Welcome back one and all to another week of TWIRC, the best that the RC industry has to offer! This week saw releases from JConcepts, Team Associated and Tamiya, with the theme of “what’s old is new again.” Retro is all the rage in RC currently and for hobbyists my age it is a great time to be alive! Many of the vehicles that were out of reach when I first got into the hobby are now becoming re-re’d, making them accessible to the common man and bringing a bit of that childhood wonder back to RC. This past weekend saw the second running of the Team Associated Vintage Nationals and seeing all of those RC10’s, B2’s, XX’s, JRX’s and Yokomo’s dicing it up on track again is a great sight. I personally hope that companies like Team Associated and Losi continue to release new vintage kits progressing through the mid to late 90’s as I’m sure we’d all love to see a new-in-box RC10B3 or XXX sitting behind the hobby shop counter. Let’s dive in and see what’s new!
JCONCEPTS
JConcepts is at the forefront of the vintage scene, supporting both racers and bashers alike, and this week released four new products that are sure to satisfy. Vintage racers now have a new front tire option for their 4wd buggies in the new X-Bite 2.0″ pin tires while a pair of new flat wings bring a touch of retro style to both 2wd and 4wd buggies in both 5.5″ and 7″ widths. For those who do their retro racing with big tires JConcepts has new Fin titanium turnbuckles that are both beefy and beautiful. Finally, for those looking to add some strength while shedding some weight JC has new four packs of titanium top hat screws in lengths from 6mm to 22mm.
X-BITE 2.0″ TIRES
Vintage racing is not only bringing back the race cars of the 80’s and early 90’s but is also ushering in a return to “real” off-road racing. Loam, mixed conditions, wet clay and even hard blue groove are all on the table once again and in conditions like these a versatile tire is needed to cope with those ever-changing conditions. JConcepts new X-Bite is based on the Dirt Bite 1:8 buggy tire from the early 2000’s and mixes a radiused square pin with center “X” pattern for a balanced traction profile, both front. Molded in the versatile, gets-traction-nearly-anywhere “green” compound these tires are a great option for driver’s looking for added steering and forward bite without sacrificing performance in any other metric. These tires are sold in pairs and do not include inserts.
Item #4193-02 X-Bite 2.0″ 4wd Buggy Front Tire https://jconcepts.net/x-bite-4wd-front-tire
FLAT WINGS
While the current crop of race buggies are rocking super-sculpted, ultra-aerodynamic rear wings, the genesis of the buggy wing was flat and relied on a large Gurney Flap and angle of attack to generate downforce. JConcepts is bringing the retro cool with their new Vintage Flat Wings, in both 5.5″ and 7″ widths. These wings are dimpled for use on the RC10/B2 and RC10B3, while also featuring a center line for mounting on other chassis’. The leading edge of the side dams are nearly 90 degrees for that old-school boxy look and the Gurney Flap has two molded in lines for trimming and adjusting of downforce an drag, Each size is sold in a convenient two pack and are molded in clear polycarbonate.
Item #0539 5.5″ Vintage Flat Wing, 2pc.
#0538 7.0″ Vintage Flat Wing, 2pc.
Link: https://blog.jconcepts.net/2026/08/jconcepts-new-release-vintage-flat-wings/
RECTOR FIN TITANIUM TURNBUCKLES
The REACTOR vintage monster truck is a great performing truck straight out of the box but JConcepts didn’t forget about the racers’ need to customize their ride when designing the truck. This week saw the release of new Fin titanium turnbuckles in both blue and black. These four millimeter thread, 36mm length heavy duty turnbuckles have both left and right hand threads for easy adjustment, while contrast machining on the fin portion gives these beauties their signature appearance.
