Relief has finally arrived here in the mountains of West Virginia but as the heat makes its way out the rain moved its way in to fill the weather vacuum left behind. We’ve had rain six of the last seven days and flooding has began to show its ugly head. Luckily the waters have not encroached on our property as of yet but we are keeping a close eye on that level. While the weather has not been conducive to outdoor RC’ing it has allowed us all some time to hit the bench and work on some of those little projects that we all keep tucked away for times just like these. To go along with those long bench sessions we’ve also gotten some great new products to spark our imagination and strain our credit cards; products from companies including Redcat Racing, Axial and Exotek. Let’s dive in and see what’s new!
REDCAT RACING
Seemingly out of nowhere came the email from Redcat this week announcing the new Vertex 10, Vertex 10W, as well as the slider versions of both. No one was expecting a scale comp rig from the red brand, much less a quartet of them in both RTR and slider form. The Vertex 6 was a behemoth of a truck and hinted where Redcat was heading with their next generation 1/10 crawlers and these new trucks do not disappoint.
We’ll begin with the Vertex 10, a truck that looks comp ready out of the box and that notion only increases when you peruse the features list. The truck is built off of a carbon fiber chassis with a 10 degree angled center skid, portal axles with machined ring and pinion gears and 3:1 reduction inside their portal boxes, double-cv joint front axle shafts for improved steering angle, a Hobbywing 2812-size 1700kV motor paired with a 10BL60 2s-4s ESC, a 50kg Hexfly brushless steering servo, air emulsion aluminum body dampers, servo-on-axle mounting with 4-link suspension front and rear, steel front and aluminum rear axle tubes, 1.9″ beadlock wheels wrapped in 4,75″ tires, 20% overdrive out of the box. all covered by a very comp-y pinched and dovetailed one-piece crawler body. The RTR is available in two colors, blue and metallic green while the slider can be had in your choice of clear or also Clear but with a capital “C” and, thanks to its two-piece design, can be a pickup with a box or a lightweight cab only. The slider version (previously know as the PACK, or pre-assembled chassis kit) eschews the electronics and rolling stock in favor of putting $130 back in your pocket.
In addition to the standard Vertex 10 (and Slider) Redcat also released the Vertex 10W, for WIDE. This truck is 228mm wide and has a 330mm wheelbase (up from 204mm and 316mm, respectively). Also separating itself from the non-“W” variant are 2.2″ beadlock wheels and 5.25″ tall tires, making this truck a true go-anywhere-no-matter-what kind of truck. The overdrive percentage is up to 32% with this larger truck, further helping it remain maneuverable despite its increased wheelbase. Electronics remain the same between the two versions but the 10W is fitted with the 2-piece “W” designated body shell in either electric blue or electric greenand does not include a light bar (the 10 RTR has a light bar fitted inside the front bumper).
Like the non-“W” version the “W” edition leaves electronic choice up to the end user while putting a little coin back into his or her pocket. The fully-assembled chassis requires rolling stock along with the electronics, paint, battery and charger to get the truck on the rocks.
Vertex 10W Slider: https://www.redcatracing.com/collections/featured-products/products/redcat-vertex-10w-slider-1-10-scale-pre-assembled-chassis-kit?variant=53100180144495#gallery-3
AXIAL ADVENTURE
I didn’t have a trailer kit for an Axial SCX10iii on my bingo card for 2026, but here it is! This kit builds into a nice scale representation of a flat-bed, dual-axle trailer. Each of the 1.55″ wheels and tires move independently for smoother, more scale maneuvering and the tongue snaps onto a standard ball-end (such as those on the 10iii and other Axial vehicles over the years) meaning the trailer can articulate just like a 1:1 trailer would. The kit makes use of molded frame rails, faux diamond plate treads and faux wood decking, as well as an extensive decal sheet to add the finishing touch to an already impressive scale accessory. Each trailer is sized to hold an average 1/10 trail truck, drifter, or custom rig.
Item #AXI-3409 1/10 Flat Bed Trailer Kit https://www.axialadventure.com/product/axial-1-10-scx10-flat-bed-vehicle-trailer/AXI-3409.html
EXOTEK
Vintage RC10 fans who actually race their cars now have another excellent option for shock towers when using the small body dampers thanks to Exotek and their new carbon fiber front and rear shock towers (sold separately). The front tower includes all stock mounting locations as well as two additional camber link mounting holes that aid in steering response as well as prevent the ball cups from colliding with each other. Each camber link hole is recessed for greaterl ball stud clearance as well as allowing the use of optional 5.5mm ball studs. The rear shock tower is not only stiffer than stock but offers holes for optional wing mounts such as Exotek’s 4-hole wing mount (#2400, sold separately).
Front Shock Tower https://www.exotekracing.com/rc10-hd-front-shock-tower-small-bore-shocks.html
Rear Shock Tower https://www.exotekracing.com/rc10-hd-rear-shock-tower-small-bore-shocks.html
THOUGHTS FROM THE WORKBENCH
Last week we began a new series called “Thoughts From The Workbench” and, while I wasn’t at the bench when I wrote it I think the sentiment is still valid. This week I spent some time staring at the car storage rack in my temporary shop and knew I could do better. The rack keeps the cars and trucks facing you and isn’t very space efficient for its size. I am constantly hitting my head on the lowest rung and, frankly, I don’t really like it. I have some ideas floating around in my head but I know we as a community can do better. For next week I’d love to see what you employ to store your cars in your shop. Shoot me an email at our official email address of contact1irc@yahoo.com and I’ll post up my favorites (as long as you guys come through with the pics, that is!) and who knows, maybe I’ll give your idea a shot if I like it enough to build!
That’s it for another edition of TWIRC! We thank you each and every one for coming back to get your RC fix from us, your patronage is greatly appreciated! Until next time, be good to yourself, be good to each other and be good to your RC.