Whatever happened to...
 

There's no doubt about it, RC has evolved in many ways over the years. My goal for this thread is just to stir things up a bit. Maybe show/talk about that "RC goodness" from years-past. You know, that stuff at the bottom of the pot, that has given the hobby so much flavor.

Whatever happened to these Vantage tires? They look like the center band could possibly be molded into the rubber to help keep the tires from expanding. Or was the band something that was removable? Either way, I think it was a great idea.

IMO, if you want to minimize ballooning, you'd be far better off with 17mm hex adapters and running a set of quality GT8 tires that are belted radials ;)

Green Machine
 

What happen to hand out motors? Trinity's Green Machine anyone? I had a bunch of green stock motors over the years, and one that stood out the most was a No Bull brand. The name alone gave my buggy extra kick. Haha.

Step Pins
 

Step-Pins anyone? How long has it been.... 15? 20?... long years ago these were the tires to have if you wanted to "hook up" on tracks. I ordered these (in the pictures) a couple of years ago from Panther, as they are the only manufacturer that I know of who still makes these sweet things. Now if I could only convince them to make 'em in a medium/hard compound.

It is my quest for happiness to run with big knobby tires. I'm a tire dork/junkie I know.

Am I the only one who vacuum seals their tires?

I thought I'd break down and start using up my supply, now that I don't run too much power in my RCs. This set of Panther Step-Pins will make it onto the rear of my Associated T4.3 powered by a 17T brushed motor. I didn't have too much luck with my buggy Step-Pins lasting all that long. With a 3900Kv motor hanging off the rear of buggy, I think it was like 6 runs at the track, and poof... Step-Pins were a step gone into baldness :p.

How about R/C tracks?
 

Whatever happened to those? The closest legit track is 106 miles from me. Guess I'm going to have to move.

I don't know what to think about the number of R/C tracks. Is there actually less? I think the cost for indoor tracks is perhaps a reason.

A good number of 1/10 scale outdoor off-road tracks still around in different parts of the Commonwealth here, but not like it use to be. Showing up to race and pitting off the back of your truck's tailgate were good times.

I was at a high school football game, and seen the guy who got me started in racing. I should've went up to him, but he was in deep conversation with others, and I just wanted to leave event. The track that was in his backyard. A simple track design with an oval track on the outside perimeter for converted Sprints. A Commador 64, inside minivan, was used for lap counting duties during racing. Frogs, Hornets, and Grasshoppers kicking up the dirt. Months later, someone shows up with a RC10...game over :cool:.

Racers Edge
 

I got this Racers Edge "tool" in parts/tool lot. It's been sitting around my living room side table for almost a year now. First thoughts were, it's a part of a chassis setup system or something. Contacted seller about it...No idea what it is.
http://cdn3.volusion.com/kazmu.psjlo...jpg?1507024728

Racers Edge RCE7030 1/10 Differential Building Tool
 

While looking for Losi truck parts, POOF, there came my answer. Racers Edge RCE7030 1/10 Differential Building Tool. Man, I was way off. I never seen one used before, let alone never seeing one in an ad/hobby shop/online (until today).
Attachment 2240661
I'm guessing you put your diff outdrives on the "tool's" post to hold your diff as you build it up. The "V" cutout was intended for something, as you can tell by looking at the partial manual clue in picture.

Green Machine
 

If my memory is correct, I do believe green colored cans, or just the green color alone, was used to signify a stock 27T motor for a few years. I had crap loads of these things.

Attachment 2240689https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.U...=0&w=303&h=160
Attachment 2240690

Hot Trick...Going Way Back
 

My first hobby grade RC was The Frog. I thought I was hot stuff racing against Grasshoppers, and Hornets. Then came along this dude with a fiberglass chassis RC10. I wanted one so bad. Dreams didn't come true until many years later. The Frog platform had great success and aftermarket parts were plentiful. One company took things to extreme levels of awesomeness. Hot Trick made a conversion kit for the Tamiya pond hopper. I wish I had the RCCA article, but I sold my early RCCA mags some time ago. I found pictures of the Hot Trick's conversion kit (Frog/Red Prince Kit). I think they went overboard and the price, IIRC, was just too much. A person would have been better off just buying a RC10, than trying to make The Frog something it was not .

So many things.
Brushed motors that are worth a damn. Not everyone wants to worry about brushless. Some just like basic motors they can easily work on and rebuild.
Paragon Jump jets. They were an experiment in progressive damping of the oil.
The old turbo zeta speed controllers used on big honking monster trucks or anything requiring a ton of cells.

Trailing Arms Anyone?
 

The battle between Losi and Associated has always pushed each company to come up with better RCs. I am pretty much a Team Associated fan and my buddy is a Losi diehard fanatic. In good fun, we always heckled each other at the track. Combing the two is usually a big no-no. Here is one that you just don't see ...ever. I can't believe someone thought it would sell.

