I love that these little vehicles come fully loaded so that when you purchase one you’ll need absolutely nothing else to get going. Not a one size fits all platform, the varying body styles look great and are sure to please a wide variety of people to boot. Additionally, making a brushless power system a standard feature in such a small vehicle, and keeping it at a great price point makes it darn near impossible to pass up  as you can see from our video.

So after 5 days of vehicle week under our belt, here are our PROS & CONS
+ Sealed pinion and spur gear
+ All versions are well detailed and look phenomenal
+ Very quick and efficient brushless motor
+ Great price point for a 4wd brushless rtr
+ Everything needed in just one box
+ Mini hex adapters help prevent rims from stripping out
+ Waterproof electronics package
– Time to upgrade the battery connector

THE LAST WORD
There are four simple steps to success with any version of the 4.18BL vehicles from Dromida. Simply pick your favorite body style, take it home, charge the battery and have fun. They need little upkeep and unless you drive into something head on at full speed the likelihood of any major damage from general use us next to nothing. Being waterproof wet grass and a puddle from time to time are not going to end a day of fun prematurely and all the goodies Dromida already has on the market for the 4.18 series will bolt right on to this brushless series. With their speed, size, looks, price and all-around performance they are just the right amount of fun for just about anyone looking to bet a vehicle without breaking the bank. We hope you enjoyed Dromida Vehicle week and make sure you bookmark rcdriver.com for more vehicle weeks and non stop RC information.

LINKS
Dromida, www.dromida.com

DROMIDA 4.18 BL ARTICLE SERIES
Click the following links to see the other articles in this series on the Dromida 4.18 BL vehicles
UNBOXING (with video)
FEATURES
PERFORMANCE
HOP-UPS

The post Day 5: Dromida 4.18 BL Car Series Action Video & Final Thoughts appeared first on RC Driver.

Dromida has 5 fun 1/18 vehicles, the DB4.18BL, DT4.18BL, BX4.18BL, MT4.18BL, and SC4.18BL that as of late are taking the mini world by storm. As you might have guessed, they all come with brushless power systems to make them fast and they perform well due to great suspension and a 4wd drivetrain. To up the ante so to speak Dromida has a nice line of option parts to make these already great little vehicles even better. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.

45-tooth blue aluminum spur gear, IDDC1105, $7.99; Aluminum Center Drive Shaft Blue, DIDC1107, $4.99;Aluminum Dogbone/Drive Shaft Blue (4), DIDC1108, $11.99;Aluminum Axle Set Blue (4), DIDC1102, $7.99

These little vehicles have powerful brushless motors that can cause the drivetrain to wear after much use. The Aluminum Drive Train Kit that Dromida offers addresses this and replaces nearly plastic part with an aluminum counterpart. The most important of these is the inclusion of a blue anodized aluminum 45-tooth spur gear. Even though fully enclosed, the stock spur can fail due sand and tiny debris getting in and from the power of the brushless motor. Other items included in this kit are a set of 4 aluminum axles and dogbones, all anodized in blue, and a blue anodized center driveshaft.   Installation of the axles and dogbones is fairly quick and painless while installing the center driveshaft and spur gear will take about 20-minutes.

Aluminum Shock Tower Front/Rear – DIDC1124, Front Aluminum Hinge Pin Mount – DIDC111, $11.99, Rear Aluminum Hinge Pin Mount – DIDC1112, $11.99

All of the Dromida 4.18BL vehicles utilize the same exact shock tower on the front and back ends. The aftermarket Aluminum Shock Towers that Dromida offers come anodized in blue, have a pair of shock mounting holes for tuning and are much more rigid that the parts they replace. Installation of these is fairly straight forward and should take 5-10-minutes for the pair.

Front and rear Aluminum Hinge Pin Mounts fall into my list of “must have” option parts. There is nothing wrong with the stock plastic units, but after must use they tend to develop quite a bit of slop. In addition, the front mount usually takes plenty abuse due to front end mishaps while driving and thus develops slop faster than the rear and at times might even crack. The aluminum option parts should install in 5-10 minutes, will not develop much slop at all, even after hours of use, and are sure not to crack or fail.

