Most family cars and trucks may still run on fossil fuels, but electric rules the RC roadway. All toy-grade RCs run on batteries and many on-road and off-road hobby RCs burn up the track with an electric motor and a battery pack. Learn all about buying, running, and maintaining electric radio controlled vehicles.
The market for radio controlled toys these days is huge. But before you go out and buy a toy RC car or truck for the “underage” driver in your home, make sure that it’s one they can handle and will also hold their attention.
Some people may think of moving up from RC toys to hobby-grade RCs as a chance to step up to the speed and power of nitro. But there's plenty of speed and power in a hobby-grade electric. They may run on batteries just like toy RCs, but most of the similarities end there.
Most toy-grade RCs are electric. But the range of hobby-grade electric RCs is huge.
Toy-grade RCs generally cost less, are less complicated and are often designed with kids in mind. Assembly is rarely required and maintenance requirements are minimal. Until you know your child is definitely interested in radio controlled vehicles, basic electric RC toys are the wise choice.
Produced and distributed by RadioShack, XMODS RC Cars are 1:28th scale electric radio controlled cars.
Out of all the indoor helicopters I've seen, for the price the Air Rage Blade Runner II is the most impressive by far. It is easy-to-control even in a living room full of obstacles. This is a toy that kids and adults can enjoy together.
For a toy-grade vehicle, the 1:6 Scale RC International CXT is a pretty good buy. Simple enough for children ages 7 and up to operate, it's still a step or two above the basic toy truck.
Modeled after British torpedo ships in the latter half of the 20th century, the HT-2877 Electric Toy RC Warship is ready to amaze you with its agility and detail right out of the box.
The F-14 Tomcat Super Fighter is a rear-facing twin prop plane that looks good, and flys alright for a toy grade RC — but not for long. Manueverability and durability are not its strengths.
The Stampede, one of the many off-road RC trucks from Traxxas, is an electric RC monster truck that lives up to the Traxxas reputation for quality.
The Twin Peak Dual Peak Charger, with the ability to charge two batteries at once, cuts the waiting time until I can play with my RC cars to practically nothing after the packs are ready.
RC-Model-Airplanes.com provides an overview of types of electric RC planes, pros and cons, and how to fly. Click through to highlighted terms to dig deeper into electric motors, park flyers, slope flyers, and learning to fly.
RCCartips.com describes the basics of buying electric RCs. Article covers accessories, types of electric RCs, and a few reviews too.
RC Car Talk has advice on what to look for when purchasing an electric RC.
