Anything really cheap that can be hopped up easily?

[fs454]

I'm looking for a cheap RTR(or maybe a kit) boat, that can be upgraded nicely out of the box and has decent speed. I own two nitro hammers, i'm looking for something to run to help retrieve them, and for fun.

I was looking at the Villain EX because it looked fun to drive, but its too expensive after buying 2 Nitro Hammers..Anything similar to it that has a decent top speed and good upgradeability?

[porschefan911]

u can try traxxas blast....hammer ep.....u can put your own boat together which can go real fast but if a villain ex is a lot for you than i dont noe...try
www.offshoreelectrics.com ...they got lotsa boats for sale and cheap

[fs454]

Well, i am thinking of going all-boat..I own a T-maxx and a Team Losi XXX-NT and have owned more...I'm thinking of selling them and getting more boats. Is the Villain EX a good boat for me though? I am short of cash because i just bought the nitro hammers, but I think selling my Tmaxx or Losi, or both, along with some other stuff will give me enough cash..

The truth is, i've been all nitro, started out with nitro, and here i am, never touched a hobby class electric of any kind, other than a Micro RS4. I've always thought electrics to be annoying...run for a little while, it slows down, gotta recharge, takes forever, etc. but now i see the prices for batteries and the performance of some of them, i'm interested.

The Villain looks cool mainly because of the dual motors and the way it turns, looks very agile. Is it a good boat, and how far can it be upgraded motor-wise, and how long does it normally run for?

How many packs can it take? What should i use if i want good battery life and speed? I'm completely new to electrics, i dont know what's really involved, but I can maintain a nitro nicely, so i assume it wont be too hard.

[porschefan911]

im not an expert on the teck stuff but i noe a good boat when i see one....u can contact the guy at www.finedesignrc.com and say that a memeber of the MMMFE club refered you to them and he might be able to build you a fast boat which you will need not to hop up for a long time for 400 buks or so (not sure if thats canadian or us funds) A memeber of the club that im in has either the villain ex or villain IV (they look almost the same) and he hopped and modded his up to insaner speeds....if you want a video of that villain just go to www.lousfastrc.com and go to vids....the villain is blue

[Chris LaPanse]

A good retrieval boat (and it's cheap, initially, and to hop up) is the Zig Zag Racer. 12 mph out of the box for a 14" (i think) hull is not bad, and the water soccer attachment is prefect for retrieving stalled boats. It's also pretty fun to slap in a 7 cell pack and a CF prop and see what it can do.Here (http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/Videos/zig_zag.mov) is what they can do stock, and here (http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/Videos/zig_zag.wmv) is one on 8 cells. They would be my choice, both as a retrieval boat, and as a cheap way into FE boating.