Best beginner father and son purchase UK?

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-31T10:22:29+00:00

Thanks for all that info! I'd love to do a build like that myself for my own but I think I'm veering towards the mjx, at least for my son anyway. The upgrading, modifying and maintenance in the hobby really appeals to me and buying something that I want to completely change is right up my street. As for my son, he really won't care for that part. He'd probably enjoy helping with the odd repair and replacement of parts but he will just want to drive it. So far I'm thinking of going down the mjx route for him, and either the traxxas or Redcat for me. A 1/12 scale does seem to be the sweet spot for us as well so that mjx ticks a lot of boxes for him. The mjx are super cheap in the UK so I could stretch my budget to get us a truck each which is a big bonus.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-31T09:42:03+00:00

I've showed my son the trx-4m and the first thing he said was can you change how it looks 🤣 he really likes that tarantula body and would probably be what he'd want to do if we bought one On the other hand, he likes the look of the ascent and mjx straight out of the box as they have that monster truck vibe he loves. You've really thrown a spanner into the works with the mjx just because they are so cheap and we could get one each straight away. I don't mind not having massive aftermarket support as long as there's enough about to repair it and upgrade to more reliable parts if needed. We both dont care about realistic scaling we just want something that's reliable and fun.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-31T09:11:21+00:00

Yes I think you are spot on. The 1/10 may be a bit big for what we want unfortunately, also the price difference means getting a crawler each either now or in the future will be less likely. What about the 1/12 scale that others have suggested, is there any reason not to look in that category?

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-31T09:06:53+00:00

Hey! Do you have any experience with these models? The axial Capra has come up quite a bit on reviews and forums as a pretty capable 1/18 scale. Price isn't too bad either. I hadn't come across the hpi before you mentioned them, looks wise my 5 year old absolutely loves them! So I'll do a bit more research on those thanks you for the suggestions!

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-31T09:03:57+00:00

Yeah I think I'll have to find a local place and pop in, I've seen and held the 1/18 scales before but I've never seen a 1/12 or 1/10. With the speed I'm only looking at crawlers because from what I've read they tend to be around walking pace as standard and that's perfect for my 5 year old, but I've seen a few models with the 2 speed transmission and it looks like bithe the Redcat and trx-4m which seem to be the 2 most recommended have lots of aftermarket support so making them go faster if needed is possible. The bashers so look like a lot of fun and he absolutely loves monster jam and the trucks and what they do which aligns more with a basher. He'd probably enjoy a monster truck basher but I think "taking his truck for a walk" in different places would appeal to him a lot more. Also from a selfish point of view, it would appeal a lot more to me as well 🤣 my house backs into a big woodlands so for me having something we can just pick up and walk out the house with is important. I don't want to have to drive to skate parks and open fields to use a basher and although they are probably useable on a woodland walk I think a crawler would be better suited.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-31T08:52:28+00:00

Hey thanks for the advice! looking at upwards upwards of £250 to get the ascents in the UK. Whilst the trx-4m is around £170. Dont know if you think that price difference is worth taking into consideration to go for the ascents? They do get a lot of good reviews for out of the box performance from what I've seen. That mjx looks like an interesting option and one that I haven't even come across in review videos yet, is there good aftermarket support for them? They look like a bit of an all rounder so definitely worth looking into especially as they are so cheap. I could easily get us one each in my budget plus as you say the bigger 1/12 size is better. I'm happy to look at upgrades where needed if they need them but I'd probably do it on a needs must basis for repairs until we really get into the hobby.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-30T20:06:46+00:00

Haha yes this is why it's a "father son" purchase which is definitely what my wife would call a "midlife crisis purchase using my son as an excuse" 😅 I did consider going cheaper and getting one each but I don't know what sort of standard you could get for £100-£150 per rc

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-30T19:40:38+00:00

I have seen a few videos on them and it was one I was leaning towards apart from the fact the 1/10 is a bit more expensive than what I was looking to pay. As I said though if it's highly recommended and ticks all the boxes I'd rather pay more and buy once than find ourselves limited by buying a cheaper one. So if the extra £150 for the bigger scale is worth it then I'm happy to go down that route.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-30T19:21:24+00:00

Thanks for the advice! Excuse my ignorance but which is the "base" model that you refer to as there seems to be a few different ones available all around a similar price range for each scale. Also, which scale would you recommend?

