NEW Arrma Grom RTA - ready to assemble

[RustyUs]

Manual
The manual needs a bit of "more this" and some "more of that". Most of the parts in the manual do not have a name associated with them. It is very basic simplistic looking. Don't you think a new person coming into the hobby with one of these Ready To Assemble platforms wants to know what parts are called?

 

[CertifiedMike]

Manual
The manual needs a bit of "more this" and some "more of that". Most of the parts in the manual do not have a name associated with them. It is very basic simplistic looking. Don't you think a new person coming into the hobby with one of these Ready To Assemble platforms wants to know what parts are called?
View attachment 274822View attachment 274823View attachment 274825View attachment 274824

Sometimes yes, but sometimes knowing whats in the bag is enough.

The Hornet was my first build. Basic, easy to follow for a noob, but it was also 'over my head' in that I needed to stop and follow every step. I had to think about things and why they were assembled, how they would work, fit, etc.

I enjoyed the challenges. No better way to learn about flying e-clips that I can think of!!!

I actually learned quite a bit from building that car.

I think that is exactly what a noob should look forward to with a first build.

The tool list wasn't huge but needed to buy stuff.

Paint was a mess but I learned there too.

Nothing overwhelming, nothing boring and unfun. No mistakes were expensive or difficult to undo.

The smell of those tires is STILL easy for me to recall after all these years!

If this kit gives someone the same doorway into RC and some fun, lifelong memories, I think its great!

 

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

Horizon has been offering stuff like this for years.
I know the value can be questionable but it can be a good way to introduce assembly and or maintenance to an RC new comer.

 

[RLB454]

Manual
The manual needs a bit of "more this" and some "more of that". Most of the parts in the manual do not have a name associated with them. It is very basic simplistic looking. Don't you think a new person coming into the hobby with one of these Ready To Assemble platforms wants to know what parts are called?
View attachment 274822View attachment 274823View attachment 274825View attachment 274824

A picture is worth a thousand words....so they say

 

[Tallbump]

Manual
The manual needs a bit of "more this" and some "more of that". Most of the parts in the manual do not have a name associated with them. It is very basic simplistic looking. Don't you think a new person coming into the hobby with one of these Ready To Assemble platforms wants to know what parts are called?
View attachment 274822View attachment 274823View attachment 274825View attachment 274824

That is interesting. I agree, the parts should be labeled.

It's great to know how everything goes together, it would be even greater to know what those things are called.

I checked, the exploded view gives the part number for everything, but no name.
.

 

[xjtorc]

The parking lot races I've been attending are running an exhibition class of "mini offroad" for groms and the like in their next race on June 28th. I found myself looking at this "kit" once more. I dug into the exploded views to see what is (or isn't) different between the kit and the brushed RTR models:

The kit comes with the driveline fully "upgraded". These parts are different/upgraded over the RTR:
- Metal gear oil filled diffs: ARA-3067 $20 each (x2)
- Metal axle and wheel hex set: ARA311231 - $30

It says nothing about it in their marketing. I watched a couple videos last night about it and not one of the YouTubers even caught it, but you're getting $70 worth of "upgrades" over the RTR model. Under the kit details on their webpage, they have this:

Those are all the same parts which come on the brushed RTR!

The difference, they should have listed there are the spider gears inside the diffs which are metal vs plastic like the RTR. They are also sealed diffs which are tunable with fluid. The kit truck's driveline can handle way more power than the standard brushed RTR. Total marketing flop...

Idk if I'm getting one or not but I figure this info could help folks who are on the fence. Finding it out does make me lean a little towards the possibility of getting one.

 

[CertifiedMike]

The parking lot races I've been attending are running an exhibition class of "mini offroad" for groms and the like in their next race on June 28th. I found myself looking at this "kit" once more. I dug into the exploded views to see what is (or isn't) different between the kit and the brushed RTR models:

The kit comes with the driveline fully "upgraded". These parts are different/upgraded over the RTR:
- Metal gear oil filled diffs: ARA-3067 $20 each (x2)
- Metal axle and wheel hex set: ARA311231 - $30

It says nothing about it in their marketing. I watched a couple videos last night about it and not one of the YouTubers even caught it, but you're getting $70 worth of "upgrades" over the RTR model. Under the kit details on their webpage, they have this:

View attachment 276037

Those are all the same parts which come on the brushed RTR!

The difference, they should have listed there are the spider gears inside the diffs which are metal vs plastic like the RTR. They are also sealed diffs which are tunable with fluid. The kit truck's driveline can handle way more power than the standard brushed RTR. Total marketing flop...

Idk if I'm getting one or not but I figure this info could help folks who are on the fence. Finding it out does make me lean a little towards the possibility of getting one.

Kyosho did the same with the Mad Wagon builder's kit vs rtr. Kit is full of upgrades. Its a no-brainer!

 

[biggman100]

Instead of the smaller scale stuff, I wish Arrma would take a page from others and make a Fury kit, but leave out the electronics. That I would definitely be interested in. I'm not really into anything smaller or larger than 1/10TH scale. She is big into the smaller scale stuff, so it's not like I don't have experience with them, they just aren't my thing. As for bigger scale, I have a few friends big into the bigger scales, and I have ran quite a few of them, and wasn't really impressed.

 

[xjtorc]

Kyosho did the same with the Mad Wagon builder's kit vs rtr. Kit is full of upgrades. Its a no-brainer!

Agreed. That is typically the point of a kit vs RTR. It's strange to me how Arrma left it up to the customers to figure out there are upgrades in this kit. The only thing I can figure is they don't want people knowing the same-priced RTR has plastic where it shouldn't.

