Waleed's Australian RC Car page

Update!!

And if you're interested at looking of photos of my family's RC cars, why not have a look?.

Thanks for reading. I've left the page here as it was for hysterical raisins. On with the (old) show ...

Welcome to my RC page. When I got into RC cars, I discovered that there were lots of pages with links to sites, but no help or guidance as far as what the sites were, what people's perceptions were, adn the general scheme of things. I went on a long journey trying to get to know the area. These are just one person's experience, but hopefully you can contribute and help me make this a better page. If you have any experiences you would like to add, advice or experiences, please e-mail me at: waleed@cse.unsw.edu.au. I appreciate any contributions. Right now, it's in a simple format, kind of deliberately, because I don't know how it will grow and develop. As things change, I'll probably change the structure.

Quick Links

News, bargains, stuff

• Dec 24, 2001: More updates on Queensland shops, courtesy of a very informative e-mail from Jason Spall! Also, moved bargains to their own section.
• Dec 20, 2001: Lots of updates. Corrected Kellett's URL. Added info on Wings'n'Things, RAB hobbies and Metro hobbies.
• Nov 21, 2001: Added link to the Castlemaine RC club to the tracks section.
• May 21, 2001: Began adding to the RC glossary page.
• May 19, 2001: Started this Web page.

Bargains

• Dec 24: Hobbyrama is selling Thunder Tiger Sedan (I assume this is the TS4n) for $349! Cheapest I've seen it elsewhere is about $400, but I may be wrong. I hear the TS4N is a great car, but that the manual is pretty horrible. Last time I visited the NSWRCRCC, almost everyone was running either Neos or TS4Ns, 'cept for the more affluent guys.

• Dec 20: A great bargain at RadioModels! How does $40.75 for a tuned pipe, header and coupler sound? Search for product: EAG255281. I ordered this and installed in on my Great Vigor ... it fits almost perfectly: the only problem is it's flush with the fuel tank. NOTE: this header is for cars that have the motor mounted on the right hand side. This includes the 4WD GV cars (you know, all those 4WD Commodores and Falcons). Even if you can't use this header, you can still pick up the tuned pipe and header for $27.65 - product code is EAG255272. And it's invertible: it can be arranged for left-engine or right-engine vehicles. The only pipe that's close to it in price is the HPI composite nylon pipe -- and the one above is metal and bright red. Seems to be shaped more to increase top speed than torque, only a small belly.

Shops

Shops with good online ordering facilities

• Radio Model Supplies: Probably Australia's cheapest hobby shop -- especially on HPI and Tamiya -- rather expensive on Kyosho. Reasonable service, nice people. In Perth, WA, but does good quality mail order. Can be a bit hard to find the piece you want on the Web site using the search engine, but the hierarchical approach that lets you see all the items in a category works really well. But it's usually worth it. They also have some stuff (usually cheapo brands) that you can't find elsewhere -- like Eureka Pro. Lots of pictures. Example of prices: HPI Nitro MT Kit (HPI 551) for $565, Tamiya TG10 Impreza (T44024) $390, Kyosho Readyset Impreza EP4 (KYO30941R) $450.

• Frontline Hobbies: in Newcastle, NSW. Not very cheap, but according to some reports, really good service. Example prices: HPI Nitro MT Kit: $680 (ouch!), Tamiya TG10 Impreza $400, Kyosho Readyset Impreza EP4 $370 (significantly cheaper than RMS). Search engine is not too good -- no categories.

• Wings Direct: is the online ordering web site of Wings'n'Things: Still very new, few pictures, not so great prices. Example prices: HPI Nitro MT Kit: $605, Tamiya TG10 Impreza: $490, Kyosho Readyset Impreza EP4: $450.

• HobbyOne: in Brisbane, Queensland. Don't know much about this shop. Example prices: HPI Nitro MT Kit: N/A, Tamiya TG10 Impreza $400, Kyosho Readyset Impreza EP4: $370. According to Jason Spall (thanks!), they have a large store and a wide variety of products, but they can sometimes give questionable advice. He says they don't have that many spares either.

Real shops without or with limited online ordering

New South Wales

• Wings'n'Things: I've visited two of their stores: one in Kingsford and one in Gladesville. The Gladesville shop is gigantic! Seriously, their RC car wall must have had more than 20 (different) cars on it. And they have about 8 walls of spares -- the walls are mounted vertically behind the counter. Plus they have some pretty unique models (radio controlled nitro go-kart with driver, anyone?). In terms of range, advice and helpfulness, wings'n'things rule. The people there are really nice. There's only one problem: price. Their prices are very high. I've found their prices are usually 15-20 per cent higher than anyone else's. Examples: Take the Kyosho V-One R. Radiomodels has it on special for $589. Wings'n'things has it on special (!) it for $768. That's almost a $200 difference. Or a Tamiya TGX 1/8 scale Merc: RMS - $540, WnT: $665. Or Kyosho Mini-Z's: I've seen them at Berg's hobbies for $250, WnT sell them for $300.

