I bought one this morning, had them in the LHS and for £69.99 I weren't gonna pass it up. I got the buggy one. First impressions? It's very small, then, F*ck me this thing's fast. It may well be the fastest RTR mini out of the box (had an 18t both X-ray and AE, mini-t and both the mlsts), dunno what the rebadged base kit is but it really, seriously hauls. I ran it straight out of the box before I put it on charge and was moderatly impressed, was about as quick as my 18t was. I stuck the battery on charge and sat down with the manual, got to the end and the magic words appeared...
'on the top of the esc, there is a switch that can be moved between 'S' or sport mode and 'R' or race mode'
It turns out that the esc can run normal, with forwards, brake and reverse or with just forwards and brake, allowing it to really push the motor without overheating. Pulling the trigger in 'R' mode on carpet causes the buggy to simply flip over backwards under power, i know of no other RTR brushed mini that does this on the stock cells. Outside there is more than enough power to drift on tarmac, and decent enough ground clearence to make it over rough terrain.
Stock gear is good, FM 27mhz radio, low turn brushed ESC with that evil 'R' mode and 8.4 volt rating for when you want to perform back flips, standard 7.2v 1100mah nimh pack with usual wall charger, stock motor is very strong and is a 370 size can, stock servo is good and quick but is let down by the slop in the servo saver and steering assembly and the resultant wide turning circle is the cars only real weak point. I dare say you could solve that with a bit of time and maybe frankensteining something up from other minis or maybe if they release an alloy setup that would cure it too. It doesn't really affect the tracking of the car or it's ability to change direction, but if you are in 'R' mode with no reverse you do tend to find yourself running around pulling the car out of hedges you wouldn't have been in if it weren't for the turning circle. Suspension is plush with decent travel oil shocks and the drivetrain is free, featuring ball bearings and ball diffs. The links are standard fixed length plastic jobbies that flex nicely to absorb impacts, but not so much they mess up the geometry, much like the AE 18T. My only other gripe with the car is the positioning of the electronics, obviously the motor and battery have to go where they are, but the esc and receiver are just chav mounted with zipties to the upper deck. This is despite there is more than enough room for one of the units on the lower deck behind the servo, lowering the center of gravity (not that it rolls anyway) and making the whole thing a bit tidier, so that will be my first mod I think.
To be quite frank, at £70 there is no excuse not to have one of these things. I also had a look at the Strada 1/10th range whilst I was there and for £100 they are a steal, particularly the MT which comes with a nice body and 8 shocks. The stadium truck version of this buggy is the same but has wider wheels and tires and a big body and also looks the biz. I've never had a 1/18th buggy before so that was why I plumped for it! Undoubtedley the best value mini around at the mo.
Size comparison with MLST mctrickybling
