Vote: Rough Rider vs Vanessa's Lunchbox

Monday 31 August

Welcome back to the Gadget Wall of Fame, where only the gadget great and good may enter. This week Judge Jon Bentley must run the rule over two of the greatest radio-controlled vehicles known to man: the Rough Rider and Vanessa’s Lunchbox!

First up Jason promotes the Rough Rider: the first RC car that could truly drive on any surface. Inspired by Baha buggies racing around Californian deserts, the Rough Rider released in 1979, and it cost £115. It had a hard plastic body, independent suspension and huge semi-pneumatic rubber tyres it sold hundreds of thousands ounits in its first few years. Even the likes of Formula 1 playboy James Hunt used to play with them. The fact that you can still get a Rough Rider 30 years on says a lot for its durability!

Suzi, meanwhile, goes all Monster truck on us with Vanessa’s Lunchbox! Catching the mood of the 80s, Tamiya released Vanessa’s Lunchbox in 1987, and was inspired by the real monster truck Rolling Thunder. It had four whopping 115mm tyres that could rip through pretty much any surface, a sealed gear box, and a rear-mounted wheelie bar that’s fantastic for stunts! It’s one of the best-selling RC cars of all-time and it was relaunched in 2005.

But which RC van got Judge Jon’s vote? The Rough Rider or Vanessa’s Lunchbox? Find out in the video above. Don’t agree? As always you can have your say below…