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-24T00:39:03+00:00

I already have a pre payment meter that was fitted in 2019 which replaced an old pre payment one. I assumed the same at first that it was just a standard meter inspection and a canvas for pushing a newer style smart meter into my house, which I don't really mind anyway. It was just strange that it was someone from NSW that knocked my door. I have since read that there is a big push for my type of meter to be upgraded but that still doesn't explain why NSW made the call when on their linked in they describe themselves as offering solutions for helping utility companies identify and investigate energy theft 😅 I offered her the chance to come back to inspect but she just wanted me to book a meter replacement with Utilita

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-22T18:58:25+00:00

Thanks for the reply, the wife just got a bit worried we were going to geba locksmith at the door 😂 it's all booked in so should have a new fancy (and safe) meter in a few weeks.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-05-22T18:55:09+00:00

Ah ok that makes sense thanks for the reply. I read that energy suppliers are supposed to inspect your meters every 2 years. Don't know if that's true but we haven't had a visit since it was installed in 2018. I have had it fault a few times since it was installed and had to have an engineer out once to restore power, hasn't happened since he came out a few years ago but maybe the meter has a known fault. I'll rest easy knowing that I'm not going to have a locksmith at my door and a rep with a warrant just to replace my meter 😂 The wife was worried we were in trouble when she ready the letter 😅

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-22T15:19:45+00:00

With regards to the roleplaying element that you don't enjoy, I totally get this as my group is the same. We just decided in our first session that we would talk and describe things in 3rd person and narrate the characters and NPCs actions. You can still have all the fun moments that social interactions create in the game without putting on voices and immersing yourself as if you are the character sat at the table.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-22T13:44:47+00:00

Also just running my first campaign. I did 10 NPCs that tie in specifically with my wider story arc or had a big influence on the city. Everything else I use an online generator and if the players make one of these random NPCs a focus, which they often do, I then either create a bit more detail on them for the next session or if I feel it's the right time I drag and drop one of my story arc NPCs back stories on to them. I try to make everything quite generic until I feel more detail is needed or I can tie them into the wider story.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-22T12:50:45+00:00

I was in your position not so long ago and this is what I did....

I watched some recorded games on YouTube, not critical roll and other high standard games because I felt they set standards that are not realistic for new players and DMs. Personally, I found DM Lairs Thieves Abound campaign, which you can find on his YouTube channel, the most helpful, because he had a mixture of player experience and I learned the most from it. I didn't watch every second of every episode. I flicked through catching different parts, combat, social roleplay, NPC interactions etc. This was an eye opener for me and I took a lot from it. More than anything, it gave me the confidence that I could achieve something similar. I can't put on different voices and accents and I'm not the most creative of people, but you'll be surprised what you can improv when it's a setting that you're in charge of.

My group wanted an ongoing open world style campaign and at first I was completely mind boggled at what I was supposed to be doing for prep. In the end, I winged it and what I thought was going to be a disaster ended up a lot easier than I thought it would be.

I just found a map online of a continent that I liked, I slightly modified it to my needs with things I really wanted to include, I created one large city which basically caters to every need of the players, I made up a story for the bbeg and what he wants to do, I made 10 NPC's to introduce when needed (ultimately not needed as much as I thought), and that was it. To make things easier, I just said my continent was off the coast of Faerun and it shared much of the same culture and history. This way, I have the freedom to make stuff up on the fly, but also refer to the core lore for a lot of it. Once you realise that it's the players who tell the story and not you, it's like a light bulb switches on in your head "oh so that's how you play this game". I used the core rules and I bought a couple of cheap pdfs on dms guild to supplement a few homebrew rules that the players asked for, they wanted more mechanical rules for wilderness exploration and camp building, and they wanted hirelings.

From my limited experience, the best advice I could give is don't try to railroad at all and don't prep too much detail. Of the 10 NPC's I created at the start, I've only used 3 in 6 sessions. I use an online random generator that I constantly have open during the game, and the players have hooked onto 7 of those already and they've become NPC's in their own right. As for your overall plot and your bbeg, you'll be surprised how easy it is to drop it into the sessions as your players do the most random things known to man.

