[Marvin]

Just found that XB-E (had to go onto the US site to find it...). Problem is that the buggy can be bought in the UK for £420 new, and even at UK RRPs, the XL2 combo is ~£380 from the US, and I won't use the batteries with it. Even so $1100 isn't bad, but I'd hate to think what the shipping will be (probably +£100 at least) and then import tax (20% + ~£15 on top of that). Total would be about £687 + £100 + (£787*0.2) + £15 = £959.40 as opposed to a UK XBE and a US XL2 which would be ~ £800-850. And that's with Castle's 2028 instead of a Leopard.

My other option is to go for an MCD RaceRunner or one of the new FG Short Course trucks. Both are a bit more than the XBE, but neither will need parts changing, and they both have clear bodyshells. In the UK, the distributor for both FG and MCD is really good, so an MCD V4 rolling chassis starts at £530, and a complete RTR petrol FG is well under £1000. I may well start with an engine and then go brushless when the big stuff is a little more widespread and reliable. Run times also bother me a bit.