have problem with replacement parts and quality of those parts few quid savings is not worth it.
Buy few power packs - one or two won't last for too long
Start with something basic and then go for an update once you and son learn how to drive it.

If you have no intension to drive on the track in a club don't go for a typical race car - get something hou can run offroad as well -it is a lot of fun ( specially with jumps)

jaapbond

Thank you mrmaki, that was the exactly kind of information I was after, much appreciate the effort that went into that post.
Would you mind telling me where I would be best of looking for the Tamiya cars and parts. Is there anywhere in Ireland or would I be better of looking further abroad ?
Are there any websites that are good for just having a browse for things or maybe do good special offers or package deals ?

The Doktor

If you want Tamiya, the best place is http://www.modellbau-seidel.de/
Just use google translate as its in german.
They have all the parts for every car. Theres no better place.
I race tamiya myself, albeit TRF stuff.
You can also look at Hong Kong, Rc Mart, Stella Models, RC Mushroom etc... all are good.

CJhaughey

Just a thought, have you heard of rock crawlers?
They are slower and more detailed than Buggies and off road racing cars and as such are less prone to damage from high speed incidents.
You don't need a big clear area in fact small areas with rocks and obstacles are what you are looking for.
You also don't need another car to race against to have fun.

MrMaki

I bought my tamiya on www.conrad.de ( german website)
Unfortunately there is no decent online shop in ireland.
Modelsport.co.uk has good stock of different brands and models


Traxxas cars - I was lucky to get them directly from States ( cheaper than from european shops)

Try also amazon , ebay etc.

For battery packs try hobby king website.

Keep us updated and let us know what did you buy.

CJhaughey

Anyone dealt with Mcloughlins direct?
They seem to have a good online Tamiya presence and not alone that the prices seem very reasonable including courier.
http://www.mcldirect.com

mgbgt1978

Any updates on your search Jaapbond ?