RC Can Be An Inexpensive Hobby - Part 2.

RC Can Be An Inexpensive Hobby - Part 1.

Now for car number two. Literally. This is a vintage black plastic Traxxas Hawk. Distinguished from the white plastic Traxxas Hawk by the obvious color of the chassis. The black version had a much longer production run so that will be the version you would most likely find. This is an awesome starting point because Traxxas hasn't changed the components very much over the years. That means the parts interchange among all of their 2wd offroad vehicles is very high. That is a very important factor when choosing the right $40 truck. If it costs big bucks to repair and restore the truck it won't be a low buck project. This truck is very similar to modern Rustlers, Stampedes, and Slashes. In fact you can say this is their grandfather! This puppy came in stock condition with the addition of a 13T trinity and a Duratrax/Novak T4 esc. It did not come with a radio but it did have a servo and a receiver.

RC Can Be An Inexpensive Hobby - Part 1.

$40 doesn't go a long way any more. I've spent more than that buying tires for 1 car! What can you do in this hobby for that small amount of money and have fun? Buy alcohol. Nope. Cruise craigslist and ebay and find an old stadium truck. Stadium trucks have been around since the late 80's. When Tamiya released the Blackfoot in 1986 People realized how much fun an ordinary 2wd buggy could be with really big tires on it. The better the buggy, the better the truck. Since it's a dead simple concept and old as dirt, there are approximately 37 million stadium trucks in the world. My math may be a little off since I pulled that number out of my butt from online research. The point is they are plentiful and cheap. Years ago in AZ I showed some friends my $40 concept and bought some Traxxas/Losi hybrid with vintage Futaba electrics and an unknown motor for $45 with local pick up. This time I went to the bay and craigslist.

Tamiya and the TA06-Pro

Tamiya is gearing up to drop the latest in their long line of touring cars. I was a mere schoolboy when the TA01 chassis revolutionized on road racing. It didn't make a very big splash right away. Stadium trucks were in the middle of their assault on our dirt tracks and oval racing had begun to collapse so there was little interest in these cars. I wanted one badly though. I liked the idea of a tunable independent suspension, realistic looks, and rubber tires. My Kyosho Testarossa at the time was immensely fun and that was simply a lowered Ultima 2 with street tires. I just couldn't afford the $160 they were asking for the Tamiya R32 GTR (TA01). Fast forward over twenty years and the Tamiya TA series is still going strong. The TA02 is my favorite but I was in love with the modular layout of the TA03, while the TA04 was Tamiya's slick entry into the dual belt touring car market. For a while I thought the TA05 would be the final entry in the TA saga but apparently I was wrong. I like it. I am not sure about the shock layout but as with most Tamiya innovations it will probably grow on me. These are just preliminary photos and I will be doing a real report when it gets released in May.

Tamiya's Soupped Up Dune Buggy

Tamiya is doing a superb job at being Tamiya. What do I mean? Kyosho doesn't sell mechanically stunning RC models any more. Traxxas went from "American racing icon to challenge Associated and Losi" to RTR's at Pep Boys. Losi went from a family of racers to cheap RTR's. I can't continue, it's too depressing. You get the idea. So meanwhile Tamiya is still producing charming, good looking, durable, and fun kits. That's why when you see my Tahoe you know it's mine by the big Tamiya decal on it. For those of you that feel like I do about RC, kits, and Tamiya take a look at what they are giving us this summer. It even comes with a driver figure! With no official press release I had to dig up these old crappy, watermark-removed-with-mspaint images. While preparing for publication I noticed the screws in the shocks. I really hope these are CVA's and not yellow friction shocks. "Coil spring damped" means friction shocks in Tamiya =(.

HPI 1970 Dodge Challenger YES!

I like the new Dodge Challenger simply because of the lack of rear wheel drive manual transmission cars in today's market. I love the old Challenger because of how awesome they were and the movie Vanishing Point (that might be a link to watch it free online). There was also a girl that lived behind me growing up that had a pink one. Despite it's color I wanted that car. I will always regret not approaching her about selling it. It was obvious she didn't want it. HPI has done the car justice. VTA (Vintage Trans Am) racers will love it. RC drag racers will love it. The tiny RC hotrod community will also love it. I love and you will too. Look at it and drool.

The era of American muscle cars rumbles to life once again with the addition of the 1970 Dodge Challenger body to our line-up! The ’70 Challenger was a potent competitor on the racetrack with Sam Posey behind the wheel of his bright green Challenger in the legendary Trans Am series.

Get yourself the RC version of the 1970 Dodge Challenger, designed to fit all 1/10 scale touring cars. Included with the body is a pre-cut decal sheet that includes window lines, headlights, grills, tail lights, official logos and much more, providing you with a realistically finished product.

This body is clear so you can paint it in your favorite colors. It fits 200mm touring cars and can also be used on 190mm touring cars with the use of wide offset wheels. Overspray film is included, as well as vinyl window masks to make painting quick and simple. An instruction sheet is included for the decals, and the body has dimple marks for body post drill locations.

• Photorealistic die-cut premium vinyl decals include window frames, headlights, tail lights and more, plus official logos!
• T/A and R/T stripes
• Shiny chrome vinyl decals for the ultimate in realism
• Overspray film and pre-cut vinyl window masks make painting fast and simple
• A decal instruction sheet is included for decal placement
• The body has dimple marks for body post drill locations
• Molded from clear polycarbonate plastic for durability and long life
• This is an officially licensed replica.
• Clear body (finished example shown)