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What is the scoop on the Thunder Tiger Phoenix Buggies and Trucks? They look like Associated B3's & T3's. They say Associated parts can be used to fix them up.
Are they just a cheap version of the AE's?
What exactly is scoop on these things?

I may look into getting one for the boy and AE B4.2T for me.

Lynn

thunder tiger owns team associated.

yes, they're essentially b3 and t3's under the thunder tiger name.

I did not know that, interesting.

Are they actual AE item or highly cheapened version built by them?
Or are they cheap because they are an old design?
I mean $200 for a RTR shipped for a brushless T3 truck is a heck of deal for the boy to get.

Lynn

it's a cheapened version.

Good enough for bashing around for 9 yo little boy that wants to go brushless big time?

Lynn

i haven't owned one personally so i can't comment on durability. but anything you can get replacement parts for is a good thing.

Like scr8p said, they're generally a lower grade version of the same vehicle. For example:

Thunder tiger Sparrowhawk:



Associated Prolite:



Minor variations in design, big difference in stock electronics.

my past thoughts here...

http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=24074

Unless you get a very good deal on it, I'd still buy something else. A MadRat/TeamC buggy (which I also own) is a much better car for the same money imho.

I almost bought one for Joe when he was 8, but I decided against it. I ended up purchasing a used B3 and restoring it for him instead. I had a 17t motor for it then realized it was too much, ended up using a 19t speedgems that he ran for a couple years before he could handle any kind of brushless. Here's his buggy if your interested in checking it out.
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=24180

A good friend of mine just recently purchased one (Phoenix XB with Brushless and 2.4), so weve taken time and gone through it.

The car is fully compatible with B3/T3 parts, so they use all the same bits, and those parts can be bolted directly onto the B3/T3's without modification. There's some changes, i.e the Phoenix uses a different rear skid plate, motor plate, and rear bumper.

We've converted it over to hex screws, as 98% of the stock hardware uses a phillips screw driver to remove. Oddly enough, even though it's based off the B3/T3, it uses metric hardware, while still using some standard hardware in places.

The stock axles are probably some of the nicer RTR axles I've seen included in any kit.

The stock shocks leave a lot to be desired. Stock, they use a small bore front shock, with a big bore rear. Thunder Tiger does not include any parts to pull the shocks apart, which were way too stiff for anything we were running on. We ended up buying some Kyosho small bore shocks from a local racer at the track for $25.

Stock electronics are pretty fast, but the servo is super slow. We anticipated on this, and ordered a Hitec 625MG when purchasing the kit.

Durability seems on-par with any other RTR, so the usual turnbuckle bend and ball cup popping off happened as well. Plastic ironically feels pretty good, not the super soft plastic some other models come with. After a few race days and some local bashing, a broken front arm is the only damage we've had, outside of the stock lexan wing taken a beating.

Honestly, it's a good car. We've enjoied playing around with it the past few weeks. But for an out of the box car to just set down and go, the B4 RTR would be the way to go, especially if you already have one.

Thanks for the info guy's, I may look into them.
Lynn