Essential Tools for First RC

[Drm31078]

What are the essential tools for my first rc? Are there tool kits available? Certain brands to get?

[snapon boy]

Mip is all you need!

[m1009cucv]

i had a bunch of cheaper tools like exi.. best tools i have now are my mip.. black a Decker gyro power screwdriver. wahi bits from germany. mip and wahi i think its spelled is by for the best quality. wasted a bunch of money on cheap crappy tools. buy the good stuff from the get go. hope that helps

[Drm31078]

MIP it is. What kind of tools? Anything in particular that are must haves other than screwdrivers?

[jaqattack02]

A decent soldering iron. Lexan scissors for when you want to start on a new body. 7mm nut driver for the wheels.

[jaqattack02]

I feel like there should be a stickied post somewhere for this, something listing what tools and sizes are needed.

[slimeball]

Originally Posted by Drm31078

MIP it is. What kind of tools? Anything in particular that are must haves other than screwdrivers?

Hex drivers. 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 mm.

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[micro racer]

I have some small Snap-On drivers that I use, but they are starting to round after about a year and a half. I use them a lot, but they Align tools I use at the hobby shop have held up much better. I am actually thinking about replacing my Snap-Ons with a set of Aligns.

To the OP: some of the essentials would be a good set of hex drivers (see above) and nut drivers. A nice metal ruler, metric and standard, helps a lot when building. Needle-nose designed for small electronics are good for reaching into small places, and a set of small wrenches (5mm and 7mm are the basics) is good for holding lock-nuts in tight spaces.

[onebullet]

i have this and im really happy with it.... works better than my harbor freight t-handles since it doesn't round out allen heads.

Kinexsis Ultimate Air/Surface Startup Tool Set

only issue i have is that i have really bad arthritis and the handle is rather small.

[monchan]

I am only new to rc. Wraith couple of months, Tamiya touring car about a year.
With my tamiya I built it with cheap tools I already had = broken tools, stripped screws and a huge headache
trying to get them out.
It feels so good working with quality tools, you will save time, money and stress.
I don`t know the best, but I forked up the $ to replace my crap, with what was availably/ affordable to me.
Will make your time tinkering so much more enjoyable.

[snapon boy]

Ok if the mip stuff is out of reach. Try Dynamite stuff the ones you want have carbon fiber looking handles. They've very good

[Ditchrat]

A hole reamer has come in very handy. My dremel my locking hemos have also seen tons of use.

Finally lots of alcohol. I am not sure if I need to self medicate or working on my rig is the perfect time for a Jack. In fact Im going to go grab a red stripe and relax a bit.

[SteveC6R]

I'd also recommend the MIP hex drivers, I'd also get both the standard and metric sizes. There a few things that use standard sizes and they'll come in handy. If you shop eBay you can find them at a reasonable price. As mentioned above a good soldering iron such as Trak Power, a good battery charger that has the capability to charge multiple battery types such as NiMH, Lipos, etc., some needle nose pliers that have the bent end and zip ties....lots of zip ties, they come in very handy when cleaning up wiring, etc.

[jeff22]

I have this http://www.amazon.com/Team-Associate.../dp/B0051GU2PQ

It has all the hex bits I need for my SCX10 and I was able to build a Gelande II Cruiser kit as well.

The only other tools I use for my RC stuff are basic tools I already had in my tool box. Needle nose pliers, small adjustable wrench, small philips and flat head screwdrivers. You can buy this stuff anywhere. I would like to get lexan scissors at some point but have not needed them yet.

I did have to buy a soldering iron too, to solder new connectors on my batteries and esc after the stock Tamiya style connector broke on my Scx10. The ESC I used on my Gelande II kit didn't come with any connectors so I had to use it to solder connectors on it as well. Weller 40-Watt LED Soldering Iron Kit-SP40NKUS - The Home Depot this one works really well. I had an old lower power one, I think 19watt, that was terrible so I threw it away after I got this.

[Zrock]

Some people say the dynamite stuff is crap but iv been using mine for over 3 years with no issue. They show signs of wear but still work great..

[svt923]

Originally Posted by Zrock

Some people say the dynamite stuff is crap but iv been using mine for over 3 years with no issue. They show signs of wear but still work great..

The Dynamite wrenches with the plastic handles are cheaply made but the ones with the red aluminum handles are very good quality for relatively low priced wrenches.