Looking to start 1/18 project

Last year i finished my E-revo (G2R, neu, Quark) and now I´m thinking to start a little 1/18 project. I´m thinking one of these

Team Losi Mini LST 2, Xray m18t or Associated RC18MT (T)

Has anyone experiences with one of those. That they will tell about.

I wan´t to make it brushless and upgrade it to become at little beast

Regards

[dadgummit]

You should check out www.Beatyourtruck.com They have pages of complete builds of a brushless RC18t and dual brushless Mini LST.

[rschoi_75]

one18th.com is a great place as well. They have seperate forums for each vehicle.

I would personnally suggest either the Xray M18T/MT or the Vendetta ST. I own quite a few mini's (see my sig) and those two are my favorites. I never liked the MLST because its riddled with drivetrain problems. You'll be spending big bucks to get that POS brushless ready.

[BL-Power]

You should also have a look at the Lynx Truggy: http://www.team-lynx.com/Shop/index.php

It is BL-ready in the stock version and nearly undestroyable with the available Option Parts.

[skellyo]

I'll toss in a recommendation to look at the Duratrax Mini Quake SE. It's a tough little truck with a few minor upgrades.

[rschoi_75]

Yeah, MQ SE's rock. Mine is three years old and still bashes with the best of them. The new XTM rage should also be good. Its based on the MQ chassis and has a lot of needed upgrades like adjustable upper arms, cvd's standard, ball diffs standard, stronger knuckles, etc... It will be like an upgrades SE version. They are due out in Feb 08 I believe.

Here are pics of my old and trusty MQ SE.

[BP-Revo]

I happen to be selling my 18T, check it out:

http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8034

[tashpop]

hey, i happen to be selling my mini quake se on ebay no reserve, and already brushless. pm if you want the link.

[GorillaMaxx360]

rschoi_75
which do you like better the BG4 or the vendetta st which one handles better, what are the negatives of the vendetta.

[squeeforever]

Why hasn't anybody said anything about the Kyosho minis? That would be my choice...

[rschoi_75]

oooooo..... tough to say. They are very different platforms. I personally like my BG4 better because its a rare kit, and just turns more heads. Of course this has nothing to do with actual performance.

The BG4 is actually more like a 1/14th scale in size, so its much more stable than any 1/18th. The wheel base is extendend over an inch vs the regular m18T kit. It feels more planted on rough tracks, over jumps, etc... but the turning radius has increased accordingly.

I prefer the handling on the xray mini's, but both the M18T and Vendetta are very solid in that department. The M18T bellcrank unit is simple, tight, and responsive. There is no slop from the get go. The detta needs a servo brace to cut out the slop (they mounted the servo with just 2-sided tape... can you believe that???).

A little background info on the Detta:
Anderson Racing in Taiwan is the OEM company which sells the MQ/MRX-4 and Vendetta/MB4 around the world under different brands. So if you have an FTX blaze (U.K.), LRP Shark (Europe), Yokomo MB4 (Japan), its all the same as the Detta in the USA.


Downsides of the detta:
- 48 metric (.6 mod) pitch on the pinion/spur gears. Unique to mini's.
- 2.3mm bore pinions on stock motor. (Not a big problem, you can always buy a 3.2mm 400 size motor and use RRP 48p metric pinions).
- Most LHS do not stock duratrax spares... at least not by me.
- Less aftermarket support vs Losi or AE.
- Stock outdrives and universals are weak. The steel cvd set includes outdrives, so that's good.
- Stock electronics are god awful. They should go straight to ebay for the next unlucky schmuck... lol... that's mean I know, but someone's trash may be another's treasure...


Now, don't let this deter you from giving the Vendetta ST a shot. Its a great mini, and is equally capable as a race platform or a basher.

[rschoi_75]

Originally Posted by squeeforever

Why hasn't anybody said anything about the Kyosho minis? That would be my choice...

KMI's rock too. but my track won't let me run with the other 1/18th's so I sold it off for a vendetta. As a basher, the KMI ST would be one of the best. The major weak point is the center slipper. Upgrade that, toss in some MI-09 steel diffs, and get some cvd's and the KMI is all set to rock. Oh and the rtr electronics need to go too, but I'm sure no one here ever uses their stock crap.

Ok, I figure I'd share some Mini pics with you guys. Even though this is RC-MONSTER...

First two are my Vendetta buggy. I just got the FTX pbs front end conversion for it, so it looks like the ST front end, but it keeps the narrow buggy stance.

The 2nd two are of my Mini-T BG2 conversion.

[rschoi_75]

More...

Pic 1: MLST w/ CAW ext chassis, Monotuning ext arms.... Honestly, I hated this truck. It looks cool, but that's about it...

pic 2-3: M18T buggy conversion

pic 4: Vendetta trash can truggy... cause it looks like it belongs in a trash can.

[rschoi_75]

Ok, last set.... I swear.

Pics 1-2: RC18T shelf queen,

Pics 3-4: dual mamba m18t bg4 experiment. Not practical in any way, shape, or form.... but it sure does move in a hurry.

[t-maxxracer32]

just throwin this out there.

mlst are crap.
do not waste your money on them.

id reccomend the mini quake se or the detta st