Reviews

With today’s level of RC engineering, it’s hard to take a current design and make it better. Think about it; a manufacturer designs a car that is strictly a racing machine. They put countless hours into it, filling it full of carbon fiber and high-grade aluminum.

I’m an absolute Star Wars buff. One of my favorite scenes in the Revenge of the Sith is when Emperor Palpatine screams “Unlimited Power” as bolts of electricity flow from his fingers into Mace Windu, ultimately sending him to his death.

When you think of a good basher car what do you expect from it? I think most would say they want something fast with race car like handling and obviously something so fast needs to be durable enough to take some abuse. Arrma has made a name for their 1/10-scale vehicles by delivering all of the above.

In the RC Driver office, if you bring in a tool, part, car, bag of chips, it’s all fair game to anyone else in the office. Because of this unwritten rule, time after time I head into Tony’s office to retrieve my calipers. But it’s OK, because I usually stick a battery on his Hitec X4 charger while I’m there.

High tech RTR track racer! 1/8-SCALE ELECTRIC 4WD BUGGY Words: Greg Vogel Photos: Walter Sidas For those of you who follow the magazine, you may have seen the Team Losi Racing 8IGHT-E 3.0 review I wrote in the June 2014 issue. …

Have you been thinking about ge ing an RC boat? Are you unsure about making a commitment to yet another aspect of the hobby? Stop thinking and take a look at the Power Venom from Udi R/C.

Horizon Hobby introduced their Vaterra line of vehicles nearly two years ago now with an emphasis on scale realism and officially licensed bodies. There has been a very close relationship between Chevrolet and Vaterra

Tower Hobbies is relatively new to the RC car market (but obviously not to RC in general). Backed by Hobbico, the Tower Hobbies Cutback is a brushless 4X4 short course RTR set to compete in one of the most popular market segments today.

Truggies have slowly transformed into the go-to machine for enthusiasts to bash because of their performance handling and powerful nature. Monster trucks still hold a place for many drivers too, who prefer their massive size and aggressive nature.

2WD buggies are and always have been the vehicle of choice in RTR trim. While Serpent hasn’t always been synonymous with either the term 2WD buggy or RTR, they recently started offering up a selection of both. After designing the winning platform of 1/8-scale Cobra vehicles, Serpent designer Billy Easton turned his attention to their smaller 2WD counterparts.

If you aren’t up to date with the drifting world, Vaughn Gittin Jr. is one of the most exciting and recognizable competitors in the sport, winning multiple awards and putting on some of the best performances out there. Vaughn Gittin Jr. team up with the Need for Speed crew to create the Mustang RTR-X, a super bad 1969 Mustang replica built for modern day smoke shows.

There are some people who expect their RC car to go anywhere and do anything and today’s RC cars put up with a lot of that style of abuse. But that abuse can take its toll on equipment and those …

As Lithium Polymer batteries have become the standard in RC and capacities and cell counts continually increase, so have the demands for more powerful chargers. High milliamp hours (mAh) batteries increase the charge duration. To combat this, more LiPo batteries now allow charge rates as high as 12C. Of course, you will be unable to take advantage of higher charge rates without high-powered equipment like the TrakPower VR-1 charger.

The world of Spektrum radios is one of constant evolution, sprinkled with a bit of revolution now and again. From the early days of the module systems that converted existing radios to 2.4 GHz, people have looked to Spektrum for the latest spread spectrum innovations to keep them glitch-free. The newest release is the DX4S, which introduces DSMR, an update to DSM (Digital Spectrum Modulation) and DSM2. With each iteration, DSM technology has become more reliable with less chance of interference.

Set yourself up with a quality set of RC-specific tools like the Pro-Series tools from HPI and you will find wrenching much more enjoyable. These eye-catching, high-quality tools are sold individually so you can just purchase the ones you know you will use. HPI offers everything from Allen drivers to box wrenches to blade and Phillips head screwdrivers, and even a body reamer. Each tool features a great-looking CNC machined aluminum handle that is polished for a shiny finish. The handles were quite comfortable to hold with the diameter sized just right to allow you to apply the proper amount of pressure to your hardware. Knurled grips at the tip ends of the handles are a nice feature that kept my fingers from slipping. The opposite end is fitted with a plastic cap that sits nicely in your palm. HPI laser etched each tool to make identification effortless and the tips are factory-ground and then hardened and black-coated for a long life and a high-end appearance.