CaDA - Toyota AE86

[jshuiting]

I'm not a huge fan of the chinese knock-offs, but this one caught my attention.

To my knowledge it's a original design of the AE86 used in Initial D, but someone may correct me on that one, CaDA isn't really known for stealing designs as far as i know.
But they even added small details like the glass of water in the cup holder, and a box of tofu in the trunk, and apperantly can be made RC very easily!







I normally wouldn't buy any off-brand lego as it doesn't hold any value whatsoever, but i'm really tempted with this one.
Any thoughts?

Edited April 10, 2020 by jshuiting

[syclone]

Damn, as far as I can tell it is indeed an original set. Manual is 64 euro; RC version is 105 euro, which is less than the Top Gear abomination from lego that requires a smartphone to even work. Bravo to CaDa, I'll be looking into their sets now even more, as they seem to be both original and interesting. Tempted to buy it as well, would be of great display model.

[letsbuild]

Does CaDa source their parts from other companies, or do they use their own?

[johnnym]

21 minutes ago, syclone said:

Damn, as far as I can tell it is indeed an original set. Manual is 64 euro; RC version is 105 euro, which is less than the Top Gear abomination from lego that requires a smartphone to even work. Bravo to CaDa, I'll be looking into their sets now even more, as they seem to be both original and interesting. Tempted to buy it as well, would be of great display model.

Just saw these two videos here:

 

...and also noticed they have sort of GT-R:

LEGO should provide something similar for their Mustang, me thinks.

[syclone]

@johnnym Completely agree on the Mustang thing, however these CaDa sets seem to be made not only for children as there's no color vomit inside, and Lego... well apparently not many kids could be so clever so as to change a few things in a built model to motorise it. 

Visited their YT channel, and these tires from C61018 super-car are amazing, even what seem to be CHROME rims!!!! I'll probably bite the hook and buy something from them 

Edited April 10, 2020 by syclone

[amorti]

1 hour ago, letsbuild said:

Does CaDa source their parts from other companies, or do they use their own?

They have all their own pieces. While most replicate Lego pieces they also have some special technic parts such as liftarms with alternating holes (sort of like a cutout from a frame) and liftarms with male pins at either end.

Unlike most Chinabricks they also place their brand name on everything.

@syclone I have one of those c61018 on its way from China already, although who knows how long it'll take!

The kit is somewhere around $70, cheap compared to Lego but not cheap compared to other Chinabricks. The PF kit with a Bluetooth enabled 7.4v lithium battery box, Bluetooth remote, L,M, and servo motor (careful these only do left middle and right, no 15 positions like Lego) costs somewhere around $40 and slip right in. I can't imagine a car that size will move quick with one L motor for drive but I'll give it a try.

Chinabricks are frowned on around here. Not sure if that includes CaDA who really do seem to have original set designs - they're still copying many of Lego's piece designs after all. We'll see when the moderators spot this thread.

[Gray Gear]

On The Dark Side of the Brick Cada is known for good brick quality and original designs. They produce the Bricks themself. There is less color vomit, but sadly they still use blue pins as well. I have heared only good things about the CADA AE86, and who doesn't like Initial D ?

Edited April 10, 2020 by Gray Gear

[brickphisto]

I bought this set several weeks ago. The brick quality is nearly as good as Lego but not quite. Considering the building techniques the build itself is not as pleasing as building a Lego Creator Expert car. At least once they use a connection which Lego would surely consider illegal. I haven't tried the RC version yet but according to the manual it is only powered by one M-motor. All in all It is a decent set for a decent price but it does not reach the standard of Lego (Creator Expert sets).

[jshuiting]

2 hours ago, amorti said:

Chinabricks are frowned on around here. Not sure if that includes CaDA who really do seem to have original set designs - they're still copying many of Lego's piece designs after all. We'll see when the moderators spot this thread.

I thought that the bricks themselves could always be copied, but that the actual lego sets were copyrighted? I may be wrong but i've seen some CaDA sets being posted here before unlike L*pin. 
Like for instance CaDA's PUBG buggy, which is also a great model!


Really wish i could convince myself into buying this one though, there's just something about buying a "fake" brand that puts me off, perhaps you just need to be able to see these as their own "thing"

Now if it was the Devil Z from Wangan Midnight however.. it would be a no brainer for me, off-brand or not. 

[Gimmick]

A few things about Cada:

12 hours ago, syclone said:

Damn, as far as I can tell it is indeed an original set. Manual is 64 euro; RC version is 105 euro, which is less than the Top Gear abomination from lego that requires a smartphone to even work. Bravo to CaDa, I'll be looking into their sets now even more, as they seem to be both original and interesting. Tempted to buy it as well, would be of great display model.

There is basically nothing wrong with cada electronics. Just keep in mind, that they are cheap for a reason. The error rate is pretty high - as of now. And there are 3(4?) different RC-systems from cada and I read (no own experience), that they are not compatible to each other.

12 hours ago, letsbuild said:

Does CaDa source their parts from other companies, or do they use their own?

They produce their own parts.

9 hours ago, Gray Gear said:

On The Dark Side of the Brick Cada is known for good brick quality and original designs. They produce the Bricks themself. There is less color vomit, but sadly they still use blue pins as well. I have heared only good things about the CADA AE86, and who doesn't like Initial D ?

I would not say, that Cada is "On the Dark Side of the Brick". Cada/DoubleE is a normal company just like Lego or Cobi, they do not copy models - but their ideas are still often very much based on Lego (Lego: Boost+Ninjago = walking dragon; Cada: walking tiger and ape...)

