If you aren't familiar with The Toy House, it's definitely a cool toy store to go to. They claim that they are the largest independent toy store in the country, and they have a great selection of toys that you wouldn't really find at many other stores.
I had been in there a while ago and remembered seeing a couple of RC cars, but didn't really look at them. When I went in they did have some...but they were by a brand that I had never heard of. Something called "ElectrixRC."
I liked the look of one of the trucks a lot, but I wasn't sure about them so I headed home to do some research on the brand.
Turns out, a company called Horizon Hobby had decided that they wanted "to change the RC electric world" in the same way that they had changed the RC helicopter world. See, a few years back Horizon Hobby introduced a line of RC helicopters called "Blade Helis" that came in at price points unheard of but also offered great performance and quality. Basically, they changed the world of helicopters by coming out with a good product at an unheard of price. Well, they wanted to do that with cars as well.
They teamed with Losi, a longtime RC manufacturer and released this new brand, ElectrixRC.
I started finding reviews, and basically every one of them said the same thing: For the money, you simply can't find a better beginner RC truck.
What kind of money, you ask?? $120. That's $80 less than the Redcat I was looking at, and about $100 less than the Traxxas that I was looking at.
The best part?? EVERY part on the vehicle is upgradeable with parts from other cars. Basically, if you break something there is a replacement part from another big name company that will fit. Many Traxxas parts fit, HPI stuff fits, Team Associated fits, and Losi fits.
But apparently, breaking parts isn't in the trucks vocabulary. I couldn't find a single example from anyone that had actually managed to damage something unless it was their fault...like driving the truck into a wall.
So it had everything I was looking for...durability, low initial cost, upgradeability. I figured what I would do is scoop one up, and if I really enjoy this then this fall I can buy something a bit more expensive...or go all out modifying this one.
Tonight I got a chance to take it for a quick drive...and it's definitely awesome!! It's much faster than I thought it would be, and it controls so much better than all of the toy RC trucks I've had.
Best part is that The Toy House can get replacement parts for anything I break, and I already found a thread on a message board that details replacement parts from other cars that will work.
Overall, I think it was a pretty good purchase. The price was right, and this way if I don't end up enjoying it as much as I thought I would, I'm not out several hundred dollars. It also gives me a chance to tinker with stuff...which is one of my favorite things to do. I've already got a few things lined up that I want to get to upgrade it!!!!
Here's a picture of the one I got. I liked the white body better, but the red was all they had in stock. It's alright, though, it looks cool regardless.
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