my first hobby grade rc was a Kyosho Rocky. got it used at the LHS. It came with a airtronics boat remote, big bulky thing with a steering wheel on the front and a small lever on the side for throttle
Mine was not a hobby grade but it was my first when I was a kid. It was a Tyco Rebound. I wish I still had this thing!
The first hobby grade was a 1/10 scale nitro buggy when I was 14. Got it off a buddy brand new. He had no idea how to use it and neither did I. I don't remember what it was and I don't have it anymore since I put it into the side of my parents house at pretty much WOT. No failsafe, I figured that one out years later. It looked a ot like those cheap 1/10 scale 4x4 buggies that sell on eBay or by NitroRCX by Exceed RC.
air powered car (it had a pump and an air tank which pushed a piston like a steam train).
I had that one too.
That's where I understand how fuel ( air in this case) make power that's deliver to the wheels.
It was all in a clear plastic exept the air tank!
I had an air powered one too. It was an air jammer bug scrammer, the little vw. I actually picked a mint one up on ebay for my boy a year or so ago.
My first decent one I remember was a tyco baja bandit. My brother and I both had them, and kept stripping the gears out. Dad finally got fed up with taking them back to walmart weekly, and got me my first hobby grade, a futaba fx10.
i had that same car! it was my 2nd one. my first one was a tyco tantrum? the front wheels spun on a solid axle. (think of the front axle/tires as a really slow propeller)
i had those when i was 4 or 5 and they were my favorite toys at the time. i remember anxiously waiting for those little 6v batteries to charge.
haha i had one of those
and by about 8 years old i had 3 or 4 sets of recharging batteries/chargers so i constantly had them all plugged up charging
my first "real" rc car was a DTX evader though. and i had it for so many years i burned out 2 or 3 motors with stock everything and a $15 DTX shark 1500mah battery haha
mine was the midnight pumpkin...poor truck, I severely abused it
1. MBX-6 T8 1900KV, RX8 ON 4S
2. MBX-5T 1520, MMM ON 5S
3. MBX-5 ONROAD CONVERSION 1515, MMM ON 5S
4. MRX-3 ON ROAD CONVERSION 1512, MMM ON 6S
5. TEN T 2650 T8, MMP ON 3S
First wireless one was a Tyco Turbo Hopper back the 80s. My bro and I used to drive them all over the driveway and street in front of our house. Had a bunch of tycos, including a hovercraft at one point. Even went on water.
1st hobby grade was a Tamiya Falcon. It was like the Grasshopper and Frog, but not as popular (and thus couldn't find parts...) Thought that thing was sooooo fast lol. Crappy 1200mah nicads on a 15min fast charger. Had to have about 4 batts if you wanted to drive it non-stop.
Still have the thing.
I also remember wanting the Tyco hovercraft SOOOOOOO bad when I was a kid, along with the bandit, but I could never afford them. Man, commercial brings back so many memories.