Tag Archives: Parma

Today in the RC Driver workshop… was a day dedicated to our RC Tool Set. Or, well at least hunting down our tools that have been scattered about during various project builds. Not only is having the right tools on hand …

I think most of us remember the old chopper building show with the father/son team. Their two different approaches to the creative process really helps make my point here. Senior wanted to draw everything up in advance on a computer to show the customer what they would be getting.

Recently I was hanging out with my friends, racing 1/10-scale 2WD buggies at the local indoor clay track. As you may know, buggies are an open wheel class where you avoid contact with the other cars. In between races we were watching the 4WD short course trucks run. These trucks were really too much for the tight indoor track, but these guys were really thrashing away, slamming into the walls, the pipes, and each other.

We have a “crime” problem in the RC world today and I have to admit that I have committed this serious crime myself. What could this horrific act be? Posting videos of scale RC crawlers... with nobody driving them! What do you see when you look in the windows of your scaler? I hope it doesn’t look like mine.

I've watched short course trucks evolve from an entry level, semi-scale, basher class to a full-on race class packed with serious competition. As the class evolved, we saw the bodies evolve from scale representations of full size models, to slick, aerodynamic bodies swiss cheesed with vent holes to prevent parachuting.

I have had a lot going on lately. The wife and I just purchased our first house together and meanwhile Parma is pumping out muscle car bodies for short course chassis faster than I can keep up. I’ve been trying to mix it up and throw other types of RC bodies in the mix, so I am just now getting to the 72 Muscle Baja, and they have already come out with two more, the 66 and 68 Muscle Baja.

When Associated re-released the original RC10, it brought back many fond memories for a lot of people. My memories are more bittersweet. When I was a kid, I had several friends who owned RC10s and I really wanted one. Whenever I brought it up with my dad and tried to show him my catalogs, he would have nothing to do with it.

I have noted in this column that Parma’s ever growing lineup of car bodies for short course truck chassis gives you the creative freedom to turn your short course into just about anything you want. Their recent lineup of muscle car bodies have been a hit with the guys at my track.

Convert your short course truck into a Classic Street Stock Race Car, Off Road Basher or Street Machine. The 85 Street Stock is sure to please with unique styling and plenty of wheel clearance to mount it high or low. …

Here’s a tip for you. When you you’re picking your next RC, don’t let the body on it influence your decision. Why? Because bodies are wear and tear items that will be replaced and when you replace it, your new look can be anything you want.

Now I have one of the lightweight Parma: Speedflo 2.0 Body versions, I just need to slap a paint job in it so I can see how it drives!

By the time you’re done building a chassis, painting
 the body can be a chore but this is no time to be
in a hurry. For me it is the best part of seeing an
 RC vehicle come together. When I saw the Vaterra Ascender release I just saw an awesome ‘86 K-5 Chevy Blazer body with a cool molded plastic chrome grill.

Parma always comes up with interesting bodies that fill a niche market, and I always happen to be in that market. I loved that they made a dune buggy body for a short course chassis, and now they have come up with this, a classic car desert racer! I have seen pictures of these cars off road, and the little angel on one shoulder tells me I should stick to the theme of a classic Baja racer, but when I look at this body, the little devil on the other shoulder says, “Hot rod flames!”

When I was a kid I loved Stompers! Older readers might remember them, but for younger readers, they were little motorized 4x4 trucks with realistic bodies that looked like the real trucks. My favorite was always the Jeep Honcho. Parma made a Honcho body back in the eighties for 2WD monster trucks. For a while they were hard to find and sought after, but Parma released a slightly revamped version not too long ago.

This month I’m going to be painting a body for one of my favorite cars. This car started out as an Losi 8IGHT 2.0 RTR nitro car. After running his first racing season with it, the original owner passed it …