Jeff Hoy, American » electric

My SC18 review is up…

Jeff Hoy — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:45:11 +0000

New Truck: Robitronic EST- BL Truck

Jeff Hoy — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:38:42 +0000

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″

SC18 Now Available!

Jeff Hoy — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:33:23 +0000

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.]

Tamiya is awesome…

Jeff Hoy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:11:31 +0000

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)

New truck: Losi 1/18th scale Mini Highroller

Jeff Hoy — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:01:31 +0000

The Losi Highroller family is now complete. Take your pick and get it in 1/10th scale, 1/36th micro scale, or in the new 1/18th mini scale.

The Mini Highroller is a fully assembled RTR 2wd monster truck with a tubular styled, narrow chassis, very similar to it’s larger 1/10th scale brother. It’s driven by a RS280 motor controlled by an electronic speed control. Also included are a 2 channel, 2.4 GHz DSM radio; an 1100 mAh NiMH rechargable battery, a wall-wart charger, and some AA alkaline batteries for the transmitter. It will be available in 3 colors, blue, orange, and green and should be on your local hobby shop shelves some time in March.

This little guy is the spittin’ image of it’s larger, older brother, the 1/10th scale Highroller. It looks to be some good fun for those times when the weather outside is frightful and your garage or basement are your only options. Check out the video below.

New Product: Team Associated RC18 Late Model

Jeff Hoy — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:53:01 +0000

Team Associated’s stable of 1/18th scale cars has just grown by one. Hot on the heels of their awesome looking SC18, AE has dug deep and come up with the RC18 Late Model. It’s an RTR with a 2.4 GHz radio, built on the new SC18 belt driven chassis. Just like the SC18 it seems that batteries and a charger are NOT included, you’ll have to supply those yourself. MSRP is $279, street price will likely be closer to $180, the release timeframe is March of this year. Here’s a link to Team Associated’s press release (PDF doc).

Team Losi has a 1/18th Late Model car as well, so this class will be gaining some momentum in the coming months. AE now needs to get a sprint car to market and the classes will be complete. Dirt oval as a whole, I believe, is under-represented in this hobby.

The 1/18th scale sector of the r/c hobby keeps growing despite the fact that some industry “insiders” see it as just a fad. Everything is getting smaller, cars, boats, airplanes, helicopters; simply so people can find more places to use them. The days of needing a huge empty lot are at an end, nearly everybody has a backyard, basement, or garage big enough for these small vehicles.

The evolution of buggy racing?

Jeff Hoy — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:29:54 +0000

It’s no secret that the advent of the short course style trucks, like the Slash, Strike, and SC10, has changed the face of off-road truck racing. My first thought upon seeing these trucks was “when is somebody going to give 2wd buggies the same treatment?” Well, it’s finally happened, and Kyosho is the first one out of the gate.

Kyosho announced their new take on the 2wd off-road buggy with the new Ultima DB Desert Buggy. This buggy is intended to be a more realistic take on the full scale buggies that are raced along side short course trucks and baja trucks. It’s based on the Ultima SC chassis and uses the same realistic looking wheels and tires. It includes a very nice looking body with a tube roll cage and window nets. Also included is a complete radio system, 20 turn mild modified motor, lipo compatible ESC, and it is completely assembled as a Ready Set. The only requirements are batteries for the car (LiPo or NiMH), batteries for the radio, and a charger.

Read all about it and check out all the pictures at Kyosho’s Ultima DB product page.

[Update] Greg Vogel at RC Driver shares similar thoughts.

Is the SC18 coming sooner?

Jeff Hoy — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:54:50 +0000

Maybe, depends who you trust. Team Associated’s official announcement says that it’ll be available in March. Tower Hobbies’ product page is noting late February, which isn’t far off from the official word. But A Main Hobbies is saying they’ll have it in stock on January 17. About 2 weeks from now.

Retailers are pretty well-known for getting release dates wrong in the video game industry. But will the r/c industry be different? At this point I’m more inclined to believe the official announcement of sometime in March than I am the other two. But who knows, Associated may be ready to ship them out right this very second, but just gave the March time frame as a just in case.

I’ll definitely keep an eye on A Main’s listing, and if they get it when they say they do then I’ll be heading to my local hobby shop and inquiring.

Did you get a new R/C car or truck for Christmas?

Jeff Hoy — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 23:00:08 +0000

Christmas has come and gone. The presents have been unwrapped with joyous glee. If you’re one of the lucky ones, then hopefully you unwrapped a nice, new radio controlled car or truck. Here’s some of my older articles about how to upgrade and hop-up your new R/C car.

Did you get a Losi Highroller for Christmas? Then you might want to check out a couple of my articles about it. I have written about mine a few times, highlighting some of the ways to make it faster and stronger. Check out my first article about upgrading the speed control to make your Losi Highroller ready to use LiPo batteries. I have also written about upgrading the motor to make your Highroller faster. And finally I’ve shown you three hop-ups to make your Highroller ready for a brushless motor.

If you got yourself a Tamiya Baja King then I’ve got you covered there, too. I’ve suggested some ways to make the Baja King handle better and more durable. I’ve written about how to make your Baja King faster by installing a better motor. And I’ve demonstrated some cheap or free upgrades to the Baja King that you can do with some common house-hold materials and tools.

I’ve also offered Highroller troubleshooting tips and suggestions in the comments to my Highroller review.

Now get out there and have fun.

AHA! SC18 Announcement at long last…

Jeff Hoy — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:12:34 +0000

On the heels of Associated’s other new cars and trucks comes the final, official announcement of something we’ve all known about since October. Team Associated’s SC18, a 1/18th scale short course r/c truck. What has been announced isn’t what was advertised though, there have been some changes.

As I suspected they did change over to a 2.4 GHz radio system which is a cool and welcome addition. The more important change, in my opinion, is that they are NOT including a battery and charger with it (see update 2 below). Which is strange, considering all the other 1/18th scale RTRs from Associated include them. I’m kind of sad about that fact, but it’s not a great loss considering the probable price point. MSRP is $289.99, but the potential street price according to Tower and Stormer might be as low as $180, with your local hobby shop prices varying from there. That’s actually much cheaper than I was expecting, so adding the cost of a battery and cheap charger won’t add much to the cost and will still likely come in cheaper than Duratrax’s Vendetta SC. You’re looking at about $20 for a battery pack and another $30 for a cheap AC/DC peak charger, so a total of around $250 for the full setup, which is closer to the final price point that I was expecting. Look for it to be in stock just in time for Christma… er… nevermind. Some time in March it’ll be on store shelves.

So you now officially have two choices in the 1/18th scale short course market. You might want to wait for some reviews of the SC18. RC Driver has a review of the Vendetta SC in the February issue, which all subscribers should have now, newsstand buyers keep an eye out for it. But based on cost alone I think I’ll be going with the SC18.

Update: Oh, just for the heck of it, here’s the link to the official press release [PDF].

Update 2: See my unboxing video at Big Squid RC, and guess what, despite it not being in the announcement, the battery and charger ARE included.