2S, 7.4V, 20C, 1600mAh LiPo Battery Pack – DIDC1134, $21.99

The easiest way to increase the speed of these already fast little vehicles is to swap out the included 6-cell NiMH battery pack for a LiPo battery.  To make picking the right battery easy Dromida released a small, 2S, 7.4V, 20C, 1600mAh LiPo Battery Pack that is a direct fit into the 4.18BL chassis.  It comes with the proper connector mini battery connector, balancing lead and it weight is miniscule at right around 3oz.  Best of all, it not only adds a bit of speed, it increases run time for more fun!

Carbon Fiber Battery Strap – DIDC1100, $5.99 and Aluminum Chassis Brace – DIDC1103, $29.99

The optional Carbon Fiber Battery Strap from Dromida replaces a plastic piece.  While it is not going to make any of the vehicles perform much better, being carbon fiber it looks fantastic and is light weight.

The Aluminum Chassis Brace is a direct replacement for the stock plastic upper deck and installs in about 5-10-minutes with just a small Phillips head screwdriver.  Being aluminum it is considerably more rigid than the unit that it replaces and helps cut down on chassis flex.

Long Silver Extra Soft Shock Springs – DIDC119, $2.99, Long Black Extra Firm Shock Springs DIDC1117, $2.99, Long Oil Filled Shocks – DIDC1127, $11.99

Suspension on small vehicles is of the utmost importance and the key to any well performing suspension is the shocks.  The DB4.18BL, DT4.18BL and SC4.18BL all use the same shock lengths while the BX4.18BL uses a shorter set and the MT4.18 uses a longer set.

The blue anodized aluminum aftermarket shocks that Dromida offers are exceptionally smooth, feature threaded bodies so making pre-load adjustments is painless because there are no clips to fumble around with, and have bleeder type caps so building and rebuilding shocks is easy.  In addition to offering aluminum bodies shocks Dromida also offers hard and soft springs.  Racers might opt for the Extra Soft springs while bashers might lean toward the Extra Firm springs.  The entire process of building and installing 4 shocks on any of the 4.18BL vehicles should take no more than 20-minutes.

Rear Aluminum Hub Carriers – DIDC1106, $39.99, Aluminum Steering Knuckles – DIDC1104, $39.99, Aluminum C-Hubs – DIDC1101, $39.99

In the spirit of adding style and durability to the 4.18BL vehicles Dromida has aluminum knuckles, hub carriers and c-hubs.  All look sharp being anodized in Dromida blue, are tough because they are aluminum, and have tight tolerances because they are precision machined.  The rear aluminum carriers are very rigid, won’t develop much slop, and install in about 5-minutes.

The front c-hubs and steering knuckles work together hand in hand and should take about 15-minutes to install.   Together, they virtually eliminate all outer suspension slop on the 4.18BL vehicles, are super tough and rigid.

Brushed Speed Kit – DIDC1151, $24.99

If you happen to have gotten one of the earlier, brushed versions, of the Dromida 4.18 vehicles and are looking to go faster the Brushed Speed Kit may be the right choice.  Costing less than $30, it comes with a 22-turn motor clip on motor heatsink to keep the motor running cool and efficiently and a pair of pinion gears specific to that various versions of the 4.18.

Aluminum Shock Kits – DIDC1171, $69.99

To toughen up and smooth out the suspension the Dromida Shock Kit is a great place to start, there are three different versions with different shock lengths for the various versions of the 4.18.  Each kit comes with 4 aluminum oil filled shocks that have threaded shock bodies and collars for easy preload adjustments, and interchangeable front/rear aluminum shock towers. We received the kit specific to the MT4.18 so our mini monster truck is sure to take on bumps and jumps even better than before.

Aluminum Drivetrain Kit – DIDC1160, $29.99

The last of the three hop-up kits from Dromida takes aim at the stock plastic components in the drivetrain.  The Drivetrain kit consists of an aluminum center driveshaft, aluminum axles, aluminum dogbones and most importantly a 45-toth aluminum spur gear.  All parts are made of top quality aluminum and are anodized in eye catching blue.  Even though the stock spur is housed with a gear cover small bits and debris can still get in wan wreak havoc.  Coupled with the power of the brushless motor, replacing the stock plastic spur with the aluminum gear featured in this kit is a must-have.  In a hard crash dogbones may pop out and go flying.  This can happen on any vehicle and trying to locate a small black dogbone is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  These blue aluminum replacement units are not just stronger than the plastic parts they replace, being anodized in blue makes them easy to see and find!

