Yokomo Gets Funky!

I like front wheel drive RC because its challenging. The physics of of motion work against the front engine front drive layout. As the vehicle accelerates its weight shifts from the front toward the rear, reducing the amount of traction by reducing the amount of weight over the front wheels. That means chassis setup and driving skill are very important to to getting the most out of a FWD RC car.

Axial's New Super Bad Truck

Yeeee-Haaaaw! Many Americans have an inner redneck. The part that likes Coors and Four-by-fours, talking country and eating pork. I do. I quit drinking but I love my 4X4! Roads are an option and I will park it on your front lawn. I ain't scared! Like I ain't got a compound bow in there. What does this have to do with RC? E'rethang! At least now that they have such awesome and realistic trucks and parts out. My Redcat RS10 is my go to truck. So much so I have not started or finished building any of my other trucks. This one looks like it might be able to out do my truck. Look at it and lust after it. Mind the price too because it won't be too expensive either!

Tamiya RX-7 is Rotary Goodness

I've been hanging on to an M04 chassis for a while. I want to build a slick mini with it but I can't decide what body to use on it. Tamiya has just made things even more difficult. This has to be the most detailed first generation Mazda RX7 bodies available. If you've never driven a real one do yourself a favor and try one. These little cars are so much fun. They combine go-kart like handling, a smooth buzzy rotary engine, with a pretty comfortable interior to give you an experience that you will not find in any other car. In my area people are buying these up and restoring them. I had an opportunity to get one but the lack of pistons and my previous experience with bad apex seals on an FC3S RX7 convinced me otherwise.

Tamiya Does the CRX

Tamiya has done it again! There are very few RC CRX's in the hobby. I have spent many years and probably too much money gathering the pieces to complete one of these . Pretty awesome right? I decided I wanted one when I was 12 but they were hard to come by back then. Now Tamiya has released this beauty. Look at this car, it is gorgeous. It comes on the standard M05 chassis as far as I can tell and it will be a kit. I am in love. If Santa Claus brings me this and the RX-7 for Christmas I will be super stoked. I better start saving now!

Tamiya Drops Another Rerelease Bug!

The Tamiya Blitzer Beetle. This was the third and final chassis for this body. It was originally the Sand Scorcher then it was used for the Monster Beetle. The Blitzer chassis was a really sweet one. Very durable and a good amount of suspension travel, two things you didn't necessarily find on a Tamiya chassis back then. I never wanted one. Back then I was all about lexan bodies because polystyrene looked awesome and cracked real good when you crashed.

Tamiya Sand Rover 2011

I think entry level cars are the most important segment of our hobby. They serve a very important purpose. They must introduce newcomers to the hobby of RC. Back in the day a friend got a Tamiya Hotshot as his first car. I never knew he had it until I traded an NES for it. It was my third or fourth car so I was experienced enough to know he was in way over his head with this one. Consequently it was his only car. Entry level cars must be simple enough to understand, robust enough to survive, and fun enough to be interesting. Tamiya hit the mark with this one.

SPICE Has a Drift Chassis!

I really like SPICE. They are literally the spice in our RC food. The part that makes things yummy. Now they're doing something else yummy. They have a drift car. Guess where the motor is. Yup you're right. It's in front. I can't complain because SPICE is the RAUH Welt Begriff of RC. Ok I would like to be the RWB of RC so maybe they can be the Tra-Kyoto those guys are cooler anyway.

Tamiya's New Buggy Will Attack, Fast!

I hated the Tamiya Fast Attack when I was a kid. I didn't like the friction shocks, trailing arm suspension, or the fact that the entire kit was molded in beige. Not one kid in our area had one. Now in the future those things are worth their weight in gold because they look so realistic. It still goes like crap probably. I am torn on this one; on one hand I like old RC stuff, on the other I still don't have much love for this buggy. I know with my adult skills and money I could make one of these pretty awesome. On the other the Kyosho Scorpion I bought for $25 on craigslist (don't hate) needs some attention. Look at this buggy, drool, dream, and make plans.

