Tamiya RC models

[Broadside]

I used to enjoy RC models as a kid. What is the youngest age before kids can assemble them by themselves these days? Could a 9 year old do it?

 

[JhnBssll]

I used to enjoy RC models as a kid. What is the youngest age before kids can assemble them by themselves these days? Could a 9 year old do it?

I think a competent 9yr old would be able to build one quite successfully but theres really only one way to find out

I've been doing some research for my clodbuster build. I'm going to try and build in an arduino to control the show. Figure if I put the receiver inputs in to the arduino I can do clever stuff with the rear steering etc. Worth a play anyway! I had a Honda Prelude with electronic 4 wheel steering and am keen to try and reproduce it on a smaller scale

 

[Cycleops]

I'm sure a nine year old could manage one of the basic Tamiya kit by him/her self with a little help from a knowledgeable adult with the RC stuff.

 

[flake99please]

I thought I just ought to mention the daddy of all buggies the FG range from Germany

They were the ‘daddy’ until about 2007. My HPI Baja was 1/5th scale compared with the Marder at 1/6th scale

Not a buggy, but the Losi 5T made both of these look small. It was an absolute beast of a short course truck.

 

[RoadRider400]

Did a similar project myself on a Monster Beetle circa 1986. The restoration was more fun than the driving. Cost me a darn site more than just buying a fully restored one to begin with. In a break with tradition I went for a blackout paint job rather than the conventional red. Photos not of the finished job but the only ones I have on my computer right now.

 

[RoadRider400]

I used to enjoy RC models as a kid. What is the youngest age before kids can assemble them by themselves these days? Could a 9 year old do it?

I think 9 is too young. There is invariably several steps in any build where the manual neglets to mention you need three hands and fingers like pipe cleaners.

 

[classic33]

I think 9 is too young. There is invariably several steps in any build where the manual neglets to mention you need three hands and fingers like pipe cleaners.

The fingers of a nine year old should be smaller than yours though.

 

[keithmac]

I bought my lad a 1/10th Nitro 4wd truck a while back, I spent longer driving it than he did!.

Always fancied a Grasshopper or a Hornet RC car but would probably never use it..

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Used to race 1/10 electric RC classes, expensive game these days

 

[Illaveago]

I bought a Tamiya Lancia Delta Integrale 4wd rally car back in the 90's for my 10year old son to build. I supervised the build which he did well. I painted the body though.

 

[cosmicbike]

Mine are all boxed up and in the loft. Twin Dagger and another truck thing for the kids, Vauxhall BTCC and a buggy for fun. I used to run the 1/8 scale ic buggies (Kyosho Inferno etc etc), not sure if they still race them at Upton Court Park in Slough. Only trouble with the bigger buggies was space, they are noisy and stupidly fast, the local park is not the place for them.

 

[Broadside]

I think 9 is too young. There is invariably several steps in any build where the manual neglets to mention you need three hands and fingers like pipe cleaners.

I think you’re probably right, interpreting the instructions might be a struggle. I would plan to do the build with him but want him to get the satisfaction of the build and understanding the inner workings rather than me taking over!

 

[Smokin Joe]

Building R/C cars was the thing that made me understand how a differential worked.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I so want one of these, a snip at £129 from Tamiya -

 

[JhnBssll]

Some smart looking models in this thread already

I've been tinkering with my Clodbuster 😄 It's now got a nice shiny new chassis and some new suspension components I've reinstated the rear wheel steering and am waiting on the servo's to arrive before I finish the chassis off and move on to the electronics

This is the chassis as I bought her...

This is the new chassis with the first few bits transferred over...

The previous owner had mounted the lower shocks to the swing arms with P-clips which I deemed a non-engineered solution I found some aftermarket carbon plate suspension mounts on eBay and snapped them up, this is a much better solution

The cherry on the chassis cake arrived today in the form of replacement shocks, here it is with the new shocks on the front and old still on the rear...

And here she is as she looks now, new chassis and suspension all finished. Once Servo's and battery are here I can run her for the first time since I bought her 15 months ago

Next stage after that will be to try and program an arduino to control the rear wheel steering - I used to own a Honda Prelude with electronic 4WS and I want to replicate the way that system worked on the Clodbuster, just to see if I can