Banshee - As I said before, the rusty is a great truck, however, i would still recommend either the losi or gt. The difference in speed is about 10-15mph, not that great, and with an upgraded engine, will blow past a rusty.
you say u want to learn the in's and out's of the hobby, and that is great. Please keep in mind though, that the rusty is completely different than any other stadium truck. that is why i am opposed to traxxas products, they are all that way.
one last thing - if u look at the final's at just about any major race online, u will find that 9 out of 10 trucks that win will either be the losi or the GT.