Tamiya Vaj-What? Vajra Sholud Be Called Avante Truck

The Tamiya Avante was unobtainable gold to me as a child. I had lust in my heart for this buggy. I never got one of these fragile rides. That was probably for the best. It would have broken and I would be able to afford or find parts for it. Now I'm old. With age comes patience and money so now I can wait and afford to repair one of I break it.

Tamiya's Latest Drifter

People love RC drifting. I think RC drifting is the most popular segment of RC touring cars. You don't need the latest and greatest equipment. You can build your cars to look more realistic. RC drifting can be done anywhere you find a patch of pavement. I've been offroading lately, YEEHAW (RIP Vance Duke), so I don't really have a bunch of RC drifting under my belt. I do have a lot of cheeseburgers touring car stuff under my belt so I know a good chassis when I see one. This one right here is a sweet one.

Tamiya TT01 FIA GT1 GTR

I am one of about seven Americans that watch FIA GT1 racing. Some obscure cable channel must have the broadcasting rights here in the US because I have to watch the races the next day instead of live streaming. I still watch because I love racing. My favorite car to watch is the Corvette. I think the Corvette C6R is one of the best looking race cars the United States has ever produced. Those who follow GT1 know that my favorite car usually gets punted to the back of the field by a bully Aston Martin. One car that has been standing up to those British bullies is the GTR. This car has a presence like Shaq. Look at the crowd; do you see the huge guy standing above everyone else? That's him. One of the main reasons I love skylines, is because of their size. They are the Robbie Morales of the racing world, big guys that ball like the little ones.

Tamiya Will Soon Release a Monster Pajero Rally

When I first discovered Tamiya was re-releasing the Pajero Rally I was beyond elated. That was one of the cars I wanted but went out of production before I could get it. As an adult they became quite elusive and that means pricey. Of course you know I am cheap, so I didn't get one. My excitement turned into doubt when I remembered the original used Tamiya's 7.2 hump pack battery. That battery had five cells side by side and the sixth on top forming the "hump". A modern stick pack battery won't fit in that chassis without serious modifications.

Tamiya Renault 5 Turbo Rally - M05Ra

As a child I never understood the passion the "old guys" had for old race cars. Their technology and performance had been outdated for decades and the styling was dreadful. Cars back then weren't rolling billboards so there was room for graphics and artistic expression. Now I'm an "old guy" and I love old race cars. These old race cars represented the highest evolution of cars from that period. Sure modern cars can do more with less but they don't make you feel like a kid remembering those old contrived racing scenarios you used to create in your head. You know what I'm talking about, you do the same thing when you're playing Gran Turismo. No? Only me? Well fine. I have recreated "The Most Dangerous Race" 700,000 times with my Hot Wheels cars, Legos, The Game of Life, and anything else with about six cars.

Enroute Has a Drifter With a Familiar Setup

So 1/10 scale chassis designers are looking at touring cars and thinking, "If I put and old school high spur gear 2 belt drivetrain on here, backwards, I can make this a front motor drifter!" I have a cool pic of a NEO T21 that somebody started to convert. That inspired me to attept this with an HPI RS4. Then I realized I needed to machine a new bulkhead for the motor mount/spur gear and changed my mind. Maybe some other chassis will inspire me to finish the idea. Or I can just buy one of the multitudes that are hitting the market.

HPI's New Drifter

I really liked Hot Bodies back in the day. They did the standard touring car stuff (stratus, accord) but they also made bodies likes the Mazda Millenia. My NSX body I had from them was one of the nicest non-JGTC NSX bodies out there. HPI noticed their style too, and bought them. I don't like how HPI uses them as their "lower" product line. That moves Hot Bodies closer to Duratrax than the World Champions they are.

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.

