Good Starter Kits For Indiana Youth Group RC Club

[fam1_ny]

Hey everybody,

I'm working with a group of youth in my church in Kokomo, Indiana who are looking to start up an RC club. I'm a mentor to them and kind of got them started ( I had my old hpi rs4 nitro kit on a shelf that they fell in love with) that being said I'm looking for advice on good starter kits for the kids to buy.

The caveats being as follows:
-A lot of these kids don't have a great deal of money to spend so any high budget kits are probably not a good idea
-For many of the kids it will be their first experience with a non-dept store RC kit
-No RTR kits, though price is a factor, I am also trying to instill a sense of pride in workmanship, ensure that they understand the intricacies of how the cars work as well as (hopefully) develop young engineers.
-I'm looking for both on-road and off road kits
-The ability to tune the car is also essential. I don't expect the kids to win any national events just yet but I do want them to be able to tinker with the kits and obtain hop-up components.

Any help you guys can provide will be very much appreciated.

BTW:
- If anyone has a line on tracks (w/ road courses) in central Indiana that may not be in the track directory, please let me know.
- if anyone has made their own on road course and can suggest what works good as barriers, please let me know.

I can be reached via email at fam1_ny@yahoo.com

[Fluke]

well if you want to go electric onroad you can get the trinity spec car.comes with batt pack and motor and is cheap.

for nitro,cheapest i can think of is tamiya (both offroad and onroad)

[RCRevolution]

thats a tough one , cheap, but not rtr so they can build it.

I guess u can start with a cheap $40-$50 am radio with 2-servos that would get them running radio wise.

as for the car you can search on ebay or something.




just get an RTR take it apart, give them an exploaded-parts diagram, and say get to work. :)

[fam1_ny]

i've heard some bad things about the t-spec car, and it seems like it is hard to modify. is this true?

Can anyone tell me thier opinion on the RC10TC4? or the tamiya on road kits?

[evaderstman]

I think the best kit for these types of clubs is the rc18 series. The Factory team is a kit, and costs roughly 150 dollars. With a full setup it would end up costing 250 or more. I really think this is one case that a rtr would be good. You could get the rtr model for the same price, and then you could have them all get together, and tear them down, inspect them, and then rebuild them properly if they didn't come that way. This would save cost, and teach them how to build one properly.

[OldSkoolRCRacer]

We have both TC4s and Tamiya cars racing at our track. I think the Associated TC4 RTR is a good value for the $$. It is pretty competetive right from the box, and you can always add the Factory stuff later if you choose.
The Tamiyas are a little cheaper, I dont know as much about them. I personally still use a TC3 myself, and it keeps up with the TC4s, and the hopped up Tamiyas.
Oh, btw fam1_ny... I'm Bob, from Asheville, NC. I emailed you about track design and layout.

[Twopu]

I just started our school's RC club with 7 RTR Traxxas Rustlers. I gave them the opportunity to run them around cones, but believe it or not, it was too much power for them to handle. To keep a long story short, I spent more time fixing them than running them. Since they are RTR they have no respect for the trucks. I sat them down today and focused on cleaning the trucks. Each day I will do mini workshops on the suspension, transmission, batteries, etc. Once I feel they understand and respect the trucks we'll work on driving skills (driving straight). Best of luck to you.

[Vato Loco]

I'm assuming your wanting electric? on or off road, on road would be easier to race than off and you would be able to set up a road corse in the chirch parking lot easy. Tamiya has a large selection of car kits! how and out a TT-01 http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKSG3&P=7
Tons of after market stuff for it and the kit is cheap! One thought though, If you go kit you will have to get the radios! that will add cost. RTR would be cheaper in most cases! and RTR ther's even more choices!

[fam1_ny]

I've never owned an rtr kit, do they still come with the complete assemb,y instructions?

[fam1_ny]

btw, thanks for the replies & emails, you guys are really helping me out and giving me great ideas.

[Twopu]

Yes, they come with the instructions.

[NotWalkinBlind]

Contact this guy... I think he started up a similar club at his church:
http://aa-forums.gcnpublishing.com/member.php?userid=47914

[Vato Loco]

When I got my Rusty(Traxxas Rustler) there is a full Manual with the RTR. that manual is the same one that they use in the kit version of the truck! The rustler kit is no more, but When i got this truck as i drove it and replacing parts due to bad driving skills I got aquainted real quick on how to fix things by the real nice manual that came with the truck! Most RTRs are assembled all the way, but being your going to have unexperienced drivers at the wheel it won't belong before you have something tore down being fixed....LOL's Just follow the manual in reverse when taking it apart;-) God bless and good luck:-)

[fam1_ny]

Thanks Guys!

[cheerwhiner]

I do work for a hobby shop and am familiar with many kinds of kits. The tamiya tt-01 kits are cheap, easy to build, and reliable cars, tough to break. Hundreds of hopups available for them too, and any 190 or 200mm body will fit them too.

[cheerwhiner]

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXGGA3&P=C

that is the cheapest tt01 kit but it offers a lot for the money

[fam1_ny]

thanks!

[Vato Loco]

This guy started a class and so far so good!
http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=219344
You might want to talk to him because of first hand knowlage!

[Vato Loco]

....

[genericuserid]

What is the budget per running set-up?