The RC industry is back from its summer break it seems; this week’s new products include Redcat’s new brushless Ascent 18, new crawler wheels from JConcepts as well as new 1/8 truck and buggy wheels, a “new” RC10 Masami Hirosaka 1989 Edition, as well as a new set of weighted portal covers from Element. As for project updates we have some lighting progress to report with our Sand Rail Slash as well as a new body, wheels and tires for our Class 2 Fun Rig. Let’s dive in and see what’s new!
REDCAT
New this month from Redcat Racing is a brushless version of their Ascent 18 mini trail truck that not only features a new 3450kV 1212 size brushless motor paired with a 3-channel RX/brushless ESC combo but also new high-steer steering knuckles for added ground clearance. The Scout II body and licensed Interco Super Swamper tires give the truck a classic, aggressive look, while the included 750mAh LiPO makes this a truly Ready To Run vehicle (just add 4AA batteries for the transmitter). More information can be found here: https://www.redcatracing.com/products/redcat-ascent-18-international-scout-ii-brushless-1-18-scale-brushed-electric-rock-crawler?variant=52060852093295
ELEMENT RC
Element has released a new set of steel portal box covers for their portal equipped vehicles. Each unit weighs 67g and will help not only lower the center of gravity of the vehicle but also adds a little stability to the bearing and axle shaft thanks to reduced flex in this area. Unlike many brass options these steel covers are black oxide coated making them disappear behind the wheels. For more information or to order a set for yourself click here: https://www.associatedelectrics.com/news/latest_products/2960-enduro-ft-steel-weighted-portal-covers-67g/
TEAM ASSOCIATED
Team Associated’s great hits re-release tour now has another member with the release of the RC10 ’89 Steal Car Masami Edition, commemorating Masami Hirosaka’s legendary Worlds win in Australia from 1989. According to Associated this car’s list of features includes:
89’ Stealth® car long stroke shock springs
CNC machined aluminum chassis
Laser etched chassis logo
Carbon fiber top plate
Hard anodized shock bodies
Hard anodized shock caps
Universal driveshafts
Ball bearings
89’ Stealth® car front bulkhead
89’ Stealth® car rear arm mounts
Stealth® car wide front suspension arms
CNC chassis standoffs
Stealth® transmission
Titanium turnbuckles
89’ Stealth® car world championship replica tires
89’ Stealth® car rear suspension arms
Adjustable battery mounts (shorty or standard)
89’ Stealth® car front and rear shock towers
89’ Stealth® car pink rear wheels
89’ Stealth® car rear wheel adaptors
89’ Stealth® car style wing mount system
89’ Stealth® car rear bulkhead
89’ Stealth® car style rear wing with side panels
89’ Masami world championship livery decal sheet
Replica Masami battery strap and ESC mount
For more photos and a great bio of Masami himself please visit: https://60years.associatedelectrics.com/rc10-89-stealth-car-masami-edition-kit/ On a personal note, this paint scheme was iconic when I got into the hobby; when you saw it you knew exactly whose car it was. This is one of a handful of schemes that have stuck with me over the years, joined by Brian Kinwald’s black and neon drips scheme and Cliff Lett’s “Corporate” Team Associated scheme that was seen in so many press photos of the time. This is one that truly deserves to be recreated faithfully to the box art.
JCONCEPTS
Jason and the team at JConcepts have been busy lately, this time developing four new sets of aluminum crawler wheels for use with either 1.9″ or 2.2″ tires. The 1.9″ wheels are actually oversized to 2.0″, affording additional clearance around the portal boxes of today’s modern axles. Unlike many wheels on the market toda ythese wheels feature a one-piece inner barrel and face with separate hex adapter while the bead is secured with an outer beadlock ring. This makes installation and removal of the tire a more labor-intensive process compared to other multi-piece wheels. The four different wheels are know as the 2.0″ Quick Draw (first photo), the 2.0″ Ultra (second photo), the 2.0″ Ballistic (third photo) and finally the 2.2″ Jammer (you guessed it, the fourth photo). Changing the offset of the wheels is a simple as bolting on a new hex adapter, available from JConcepts in 5.5 to 8.0\5mm offsets, each sold in pairs with a natural finish and 3mm mounting holes.
The JC crew also released a new style of wheel in sizes for 1/8 buggies and 1/8 trucks, the RM2 Pioneer. This wheels features styling reminiscent of the 90’s with their fluoro pink color (also available in white or fluorescent yellow) and their multi-piece appearance despite being a one-piece wheel. These wheels are dimensionally identical to their Mono stablemate and feature multiple inner ribs for stiffness and strength.
Detailed specification as well as links for purchase can be found here: https://blog.jconcepts.net/category/new-products/
PROJECT UPDATE: CLASS 2 FUN RIG
This week’s progress was a bit slow as I only got the wheels and tires mounted as well as got the body finished. For the body I chose a JConcepts Tucked 1995 Ford F-150 shell painted and decaled in the traditional Red Bull colors. Wheels were Amazon specials; six-bolt rear’s with six bolt removable hubs. These particular wheels are Method 105 style with gold faces and black outer rings. Quality wise they are pretty solid, the screw holes are tapped cleanly and can hold an adequate amount of torque. The wheel hexes are held in with M3 SHCS while the non-functional outer beadlock ring is held on with 24 M2 SHCS (thankfully these are just for decoration but be careful not to over-tighten these). For tires the truck is currently wearing Injora 1.9″ Kraken Claws in the S5 compound. These tires are Class 2 legal at 4.75″ tall and continue the current trend of narrow comp tires at a svelte1.85″. The included foams were replaced with a set of soft front and medium soft rear 3d printed TPU inserts. The new Amazon Dig transmission also arrived this week but unfortunately not in time to get installed. Photos can be found in the project thread here: https://1i-rc.com/powerhobby-class-2-lcg-fun-rig-can-you-compete-on-a-budget/
UPDATE: SLASH SAND RAIL
This weeks progress on the sand rail was minimal as I am still waiting on a few parts to arrive but I did manage to get two of the main harnesses from the cage to the chassis completed and installed. These will separate the 12v nose LED bar and roof LED’s from the 5v rear light bar and whip antennas. As of now the 5v system will run directly off of the receiver but I do have some 3rd channel activated switches that I want to try to make them user controllable as well. Currently the roof and nose lights are controllable through a 3rd channel switch that comes from Amazon; it takes battery power and allows you to turn the lights on and off. While this works great for the 12v lights it would fry the 5v side if I were to wire another switch into the system. The new switches I have do not run on battery power and instead take their input from the receiver. In the case of the Hobbywing 10BL120 that’s 5.5v of power which is perfect for the remaining lights in the system. The latest photos and updates to this project can be found here: https://1i-rc.com/project-log-traxxas-slash-to-sand-rail-conversion/
That’s it for this weeks TWIRC, we sincerely thank you for stopping by and spending your valuable time with us. Until next time, be good to others, be good to yourself, be good to your RC.