Reviews

Let's go through the checklist of what today’s 4WD 1/8 monster truck enthusiast expects, not demands, from a truck that they intend to purchase. One, the truck must be big; well the new Losi LST XXL2-E fits that bill, its platform can even be considered oversized.

For years now Team Durango has been releasing top-of-the-line vehicles ready to conquer tracks across the globe. Their 1/8-scale off-road line, including the DEX408T electric truggy, has always been extremely competitive, winning countless races. Still this did not stop the TD engineers from starting with a completely blank slate

The Pro5 is HB’s first competition level TC since the TCXX was released back in 2012. This all new road rocket sports some unique features that are sure to catch the eye of even a seasoned on-roader. Being the only asphalt guy in the office, there wasn’t too much of a fuss when I yanked the Pro5 from our UPS delivery and started running down the hallway to my office! Mine, I say, mine! It’s my Pro5 precious.

3D Printing technology is here and its popularity is growing rapidly! Printers are being used to create everything from prototypes, to art pieces and of course even RC model parts, basically anything you can imagine being printed in plastic can be. Turnigy saw this rapid growth in popularity and the need to fill the void by offering a 3D printer at an affordable price.

You may remember VRX Racing from the September 2014 issue in which I reviewed two of their off-road vehicles. They are fantastic offerings and had many features that reminded me of high end racing vehicles. I did have a problem with the spur gear being exposed as it seemed to be a magnet to small pebbles. Well it’s a year later and VRX Racing has an improved off road platform

I have had my eye on this Basher brand since HobbyKing started distributing them. The name is so straight to the point, it’s almost like naming your brand “Racer”. That got my interest. So with a name like Basher, their target market is obvious, and their line up of 1/8-scale nitro RCs and Nitro Circus sponsored monster trucks fit the bill. Then comes the BSR Racing subdivision of the Basher family.

For a few months now, Hobbico has been teasing the RC masses with sneak peek videos of their new release. Vague, super sci-fi looking videos tantalized fans, but cut to the end before any real info was revealed. Well, the news is out and the Nero is about to hit the streets. We, at RC Driver, heard about the truck quite a while ago, but were not made privy to exactly what the details would be.

Cool Stuff from the RCD Driver

By Ty Giebel This article was originally published in RC Driver’s August 2016 issue. It’s a new generation of crawling and we are far beyond the limitations we all once knew. No longer do we have to settle for plastic axle housings …

LeMans prototypes are the fastest closed-wheel circuit race cars on the planet. At some point, a lot of the major manufacturers have competed in the class simply because of the prestige the class brings. There’s also the fact that those companies get to build specialized cars with an almost unlimited nature!

Nitro off-road 1/8 buggy racing is still a strong competition segment in the hobby and with so many advances has become a battle of equipment along with skill. The battle of equipment certainly means more cost and to some its difficult to pay out to stay on top, so when choosing equipment you have to choose wisely and within your budget.

For years LRP has been a leader in making quality RC products for the hobbyist. Although it comes as a ready-to-run, the LRP Blast S10 SC 2 4X4 Short Course truck also has many of the features you would find on a top level racer. Its ability to be set up with many adjustment options allows the RC driver to adapt the truck to several different driving conditions.

It is easy to forget how much power our battery packs contain, so it’s great when we can recommend a tool that will help those new to high-powered RC cars and trucks to stay safe. In some cases, an easy slip of your finger on a button could cause a LiPo pack to be charged at an unsafe rate, causing damage to the pack and sometimes to the area where the pack is sitting.

Outdoor racing is in full swing and it's interesting to see where the classes have progressed to this year. It seems as if the truggy class has expanded from nitro only to both nitro and electric. It appears the club racer may lean toward the electric side, while the devoted competitor still leans toward nitro. I could just be rambling on, but this racer tends to gravitate to nitro and when I saw the 8IGHT-T 4.0...

Heading out on the water during the summer on a real boat in order to simply run RC boats has become a common pastime with a few of my RC buddies. About twice a month, we pack up food, beverages and as many RC boats as we can on a pontoon boat and spend all day in a remote cove just enjoying the model boat side of the hobby. On one trip one buddy arrived with his Pro Boat Blackjack gas boat converted to electric power.