LRP S10 Blast Club Racer

You may have noticed I have been MIA for a few days. No worries Obama came up with the ransom and I was released! So let's see what has happened in my absence. We are now at war (again). They still can't fix the reactors in Japan. Team Oreca won Sebring. LRP has released an affordable touring car. That last one was actually on topic! Yup another cheap touring car. I love it. I still don't know why the parking lots over here on the east coast don't have a bunch of new people (or maybe I'm not invited to the bashes). I honestly think that the whole hobby is shrinking because of the broke-ness (recession), many people can't afford to RC and feed their families. Fools. I bought a pallet of ramen noodles for when times got tough. I may not be able to afford an Avante but I can at least continue to use what I have.

The street version of the new S10 Blast line is also available as Clubracer now. The clubracer version comes as rolling chassis without tyres, body, motor, speedo, servo and radio system.

With the S10 Blast TC Clubracer every racer has the possibility to perfectly equip and setup his car for the demands of local racing series on club level. Many clubs are using own regulations regarding motors, speedos, tyres and bodies. With the clubracer you are easily able to use these components without having any surplus items from a RTR kit.

The S10 Blast TC Clubracer comes with the already proven components of the S10 Blast Offroad line like CVDs in front, adjustable turnbuckles, anti-roll bars front and rear, voluminous „Big- Bore“ shock absorbers, shaft drive train and even more first-class features.

Compared to the S10 Offroad cars, the S10 Blast TC comes with a single-part chassis and without a slipper. The slipper is not needed in Onroad cars and we save extra weight without it. You can mount every commercial 1/10 touring car bodies and wheels, so that the S10 Blast TC is exactly adaptable for the needs in the 1/10 touring car scene and has all the features a real race car has.

Many option parts are available for the S10 Blast TC. According to your requirements and skills, you can pimp your S10 TC with the Standard-, Sport- or Pro-Tuning Sets.

Start your racing career with the great S10 Blast TC!

Features:

• Electric 1/10 Onroad Touring Car; Completely built onroad model (without tyres and body shell)
• Completely built with ball bearings
• Fully adjustable onroad suspension for perfect handling
• CVD driveshafts front
• Steel spider differentials front and rear
• Front and rear swaybars included
• Special large-volume threaded „Big Bore“ shocks with 4-hole shock pistons for maximum traction on any surface
• Low maintenance and efficient universal drivetrain
• Robust tub chassis for best protection of the electronic components, perfect weight distribution and easy maintenance
• Battery holder prepared for the use with LiPo and NiMH batteries

Team Losi Makes a Giant Dune Buggy

I like the Kyosho Ultima DB. I think it's really cool looking. Apparently someone at Losi felt the same way and decided it needed some competition. Now is the time for us to be vocal and ask the manufacturers to offer more bodies and maybe this will become a class! Instead of a modified class, an open class of these would look awesome. I have always felt RC racing suffers because as a spectator sport it sucks. Many competitors half-assed their paint jobs, 8-12 cars on track means you spend most of the time looking at the same few cars banging in to each other or worse nothing at all. A field of these would at least keep you on your toes with the potential for tire to tire contact. look at these pics and think about getting a big buggy.

Finally, a realistic-looking RC off-road buggy. And not only does it look the part, but it performs like it too. The XXX-SCB is based off the reputable XXX-platform, so you know right away you’re getting a star performer. This buggy also comes ready-to-run with detailed components from bumper to bumper, including a drivers figure and roll-cage, window nets, nerf bars, a Losi radio system with Spektrum 2.4GHz DSM technology, a 2S LiPo-compatible ESC, aluminum oil-filled shocks and much more.

