In this new article, we take a look at one of the latest RC modelling bargains available on the 1001Hobbies website. It's a buggy called the Kansas Desert Buggy. It's distributed by French importer Scientific Mhd, also known as MhdPro.
In these times of inflation and general price rises, there are only a handful of products with lower prices. And the Kansas Desert Buggy is one of them. It is currently priced at €259 inc VAT. It's almost unbeatable these days, given what it offers in terms of equipment and enjoyment !
So let's take a look at all the highlights of this car, and what it contains.
The 3 versions of the Kansas Desert Buggy
The Kansas Desert Buggy is available in 3 versions.
The simplest is fitted with a coal engine. This is the one we're going to present in detail. The most advanced version has a brushless motor that boosts performance. A third version topped with a Baja Beetle body and equipped with a brushless motor is also available.
These 3 cars share the same chassis platform. In other words, a authentic and very robust 3-millimetre-thick anodised aluminium chassis.
They feature 4-wheel drive via universal joints, and are offered with RTR mechanics. In other words, ready to roll.
The 3 versions of the Kansas Desert Buggy MhdPro:
- The brushed version fitted with a coal engine
- The brushless version with a more powerful motor
- The Baja version topped with a beetle body
The advantages of the car !
For the time being, our coal-powered version of the day is the one that will be best suited to starting out, as its top speed doesn't exceed 50 km/h. Likewise, its linear acceleration makes it easy to get to grips with. It will allow you to become familiar with an RC car with ease, as long as it's your first time driving this kind of racing car. As you may have already guessed, this buggy is electric. For the average user, it's the possibility of being able to drive it everywhere because of the absence of noise pollution. What's more, electric power makes it much easier to get to grips with, as you won't need to master the settings of combustion engines.
Finally, maintenance will also be reduced to a minimum, because in this case there's no need to monitor or change the air filter. No need to buy fuel or spark plugs. So the cost of running and maintaining your car is as low as it gets!
The best thing about this car is that it's first and foremost an all-terrain buggy. In other words, it can be taken almost anywhere! Its ground clearance means you can ignore the bumps and undulations of the terrain. Its mixed tyres are equally suited to driving on gravel, tarmac, grass or cemented surfaces. The only thing that will stop the car in its tracks are a few oversized obstacles that no longer fit the scale. But there won't be many of them.
Let's talk about scale. The Kansas Desert is a 1/8th scale buggy. And that's a great way to get started. And why is that? Firstly, because the ground clearance we mentioned earlier is greater. So you can even drive it in your own garden, provided the grass isn't too high.
Secondly, because a 1/8th scale buggy inevitably means a well-dimensioned mechanical system based on larger parts. In this respect, it will be easier to mechanise when it comes to changing worn parts.
To a certain extent, and for all the reasons mentioned above, a 1/8th scale car can prove to be a little more solid and reliable over time than larger scale cars (i.e. smaller cars).
But the major asset of this Kansas Desert is its all-wheel drive. As with a full-scale car, there's no denying that a 4x4 radio-controlled car handles better than a rear-wheel drive.
Above all, it is easier to drive on slippery surfaces, and it is capable of transferring all the engine power to the wheels, and therefore to the ground, when fully exploited. So the car performs better!
Another pleasant surprise is the transmission. While the central ring gear visible from the rear of the chassis is still made of injection-moulded plastic, it is well protected by a hermetically sealed casing.
So you can drive the car even on rough surfaces, without the risk of the teeth disintegrating quickly!
The list of strong points is even longer with the presence of connecting rods fitted with reversed pitches for adjusting wheel geometry. In particular, the camber of the wheels at the rear.
Apart from that, the Kansas Desert Buggy is a perfectly acceptable design for a leisure-oriented product. Its entire transmission is mounted on ball bearings. Good for reliability. The front axle is fitted with a double wishbone design combined with stub axle carriers on ball joints, allowing numerous adjustments such as camber and track width.
The lower suspension wishbones have stop bolts that allow the chassis to be lowered for driving on flat surfaces such as tarmac.
Finally, the running gear works in perfect harmony with 4 real hydraulic shock absorbers. Not the biggest on the market, of course, but they get the job done!
The Kansas Desert Buggy MhdPro still has 2 bevel gear differentials and a rigid shaft in the central section.
Its bodywork is protected by a retractable roll bar with LED headlights for night-time sessions. These lights can be switched on remotely from the transmitter.
This roll bar can even be extracted from the platform to make cleaning the buggy easier.
In detail, the original engine is a classic 550 coal engine that has been known to be puncture-proof for ages!
The car's steering servo delivers 3 kilos of torque. It's fitted with a plastic pinion!
To improve the car, you could consider fitting a more powerful servo at a later date, and especially one with a stronger metal pinion on the output.
The Kansas Desert Buggy is delivered fully assembled. In the box, you'll find a steering wheel transmitter with a rechargeable phone battery.
This transmitter can be recharged using one of the USB sockets on a computer and the charger cable supplied with the car.
1001 Hobbies' suggestion: The car is delivered with a battery pack, an 1800 mA Ni-Mh model. You'll need a second battery with a capacity of at least 2000 mA to extend the range. What's more, if you later opt for a rapid charger, you can organise a rotation system, always having a pack charging while you're on the road. So you don't have to stop for too long without driving!
That's all you need to say about this really inexpensive car for a first-time buyer.
