Maisto Raptor Ready-To-Run R/C Rock Crawler, $11.98 @ Amazon
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Okay. I don’t really know why this price is so low, but I can’t keep it to myself. First off, the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Maisto-Crawler-Raptor-Colors-Vehicle/dp/B06XJVQGGM?tag=phtwllt-20According to CamelCamelCamel, the last price is $62.41 - http://camelcamelcamel.com/Maisto-Crawler-Raptor-Colors-Vehicle/product/B06XJVQGGM, but that seems a little off to me. Here are links to three similar, if not precisely identical Maisto Rock Crawlers based on the Ford F-150:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y53XH9O/?tag=phtwllt-20
https://www.amazon.com/Maisto-Crawler-Remote-Control-Monster/dp/B009XV1OUC?tag=phtwllt-20Sometimes, these or other similar Maisto units do dip under the $20 mark on Amazon, and I’ve seen them for even less in Warehouse Deals. But I’ve never seen brand new ones, suitable for gift-giving, quite this cheap. And the listing itself is sort of an orphan…they don’t show any reviews, and the only pics are thumbnails that you can’t enlarge. But I ordered one, and it was brand-new in a display box and looks just like the ones in the other links, except that it has newer (2017) graphics, instead of 2012 or 2014-style.
You absolutely can’t go wrong at this price. They’re fun even for adults, take standard batteries (which means you can have fresh ones on standby to keep playing) and compare favorably against $50-$60 units from other manufacturers. If you don’t have kids but have friends/family that do, grab a couple for gifts, you’ll be glad you did.
Some background:
If you’re familiar with entry level, Ready-To-Run R/C cars and trucks, you may already know about Maisto. If you’re not, the short version is that Maisto is sort of like the Hyundai of the R/C car world…reasonably priced, decent quality control, and good durability.
I have a son who’s nuts for R/C vehicles, and while he’s getting better with them, he has often been hard on them and has destroyed too many to count. He can turn a New Bright (the Yugo of the R/C world, sold at places like Wallyworld), regardless of cost, into scrap in a matter of hours.
We’ve bought many units based on what must be the Maisto “standard rock crawler chassis”, identical to the unit in this post. I’ve found the Maisto models to be of higher quality than similar units (like New Bright) from various big-box stores. They’re fairly easy to work on, and many repairs can be performed at home with simple tools. For example, we actually wore the shock absorbers out on one unit, to the point where the axles were starting to wear excessively from taking all the stress from, well, rock crawling. We rummaged around in the basement, found a junked unit with perfect shocks, and swapped them out.
Top-of-the-line, Maisto is not. Traxxas products are much better (since we’re in this mode, let’s think of them as the Cadillac - do people still say that? Maybe the Lexus? of the R/C world). But their rock crawlers start at around $200…and that’s for a two-wheel drive model.
The Maisto Raptor is a four-wheel drive unit, with dual motors and articulated suspension front and rear. It does not have proportional controls, meaning one speed forward, one speed in reverse, left, and right. It runs on six AA batteries, and decent NiMH types (like the Panasonic Eneloop) give an impressive run time. Higher end batteries such as the Eneloop Pro, would probably power the unit until the user got bored with it. Some Maisto remotes take a single 9V battery, others, two AAAs. Either setup works well and the batteries last a good while. Both offer simple slide switches to select one of three available frequencies, and yeah, that means you can get two (or three) and race against each other.
It’s geared for power, not speed. That means it works just as well indoors as out, but racing on the driveway is dull, compared to faster toys. But it does a remarkable job on grass, rocks, you name it. If the weather’s bad, you can grab some pillows, throw them on the living room floor, and run up and down them like a madman.
Oh, and they’re not waterproof or water-resistant. Any questions, please feel free to ask. But I have a feeling this is just an overstock situation and it will probably correct itself fairly quickly.
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$60 @ BassPro
https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/maisto-rock-crawler-2017-ford-f-150-raptor-remote-control-truck
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If you don’t already use AA rechargables with a gang charger, here are a couple of “starter kits”:
Decent (not great) deal for eight AA NiMH batteries and a charger ($20.99 with Amazon Prime): http://www.amazon.com/Bonai-Rechargeable-High-Capacity-Batteries-Individually/dp/B071JDZN3X?tag=phtwllt-20
Similar product from that computer auction website ($19.99 shipped):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/EBL-8x-2300mAh-AA-Ni-MH-Rechargeable-Batteries-With-8-Channel-Battery-Charger/301361844048You’re better off with 16 batteries, though, so you can hot-swap and keep going:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/16x-AA-2800mAh-Ni-MH-Rechargeable-Batteries-8-Channel-AA-AAA-Battery-Charger/111384991230
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My order of 3 just came…nice size on these. Thanks again.
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@angryeyebrows No problem! Glad you like 'em.