Clear DT4.18 Body with Decals – DIDC1085, $19.99

If you like to custom paint your vehicle or simply want a personalized look Dromida has you covered. While I got my hands on a body for the DT4.18BL, and will soon send it off for some custom paint work (keep checking back to see how it comes out), Dromida has bodies for the DB4.18BL, BX4.18BL, MT4.18BL, and SC4.18BL too. All come with decal sheet so there is no need to stress out on painting in window nets and headlights.

WRAP-UP
So along with the fun factor of insane speeds out of a small machine, you have the ability to customize your Dromida Speed series with a variety of performance, durability or cosmetic improving hop-ups. To find the prices for each item, head on over to Dromida’s 4.18 parts page: HERE

DROMIDA 4.18 BL ARTICLE SERIES

Click the following links to see the other articles in this series on the Dromida 4.18 BL vehicles

UNBOXING (with video)

FEATURES

PERFORMANCE

The post Day 4: Dromida 4.18 BL Car Series Hop-Up appeared first on RC Driver.

OUT TO PLAY
What better way to test these cool little vehicles than on a playground. Thus, I headed for School Street

Park in Agawam, MA not too far from where I live. There was a dry and dusty baseball diamond, lots of hills that could act as jumps and the ground around the jungle gym area had been rubberized and had lots of elevation changes. I went with my two nephews, Brett and Doc and we had a boat load of fun each taking turns driving all five of the new 4.1BL Dromida vehicles. One thing we noticed immediately when taking a few passes up and down the parking lot is that speed wise, not only were they plenty fast due to the brushless power plants probably hitting near 25mph with the stock battery, they were all really evenly matched, no surprise as they share identical power plants but this made bashing together lots of fun.

Greg’s Opinion: After driving each of the Dromida 4.18BL Speed Series vehicles, I managed to pick out a favorite from the bunch; the DT4.18BL. The truck has a wide stance with its desert style tires and rims and I feel it gave it a performance edge over the others in stability. In my opinion the DT looks killer too with its light bar and spare tire out back. But the real attraction here is the brushless system, this is one mighty mini!

On the dusty and dry baseball diamond, where traction was quite low, each worked well as we raced the base path. We all agreed that the BX4.18BL had the most traction due in part to the mini pin tires, rear wing and cab forward body style. The MT4.18BL had the least traction on the dry diamond but I really liked power sliding the MT4.18BL around the diamond and this made rounding 3^rd base and heading home a blast. The SC4.18BL and DB4.18BL, both riding on the same tires seemed to have the best of both worlds as traction was very good and they had fun and predictable sliding characteristics.

Tony’s Opinion: The Dromida DB4.18 was my choice simply because it looks like a scale desert buggy. I love the lights, the little drivers and the open-wheel design; even the spare tire hanging off the back looks cool. I found the DB4.18 to be a bit more nimble with the weight of the body and cage centered over the chassis. It also only required the removal of two body clips to gain access to the internals; the body swings forward and out of the way. Pretty neat little buggy.

The next stop was the jungle gym playground area with the rubberized surface. This sprayed on coating that covered the ground looks like sand but is very forgiving should a youngster take a hard fall. The area offered some rolling type hills with a few spots that were ideal for turning into jumps. Zipping around here was great fun because the surface provided a great deal of traction, a great departure from the baseball diamond. Because of this hard sharp turns could cause a traction roll, more so on the MT4.18BL as it had taller tires and a higher center of gravity than the rest. The vehicle that seemed to excel on this surface the most was the DB4.18BL as the combination of the buggy body and tires lent itself to quick cornering speeds when both entering and exiting corners.

Deans Opinion: My favorite vehicle in this line up is without question the SC4.18BL. I really like the look of the full fendered SC style body and the paint scheme used by Dromida on this vehicle is super sharp. The body itself helps protect the chassis and suspension components should there be any mishaps and the four faux light buckets adds realism; nice touch! Additionally, the tires used on the SC4.18BL worked very well on every surface I used the truck on.

Jumping these little vehicles was a blast too. All took off what a fairly level attitude or with the nose point upwards ever so slightly. Should any of the vehicles get out of shape while in air, due to an ill-fated approach, a blip of throttle would quickly pull the nose up or brake would bring the front end down to where I needed it. Landing was a bit rough as they tended to bottom out due in part to light shock oil being used through-out the line-up of vehicles. That said, it did not take too long for the suspension to settle and then get back on the throttle. Using the smaller playground slides as jumps was also a blast as the vehicles would often go sailing. Doing this caused tough tumbles more often than not, sending vehicles cartwheeling or resulting in upside down landings! The only issue with this was a few ball cups would up popping off, an easy fix that did not even require pliers. Considering the severity of these crashes I’d say the 4.18BL line-up is pretty darn tough.