I was diggin' through some pics of early radios of the RC hobby. This was my first ever radio that I got for my entrance into the hobby. Mine was not the PCM edition. I totally forgot about the Alpina radio. I'm pretty sure was made by JR ProPo. I do remember the price tag being pretty steep back then. My best guess would be $80 for the Alpina; it had EPAs for both throttle and steering, and came with two servos. Sure the servos probably had somewhere in the neighborhood of 40.30 oz-in of torque, and speeds of 0.20 sec/60°, but I used them for a good long time. I can never have a radio, or I should say, I will never buy a radio that doesn't have EPAs for steering and throttle. This radio spoiled me by having end point adjustments on both channels.

Man I sold so much old ****. The oldest I still have is a late 90's Nitro Hawk. Still runs but im scared to death to break anything on it.

Id like to find some proline blades for my stadium truck

Mamba Max CM36 5700kv
 

After basically using a shoehorn to get a servo into a chassis, I decided to break out some older gear for a semi rally-ish on-road/off-road build.

My first ever brushless ESC/motor combo...Mamba Max ESC w/CM36 5700kv motor. That thing was just plain stupid fast for off-road racing. It barely fit under my B4's body. Actually, the ESC raised the body slightly; rubbed some of the green anodizing off the heatsink. The motor has been retired many years ago, and the Mamba was put away maybe two years ago.

After taking off the old double sided tape, from the underside of ESC, I had myself a chuckle remembering Castle Creations slogan they used for marketing back in the day...

Racers Edge RE7030 Diff Building Tool
 

Now I know how to use it. While building diffs, the posts on the tool hold your outdrive. The "V" notch cut out is used to test tightness of diff.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...ee751bb163.jpg

Whatever happened to nitro monster trucks? Surely if there's anywhere nitro can continue to thrive in a hobby otherwise dominated by brushless and lipo, it's the most brash and obnoxious vehicle type in all of surface RC where half the point of the vehicle is to make a lot of noise and smoke every time you tell it to move! Yet...let's see...we have the Tmaxx, an outdated and obsolete design that still breaks in half if you so much as sneeze at it while using an engine that's still prone to throwing conrods during break-in for no good reason...we have the Revo, which is pretty much a truggy that thinks it can into monster trucking and has the same engine flaws the Tmaxx has...we have the Nitro Pede, which uses the same engines again and doesn't even logically make sense to exist given what it competes with....aaaaand then we have the Kyosho Mad Force and its derivatives(Of which I own and love-to-death the Mad Crusher GP! Also solid axles or bust!). I honestly can't think of any other nitro MTs in active production right now. Perhaps some are being made under offshorium labelling but nothing from the brands with part support comes to my mind.

Losi stopped selling theirs. Associated stopped selling theirs(Pretty sure AE stopped selling 1/10 and 1/8 MT entirely, electric or fuel powered). Duratrax...fell off the face of the earth it seems. Nevermind losing their MT, I haven't seen *any* cars from them in years, though they do still seem to be making tires. And it seems the monster truck in general is a bit on the endangered side, even electric. It's like everyone's moving onto truggies and buggies or somethin'.

What's going on, Industry? Surely if there's anywhere you can get nitro to sell competitively with electric it's in a category that revolves around loud engine noises and lots of exhaust smoke. Anyone who's ever watched Monster Jam on TV will know where I'm coming from with that.

On this note, I have to give Kyosho some mad props. They do a GP and EP of every monster truck they sell. <3 you guys, you quirky lot, and I'm gonna be buying a fair few Kyosho models in the future. Currently set on getting their 1/7 Scorpion buggy kit and throwing a nice OS motor in the back(Might even go 4-stroke!). Now stop putting 100oz-in servos in your trucks that draw so much current they cause brownouts 10-15 minutes into a run...


I'd also like to posit this question: Where the hell did the humble 1/10 2WD stadium truck run off to? I...honestly can't think of anyone except Traxxas and Associated that still sells one. Did the shortcourse truck really just about completely commit an entire genre of RC into the annals of history? I mean, hell, I love my SC10GT to death, but surely people would still buy a 1/10 ST as well?

The problem is that people have gotten way to serious about it. Its not for fun anymore its all about winning. People look down upon you if you don't have the latest and greatest buggy or charger or transmitter. They talk trash about you, they are snobs. Its disheartening but its driven many people away from competition.

remember using crystals before the digital recievers?

Yes I do! I still have my Futaba Jr and it works great. Needs a new receiver, doubt I could get one. Had one of the first Electronic speed controls with it.

The bead was molded into the tread so you could see the tire deflection while running, allowing you to better adjust your chassis setup.

I miss the old Venom speed meters, they were a cool cheap way to get a rough idea of speed