Welcome back everyone to another week of the best in RC, TWIRC! This week saw the Christmas shopping season kick off with a host of new releases, from companies including Team Associated, Axial, Arrma and Redcat Racing. The number of new vehicle releases that will be seen between now and the end of the “Golden Quarter” is going to be impressive, making consumers wonder if the recession that the global economy has been facing is finally starting to ease. As for me, I have my eyes on the new Traxxas Rustler VX3 as I’ve had a Rustler for 30 years and have driven every version from the original kit (mine) to the first updated XL-5’s to the first 2-pole VXL model and genuinely love the platform. It’s not a race truck but driving it always puts a smile on my face, even to this day. Let’s dive in and see what’s new!
TEAM ASSOCIATED
Team Associated is gearing up for the vintage nationals with the release of this new Factory Team Blue Edition RC10, a car that features the same updated parts as the FT model but with a new blue chassis tub, nose plate and motor plate to set it apart from the crowd. Returning FT features include all black plastics, carbon fiber shock towers that are big bore compatible, Fox Kashima coated 13mm dampers, carbon fiber transmission brace, heavy duty metric ball studs and ball cups, B7 servo mounts, B6 wing mount, a clear B7 wing, clear Mirage Pro body shell, FT 12mm front steering blocks, axles and rear CVA’s, B7 12mm hex wheels, FT captured hinge pins, a full set of ball bearings, World’s Car bellcrank steering rack and the V2 slipper assembly.
Item #6058 Factory Team RC10 Blue Edition https://60years.associatedelectrics.com/rc10-factory-team-blue-edition-kit/
AXIAL
While leaked shortly before the official release the new Axial Motobilt Jeep Gladiator was definitely one that we didn’t see coming. This truck looks great with its Motobilt licensed detail pieces and licensed rolling stock but the details are what really sets this truck apart from the crowd (and especially from the original JT that Axial released when the 10iii was new). New features include a new clipless body retention system, a scale version of the 1:1 Motobilt bobbed bed, scale Baja designs bumper and bed rail lights, KMC Grenade beadlock wheels, foreign produced Pro-Line Maxxis Trepador tires, front 3-line/rear 4-link suspension design, aluminum threaded body dampers, a 13.9″ extended wheelbase, all-metal gears inside the dig equipped transmission, AR45 straight axles, a Spektrum SLT3 transmitter, the Spektrum FIRMA 40a brushed esc, an Axial Slick Rock 35t brushed motor, a waterproof S683 servo with 25t splines and a battery tray that can accept shorty or standard length packs. The new truck is available in two official Jeep colors, either ’41 Green or Walnut Brown Metallic.
Item #AXI-2443T1 Axial SCX10iii Jeep Gladiator Motobilt Edition RTR, Brown
#AXI-2443T2 Axial SCX10iii Jeep Gladiator Motobilt Edition RTR, Green
ARRMA
Horizon Hobby is now offering the Arrma Mojave 1/7 6s desert truck in a limited edition, web-exclusive yellow variant, available only through horizonhobby.com. This truck is mechanically identical to the other color ways offered but painted yellow to separate it from other, non-LE, trucks.
Item #ARA7604V3T3 Arrma Mojave 1/7 6s V3 w/Limited Edition Yellow colorway
Sitting underneath that newly revised shell with its clipless body mounts is the new V3 1/7 Mojave chassis, this time updated with steel reinforcement rings inside the wheel hex to prevent stripping under heavy loads, an updated power package including revisions to the 150a SMART ESC by Spektrum, a new servo and new emulsion style shock caps from the EXB line of vehicles. While not a laundry list of changes each upgrade marks a notable increase in performance, durability and style. Standard colors for the V3 Mojave are blue (ARA7604V3T) and white (ARA7604V3T2).
REDCAT RACING
Redcat has released a V2 version of their ultra-popular Ascent-32 micro crawler to address the biggest request from owners of the V1: MORE POWER! Under the body, which is the same style but without the metallic finish of the original, the chassis appears mostly the same with its straight axles, classic wheels and large tires, the 4-link suspension front and rear, oil-filled dampers with plastic bodies and aluminum caps, flat rail LCG chassis with integrated shock towers and the iconic flip-forward body mount system that hides the body mounting hardware for a smooth, classic look. The star of the show is the new ESC and battery combo, this time being a 300mAh 2s battery and a 2s capable ESC/RX combo that takes its signals from a smaller-than-adult-sized 2.4gHz transmitter that, while looking rather unique, works quite well. Color options for the V2 include red, pink, blue and green.
THOUGHTS FROM THE WORKBENCH
This past week saw more time spent tinkering in the house thanks to ultra-hot and muggy weather but I did manage to get a few little projects finished up and wanted to report on some of the awesomeness that occurred!
First up, I won a complete set of original Pro-Line Striker 2.2 truck tires that, other than being more than 30 years ols, are in very good shape. I cleaned them up and installed a pair of JConcepts 2.2 truck inserts into the pair that did not arrive with foams and they’re ready for duty. A set of JConcepts Mono 2.2 Truck wheels serve as the hoops and will work well on the T7, however will be a little narrow on the front of the Rustler. I remember seeing these tires used on the local carpet track when I first got into RC and always wanted a set but never picked them up before they were discontinued. Now that I am restoring my original Rustler as well as finishing up the RC10T7 build I have a great excuse to mount these up and do some on-road bashing!
Recently, Crawler Canyon on YouTube posted a quickview of the blue tires from Amazon, noting that they were surprisingly effective on the rocks and well worth the $28 per set. I decided to pick up a set as they reminded me of the Team Losi Spec blue race tires (of which I have one set of buggy front and am on the hunt for the other three offerings, if anyone has a lead shoot me a message) and the Ofna 1/8 buggy color tires from the mid-2000’s. I thought I was buying a set of C2 2.2’s in 4.75 but when they arrived I realized that I had actually clicked the 1.9″ version. No big deal but I do prefer the bigger wheel/smaller profile tire look that the 2.2’s provide. For wheels I chose a set of Temu specials in what is called “rainbow” colored. These aluminum hoops use a standard 5-scew main mounting flange with a 6-screw wheels hex and 24 decorative screws to retain the outer beadlock ring. I think they look pretty good together and have plans for a new build that will allow these offbeat tires to fit in with a theme a little better.
That’s a wrap for another week of TWIRC! We thank you one and all for joining us again and hope to see you again next time. Until then, be good to yourself, be good to each other, be good to your RC.