Heh. My sister is going to shoot me for this. BRING IT.

November 13, 2006 3:28 PM

Can anyone recommend a good remote control toy as a gift for a 9 year old?

He loves RC cars. So I've been told "No more RC cars." Whatever mom, I'm his aunt and damnit, I'll find a way around that rule. I've seen an RC hovercraft and blimp on top of the usual boats & cars. Does anyone have any RC toys they'd recommend as a birthday gift? I'm out of my element here, and a google search on the topic brings up bazillions of sites.

posted by Salmonberry to shopping (9 comments total)

The Shellshocker, which is like no other RC toy I'm aware of. It rolls up into a ball (and rolls around) or you can spread its...fins? paddles? and it can handle rough terrain. It also has a (surprisingly destructive) tail that whips around. I got one for my son last xmas and he's still playing with it.

Note that the battery isn't included. Many buyers seem to miss that on the packaging.
posted by jamaro at 3:47 PM on November 13, 2006

I would recommend the Robosapien Version 2 it seems neat to me!
posted by tke248 at 3:47 PM on November 13, 2006

I had a chance to play with the Hovercraft at the Discovery Store a couple of weeks ago and was very impressed.

http://shopping.discovery.com/product-60429.html
posted by rstory at 4:49 PM on November 13, 2006

Another idea (albeit a pricey one but far more extensible than your average RC toy) is the very cool LEGO Mindstorms NXT. The first 'starter' robots are super easy to build and program: in about 20 minutes your nephew will have a scorpion-shaped robot which retrieves a ball. More advanced robots can be built on one's own or by following other NXT builders' plans on the LEGO website. Very cool toy, we've been playing with this one a lot lately.
posted by jamaro at 5:04 PM on November 13, 2006

Heh. You could check RadioShack. They sell an assortment of RC toys. Including airplanes and helicopters. Most will cost under $100. I think your sister would really kill you for a buying an indoor helicopter.

Another possible RC airplane is the Aero Ace biplane. Despite the ad, it's really not for indoor play, unless you like flying only in straight lines. It's very simple to fly and more or less indestructible as long as you have strong tape to do some repair work. The Aero Ace is about $30 and can be bought a Targets, Walmarts, and ToysRUs.

Most of the toys will have bare, unprotected propellers, but it shouldn't do any skin damage if the child grabs onto the wrong place on the toy.
posted by Cog at 5:04 PM on November 13, 2006

I went to toy store that sold an rc rat. I think this is it modified a bit to have 'fur.'
posted by damn dirty ape at 6:02 PM on November 13, 2006

A hovercraft is definitely the way to go. Twenty years ago I gave one to my nephew who was about that age, and I was a real popular guy afterwards. (Even with my brother.)
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 1:27 AM on November 14, 2006

One word: HELICOPTER
posted by mcstayinskool at 10:08 AM on November 14, 2006

ThinkGeek has some very cool R/C toys, including the Radio Controlled Laser Tag Shocking Tanks, which (unfortunately) aren't suitable for kids 14 and under. Still, there's some cool stuff there that no other kids on the block will have.

I personally like the look of the Mobile Surveillance Robot!
posted by jim.christian at 12:17 PM on November 14, 2006