An RC Dilemma: The Pros and Cons of Kit or Ready-to-Run
After “nitro or electric,” one of the most common and passionate
subjects of debate in the RC community is whether to go with a kit car
or a ready-to-run (RTR) model. As is the case with most subjects
debated, there isn’t a right or wrong answer. Which direction you should
go depends on what you’re looking to get out of your RC hobby—and not
just whether or not you want to play with fast RC cars or beefy off-road 4x4s. It depends on your time priorities and temperament too.
Ready-to-Run
The primary “pro” of an RTR RC vehicle is in the name itself: it’s ready to go, minus some probable battery charging or fueling, right out of the box. You don’t have to spend 3-5 hours putting a vehicle together, gluing tires, painting a body, and doing everything else that building an RC model from a kit entails. It also likely comes with most (though not necessarily all) of the components you’ll need for continuing to run it.
Kit vehicles are often unpainted, though paint is not necessarily included. They sometimes lack the electronics to run, like a battery, a charger for that battery, or sometimes even a motor. There’s a good reason for that, but if you’re looking for some RC trucks 4x4 you can have flying over jumps and rooster-tailing dirt poste-haste, an RTR is the way to go.
But, as we’ll delve into more detail in the next section, there are some downsides to going with an RTR model. It will come with a battery and charger if applicable, but they, along with the other components included, may not be the ones optimized for the kind of RCing you hope to do. With an RTR vehicle, you get what you get. But it’s worth noting that building your own vehicle is a great educational opportunity and a wonderful way to better appreciate the machine you’ve just purchased.
Kit Cars (and Trucks)
Kit cars are said to run better, but that’s a little bit of a misnomer. You can get terrific quality kits or RTR models. The difference is that you can upgrade as you go when building a car from scratch, if you have the know-how or will to learn how to do so. The ability to build fast remote control cars and trucks that can handily deal with terrain that a less kitted-out model couldn’t tackle is one of the chief appeals of building a kit vehicle, and the RC world in general.
Along with the capacity to upgrade, building a kit model is incredibly valuable for getting to know your RC vehicle and becoming familiar with its construction. This can be helpful if you’re trying to troubleshoot issues later down the line and to assess your model’s upgrade potential. Plus, there’s something to be said for the satisfaction of building your own RC vehicle from the ground up, and the additional appreciation for it that doing so can compel.
The “downsides” of a kit vehicle (or what some personality types think of as the “bonuses”) have already been given some mention. Expect to be doing a good bit of reading from a manual and spending several hours, and potentially a lot of patience, building your kit vehicle. It’s also likely you’ll be buying a number of additional components on top of the kit, like paint, batteries, a charger, a motor or engine, etc. After which, you’ll likely spend another few hours painting, applying decals, and otherwise personalizing your new vehicle. If you’re that tactile, engineer-brain type who enjoys taking things apart and rebuilding them, then you’re going to be in heaven doing all of that for your kit vehicle. If not… go with an RTR. Either way, you’re bound to have a blast with your RC car or truck.
About Tower Hobbies®
For nearly 50 years, Tower Hobbies® has been one of the most trusted, respected, reliable, and friendly names in the hobby industry. With an enormous collection of RC trucks, cars, planes, helicopters, drones, and all of the accessories to keep them running and optimized, Tower Hobbies® is an RC enthusiast’s paradise. The stellar quality and variety of their stock is matched only by the friendliness and support of their staff. They are the realization of a neighborhood hobby store with an online selection.
To browse their RC vehicles and accessories, visit Towerhobbies.com
The primary “pro” of an RTR RC vehicle is in the name itself: it’s ready to go, minus some probable battery charging or fueling, right out of the box. You don’t have to spend 3-5 hours putting a vehicle together, gluing tires, painting a body, and doing everything else that building an RC model from a kit entails. It also likely comes with most (though not necessarily all) of the components you’ll need for continuing to run it.
Kit vehicles are often unpainted, though paint is not necessarily included. They sometimes lack the electronics to run, like a battery, a charger for that battery, or sometimes even a motor. There’s a good reason for that, but if you’re looking for some RC trucks 4x4 you can have flying over jumps and rooster-tailing dirt poste-haste, an RTR is the way to go.
But, as we’ll delve into more detail in the next section, there are some downsides to going with an RTR model. It will come with a battery and charger if applicable, but they, along with the other components included, may not be the ones optimized for the kind of RCing you hope to do. With an RTR vehicle, you get what you get. But it’s worth noting that building your own vehicle is a great educational opportunity and a wonderful way to better appreciate the machine you’ve just purchased.
Kit Cars (and Trucks)
Kit cars are said to run better, but that’s a little bit of a misnomer. You can get terrific quality kits or RTR models. The difference is that you can upgrade as you go when building a car from scratch, if you have the know-how or will to learn how to do so. The ability to build fast remote control cars and trucks that can handily deal with terrain that a less kitted-out model couldn’t tackle is one of the chief appeals of building a kit vehicle, and the RC world in general.
Along with the capacity to upgrade, building a kit model is incredibly valuable for getting to know your RC vehicle and becoming familiar with its construction. This can be helpful if you’re trying to troubleshoot issues later down the line and to assess your model’s upgrade potential. Plus, there’s something to be said for the satisfaction of building your own RC vehicle from the ground up, and the additional appreciation for it that doing so can compel.
The “downsides” of a kit vehicle (or what some personality types think of as the “bonuses”) have already been given some mention. Expect to be doing a good bit of reading from a manual and spending several hours, and potentially a lot of patience, building your kit vehicle. It’s also likely you’ll be buying a number of additional components on top of the kit, like paint, batteries, a charger, a motor or engine, etc. After which, you’ll likely spend another few hours painting, applying decals, and otherwise personalizing your new vehicle. If you’re that tactile, engineer-brain type who enjoys taking things apart and rebuilding them, then you’re going to be in heaven doing all of that for your kit vehicle. If not… go with an RTR. Either way, you’re bound to have a blast with your RC car or truck.
About Tower Hobbies®
For nearly 50 years, Tower Hobbies® has been one of the most trusted, respected, reliable, and friendly names in the hobby industry. With an enormous collection of RC trucks, cars, planes, helicopters, drones, and all of the accessories to keep them running and optimized, Tower Hobbies® is an RC enthusiast’s paradise. The stellar quality and variety of their stock is matched only by the friendliness and support of their staff. They are the realization of a neighborhood hobby store with an online selection.
To browse their RC vehicles and accessories, visit Towerhobbies.com
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