Item #9138-1 M4x36 Fin Titanium Turnbuckles, Blue
#9138-2 M4x36 Fin Titanium Turnbuckles, Black
Link: https://blog.jconcepts.net/2026/08/jconcepts-new-release-reactor-fin-titanium-turnbuckle/
M3 TITANIUM TOP HAT SCREWS
JConcepts in now offering top hat screws in titanium to shed a few precious grams of unsprung weight while also looking extremely trick. Each screw is machined from high quality titanium to precise tolerances and are available in blue or black with contrast silver detail. The head is 6.75mm in diameter and has a low-profile hat for added clearance, Each pack of four screws are available in lengths from 6mm to 22nn. Item number varies by screw length and finish. Link: https://blog.jconcepts.net/2026/09/jconcepts-new-release-top-hat-lp-jhcs-titanium-screws/
TEAM ASSOCIATED
In 1985 Team Associated brought a prototype 4wd buggy to the IFMAR Off-Road Championships in Del Mar, California and, with Jammin’ Jay Halsey at the controls, took home the title. To celebrate that victory Team Associated has released a new RC10 4×4 Jay Halsey Chain Drive Edition, a car that is a tribute to the prototype seen on track back then. The “new” car features a stainless steel chain, hardened drive sprockets, a new carbon fiber chain separator system plus new front CVA”s and tapered dog bones to suit the narrow front arm geometry. For added steering and retro style points the new car includes wide front wheels and pin spike tires, plus the boxy Protech body shell, Jay Halsey clear wing and clear driver figure. Natural shock towers give the signature gold shocks a sturdy home while the signature gold pan chassis and front nose plate give the car its iconic look. Performance wise the Jay Halsey 4×4 utilizes the World’s steering rack, heavy duty ball cups and ball studs, hardened drive cu[s and dog bones, 3-gear Stealth transmissions, high-torque ball differentials and a full set of steel ball bearings.
Item #6056 RC10 4×4 Jay Halsey Chain Drive Edition https://60years.associatedelectrics.com/rc10-4wd-jay-halsey-chain-drive-edition-kit/
Team Associated RC10 Vintage 2026 Counter: 16
TAMIYA
When most hobbyists think of retro or re-releases the name Tamiya is usually the first to come to mind. Their latest trip down memory lane takes us back to the early 2000’s and the TRF201 2wd race buggy, now rebranded as a beginner friendly rear motor racing style buggy under the moniker DN01SR. This plastic fantastic buggy makes use of a longitudinally mounted battery flanked by the RC gear on either side, keeping the heaviest components as centralized as possible. Speaking of said battery, the DN01SR is square pack (LiPO) compatible, a welcome addition to an an older chassis design. Other modern updates include hex front wheels, axles and uprights, TRF options parts including an aluminum motor plate, 3 degree rear aluminum toe blocks, one-piece dish wheels and rear CVA axles. A dedicated decal sheet and window masks are included to denote this as a special version of the DN01 as well.
Item #58761 DN01SR 1/10 2wd Buggy Kit https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/-road-buggies/rc-dn-01sr-chassis-kit/
THOUGHTS FROM THE WORKBENCH
My recent bout with electronics has continued this week. Radiolink replaced the two R4FGM receivers that arrived damaged previously and when they turned up in the mailbox I could hardly wait to bind them and put them to use. I added a new model slot for each and wired each receiver up to my bench test equipment that includes a Hobbywing 60a brushless ESC, an Injora 25kg servo and a cheap brushless motor that is known to work. I powered everything on and the first receiver bound quickley and the servo worked as it should in channels one, three and four. The throttle however was unresponsive. I swapped the servo from channel one to channel two and the issue followed it there, while the ESC functioned as it should, just via the steering wheel instead of the throttle trigger. Weird. I unpluggged everything and hooked up the second receiver. This RX didn’t bind as usual and instead blinked slowly after the bind attempt. I depressed the bind button once again and the RX responded with two blinks and then went solid. Again, channels one, three and four worked as they should but channel two was still unresponsive. I recently updated the firmware on the RC8X to the latest version (1.3.6) and feared it may the culprit so I reverted the radio to its factory firmware (1.3.1) and, unfortunately that was not the smoking gun I had hoped it to be. At this point I am not sure what the problem is, as all of the other R4FGM’s that I have in use currently are working with no issues, it is just the newest ones that are throttleless. I’ll be reaching out to Radiolink this week to rope them in on this issue and try to work out a solution, of which I will pass along to you all as soon as we know something concrete.
I want to thank you one and all for joining us once again for TWIRC, your continued patronage is truly what keeps the wheels rolling for us here at 1i-rc. Until next time, be good to yourself, be good to others, be good to your RC.