This is my first lipo car, so the charger is new to me. It has 2 slots and therefore is calable of 2 or 3s charging. The whole kit comes with a lipo bag (as per the discription)

It does feel a little on the cheap plastic side. I'm sure its fit for purpose but you wouldn't pay more than a tenner for it. I think as a first dip in the water there's not much to lose, so I'm probably going to go that way. Can't really see why not to get the lad what he wants and it's not a massive investment if he loses interest. Also consider the FTX Carnage Truggy which has a slightly different body ann chassis design but shares many of its components. We compared it and its brushed brethren in an earlier article. Etronix provide crystal free 2.4GHz control with the EX2 Sport radio. In addition the Etronix Photon sensorless brushless waterproof system is installed to provide some low maintenance, high performance speed and power. Etronix provide crystal free 2.4ghz control. In addition the Etronix Photon 2.1 waterproof sensorless brushless system is installed to provide some low maintenance, high performance speed and power.

Features

I cant say its a bad buggy, its definately feisty and responsive but I havent had a positive experience, and I dont use it anymore because I know something will break lol. Etronix provide crystal free 2.4ghz radio control. In addition the Etronix Photon sensorless brushless system is installed to provide some low maintenance, high performance speed and power. Oh and if you want a kit then there is one standout choice right now - the ECX AMP MT. Calling it a kit is a bit unfair as kits tend to come without things like a radio or battery. The AMP is more like an RTR someone forgot to actually assemble - it even comes with tools! Standard brushless motor is pretty good imho but you will need a heatsink for 3S (easy cheap addition). ESC is junk so go for a Hobbywing Quicrun WP-10BL60 BL or a EZrun Max10 SCT if you can get it to fit. In addition if you want to tune and upgrade your Vantage, FTX provide a wide range of carbon and aluminium upgrades that will bring your ride up to a whole new pro level. Features

Everything on the buggy is scaled down, from the small 1100mAh battery that feeds the all-in-one ESC/receiver/servo unit and subsequently the tiny brushed 370-sized motor. Its shaft driven system is hooked up to metal-geared differentials front and rear, powering all four tyres. They aren't strong models, can break easily when bashed about but for the money and affordability of spares you can't grumble, don't forget also the Vantage is a buggy, it has agility in mind, not strength and the Carnage is based off this design too. As of the latest revision of this article, we feel it is a toss-up between Arrma RC’s Typhon Mega (this thing is huge, over half a meter long) and FTX’s Outlaw Ultra-4 brushless buggy. The former offers a frankly massive buggy for the money, whilst the later (which is arguably less of a buggy with its mid mounted motor) offers the best balance between performance/strength/flexibility. Where can I buy an RC buggy? We really like the detail that BSD have put into the body, you can easily strip the lexan body parts off to expose the tubular-style frame. The faux headlights and rear wing are also removable for a mad-max style bare-frame racer. The included transmitter is small enough for teenagers or older children and the performance of the buggy itself is suitable for that age range. Also, theres lots of mention of 'Chinese tat' without a single explanation to qualify their opinion. It would be good to know what makes them so much more inferior, other than the fact that they are cheap and made in China.

As with other Traxxas models, you can expect high quality throughout, right down to the radio. Unlike many of the models here, Traxxas bundle a nice ergonomic TQi ‘Top qualifier’ transmitter which offers fantastic range, control and comfort. The VXL brushless ESC will take a 3S Lipo punching the little buggy over 45mph. With the right pinion and spur, Traxxas claim this thing can hit 70mph! As such we are glad for that wheelie bar. You can buy the Traxxas Bandit VXL brushless buggy on our webstore, it comes with nearly everything you need to charge and drive it, just remember to buy 4xAA batteries. My son has had would could be an almost good idea... Seeing the amount of spares around for this buggy, does that mean EVERY part is available to buy separately ?

I could go round in circles for hours with this I suppose, I need to just buy the thing and stop trying to run before I can walk. I think with a good heatsink on the motor you will just about get away with 16/47 on 3S, but I'm not entirely sure if the std 2950Kv motor will pull it at a decent efficiency and you are really gonna need to keep an eye on those temps. That should be good for 60+ mph if you are gentle with the punch. After that you are probably into upgrading the 2950KV motor to something with more grunt and putting hardened steel diffs in if you want to go around any corners. Gets a bit more expensive and complicated at that point. I've just seen the Vandal on hobby king, it seems to be about the same price as the Vantage, but without a battery so there doesn't seem to be anything to be gained really. Thanks for the top tips (especially the balloon - so much to learn), it's all good to hear - We're definitely going for the brushed Vantage and putting a toolkit/spares box together with some of the remaining budget. I think it will be a great first dip into it and breaking and fixing will be half of the fun (for me at least). Get ready for some serious off road buggy action with the waterproof Brushless Edition FTX Vantage. Taking RTR styling to a competition level, the Vantage brushless boasts some amazing features for the ultimate ‘Ready-to-Run' experience.

FUEL & PLUGS

Thesame 4wd shaft drivetrain features metal diff gears and front universal driveshafts, while an integrated slipper helps protect the drive from possible damage. Or... Would we be better off with something else entirely, building from scratch and learning the hard way - in which case...erm, help.

I suppose I could always just buy another Vantage and completely disassemble it and rebuild, use it to learn on - I suppose that wouldn't allow for upgrading though. Cost isn't really a consideration, but I could maybe get two of the cheaper one and we could have double the fun, and if the upgrade paths are there and readily available then we could tinker and end up with two awesome cars anyway - tinker with one at a time so we always have a runner if we are struggling with the mechanical side of things. Overall the Flux Storm V2 offers unrivaled value for money. If you are looking to go fast for little-to-no-money, look no further. You can buy the BSD Racing Flux Storm on our webstore today (again with free courier delivery) or see it an action in our review article earlier this year. Instead of using a NiMh battery, FTX decided to include a Voltz hardcase LiPo battery to get the very best from the Photon system, but with safety Etronix provide crystal free 2.4ghz radio control. In addition the Etronix Photon senseless brushless system is installed to provide some low maintenance, high performance speed and power.The Vantage was FTX’s first move into Ready-To-Run RC models and has continued to be one of the most popular in the range ever since. The problem you have is a ton of unknown factors such as rolling resistance, aerodynamics (which become quite dominant at high speeds), drivertrain losses etc. It's pretty hard to determine what gearing you need to get each of those motors to the 60% max rotational speed sweet spot. As a general recommendation on here you will find people favouring a lower Kv motor (i.e higher torque) to give the most gearing flexibility. So, if the Vantage is fragile, is it possible to upgrade it with better parts as I go and eliminate those problems bit by bit? or are the new bits gonna break too ?