Before we departed I charged up a small 2S LiPo pack for the DT4.18BL and had at it on playground area. The truck had considerable more rip, causing it to traction roll much more easily if I was not careful when cornering, and launched itself through the air over jumps and off of slides. These little cars are great with the stock battery but turn into something fantastic with a simple battery change!

Matt’s Opinion: The new BX 4.18BL from Dromida keeps all the great characteristics of the original brushed BX 4.18, but adds the power of a potent 5300Kv brushless system. This little buggy looks like a shrunken down 1/8 scale rig that is huge on performance. Add to that the fact that this little beast rings in at just under 150 dollars fully ready to run and you’ve got a winning combo for your first basher.

PERFORMANCE RATING TALLY
Performance – Acceleration: 10
Performance – Steering: 8
Performance – Handling: 9
Performance – Durability: 10
Overall Opinion: 9

DROMIDA 4.18 BL ARTICLE SERIES

Click the following links to see the other articles in this series on the Dromida 4.18 BL vehicles

UNBOXING (with video)

FEATURES

HOP-UPS

The post Day 3: Dromida 4.18 BL Car Series Performance appeared first on RC Driver.

AT A GLANCE
WHO MAKES IT: Dromida
WHO IT’S FOR: Everyone
PART NUMBER: DIDC0051, DIDC0052, DIDC0053, DIDC0055, DIDC0056
HOW MUCH: $149.99 – 169.98
BUILD TYPE: RTR

FEATURE BREAKDOWN

Let me start with the chassis of these little vehicles. The DB4.18BL Desert Buggy, DT4.18 BL Desert Truck, BX4.18 BL Buggy, MT4.18 BL Monster Truck and SC4.18 BL Short Course Truck all utilize the same composite dual deck style chassis. The wide lower plate features a channel down the center that doubles as a chassis brace to limit front to back flex and battery stay. The lower portion also incorporates a large portion of the integrated spur/pinion gear cover. The upper composite chassis deck attaches at the front and rear diff cases and up front doubles as part of the holder for the steering bellcrank. Raised ridges toward the front and rear of the plate help reduce flex and a platform located toward the center is where the receiver is mounted. While the chassis is identical on each of the 5 vehicles their length and some basic dimensions are a bit different from one another due to the various tire, body and bumper combinations used.

So, there are 5 different styles to pick from so let me detail each just a little bit. The DB4.18BL is a Desert Buggy with short course style tires and rims, integrated roll cage with spare tire mounted to the rear, and 4-LEDs built into the roof and powered by the receiver so you can have fun day and night. Like the Desert Buggy, the DT4.18 BL Desert Truck has a set of LEDs but in the form of a 6-light bar. It has, as you might have guessed a pick-up truck style body with number plates, spare tire and 6-spoke rims. The traditional looking BX4.18 BL Buggy has a cab forward style body and hard plastic wing with ridges to improve strength and performance. The MT4.18 BL Monster Truck has tall tires mounted on 6-spoke silver wheels and a pick-up monster truck inspired body similar to something you might see on a full sized truck participating at Monster Jam.   Finally we come to the SC4.18 BL Short Course. It sports a traditional short course body, multi-spoke rims, a protective bumpers that extend well beyond the tires and sweet looking mud flaps in the rear. Since all of these cars are based off of the original 4.18 series of vehicles parts selection online and at your local hobby shop should be plentiful.

Sure, the coil-over shocks found on all four corners of the 4.18BL vehicles seem small but they sure do work well. They seem to have almost the perfect oil viscosity making the suspension action quite smooth and plush. By adding or subtracting included spacers on the mini big bore shock bodies one can easily change spring pre-load to fine tune ride height to get the perfect suspension action for whatever your conditions may be.

To keep the steering action smooth across all 5 vehicles Dromida employed a dual bellcrank style steering system. Slightly modified from previous versions of the 4.18 due to the different orientation of the steering servo, it utilizes a slop free center drag link to connect the left and right sides to one another. As for the servo. It now faces forward as opposed to the side on previous versions, and still has a spring loaded servo saver to keep the gears inside the mini servo well protected. The spring is a tad soft so bashers and newcomers can have plenty of worry free fun and should someone want a more responsive feel the spring can easily be removed, tightened, and reinstalled fairly easily. A small drag link connects the servo saver to the right side of the bellcrank.

