Tamiya Frog Off-Road 1 10 Kit TAM58354

Reader Reviews
These classic Tamiya models (Lunchbox, Grasshopper, Hornet, Frog) are educational because they come in kit form. Just a lot of parts in bags. Do not be intimidated. The instructions are outstanding. Great illustrations and minimal text. I can't think of much that is better for a boy's mechanical knowledge than to build one of these with his dad. I built a Falcon with my dad as a kid, and it is a great memory.Performance-wise, this buggy will not be competitive in modern racing. The fron suspension is the double wishbone type, but has not shocks; just inboard springs. The rear suspension is independent trailing arm type, with aluminum-bodied, oil-filled shocks. Very nice. The spiked tires are very good in the dirt, gravel, or short grass. However, they will wear out VERY quickly on pavement. I recommend buying a set of rear tires/wheels from the Tamiya Subaru Brat for street use.The Frog buggy includes three different gear ratios. The highest one is good for street running and yields a pretty impressive top speed; probably 20-25 mph. The middle one is good for all around use. The short one is good for tight tracks. You'll burn up the motor if you run the high speed ratio off road.The battery holder is not quite wide enough for modern 6 cell NiMH battery packs. However, it is an easy fix. When you're building it, just put a couple washers under the side brackets to space them out a bit.The wing is a bit fragile; if you flip the buggy a lot, you'll break it off. This is the case with all buggies of this type.The body comes unpainted.Overall, this is great fun.If you're looking for something more high performance and modern, but also much more durable, take a look at the Traxxas Bandit. It is twice as fast, has independent double wishbone suspension all around, oil shocks all around, and is very easy to get parts for.If you want something that can run on grass, look for a 4WD monster truck, such as the Tamiya Dual Hunter, Tamiya Clodbuster, HPI E-Savage, or Traxxas E-Revo. The Tamiyas come in kit form and you get to build them yourself. (this is nice, because you'll also know how to fix them when you break them)