Features:

• Detailed driver figure and cockpit
• Aluminum, adjustable oil-filled, coil-over shocks
• LiPo-compatible ESC
• LM-32K performance motor
• Spektrum SR300 receiver with 2.4GHz DSM technology
• 3-gear transmission with sealable differential
• Adjustable slipper clutch
• Digital steering servo
• Durable, composite-molded XXX-chassis
• Losi exclusive Eclipse SCT treads on XXX-SCT Wheels
• Off-road beadlock-style wheels as used on the XXX-SCT
• 3-piece Lexan full-scale inspired desert buggy body
• Realistic off-road bumpers and roll cage
• Captured hinge pins

Product Specifications:
Type: Short Course Buggy
Scale: 1/10
Length: 20.078 in (510mm)
Width: 11.42 in (290mm)
Height: 7.24 in (184mm)
Wheelbase: 12.95 in (329mm)
Weight: 4.25 lb (1.92 kg)
Motor or Engine: Losi LM-32K performance motor
Speed Control: LiPo-compatible ESC
Radio: Spektrum 2.4GHz DSM Losi radio system
Shock Type: Coil-over, oil-filled
Ball Bearings: Complete

Tradegy In Japan + ABC Hobby Gambado

If you haven't heard there was a terrible earthquake in Japan last night. This was followed by a massive tsunami which preceded and aftershock and another tsunami. Japan got rocked. The population density of Japan means many many people were killed, hurt, or displaced by this event. I get sick thinking about how many lives have been lost. This is even painful for us since Japan was the birthplace of the RC touring car. Tamiya, Kyosho, Yokomo, and many others are based in Japan. I have no idea how our favorite manufacturers are doing. My prayers will be with everyone affected by this tragedy.

ABC Hobby does it yet again. I swear all they need to do is release a full color catalog and they might top the almighty Tamiya in awesomeness. This is a new FWD mini chassis called the Gambado. It is sick! It reminds me of the Tamiya M05 but cooler. Look at how the springs are separate from the shocks. I don't know if it's better but it is so much cooler. Of course this puppy will more than likely be close to the $200 mark so it gets beat by the M05 by a mile in the price department. It is also pre-assembled so there is another strike. All in all this puppy is a winner and full of more win than Charlie Sheen.

Wheelbase: 208mm ~ 210mm
Car width: F 160mm / R 160mm
Length: 285mm
Vehicle height: 3mm ~ 8mm
Weight: 1050g (excluding body)
Tire: 55mm rubber tire
Caster: Adjustable from 3.5 to 6.5 degrees
Rear toe: Variable
Camber: Variable
Gear Ratio: 3.8:1 - 8.5:1

Tamiya Brings Us The Honda CR-Z FF03

What do you consider an awesome kit? Is it easy to assemble? Is it the most high tech design? To me an awesome kit is one that when you finish building it you are torn between driving it and staring at it for hours. I find myself staring at this CR-Z not because it is so gorgeous but because it is so almost gorgeous. Tamiya did a tremendous job replicating this Honda. Unfortunately the car itself is iffy. When tuned it can look aggressive but stock it looks as exciting as oatmeal. Of course the FF03 chassis is sweet enough to make up for the bland body.

RC Honda CR-Z - FF03 Item #58490

The 2010 3-door hatchback sport hybrid coupe Honda CR-Z comes equipped with a 1.5 liter SOHC 16-valve i-VTEC engine which produces an excellent economy of 25km/l. The Honda CR-Z is also the first hybrid care to include a 6-speed manual transmission whereas its predecessor the CV-T had a paddle-shift transmission. The CR-V won the "Japan Car of the Year for 2010-2011" and now comes accurately reproduced as a 1/10 R/C car loaded on the FF-03 chassis.

Specs and Features:

• 1/10 R/C assembly kit model of the Honda CR-Z.
• Polycarbonate body.
• Horizontally-mounted motor is installed at the front of the chassis-Full ball bearings, front ball differential, and CVA shock units.
• Short reversible suspension arms with inboard front suspensionTA05 V2, TB03, TRF416 and TRF417.
• Front wheel drive .
• Full independent, double wishbone suspension system.
• Sticker sheet and masking seal included.