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My first build as a teen was the Rough Rider. Then, the King Cab in early 90's. I am going to restore my King Cab, as mentioned in a separate post.

Both builds were so much fun, I was bummed when they were complete. Looking back, it taught me a lot about mechanics, assembly, etc.

I would like to try a new build with my son who is 16. He has autism, and I think it would be very therapeutic for him. My quandry is the the prices vary so much, I'm not sure what the builds would be like. Any ideas for a kit that would give him the type of experience as the King Cab or Rough Rider, but in the lower end of the price range?

Thanks

Maybe an easy kit to try, like a grasshopper, dt02, or a brat rere?

The new 6 wheel Kong maybe with a slower crawler motor. Not to complicated to build and I think will be fun to drive. Not familiar with autism but looking for fast or slow driving cars? If slow the mentioned could be fun.


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Thank you for the reply. I think he would enjoy a basic car to run around off road, with some jumps. Dont think he has the patience for rock crawling. However, he can be very mechanically inclined, so the build would not necessarily need to be a beginner kit. Plus, we would build it together.

Any tamiya kit should be ok. Buggies with dt 02 or dt03 chassis. Or a ta02t for a 4x4.

Cheap(er) and and involving build are likely to be mutually exclusive, pricing is generally by part count & material, more expensive vehicles have more metal, fibre laminates etc & more parts, budget end is mostly plastic & low part count


I do have some suggestions though, based on kits that are a bit more kawaii, or with a driver - possibly makes them more relateable, but you'd be the best judge of that.

Prices I've listed are in GBP rather that USD, but they should give you some basis for comparision... exchange rate is practically 1:1 now anyway


Holiday Buggy 2010 (86 GBP): DT-02 chassis is actually quite capable, but in this guise it's very low spec (friction shocks etc) ... a fairly simple build, but does have a few parts to paint, including the driver;

Sand Rover 2011 (97 GBP): low spec DT-02 chassis again, body needs painting so lots of choise there, decent driver figure too. There's also a variety with a bear driving, and one with "street" wheels/tyres;

Lunchbox (97 GBP): simply build, but some big parts make it fun - especially if you can drive in groups ... I don't think anyone ever regretted buying one. Lots of choices of decor, the box art is yellow but Scooby Doo Mystery Machine & Cannonball Run ambulance decal sets are also made professionally, A-Team van is another popular choice. Midnight Pumpkin is basically the same thing if you'd prefer an old skool pickup body instead.

Wild Willy 2 (144 GBP): quite a jump in price, build is a little more involved (especially if you dismantle the factory assembled gearbox & rebuild with proper bearings) & spend time on painting the body & driver;

Subaru Brat (155 GBP): build is much more involved & the body is well detailed if you want to spend time on it, not looking particularly great value though.

I could go on, but we're well out of the "budget" end

Like said waterbok, nobody had regrets with a lunchbox ( cw01 châssis). Multiple bodies are available. You need to build it from A to Z. And the new release has thicker direction arms. That is a very good chassis.

I'd say the hornet reissue may be right up your ally as well as a neo fighter. Buggys tend to be a bit more stable than the lunchbox but either choice is tons of fun. I personally love the 2wd buggy kits...let us know what you pick!

Can I also suggest you get him his own screwdriver - Tamiya cross point screws (and even their screwdrivers ) are often described as being Philips head but that is incorrect, they are in fact JIS (Japanese Industry Standard), which is subtley different - and is not often appreciated untill it's time to undo the screws ... I'm a little "detail oriented" too

Look for Tamiya "Screwdriver No.2 Large" (part # 74006), should be well under 10 bucks