Slough Model Shop has me in a quandry!

[Dan1982]

oh didn't see that you had a dx7, Then the T-Rex 450 it has to be then. The only reason i got the blade is because it come with the dx6i.

[col]

I'd had been wrestling with the same decision for the past few weeks. I spent far to look reading forums, review, opinions etc. (which I actually really enjoyed) and I finally made a decision a few days ago. I've gone for the T-Rex 450 Sport for the following reasons:

- I should be able to fly this both inside and outside. (When I say inside I mean at a indoor flying event at a large stadium, not inside my house which is tiny. Besides I have a 4#3B, MSR and MCX for that).

- The 450 Sport is better quality than the Blade 400. Although the Blade would probably have been really good to learn on I would only have wanted to upgrade a few month later and didn't want to spend the money twice.

- The 450 Sport looks cooler than the Blade but I guess that's a personal opinion and of little importance.

- I'm actually really looking forward to the build process. I think I'm going to learn a lot while putting it all together and I'm going to feel a great deal more 'ownership' of the heli once it's done. It'll probably also help alot when it comes to making repairs when I inevitably crash it. I found these videos on YouTube which really got me excited about building my own heli. Cheapest Trex 450 helicopter clone build / setup #1. There are 14 of these in the series and well worth a watch for beginners such as you and me. This is also part of the reason I decided to buy new rather than buys something second hard.

I'm sure you've heard it all before. Everyone has their own opinions but I guess in the end you have to figure out what's best for you.

[spunkmyer]

well when i got my blade it was a step up from a honeybee fp. So it was all new to me then after some time up upgraded the gyro to a gp750 but that was it and it flew well but i was just doing tail in, nose and side on stuff. Well six months later and two major fights with mother earth i have just replaced all the servos with hitec metal gear servos.

If you go for a bnf blade and did upgrade the servos, gyro etc these could go in to a 450 saving on the next outlay. I love my blade and being electric fly it to learn stuff before trying it on my raptors.

[derrick]

My thinking was that I could fly the Blade at indoor meets with a lower initial outlay. I also thought that low cost of spares might be a sensible consideration.
But I agree with you about spending twice.

It's good to have lots of options I guess!

Hi i don't think it matters which way you go , You will upgrade to something better so you will spend more than once, lol that's the nature of the game.
I started with cx2, then Beam e4, raptor 50 se, and on to the outrage velocity all in 9 months, Have never flown a 450 trex or any other trex. But i think you would be better of with a 450 cheap spares and cheap lipo's. And on top of that you get to build the trex so it will give you a understanding how they work good luck.
Del.

[dumb thumb it]

go for the trex 500 i know where to get the real cheap but you have to pm me for that.

cheers alec

[acwman]

Don't forget to budget for a charger and lipos if you go for the trex450 or 500 heli.

When I got back into the 450 class helis, I bought a B400, for generally the very reasons as you said. It was all ready to go, and already built. Although I loved it at the time, you realize that upgrading ALL the servos and the gyro is a certainty. My first crash with it, and there was only one servo in the heli where the gears didn't break! The gyro did not have the best hold, and the rotorhead, with its all plastic construction has a bit sloppy.

Bought my friends 450SE v2 several weeks later, and realized I really should have gone and bought one to start with, and would have saved my money!

You have the TX already.. I would go for the 450 sport combo deal. You would have a heli to last you a while with really no upgrades required, and is rather more stable than the b400 and more than capable of some extreme flying.

[Disc]

look in the for sale section on the forum you'll see a RAVE 450 thats a good deal!

if you want a 450 thats a machine that'll fly right and be very nice machine!

[Terry-T7]

I have a 3D Storm and a friend has the Blade 400,Both fly equally as well and most of the components are inter-changeable, The difference is you can pick up a brand new 3D Storm for £159 that has everything including a tx, but I am sure that when I bought mine it was £129 without a Tx but included a battery and charger etc, I used that to get me started then I bought a 450 V2 once I had a better understanding and idea of what I was letting myself in for.
Everybodys take on your situation will be different but you have to do what you think is right for you, either way its gonna cost you !!

[LipolyGone]

Get a 450 sport.
Forget about the 500 as battery costs make it far more
economical to get a 50 size nitro which you will want eventualy.
I've had a 500 and to be honest they are something and nothing.
Especialy when a decent charger will be another £120
and each battery in the region of £100 and you will need 2 as a minimum.

[dumb thumb it]

Get a 450 sport.
Forget about the 500 as battery costs make it far more
economical to get a 50 size nitro which you will want eventualy.
I've had a 500 and to be honest they are something and nothing.
Especialy when a decent charger will be another £120
and each battery in the region of £100 and you will need 2 as a minimum.

no get the 500 more stable flys bigger that a 450 kit can be got for the same price . good batterys ie outrage nrg 2500 35c only £65. and nrg 2500 25 arount the same.

[sacko]

..but you will need something for the indoor club, otherwise you will have a long wait for good weather

[dam74]

I have the Blade400 which isn't a bad helicopter but is quite unstable in windy conditions outdoors. I've just upgraded the servos to acerlab d12-mgs which aren't bad for 13gbp a pop. I'll be looking at getting an Align Trex-500 at some stage. I'd like something bigger than a 500 but the size of 600 and the battery prices are insane

[cupracing]

forget the b400 it really is cheap and you will get rid very quickly like I did, out of the 450 sport and pro my vote would be for the pro as im not a fan of belt drive anymore (apart from the 250) the tt is reliable and easy to fit and you dont have to worry about tension,fraying or static issues. the sport is also a fairly old platform. the pro will keep you going for a long time. The spares are cheap and easily available. Others may suggest the rave or beam but the spares are way too expensive for them IMHO and there are only 1 or 2 shops that stock them in the uk.

Also I dont believe any 450 is good for indoor flying as you need alot of space. a 250 is the only way to go for that but its not for a beginner

[est1976]

yeah the rave is expensive to crash but there are plenty of places to get spares from not just one or two shops, get the sport, that imho is the best option for you, or the pro if you have the extra cash.

e2a :PS if I hadnt already got the rave and was looking for a 450 then I'd get the pro combo bundle, from what I have read the pro or the sport are just as good as each other really. Although I havent flown either its just what I have heard.

[tiddler]

My experience of Blade 400 is that it was pretty revolutionery when it first came out, and great value for money. However to sort out issues required upgrades - and you can spend more on a full set of upgrades than the price of the entire original set. I did not progress too well with the Blade 400, but boy could I crash! Mine eventually got sold for spares on flea-bay. I really started to make good and positive progress when I got the Thunder Tiger Innovator MD530 - and I really rate this as the best beginner 400/450 machine currently available. Very strong. Very stable. Easy to fix and repair. Definitely a way better 'investment' then a Blade 400 IMHO - it cirtainly did, and continues to do, the business for me.

The foam blade option for the Innovator makes it much more suitable and safer, for indoor flying - particularly for a beginner.

I too spent ages trying to decide which way to go for my first cp heli and I have to say, as a complete and utter novice I found the Innovator MD530 Is a fantastic and possibly the best beginners machine. Just look how stable it is in flight.

Plus it can readily be adjusted for more agile flying and then eventually upgraded to full 3d flight should you want as you progress in ability.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixs7w-3rvac]YouTube - RC heli InDoor FunFly Jihlava 2009 INNOVATOR MD530[/ame]