TOPIC:

Hi everyone...My dad got me into the the RC bug back in '85/'86. Back then it was all about the The Frog and the RC10. I owned a Tamiya Blackfoot, an RC10, a Yokomo YZ10, and a Losi JR-X2. I remember doing various upgrades to the cars, like oil filled shocks, nylon reinforced suspension parts or graphite chassis upgrades, gear changes, etc. I guess after a while maybe I somehow got bored with them because the local racetrack closed down and my friend across the street moved away, and I have no idea what we did with those 4 cars, but obviously they were worth a lot of money and I suppose my dad sold them off. But I have never forgotten those days. I think the Blackfoot is the one I remember best and played with the most (it also seemed to need the most attention (LOL), due to so many ABS plastic parts. I always had a soft spot for Tamiya because I like their box art, and I like the fact it's Japanese...for some weird reason ("Because Japan", I guess... )

Anyway, my own teen daughter is old enough now, I think she will love to put together a nice Tamiya. She is very good at putting complex LEGO sets together and has put together 14 electronics kits and one small custom-built mobile robot that senses light and impacts. I don't think she will be intimidated by any Tamiya kit, but would still have fun knowing it's her first, fast RC. I am looking at a pretty wide range of their 2WD and 4WD drive buggies. Willing to spend $120-$220 U.S., for car alone. Wondering if you folks can help a brother out in narrowing down my list.

Sand Viper
The Frog
Boomerang '08
BigWig '17
Racing Fighter DT-03
Top Force '17 (mid-June)
Super Fighter DT-02
Aero Avante DF-02
Neo Scorcher TT-02B
Novafox
Neo Fighter DT-03
Dual Ridge TT-02B
Plasma Edge II TT-02B

Most all of these are under $220 U.S., new. Looks like Tamiya has greatly expanded their offerings over the years. To the point that some of these units looks like little more than duplicates with different bodies or bearing and shock upgrade kits.

Indulge me for a moment (it HAS been 30 years), but I think 4WD would be the most interesting with a little more complexity, and not much more $$$. The Top Force looks really good. The BigWig is a classic. Neo Scorcher and Dark Impact and Dual Ridge, also nice for a lower price. Interestingly, the Top Force and BigWig seem to include ball bearings, while all others appear to include bushings only. The Top Force claims to have a fiberglass chassis, whereas it seems the BigWig just has a plastic ABS chassis. I am very annoyed that the Top Force is apparently not being re-released until June.

If I went with a 2WD, the Racing Fighter or Neo Fighter are nice. My only interest in 2WD is the savings of maybe $50-75 U.S. over a 4WD unit. Maybe they are a little faster (but being a first time RC, faster may not be needed).

What do you guys think? Thanks, in advance.

hello and welcome on board. I think that you know the top force. It is a really multi purpose chassis. My facourite... And if you can wait a little you are going with a nice upgraded chassis. The TA01. And you can hopup it more with a one way, better motor and aqs....
If your daughter want to change for an on road, this chassis is able to be modified for a cheap price.
And you can find the rere blackfoot or monster beetle

Hi Ken, and welcome to TamiyaBase!
You have a good list to pick from there, and my input would be based on my knowledge on the vintage models, and their more recent reissues.
For 2WD bashing nostalgia, I would choose the Frog. You get both worlds, blast from the past and reasonable durability, although the front end of the Frog has some weak points.

For 4WD I think the Bigwig is too heavy, so I would have chosen the excellent Top Force. It's light, durable and good looking. The Top Force was re-released in 2005, and will be released again this June, sop you might find some available now.
I can't comment on the DT or TT chassis, as they are way to new for me

For newcomers to RC you should keep the speed down, so don't go for a hop-up motor just yet. Gear it as slow as you can and focus on teaching that the speedo has other settings than "off" and "full throttle"

Good luck with the choice, and keep us updated !

Like larbut for the 2WD. The frog is compact and not too fragile.

Thanks for the input, guys.

Regarding the Frog, I do remember that when I owned the Blackfoot, which has the same "space frame" chassis, the front end where it tapers was a weak spot. I remember seeing white spots in that area, indicating stress on the plastic. Do you know if anyone has a replacement chassis made out of better materials?

Back in the day, the first material to replace some of the suspension parts on the Blackfoot was a black reinforced nylon with metal screw inserts, which was very nice and much tougher than the ABS plastic.

If better materials aren't available for the frame, I might just wait for the Top Force re-release, since it has fiberglass chassis materials in box and ball bearings. I'm also amazed that the Frog is only $35 cheaper than a Top Force. At least at Tower Hobbies, anyway. The Frog doesn't seem like a great value, although certainly nostalgic.

You can find on multiple sites alloy spares for the frog or nylon vintage hopups. Like CRP or GPM. My frogs had front arms matters but they were hardly worn .
The top force is my favourite in your list because it is the one I better know and I am really fan of the TA01/02.
In your list, the frog and the top force are the best to begin in RC. Maybe you can look after a grasshopper or a hornet in 4X2 for your daughter. Several of us begun with them. Cheap, relatively durable cause of its front shocks post fragile. And like said Lars, the grashopper has a small 380motor ideal to begin and the hornet the classic 540 silvercan (faster and hopuped with rear oily shocks and a lexan body).

Welcome, Ken. From that list of choices - definitely the Top Force.

Hi and welcome.
For you from that list the Top Force, needs the least hop-ups.
Alloy motor mount, ball bearings, steel pinion and better tires should be about it.

For your little girl, have a look at the Mad Bull, the WR02 (wild willy) or GF01 models (dumptruck) and maybe even an WR/WT01.
With the bigger wheels the can go anywhere, add waterproof esc and receiver and you can even go under water.

OK guys, I looked into these cars last night, and after looking at some youtube vids and thinking, I decided not to wait for the Top Force re-release, and I thought the Frog was not a great value or performer. So, I decided to go with the Dark Impact, white edition. It's look nice and seems to have good handling. The Top Force was at the top of my list, but maybe I will save that for my OWN car, later on (hehehe ). I still have to get my younger daughter a car, too, in July, because you know sisters will be jealous if only one of them has something. The younger one is less experienced builder, so I will go 2WD for her.

Just ordered all the stuff from Tower Hobbies. I'll report back.

perfect buddy!