Reviews

RCD Stuff: This month... More cool RCD Stuff of course

Fast, cheap and durable. It used to be a rule that you had to pick two of the three since it was nearly impossible to meet all of the criteria in one model. With the advance of manufacturing techniques and improvements in the designs of buggies in general, we live in a great time in that there are available models that are fast on the track, durable enough for bashing and very affordable, which helps bring people into the hobby.

HobbyKing Marine's Scott Free Racing Boat is an upgraded version of their previously released Quanum Aquaholic and has a scale-like appearance and paint scheme modeled on the full scale Scott Free Offshore Racing Boat that currently dominates the Super Boat Vee Class racing circuit in the United States.

The Traxxas Stampede is a well-known radio control monster truck with the very first version having been released back in 1994. It has undergone numerous modifications and versions which has helped to make it one of the most popular monster trucks out there. The latest version is the Stampede 4X4 VXL.

Sometime in 2004, when mini vehicles like the Losi Mini T were taking the industry by storm, Castle Creations released their first surface brushless electronic speed control, the Mamba 25. Designed for 1/18 vehicles, this ESC with the selection of green colored brushless motors from Castle revolutionized power systems. Since then they have released the Mamba Micro Pro and Sidewinder Micro as well as a wide selection of systems for 1/10, 1/8 and even 1/5-scale vehicles.

When looking into getting a radio control boat, things like style, performance and reliability are the keys to a fun and enjoyable experience. This is where the Pro Boat team has delivered in a big way. The Stealthwake 23 is your opportunity to have some serious fun with a boat that is the perfect compromise of high performance with a very attractive price point. As soon as I got a glimpse at the Stealthwake, I was dying to get to the water as soon as possible to rip it through my local pond.

When I think of Arrma, rugged, fast, and brutal are a few of the first words that pop into my mind. Short course trucks are nothing new in the hobby but the Arrma Fury line of trucks are some of the most unique on the market with their monocoque chassis design and extra beefy components. Arrma has recently revised their Fury lineup

My mission in RC over the years has been simple, to inspire and capture new hobbyists in the radio control car world. Some aspire to rule the block with the fastest RC car and some move on to the racing world in hopes of bring home trophies. For some time I wanted to bring home all the gold too, but I found much more satisfaction in helping people get into RC successfully. From my view, Traxxas is a company that helps this cause that is so near and dear to my heart.

Touring Cars. They're some of the fastest surface vehicles out there. Top level drivers control overpowered TCs through tight courses with long straights, all with the precision of a fighter pilot. One of the companies at the forefront of this has been Team Associated.

Certain items seem to have a fairly static shape. A tire/rim is round as is a motor, servos are fairly rectangular and speed controls are boxy with a square or rectangular design. Then someone over at Team Orion, rumor has it Oscar Jansen, decided to think outside of the box and had the bright idea to design a small round brushless esc.

Let's go through the checklist of what today’s 4WD 1/8 monster truck enthusiast expects, not demands, from a truck that they intend to purchase. One, the truck must be big; well the new Losi LST XXL2-E fits that bill, its platform can even be considered oversized.

For years now Team Durango has been releasing top-of-the-line vehicles ready to conquer tracks across the globe. Their 1/8-scale off-road line, including the DEX408T electric truggy, has always been extremely competitive, winning countless races. Still this did not stop the TD engineers from starting with a completely blank slate

The Pro5 is HB’s first competition level TC since the TCXX was released back in 2012. This all new road rocket sports some unique features that are sure to catch the eye of even a seasoned on-roader. Being the only asphalt guy in the office, there wasn’t too much of a fuss when I yanked the Pro5 from our UPS delivery and started running down the hallway to my office! Mine, I say, mine! It’s my Pro5 precious.

3D Printing technology is here and its popularity is growing rapidly! Printers are being used to create everything from prototypes, to art pieces and of course even RC model parts, basically anything you can imagine being printed in plastic can be. Turnigy saw this rapid growth in popularity and the need to fill the void by offering a 3D printer at an affordable price.

You may remember VRX Racing from the September 2014 issue in which I reviewed two of their off-road vehicles. They are fantastic offerings and had many features that reminded me of high end racing vehicles. I did have a problem with the spur gear being exposed as it seemed to be a magnet to small pebbles. Well it’s a year later and VRX Racing has an improved off road platform