 

[CertifiedMike]

Agreed. That is typically the point of a kit vs RTR. It's strange to me how Arrma left it up to the customers to figure out there are upgrades in this kit. The only thing I can figure is they don't want people knowing the same-priced RTR has plastic where it shouldn't.

This is a good point.

Upgrades are usually lots of fun but they suck when required due to poor quality factory parts.

Since manufacturers make money on hop up parts, there will always be some question in my mind about what is and is not intentionally done.

Looks like one way or the other, ppl will be wrenching on these trucks. Buying and installing those 'upgraded' gears seems non optional for brushless power.

'And why not get the sealed diff cases and gaskets since its already apart, right? You're gonna need a few different oils to tune the diff now, too.
Hey, how are your bearings? You should upgrade those too. At least get rid of your old worn out bearings.
Given any thought to upgrading some of this hardware???
NOW its ready for a faster motor...'

Its easy for a shop to sell upgrades to someone this way. Esp if the shop is doing the labor too.
If they don't sell shop labor, they can sell a set of tools with the parts too.

Wrenching on RCs is intimidating at first but I think fixing is just part of owning RC.
Buying an RTR only buys so much time before something breaks and the tools have to come out anyways.

 

[xjtorc]

Its easy for a shop to sell upgrades to someone this way. Esp if the shop is doing the labor too.

I would genuinely love to know what my local hobby shop makes off of labor alone. I regularly see dudes carrying broken down rigs in there to have them repaired and/or upgraded. Also, I would genuinely LOVE to be the guy who wrenches on all the trucks! lol

 

[CertifiedMike]

I would genuinely love to know what my local hobby shop makes off of labor alone. I regularly see dudes carrying broken down rigs in there to have them repaired and/or upgraded. Also, I would genuinely LOVE to be the guy who wrenches on all the trucks! lol

I wouldn't mind doing repairs on any Kyoshos that might need some love! Lol!
I am a bit surprised at the hobby shops getting well paid to wrench on these things. I really do enjoy building RCs.

 

[RustyUs]

Instead of the smaller scale stuff, I wish Arrma would take a page from others and make a Fury kit, but leave out the electronics. That I would definitely be interested in. I'm not really into anything smaller or larger than 1/10TH scale. She is big into the smaller scale stuff, so it's not like I don't have experience with them, they just aren't my thing. As for bigger scale, I have a few friends big into the bigger scales, and I have ran quite a few of them, and wasn't really impressed.

Let any big RTR company know your desires. It is a simple as that. Stir things up I say.

 

[biggman100]

Let any big RTR company know your desires. It is a simple as that. Stir things up I say.

Oh, I have, multiple times, but, it takes more than one person to get anywhere. The Fury isn't the only one I would like to see as a kit without electronics, and, I wish Arrma would bring back the Raider XL, and I have sent multiple emails about it.

 

[xjtorc]

I talked myself into one yesterday. It took about an hour to build the whole thing. Still have to finish the body.

Tips:

Check all your parts and make sure nothing is broken. I had a broken dog bone right out of the box. I also had an incorrect wheel hex. They’re supposed to be 4mm width all around, one of mine was 2mm. Not sure if that’s a common issue in the first batch of these kits or what. Pretty irritating but my dude at HobbyTown hooked me up with the parts I needed.

Throw the included 2mm driver in the trash. Well, toss the tip and keep the handle. The handle is nice. I was going to use it for experimental sake and it rounded off on the 2nd screw I tightened.

Open and check the diffs. Mine were dry. I packed them with 5000cst Kyosho diff grease.

Grease the ends of your dog bones and CVs where the go into the drive cups. Not in the manual. Helps alleviate some of the full droop coffee grinder noises.

First impressions: Fun build and it rips with the brushed motor. It’s way faster than I expected. I bought it just to race in a for fun expedition class so it checks all my boxes!

 

[Doom!]

Sucks about the parts problem right out of the box. I have a brushed RTR Mojave Grom, that is a blast, It's pretty quick, I imagine brushless makes it a little terror!

 

[xjtorc]

Sucks about the parts problem right out of the box. I have a brushed RTR Mojave Grom, that is a blast, It's pretty quick, I imagine brushless makes it a little terror!

Definitely. The brushless version on 3S must be freakin bonkers lol.

 

[CertifiedMike]

Definitely. The brushless version on 3S must be freakin bonkers lol.

The race is at Hobby Town this weekend, right?
So we should have a full build thread, review and brushed/brushless comparison by Monday afternoon?

What color did you pick?

Congrats on the new truck!!!

 

[Alwaysonauto]

As an old retired guy, I would have liked to have had this option when getting into the hobby again. I still may treat myself to the satisfaction of building a kit such as this one. As it is, I have two brushless GROMS that really haul the mail (this is a family site, correct?).
My first truck was a Hai Boxing (I think) 903a which is a little bigger than the GROMS but brushless as well. The GROMS on 3S batteries are impressively fast. I usually run them on 50%.
Getting a kit like this with the upgraded parts already in it is a great value for someone trying to decide 'Do I really want to get into this hobby or not?' and the fact they'll stand behind it with a 2 year warranty is impressive I think.

 

[xjtorc]

What color did you pick?

Mountain Dew green of course!

I sat down and told myself I would build one or two bags on my lunch break, then proceeded to accidentally build the whole truck. Needless to say, I missed the opportunity to document the build lol. Also, I’m keeping it brushed for now, so the brushless comparison will have to wait.

Racing it next Sunday! We’ll see how it does!