The efficient 4WD drivetrain features a plastic shaft that runs down the center of the double deck composite chassis. Located at both ends, rugged gear differentials are connected by the center shaft and are packed full of thick grease so they require little to no maintenance even after much use. If you really like to tinker the diff grease can be changed to thicker or thinner viscosity to fine tune performance. A plastic spur gear that attaches to the plastic center shaft is kept safe from dirt and debris due to an incorporated gear cover, a feature that many other similar vehicles lack. Plastic dogbone style driveshafts transfer power from the differentials to the wheels and can later be upgraded to blue aluminum units should you so desire.

A step up on most other vehicles in this category, Dromida utilized fast 20mm 5300kV brushless motor in the all five of the 4.18BL edition vehicles. It is matched with a programmable 25A esc (capable of powering a 5700kV motor should you want to upgrade) making for a smooth and powerful combination. Being an all-inclusive rtr, a 1300mAh, 7.2v NiMh battery pack and 4-hour trickle charger and even 4 AA batteries are included so there is nothing more to buy once your purchase is made. The charger comes with a small monitor will that light up red when charging and turn off once peaked so there is no guessing as to the status of the battery. The 2.4GHz transmitter features basic steering and throttle trim as well as steering and throttle dual rate adjustments. Being powered by the 4 included AA batteries it is lightweight and has a great feel when being held for use.

The DB4.18BLDesert Buggy and DT4.18BL Desert Truck come with a little something special, bright LED lights that make them ideal for night time use. The DT4.18BL has a 6-LED light bar mounted on the roof of the pick-up truck style body while the DB4.18BL has a 4-LED lights built into the Lexan roof. They are prewired for use when you buy them and are powered off of the receiver.

SPECS & TUNING OPTIONS
Dimensions
Length: DB4.18BL – 11.5” (294mm), DT4.18BL- 11.9” (302mm), BX4.18BL – 10.2” (260mm), MT4.18BL – 10.6” (270mm), SC4.18BL – 11.4” (290mm)
Width: DB4.18BL – 7.0” (180mm), DT4.18BL – 6.9” (176mm), BX4.18BL – 7.16” (182mm), MT4.18BL – 7.4” (190mm), SC4.18BL – 7.5” (190mm)
Wheelbase: All versions 6.6” (168mm)
Weight with battery: Approximately with a slight variation by model 1.51lb (690g)

Body, wheels and tires
Body: Pre-painted
Wheels: Varies by model
Wheel adapter type: 8mm mini hex
Tires: Varies by model

Suspension
Type: 4-wheel independent
Shock positions: (F) 2-tower, 2-arm, (R) 3-tower, 2-arm
Camber: Adjustable turnbuckles
Roll: Fixed
Wheelbase: Fixed
Ride height: Pre-load clips on the shocks
Misc: N/A

Steering
Type: Dual bellcrank
Toe: Fixed turnbuckles

Chassis
Type: Tub style upper with upper and lower deck
Material: Composite plastic
Thickness: N/A

Drivetrain
Type: 4WD
Transmission: Shaft driven
Differential: Gear
Clutch Type: N/A
Gear ratio: Optional pinion gears
Bearings: Full set of shielded

DROMIDA 4.18 BL ARTICLE SERIES

Click the following links to see the other articles in this series on the Dromida 4.18 BL vehicles

UNBOXING (with video)

PERFORMANCE

HOP-UPS

The post Day 2: Dromida 4.18 BL Car Series Features appeared first on RC Driver.

DROMIDA DT4.18BL– Our first Dromida vehicle to roll out in the unboxing is the Desert Truck version of the 4.18BL vehicles. It’s perhaps hitting the top spot because its the Editor-In-Chief, Greg Vogel’s favorite version of the series offerings. What caught Greg’s attention is the bright red prepainted truck body with tear style graphics, light bar on top with 5 LED lights installed ready to beam down on the dirt. The bed of the truck is cut out and a spare tire sits in the tire rack. He also liked the large front bumper with four faux lights, roll bar on the bed of the body and the silver rims with chunky off-road treads on each corner. Under the body the majority of the platform remains unchanged from Dromida’s previous 4.18 offerings. The vehicle is 4WD with front and rear gear differentials, independent wishbone suspension with oil filled shocks and a robust composite chassis with upper deck brace. A new, more powerful, electronics package is really what stands out here. Bolted to the motor mount is a potent 5300Kv sensorless brushless motor with that receives power from a BE18 25-Amp brushless electronic speed control.  Since the power-system swap requires a stand alone ESC, Dromida now uses a stand alone servo and receiver in the Speed vehicles where the standard 4.18 uses an all in one servo/ receiver/ ESC unit.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

– Pre-assembled truck with all of the electronic gear installed. The factory build looks great and even the wires are neatly bundled.