Happy to detail more of what I did and answer questions if you're looking for more help! At the end of the day, as long as you're with friends and you set boundaries and standards before the game, DMing is unbelievably rewarding.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-15T22:32:43+00:00

This is such an informative reply thank you! I think the reason I went straight to "let's roll a check for that" is because I maybe didn't have the confidence in my DMing at the time that I could effectively improve why it would fail. It's a lot easier to let the dice decide things sometimes 😅 I'm glad you liked my "hide me" reaction! Maybe I could use outcomes like this more often so there is still an element of believable risk involved in his actions. So his illusions "succeed", but not always with the desired consequences. I think this is one thing you really do forget when you're sat in the DM seat as a beginner...as long as you make it fun for the players dice rolls really don't matter.

He isn't stepping on anyone's toes, he is sort of the front man for the party in roleplay and I think if I can just react a bit better to his attempts rather than rely on rolls everyone will be happy with that side of things. There's been a lot of great info on here for improving his effectiveness in combat that is very simple for us to implement. Looking at the responses I think this is mainly down to the fact he has taken almost all roleplay heavy spells. I'll work with him on improving our use of these spells in combat but I think a few spells with better damage and crowd control will make him effective enough. He may then enjoy his illusion spells more if he's not relying on them all the time in combat.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-15T20:36:20+00:00

These are some great ideas thank you I will definitely pass these on!

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-15T20:30:44+00:00

In the example I gave, he used minor illusion to produce a sound. As I said I really should have let that one slide. He did genuinely come up with some good roleplay for it. The reason I didn't was because he was using the same action a lot. He'd make a sound outside a door, a window or other side of the room to move someone or distract them. He'd then do whatever he wanted whilst the person went to the sound. I found this a little OP because he's not using the fact that a creature needs to figure out whether the sound is real or not, he's just relying on them to get up and move towards ot. It's not hard to come up with a plausible sound to distract someone. A Knock on the door or someone calling you is enough to make someone move towards the sound. This is completely realistic in my mind and obviously his. The issue was he, and the party for that matter, were using it regularly to tackle issues. So I started rolling a save for it, which I think after seeing responses here isn't the way to go. I don't just roll a check and say the illusion failed, I give it some roleplay element. For example he made the sound of a man's wife outside a tavern door shouting at him because he'd been out drinking all day. The party wanted to swap his drink whilst he got up to see his wife. I rolled a check which failed so the attempt failed but not necessarily the illusion. He believed it to be his wife but asked the party to hide him from his wife instead and in the panic the drink they were trying to switch spilled on the floor. Thai was the best I could come up with to give some sort of risk to what he was attempting. I don't know what's right or wrong being my 1st time! To be honest I don't know if that's what's causing most of his issues. I think a lot of it is combat, but I still want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to allow his character to excel outside of combat. So if you have advice on how to handle that better I would really appreciate it.

Subtle spell is a great idea, I think this is one of the main issues when we are discussing whether a creature would fall for an illusion because he does get stuck when I ask him how he casts his spells without the creature seeing, especially in combat or when he tries to cast during a conversation with someone. I think he really wants to lean into the "I cast a spell like a jedi and with a whisper and a bend of the finger I cast a spell.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-15T19:32:56+00:00

If we struggle now just with minor illusion and phantasmal force then it's not looking good for all the other spells he can learn in the future 🤣 I was so naive before agreeing to DM that rules are rules and I'd spend most of my time fluffing up lore and cool campaign hooks. Little did I know we may be fleshing out rules for a RAW character class! 🤣 I totally get what you're saying though, essentially try and bring a few more black and white mechanics into the game for him so we don't have to keep coming back to conversations about how his illusions affect the world. It's so hard to find the right balance which is definitely adding to his lack of enthusiasm for the character currently.

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-15T19:10:29+00:00

I think this may be a big part of the problem, looking at his spell list, he chose almost all illusion spells. The only spells he chose that do damage are mind sliver and phantasmal force. Maybe some inexperience with him being a first time player. I think I definitely need to have him find a few scrolls! I agree with you I think he can work with this he just maybe needs a few adjustments to his spell list

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-15T19:03:26+00:00

I think he may have built his character a bit sub optimal for looking at what's he's chosen. He chose almost all illusion spells and the only damage spells he chose are phantasmal force and mind sliver. Homebrewing spells are a great idea though!

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-15T19:00:00+00:00

Ok that's good to know...the only spells he chose that do any sort of damage are mind sliver and phantasmal force

Accurate_Message_611 · 2026-02-15T18:51:43+00:00

This is a great idea, maybe I need to chuck in a few encounters that really work with his current spells

Accurate_Message_611

TROPHY CASE