• Hobbyco: Shop in Sydney City. Have visited this shop. It's quite expensive, but they have a good range and apparently reasonable service. Example prices: HPI Nitro MT Kit: N/A, Tamiya TG10 Impreza: $480, Kyosho Readyset Impreza EP4: $435.

• Kellett's Hobbies: Shop in Liverpool, Sydney. They have alright prices, but service is a bit intermittent. Sometimes I've gone there and the staff have been really helpful, sometimes they've just been nasty. The Web page is actually pretty silly -- occupies your whole screen and just "coming soon" signs that have been up for six months.

• Berg's Hobbies: A shop in Parramatta, Sydney.

• Adrenalin Model Motorsports: Seems to be a mail order business specialising in Mugen and Novarossi. Last time I checked, website was down

• Custom Model Cars have a shop and a very new track, in Penshurst Sydney. They specialise in Serpent, Losi, Hudy, Trinity, Novarossi and Ko propo.

• Dei Rossi Hobbies in Campbelltown. The Web page is pretty crappy right now, but I'm curious about Dei Rossi. Heard some rumours that they're good.

Victoria

• Phantom Model Motor Sports are in Melbourne. Seems a bit pricey.

• RAB hobbies in Melbourne. Seem to specialise in Thunder Tiger. And why not? The TS4N is probably the best value touring car available.

• Metro hobbies also in Melbourne. Reasonable prices.

Queensland

• Budget Hobbies: a shop in Brisbane, QLD. Jason Spall reports that though the shop is small they do orders (and actually fill them) and give good advice.

• HobbyRama: Jason Spall reports reasonable prices, and great advice from active racers. Pirces seem pretty good to me!

Western Australia

• Stanbridge's: are in Mount Lawley, Perth.

Importers/Distributors/Wholesalers

• Model Engines: These are the people behind those Commodore and Falcon gas cars made by Great Vigor. Not the best quality stuff, in my humble opinion (I have a GV Super Cobra buggy and I have been less than pleased, especially with the documentation). But they do distribute the OS engines, which are good quality; not to mention Hitec radios and more. They also have a chat page which is kind of an Australian hangout.

• DSI International: are the importers of the Neo racing cars. Note that though they have quite high prices on their Web site, you can get Neos for significantly less than this. They're a distributor, remember.

• Hobby Headquarters: Don't know much about them. Web page is pretty dead. Their "What's new" section hasn't been updated since 1999.

• Bolt-on: Importers of HPI, LRP, Novak and a couple of other brands. HPI stocks in Australia have been having severe problems, so I don't know what's up with the supplier.

• Hobby Express Importers: These guys are responsible for importing a lot of the high-end stuff, like Novak ESC's, Proline types, Bolink cars, etc etc. They also do a few of the cheap brands like Fantom and Eagle.

Tracks & Clubs

New South Wales/ACT

• Castle Hill Off-Road Racing Club: is a club in Sydney, NSW with a beautiful track. Off-road, both electric and nitro.

• North side racing: These guys run on-road electric 1/10 scale cars on netball courts.

• NSW Radio Controlled Racing Club: This is a really nice, high-quality on-road track. Mostly nitro (I've never seen electrics there), including 1/8 and 1/10. They have excellent facilities, including a really high stand, power, and air. They be hosting the world championships in 2001.

Victoria

• Castlemaine RC Club: In Castlemaine, Victoria, midway between Melbourne and Bendigo. They race both electric and nitro.

Community Web sites

• HobbyNet, and in particular, the RC Cars: section.

• Daz's RC Clubs page.

Places to buy secondhand RC cars

Given that warning, here are some places online in Oz that you can find secondhand RC cars:

• Trading Post: You can find quite a few RC cars in the "Radio Control" section. It's listed under the "Sports and Leisure" section.

• Sold: Online auction site. They have their RC section listed under toys. GRRRR!!

• Stuff: An online auction/classfieds site. They have an RC section also listed under toys.

• Ebay Australia: A very popular auction site ... not so much stuff available for Australians though. You can also jump straight to the RC section. Have been hanging out there a while -- and it's not great from a buyer's perspective. Items sometimes sell for pretty high prices. Example: recently a used GWS failsafe was sold there for $43. You can order it new from Radiomodels for $58. Is a $15 saving really worth it?

International RC Web sites

• Tower Hobbies: One of the biggest online RC shops.

• About: One of the top community sites. Includes articles, reviews and fora.

• WildHobbies: These guys are verging on the insane. Putting 8 cells in an HPI Micro RS4 that normally takes 4? And then putting in a brushless motor with no brakes? What about a .21 in an HPI Nitro Rush (for those not in the know, this is roughly equivalent to putting a V12 in a VW).

• RC Central: Lee Cao's Web page. Lots of well-written articles.

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