I have been looking into the HSP Bazooka.
I have two concerns, the first is spare parts. Seems like you would have to buy from abroad or try and get them off the bay. I'm not sure how readily available they are, but if they are anything like Kyosho spares you could be struggling. Another point to mention is that from what I read, the main things you are likely to break in a front impact are not compatible with the Kyosho model that this car is based on - so you may struggle to use Kyosho spares instead without rebuilding the entire front end. I am guessing they have had to make it that way for copyright reasons.
The second concern is knowledge base. As it is not a popular car you will probably be able to find less help, which is something you will be needing a lot of if you are new to the hobby. The limited popularity thing is also a factor in sourcing spares, because once you get into the scene you will probably be a member of a forum and their 'for sales' department will be a handy place to locate spares. At one point I had 3 complete spare rolllers for my ST Pro that I bought from forum members.
While I don't doubt the Bazooka is a pretty good car, as an overall package I'm not sure it is the best choice for someone new to the hobby. Also, I have not read too many good reports about it and people I know who have had one wished they hadn't
But to be fair thats only 2 people and hardly a broad representation of users.
Just a note on budget too....
You will need to leave enough money for:
**ESSENTIALS**
Mechanical Failsafe! Get one. It might save a run away that could wreck your car or injure someone in the process. Most new cars come with 2.4ghz radio gear that have built in fail safes if the car goes out of range or has low receiver battery power. However, they DO NOT protect against a battery disconnection! If your receiver battery disconnects at wide open throttle, your throttle servo will open up to fulll. The result is your car goes screaming off till it hits something hard, runs out of fuel or flips on its back and cooks your engine. I had that happen with a hyper 7 of mine. Wide open throttle whilst on its back! Separated the tyres from their rims and cooked the engine.
I used to use a a fairly thick rubber band after that
You don't need to have it too strong, just enough to stop the throttle opening too far if the battery disconnects. Battery disconnects are common when bashing as the car is taking a lot of punishment normally from heavy landings after getting some nice air.
Fuel - I would recommend 20-25% for bashing. I always used Byron 25% Gen 2. You will be looking at around £25 a gallon for that. Don't use cheap fuel if you can help it as cheaper fuels don't tend to burn as cleanly and you can sometimes tune what you think is a nice smoke trail, but actually you are too lean (IE engine running hot).
Glow starter and charger - Fairly cheap, probably £10-£15
Spare batteries for the transmitter + Spare batteries for your receiver, preferably rechargeable with something to charge them. They are about £10 for 4, and you will need at least 8, maybe 12 depending on if your transmitter uses 8 batteries or 4. Of course you can use standard non-rechargeable batteries and buy fresh as you need them, but over time you will spend more.
Spare glow plugs (you may blow a few during run in). OS No8 or McCoy MC9 are a pretty good choice. These are around about £5-£6 EACH! So making sure your engine tune is right pays dividends! (poor tuning = shorter plug life). It always pays to have spare plugs in your kit as if your plug blows, that's it end of fun unless you have a spare and can pop in a new one.
**Items to consider in future investments**
Battery Charger (especially if you start using hump packs and a starter box). You can spend a ruck of money on chargers, especially if you are going to use Lipo batteries, but often it is not needed. However, I would suggest buyng a
fairly decent one if you can because it will last, and charge most things you need it to. I use a Pro Peak Sigma II EQ and its great. They are about £50-£60 new but I bought mine 2nd hand for £35 delivered. But they charge all sorts, including Lipo. You can buy cheaper chargers, and to be honest most cars come with AA powered blocks for the receiver anyway, so as long as you have got something that charges AA batteries you should be ok for a while. But as you get into it more you may wish to opt for hump packs which you will need a proper charger for.
Starter box + batteries (can be expensive but trust me your pull start WILL break!) The SMD Evo 2 is a popular choice and costs around £60 new. Its best to run it with two high capacity stick packs or a 12v 7a gel battery. Two decent stick packs will cost around £20 each, or a gel battery will cost around £15-£20 if you buy it from somewhere like Jewsons (they are basically alarm batteries). A starter box is not an essential piece of kit to start with but it is something to bear in mind. I have known of people buy a brand new car and the pull cord on the pull start snaps on their first outing!
If this happens your car is useless until you replace the pull cord or fit a roto start back plate or buy a starter box. Roto start back plates are a nice compromise as the roto 'gun' is usually quite compact and not as much hassle to lump about compared to a starter box. But you have to seal the back plate properly or you get an air leak into the engine which can cause erratic behaviour - and worst case engine damage. Also, most people using a roto start (or pull start for that matter) suffer shortened life of their one way bearing (OWB) and whilst this is not a major issue OWB life is something a starter box helps to prolong. Plus there is less resistance in the engine if you completely remove the pull start and fit a blank back plate.
Anyway, like I have mentioned before Nitro RC has a steep learning curve, but the fundamentals are fairly easy once you get to grips with them.
Cheers
Buff
(Not just the hobao i mean Nitro RC cars in general)
I ported my bazooka and put a tuned pipe on it and man it flew. Never took video of it ported mind.