– All the batteries you need to get going are included. We’re showing Duratrax batteries here as we received the first vehicles off of the assembly line for Vehicle Week and the Dromida batteries were not ready yet. The Dromida BL kits will receive similar batteries with the Dromida logo for both the included “AA” batteries and 1300mAh NiMh battery.

– A wall charger is included in the box, but this isn’t your standard 350mA output wall charger setup, this set includes a charger monitoring adapter that will show you when the charger is charging and when it’s done. This takes the guess work out of determining if your battery is charged on a basic wall charger.

– The D100 2.4GHz radio is the perfect blend of basic functions, comfortable grip and a cool look. The model brake disc and blue caliper behind the chrome steering wheel is a nice touch. We also like the easy to tweak steering and throttle trim adjustment knobs right behind the wheel as well as the throttle and steering dual rate knobs under the hatch. Also under the hatch are the on/off and reversing switches.

-For ease of use, Dromida slips a simple manual into the box that helps you get the car going and instructs first-time drivers on how to use and drive the vehicle.

FACTS
Manufacturer: Dromida
Distributed By: Hobbico
Product: DT4.18BL
Class: 1/18 4WD Truck
Power system: Electric Brushless
Kit type: RTR
What’s in the box: Assembled truck with brushless ESC and motor, radio system, servo, painted body, “AA” batteries, 1300mAh NiMh battery, wall charger with monitor, suspension clips and manual
Needed to complete: Just a fun place to run
Who it’s for: Any RC enthusiast
Part Number: DIDC0056
Price: $169.98

DROMIDA DB4.18BL– Since there is a desert truck, there has to be a desert buggy right? This is editor, Tony Phalen’s, favorite Dromida Speed offering. What grabs the eye on the DB4.18BL is the chassis hugging composite plastic roll cage with body panels screwed on the sides and top to give it a cool off-roader look. The panels are pre-painted with a cool modern graphics scheme and four LED lights are affixed in the roof to light up the way. On the rear of the buggy, a full size spare is bolted to the racer and a driver inside the cage bumps up the realism of this model.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

– Like the DT4.18BL, in the box you get an assembled buggy with electronics installed, batteries, charger, radio and manual. The buggy is of course, brushless and set up for speed runs and all terrain action. The LED lights simply plug into the ESC via a long harness and give you lots of light on the road when running at dusk.

FACTS
Manufacturer: Dromida
Distributed By: Hobbico
Product: DB4.18BL
Class: 1/18 4WD Buggy
Power system: Electric Brushless
Kit type: RTR
What’s in the box: Assembled truck with brushless ESC and motor, radio system, servo, painted body, “AA” batteries, 1300mAh NiMh battery, wall charger with monitor, suspension clips and manual
Needed to complete: Just a fun place to run
Who it’s for: Any RC enthusiast
Part Number: DIDC0055
Price: $169.98

DROMIDA SC4.18BL- For those who love the look of a short course truck, Dromida offers a stylish SC truck in the Speed series. The BL version of the SC4.18 gets wild blue and purple graphics for its scheme which sets the tone of this power machine. The truck is fitted with the wide protective bumper up front and has a wide rear bumper complete with mudflaps. The truck shares the same wheels as the Desert Buggy as well as the close tread tires. Inside is the same powerful BL system and platform as the vehicle previously talked about. We love the look of this small SC machine and can’t wait to rip it up in the dirt.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

– To the right is what’s in the box and like the previous machines, Dromida has taken care of the hard work in building the truck and installing the radio gear. Simply charge up the included battery with the included charger, install the “AA” batteries in the radio then install the charged pack in the truck and go outside to tear up the terrain.

