Jeff Hoy, American

…over at Big Squid RC.  Go check it out.

I’m blogging for Big Squid R/C!  I have a real audience!  So go there for all the R/C news you used to find here.  Not to worry though, I’ll still be blogging here about all the other stupid junk that I usually blog about.

Robitronic, the makers of the excessively cool 1/18 scale Scalpel pan car, have decided to branch out a litte bit.  They have announced a new 1/10 scale RTR stadium truck targeted at newbies called the EST- BL.  But just because it’s a beginner’s truck don’t expect it to skimp on performance or high tech goodies, it’s brushless powered and includes a 2.4GHz radio.  As with most RTRs you’ll need a battery (2S LiPo or 6 cell NiMH) and charger to complete the package.  Unfortunately there’s no word on MSRP or ship date, check with your local hobby shop or keep an eye on Stormer Hobbies and Tower Hobbies.

Features & Specs

• RTR – out of the box
• Brushless Motor
• 2.4GHz Radio
• 2WD
• Painted Body
• Oil filled shocks
• Ball Bearings
• Wheelbase: 11.4″
• Length: 17.7″
• Width: 12.6″
• Height: 6.7″

Article: RC Universe – RealFlight G5 review

Build Log: Wrench’s Project ” Head Honcho” - Axial SCX10 w/ Trail Honcho body being built into a proper scaler.

Forum Thread: Losi Night Crawler with 4 wheel steering - Has a complete parts list and a lot of pictures documenting the conversion.

Shopping Around: The SC18 is now in stock at Tower Hobbies.

Photo of the week: Tiger 331 & 332 – A Tamiya and HL tiger in the garden with crew.

Video of the week: RC Rock Crawlers At Stave Lake

More Video: R/C Racing Season 4 Episode 3 – A look at Short Course trucks and various racing events.

Tower Hobbies has the Team Associated SC18 in stock right now this very second.

Remember that you’ll need to buy an appropriate battery and charger (don’t forget the charger adapter) to go with it if you don’t already have them. (See update 2)

So what are you waiting for?  Get to buying fool.

[Update:  I ordered mine, should be here within the next week and a half, expect an unboxing on arrival and a full SC18 review to follow.]

[Update 2: Well slap me silly and call me Susan, they did include a battery and overnight wall charger... the charger sucks, so consider buying a better one if you don't already have one, but having the battery in the box is nice.]

Best R/C Vehicle this side of the Outer Colonies. When cruising the Halo megastructure and blasting the Covenant into oblivion, no vehicle is more useful than the Warthog. As Cortana will be happy to inform you, the Warthog is a multi-function jeep with a LAAG turret mounted on the back. It has enough room for a driver and a machine gunner with room for one additional passenger. Now you can collect your own mini RC version of the Halo Warthog complete with action figures and gun turret. Make good use of it during long office meetings when you suddenly realize the CEO has been terminally infected by the Flood. New Vehicles! In addition to the Warthog, we now have the Mongoose and an R/C Helicopter version of the Flying Hornet.

I read a ton of stuff on the internet every day.  Some of that stuff I end up liking a lot and bookmarking for later.  This new weekly feature highlights those links.

Article: Big Squid RC: Five Questions with Shawn Palmer (formerly of Schumacher USA, now head sales guy for Speed Passion)

Best new product of the week: Tamiya Tyrrell P34 SIX WHEELER 1976 Japan GP

Build log: Building the Sand Scorcher

Event: AirAge Media’s RC Expo – It’s coming up in less than two weeks, if you’re in or near Pomona, CA go check it out.

Photo of the week: F-16 Flyby (by Don Perry) – Is it real or R/C? You make the call.  (Hint: it’s R/C)

Shopping around: (eBay) Vintage Tamiya Hornet – Used less than 5 times, spare front & rear rims and tires. very mino scuffs on rails, zero body damage, missing headlights?, comes with original box in great condition. not tested recently, but worked 100% when it went in storage 25 years ago…

Video of the week: John takes his RC car for a day at the skate park.

Losi has a lot of rebate deals going on for their 1/8 scale race roller (not RTR) vehicles and the Comp Crawler.  If you’ve been thinking about buying a new buggy or truggy now might be the time to do it.  Rebates of up to $150 are available.

Here’s the list of rebates.  You’ve got until April 30th to buy.  Click the link above for more info.

• $150 Rebate – 1/8 8IGHT-T 2.0 Truggy Race Roller (LOSA0805)
• $75 Rebate – 1/8 8IGHT 2.0 Buggy Race Roller (LOSA0804)
• $75 Rebate – 1/8 8IGHT-E 2.0 Buggy Race Roller (LOSA0806)
• $50 Rebate – 1/8 L8IGHT Model Race Roller (LOSA0809)
• $50 Rebate – 1/10 Comp Crawler Race Roller (LOSA0051)

I took these photos of a couple of my R/C cars earlier today for a project I’m working on.  I thought they turned out so cool that I just had to share them.  The first two are my mid-90′s era Kyosho Pureten GP Nostalgia series chassis topped with an HPI Pontiac Firebird Trans Am body in racing trim.  The third photo is my early 90′s era Team Losi JRx-Pro restoration project that’s still kind of a work in progress, even though I’ve run it a couple times as you can see from the dirt that the bottom of the A-arms are coated with.  I should have cleaned it before taking these pictures.

These were shot in a darkened room with my camera mounted on a tripod.  I was using my zoom telephoto 100-400 f/4-5.6 L lens at 300mm f/16.  I set my exposure to 6 seconds and then took my Speedlite and manually popped it three or four times for each photo from different positions and angles.  The black surface and background was made up of my glass entertainment center top and a pillowcase stretched behind the cars.  I did some minor alterations in photoshop, mostly turning the black levels down to get a good match between the backdrop and the table surface.  I also upped the saturation a little to make the blues pop a bit more.  Looking at them now I should probably go back and clean up some of that dust that is showing on the table.

I’ve been thinking about doing a scratch-built rc version of this car for a long time.  Tamiya beat me to it.

This is the Tamiya Tyrrell P34 SIX WHEELER 1976 Japan GP.  A new chassis and body design based  on the full scale version from the 1976 F1 series.  All four front wheels are steered by a single servo.  It’s got the usual stuff, t-bar rear suspension with coil-over shock, independent front suspension of the spring on kingpin style, direct drive rear axle with ball diff, and  includes a 540 size motor and pinion.  You’ll need to provide all the electronics  and paint for the extremely detailed body.  Decals are included to style it after the #3 or #4 full size cars.  There’s no word on the price or ship date or even if it will be available stateside.  It is considered a limited edition, so expect to pay a lot for it, if you can even get it at all.

[Update:  It is listed on Tamiya USA's site so it should be available here in the states and the MSRP is $284.00, check with your local hobby shop for street price, it's item #84111.  You can also see the complete instruction  manual (PDF link).]

[Update 2: Tower Hobbies has it listed in their online catalog, should be available this month at a price of about $190.]

How awesome is this thing?

Specifications

• Length: 430mm
• Width: 204mm
• Height: 108mm
• Weight: 815g
• Tread: 134mm (Front), 155mm (Rear)
• Tire Width/Diameter: 42/23mm (Front), 67/50mm (Rear)
• FRP Half Double Deck Frame
• Horizontally mounted motor rear direct drive 2WD
• Ball differential gear
• Symmetrical steering tie-rods
• Suspension: Kingpin coil spring (Front), T-bar rigid (Rear)