Jeff Hoy, American » duratrax

Duratrax Vendetta SC in stock

Jeff Hoy — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:25:09 +0000

Tower Hobbies has the Duratrax Vendetta SC in stock. So if you’re looking for some small scale short course action then whip out your credit card and get to buying. You can get it in red, white, blue, or yellow. For $219.99 you don’t get everything you need. You’ll still have to provide a battery pack for the truck, a charger for that pack (with a Tamiya-Micro plug adapter), and batteries for the transmitter. With the selections I’ve provided you’re looking at another $59.46, or $279.45 plus tax/shipping total.

I’m going to take a wait and see attitude. Team Associated’s SC18 is just around the corner and may come in at a much lower price point. All of AE’s mini RTRs include batteries and a charger in the box, and all of them are below the $200 mark. I think the SC18 is going to be at or above $200, but still much less than the $280 total for the Vendetta SC. That’s not to say that the Vendetta isn’t worth it, we’ll have to wait for some reviews. It does come with a 2.4Ghz radio, instead of a 27Mhz AM radio like the SC18, that alone might be worth the (suspected) price premium for some.

If you absolutely must be the first at your track to have a 1/18th scale short course, then this is it, go get it. If you can wait, I suggest you do to see what Associated has up their sleeve.

Be sure to check with your local hobby shop first for price and availability.

Duratrax Vendetta SC price and ship date

Jeff Hoy — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:52:14 +0000

My favorite new car from iHobby this week is, without a doubt, the Duratrax Vendetta SC. At the moment of the announcement there wasn’t a price or ship date put out for the truck. But since then the truck has showed up in Tower Hobbies’ online catalog. The Vendetta SC is going to be $219.99 and should be in stock and shipping out around mid late November, just in time for Christmas. I have a feeling Team Associated’s SC18 might make it’s appearance on your local hobby shop’s shelves around that same time. The latest word from AE about their truck is that the parts package is still being finalized and a proper announcement will be coming “soon.”

The first day of the iHobby expo…

Jeff Hoy — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:36:31 +0000

…is in the bag. There were some cool product announcements, but the one I was very much hoping to see has yet to materialize. I’m talking, of course, about Team Associated’s SC18. We know it’s real, otherwise why would they buy huge advertising spreads for it in multiple magazines? The cat’s already out of the bag, so why they aren’t giving any information about it is puzzling. But I haven’t seen anything about Associated even having a presence at iHobby this year, so maybe we won’t see anything about it.

One thing we learned today is that there is already some competition out there for the SC18. Duratrax had their new Vendetta SC on display at the show. The various cars in the Vendetta line have been generally well received by reviewers, so I imagine the Vendetta SC will be as well. It will be fully built and have a 2.4 GHz Tactic radio system included. You’ll need to supply the 7.2 volt 2/3A NiMH battery and charger, plus some AAs for the transmitter to get it running. There’s no announced MSRP, but we can probably expect a street price around the $200 mark [ Update: go here for info on price and ship date ]. That’s what their Vendetta Rally with a 2.4 GHz system is going for at Tower Hobbies. Duratrax also showed off a new 1/5 scale RTR dirt bike, called the DX450, with a gyro stabilizer and brushless motor system included. Looks pretty cool in the pictures they have on their site, but I’m surprised there’s no video of it in action (they put a video up not long after I posted this).

Another cool product is an addition to MRC’s line of Super Brain chargers, the 992. It’s a DC only charger that supports all battery types and, here’s the cool part, has a PC interface and software (sold separately) that allows you to monitor your battery charging, store that information, and compare it to previous charges. You can keep track of the performance of your batteries over time and get a good idea about the best charging methods. I’ve been using MRC’s Super Brain 977 dual output charger for about a year now and am very happy with it. Prior to that I was using a Super Brain 959, which has since been passed on to my brother. It was also a great charger. Some people have been very critical of the Super Brain chargers, but I’ve nothing but good things to say about them.

Well those are my highlights from the show today. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, I doubt it’ll be anything earth-shattering. I wish I was there to do some real in-depth coverage. I think the rc industry needs to start treating iHobby the same way that the video game industry treats E3 and PAX.