Twin Jeeps at Saxe Point Park (R/C music video) 

It's definitely not cheap, but if you get into crawlers like these rather than the fast stunt vehicles, you won't break too many parts. Generally, the faster the vehicle, the more repairs it'll need. If you want to test the waters and see if you like it, I'd recommend getting a small rock crawler like the Traxxas TRX4M.

I have an old R/C tugboat somewhere that I'd like to fix up. Haven't messed with it in a while, but it might make a fun video.

To my knowledge, the Premier Gold series was a late attempt by IHC to market higher-end, more expensive models than their usual fare. It wasn't very successful because the locomotives themselves were pretty much the same thing they had been making for 20 years, with some very minor improvements (like blackened metal wheels and a DCC quick plug). I'd like to get my hands on one at some point, just to see if it's actually better.

I've never done kitbashing on quite that level, so I can't offer much, unfortunately. Plastic putty and CA glue are your friends.