FACTS
Manufacturer: Dromida
Distributed By: Hobbico
Product: SC4.18BL
Class: 1/18 4WD Short Course Truck
Power system: Electric Brushless
Kit type: RTR
What’s in the box: Assembled truck with brushless ESC and motor, radio system, servo, painted body, “AA” batteries, 1300mAh NiMh battery, wall charger with monitor, suspension clips and manual
Needed to complete: Just a fun place to run
Who it’s for: Any RC enthusiast
Part Number: DIDC0051
Price: $149.98

DROMIDA MT4.18BL- You just can’t beat a monster truck and Dromida was spot on in creating this mighty mini monster truck. The MT4.18 BL is topped off with a cool flatbed truck body littered in cool graphics with vibrant colors that commands attention from onlookers. Up front is a large bumper with skid to help punch through dirt and glide over grass. In the rear a skid style bumper protects the truck when cartwheeling; yes this fast MT can take quite a tumble when you’re out bashing. On each corner are wide spoke silver coated rims with low profile monster truck all-terrain treaded tires. This truck shares the same platform as the vehicles above so parts availability should be no problem if you happen to need to maintain your machine.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

– The completed truck comes as you see it on the right, ready to rock and roll after battery charging and installation. Something we haven’t mentioned previously are the small C-clip looking pieces in the photo. These are the spring preload spacers Dromida includes with the kit to adjust suspension ride height. The MT is set well from the factory, but if you need to give the suspension a bit more down travel, slide some spacers in above the springs on the oil filled shocks.

FACTS
Manufacturer: Dromida
Distributed By: Hobbico
Product: MT4.18BL
Class: 1/18 4WD Monster Truck
Power system: Electric Brushless
Kit type: RTR
What’s in the box: Assembled truck with brushless ESC and motor, radio system, servo, painted body, “AA” batteries, 1300mAh NiMh battery, wall charger with monitor, suspension clips and manual
Needed to complete: Just a fun place to run
Who it’s for: Any RC enthusiast
Part Number: DIDC0052
Price: $149.98

DROMIDA BX4.18BL- Last but certainly not least is the 4WD buggy version of the Dromida Speed line-up. The majority of the parts on this buggy are shared with the vehicles above, however there are some minor changes to note. Lets go with the obvs, the body for starters is a cab forward style buggy body with plenty of room in the side pods to clear the electronics underneath. The blue, green and white streaking graphics give the buggy a good look and the body comes predecaled with the logos you see in the photo. Off the back and aggressive double deck wing bolts to some flexible wing mounts to give the back of the buggy some downforce for stability and traction. The front gets a small rounded buggy style bumper and each corner gets cool silver hole-style rims with a chevron angled mini-pin tire for maximum traction in the dirt. The features that further set the buggy apart are the buggy specific shock towers that don’t have body mounts molded to them like the truck towers do. The buggy also features a shorter shock up front that works well for the buggy platform. This buggy gets the same potent BL system as the others and we’ll give you a hint on performance, there is a lot of wheel spinning power packed in this buggy!

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

As with all of the other machines, the BX4.18 is ready to go, assembled, painted, trimmed, and ready for battery installation. If you have a dirt lot, or driveway that is begging for an RC car to dish out action on, this could be the ready-to-run buggy that can deliver.

FACTS
Manufacturer: Dromida
Distributed By: Hobbico
Product: BX4.18BL
Class: 1/18 4WD Buggy
Power system: Electric Brushless
Kit type: RTR
What’s in the box: Assembled truck with brushless ESC and motor, radio system, servo, painted body, “AA” batteries, 1300mAh NiMh battery, wall charger with monitor, suspension clips and manual
Needed to complete: Just a fun place to run
Who it’s for: Any RC enthusiast
Part Number: DIDC0053
Price: $149.98

RC Driver Reveal Video

WRAP-UP

Here we have some of the most powerful 1/18 ready to run, radio control vehicles to hit the scene at a price point many can easily afford. We like that Dromida has expanded the line and bumped up the power so those of us with a need for speed can have plenty on tap without having to buy an aftermarket system to install. This series looks great and if they’re anything like Dromida’s standard 4.18 Series should pump out plenty of fun. Check back for Day 2 of Dromida 4.18BL Series Vehicle week where we go over the features these vehicles have to offer.

DROMIDA 4.18 BL ARTICLE SERIES

Click the following links to see the other articles in this series on the Dromida 4.18 BL vehicles

FEATURES

PERFORMANCE

HOP-UPS

ACTION

The post Day 1: Dromida 4.18 BL Car Series Unboxing appeared first on RC Driver.