Hi Nick,
As basic as this sounds I got a switch that you plug into a channel on the rx to control lights or just about anything remotely.
I've also got a sound module with 2 speakers from eBay that you load the sound onto a microSD card which I find amusing, this also plugs into a rx channel.
Animatronics is new to me, I'm learning slowly, my 1/4 scale Donald Campbell should scare a few people.
I'm also dabbling with 3D printed linear actuators at the moment, I'm up to 130mm of travel from a normal servo.
Ohhh the entertainment 🤗
Cheers
Wayne

Hi Nick, all sorts of goodies! But let's walk before we try to run 😉
One thing I would recommend is a Wattmeter for testing your motor / battery combinations so you know what current the motor will draw.

Re RX Battery: PLEASE do not forget to disconnect the red lead in the ESC plug for the RX otherwise you get a clash between the RX battery and the BEC circuit of the speed controller!
Cheers Doug 😎