Catalog: http://en.doubleeagle.cc/download_list/downloadcategoryid=13&isMode=false.html

Since they are originally an RC-model company, they go for "rc everything". The excavators are tracked racers with manual excavating functions etc...  it's kind of silly x) and the cars are always very basic in terms of the technic design (nothing like the Porsche, Bugatti or Land Rover).

But as a display model if some likes what it is: I see no reason against the Toyota.

7 hours ago, jshuiting said:

I thought that the bricks themselves could always be copied, but that the actual lego sets were copyrighted? I may be wrong but i've seen some CaDA sets being posted here before unlike L*pin. 
 

There are bricks whose design is protected, so the design of some bricks is different while the function is the same (sharp corners -> round corners etc..)

 

[Gray Gear]

2 hours ago, Gimmick said:

I would not say, that Cada is "On the Dark Side of the Brick". Cada/DoubleE is a normal company just like Lego or Cobi

The Dark Side of the Brick was referring to the non-LEGO Brick community, not to CADA. There are a lot of companys that pruduce Bricks themselves and have great original Designs, but you have to know a thing or two to not end up with bad quality bricks. Most LEGO alternatives have good brick quality, just not as perfect as LEGO. But some Brands still sell absolute trash :/

Edited April 11, 2020 by Gray Gear

[Parazels]

Super! I would immediately buy it if it were a Lego set!

Actually any Chinese manufacturer can find and hire good Lego designers among our community!

Hey, Cada! Buy my vintage tractor!

Edited April 11, 2020 by Parazels

[johnnym]

Another thing to note: There's now a second source for 20 x 30 mm rims which allow for the pivot point to be located inside of the rims AFAICS.

[Bartybum]

Frankly I find their building block catalogue hilarious... car car car car gun car car car car car 

[amorti]

6 minutes ago, Bartybum said:

Frankly I find their building block catalogue hilarious... car car car car gun car car car car car 

The guns are a bit weird and 

Yes there are a lot of small RC cars there because they're saving development costs by offering a lot in the same chassis. But they're not quite a one trick pony.

http://m.en.doubleeagle.cc/products_list/&pmcId=158&productCategoryColumnId=1.html

Excavator, tank, helicopter, robot, piggy bank, Santa...
 

[Dylan M]

How about the quality of the gears compare to Lego gear?

[Gray Gear]

Just now, Dylan M said:

How about the quality of the gears compare to Lego gear?

LEGO gears are still a bit better than any other alternative. I use non-LEGO bricks in my MOCs, but for the drivetrain and stuff I still only use original LEGO bricks. But CADA quality works fine as well.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Gray Gear

[Jim]

On 4/10/2020 at 8:12 PM, jshuiting said:

I'm not a huge fan of the chinese knock-offs, but this one caught my attention.

I normally wouldn't buy any off-brand lego as it doesn't hold any value whatsoever, but i'm really tempted with this one.
Any thoughts?

I do have some thoughts. One of them is that we DO NOT discuss clone brands here. 

[Jim]

I feel the need to clarify the reason behind locking this topic (I have unlocked it for now, to be able to discuss).

In the past we have had a topic about CADA, but that was focussed on a motor controller. I know that still violates the site guidelines, but that was an exception.

Let's keep the CADA discussion in that single topic, and try to focus on the motor controls.

Thanks!

[brickphisto]

@Jim: I use a Cada battery box and controller for my RC Porsche 911 MT moc which I just presented. Of course everything else including the three PF motors is Lego. I hope that is okay.

[Jim]

25 minutes ago, legophisto said:

@Jim: I use a Cada battery box and controller for my RC Porsche 911 MT moc which I just presented. Of course everything else including the three PF motors is Lego. I hope that is okay.

Good question 

Yeah, that's okay. I will allow the CADA battery box and controller. 

 

[Jim]

Sorry...NO ELECTRONICS!

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

So.. This has been turned into a place where to discuss cada motor controls? My bad.

Edited April 15, 2020 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy

[amorti]

It's a tricky one... When is a clone a clone and when is it compatible parts?

L* steal Lego designs and publish them with krummy bricks. MouldKing steal moc designs. Those are easy decisions; they're clone brands one way or another.

CaDA don't steal designs, they don't have copies of protected Lego parts, and they have several of their own elements which Lego don't have. All their parts have CaDA stamped somewhere, and most have some small design difference to Lego.

Sembo don't steal designs but as far as I know they're less picky on Lego's IP regarding parts.

Anyway, back to the point.

The CaDA and MouldKing battery boxes are better than Lego PF because Bluetooth. But not better because still on/off. Correspondingly, the servos are built cheaper with left/right only and can't manage proportional steering even if you attach them to a proportional controller.

It's a rechargable lithium battery, but the USB socket isn't wired correctly so you can only use the wire it comes with.  

It can barely be compared to the buwizz it shares a form factor with (CaDA, MouldKing is about a brick taller). No proportional control, no fast or ludicrous mode, lower battery capacity.

The biggest advantage though, is that it's cheap. Really cheap. You could happily put this in a moc meant for buwizz as a placeholder or while your 100e buwizz is tied up something else.

Not sure there's a whole lot more to add than that.

Edited April 15, 2020 by amorti

[Bartybum]

2 hours ago, Jim said:

Sorry...NO ELECTRONICS!

Sooooo, no CaDa discussion here at all? If that's the case then I think it would be worth moving this topic to the Community Forum, since we're really only here to talk about the AE86 model.