Return to the RC Car Scene!
 

Hey Guys!

It's been a hot minute (https://www.urbandictionary.com/defi...m=hot%20minute) since I've been around here. Life kicked in and went to school, got a job.. I left the RC community in search of growing up but I've returned itching to build something.

When I left the RC community, the local RC shops around me (Toronto, Canada) were closing down as no one seemed to be interested in RC. I drove by my upcoming new home and found a couple of dudes in the mid 40s playing with RC cars and sparked my interest.

My last builds were HPI Savage XL and HPI Baja 5B SS and had so much fun with them. Whats new on the market now and how have things changed? Also, looking for a recommendation on a next build to get me back in! :D

Welcome back!

HPI went bankrupt around 2016, they were chopped up and sold off to where HPI and Hot Bodies are nothing like they once were.

Hobbico also went bankrupt shortly after with Team Durango and dozens of other small brands going away as well... Hobbico was chopped up and most of their car market was sold to Horizon, namely ARRMA.

HongNor retired which left OFNA without a major brand to distribute after HoBao decided to take on their own distribution in North America so OFNA went out of business. Some of the HongNor cars have been brought back under RedCat, but not in kit form, you can still get 80% kits from HoBao.

Caster Racing, TeamC and InTech have bounced around between several distributors but they both seem to have disappeared from the North American market as of late.

As far as kits with decent parts support goes I would consider the following brands:
PR Racing
TEKNO
Team Associated
Team Losi
Schumacher
XRay

AMain has a really good selection of respectable kits to browse :)

Best of luck!

Wow things have really changed since I've left the scene. I did get into drones in the past couple of years that fixed my RC Itch out of the way. I'm surprised no new RC car development has come a out. I would love to see some sort of remote screen oror capabilities to spark up the RC car scene .

RC technology has made HUGE leaps and bounds over the past 5 years across the board with all the following as just a few things that come to mind just off the top of my head, I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of other sweet things:

• Antenna-less Receivers
• Telemetry
• HV Receivers
• Insanely fast response rates
• Tons of new ergos such as adjustable trigger position, and infinite steering wheel positions
• LiHV technology
• Super advanced charger features with integrated hi drain discharge cycling to boost IR
• Several new brands of tire manufactures have entered the market
• ESC's are now integrated with radios so you can program the ESC from the radio without a program card
• modern geometry of buggies has drastically improved performance with way too many features to list
• maintenance has been drastically reduced across most brands where a complete rebuild takes less than an hour on average
• Ceramic bearings have been refined to go faster too
• 540 Motors have switched over to short stacks where a 13.5T motor today is comparable to a 10.5T motor from 5 years ago

The list can go on and on... :)

Wow! Thanks for pointing all of those out. Can you recommend a electric offroad truck? I was looking at the HPI Vorza or Traxxas Revo 2.0. I do prefer a kit as I like the process of building it.

HPI and Traxxas have been left behind in terms of offering very dated designs.

Hands down the best quality monster truck you can get in kit form today is the TEKNO MT410, it's a beast which is based on a 1/8 buggy chassis with 1/8 truggy arms!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P2k0KdSOpk&t=15s

Stick to your guns, and look at a kit to build. Usually, on a good online hobby store, there will be a breakdown of features for you to click on to help in the search of what you are after. Select the scale, category, completeness (assembled/unassembled) of what you are after. The electric 1/10 scale 4wd truck kit selection is slim. Throw in the term "monster truck", and the selection is even slimmer ;)....https://www.amainhobbies.com/unassem...=17_28&lg=fk17

Value and durability can be looked at in different ways.

I do prefer kits myself...the "racing" breeds. After recently selling my 1/8 scale buggy, I began looking for something to hold me over...something on the cheaper side. For whatever reason I looked toward the RTR platforms. Arrma came to mind. I began researching the crap outta the 6S and 3S lineup. One platform had known issues of rear axle letting dirt into hub bearings. A person would have to jump through hoops to find parts from a discontinued Team Durango buggy to rectify the issue. I quickly threw out the idea of that platform because I run in very dusty conditions a lot of times. If it wasn't for the internet, I know I would have found out the hard way.

I began looking at the 3S BLX Typhon to possibly get my 1/8 scale buggy "fix". Well, after reading so many threads, and posts about people quickly upgrading key parts on the buggy, I began adding up what it would take for me to purchase in order to have an acceptable buggy that I could be happy with. Radio is pure garbage. Shocks...everyone was putting some economy Trackstar shocks on their buggy, then found out they needed new springs to be compatible with the lightweight buggy. Motor mount...LOL...non adjustable. I get it. You gotta cut costs somewhere to keep the price lower. Thankfully, an upgrade is made. Stones getting trapped in the chassis, and grinding the plastic driveshaft ....one of my biggests fears that I can see me dealing with if I got the 3S buggy and ran it on my track.

You ain't kiddin' on all the new stuff! Looks like I'll need to be upgrading radio gear before I fire 'em up again (no more runaways with AM radios).

most designs are dated even the tekno cars and trucks they are based off of 1/8 scale designs so not a drastic difference. the traxxas xmaxx is a great truck according to reviews. there is nothing wrong with traxxas not sure where all the hate comes from. we need traxxas along with other independent companies else this hobby will decline and become a monopoly as it seems to be heading. the great thing about traxxas is parts support and no worries about discontinued cars and trucks every few years like losi and associated. not everyone wants to build a kit. im greatful for rtrs. if i was going to bash i would buy the new emaxx or xmaxx or kraton, outcast. if i wanted a rtr sct i would get the pro sc10, sadly they dont offer there rc10b4 or t4 in an rtr anymore. if i was really serious about racing i would get a kit.

Traxxas has become a patent troll and is responsible for destroying the industry in many ways. They are the ones who have been monopolizing control by limiting the amount of sales of competing merchandise. I am stating facts here and leaving any emotion out of the equation. Dollar for dollar, people overpay on mediocre quality that Traxxas sells. I recently had the pleasure of comparing an XMaxx side by side with an ARRMA Kraton 8S and the Traxxas quality is laughable comparing to ARRMA when you see how the ARRMA arms are much thicker, with wider track width and lower center of gravity making the ARRMA far less likely to flip, plus the ARRMA has more tuning options on roll center with far more aluminum options than what you get from Traxxas, there is no comparison on how much more you get from ARRMA for roughly the same price.

The main reason I promote race grade kits over RTR's is because you typically get all the upgrades in the kit which end up saving you more money than buying a RTR, where with a RTR you end up buying twice... first you have to replace all the crappy electronics, then you have spend a fortune on upgrades... just makes no sense to buy a RTR no matter which way you try to look at it... RTR means "ready to reassemble", no joke :(

The only exception I would make for RTR is someone who plans to do very light duty bashing limited to speed runs and jumping curbs in the front yard, then yeah a Traxxas product will do perfectly fine in those rare circumstances. Most folks want to do extreme jumps, run at the local skate park, etc and that's where durability is put to the test where TEKNO starts to shine above the rest of the competition ;)

patent troll? when did stealing become ok? hobbico knowingly stole a patent its that simple. arrma better? lol no. any of them will break just look on youtube. seems like your a fan of arrma. thicker plastic isnt better for "bashing", more flexible plastic is, this is why rpm is in business. traxxas emaxx and xmaxx light curb jumps? your kidding right? maybe you should clean your glasses and have a look at youtube again. the xmaxx is a monster truck and the kraton is more of a truggy platform so comparing track width and center of gravity is pointless. i didnt start this hobby yesterday. ive been in this hobby on and off ever since jammin jays picture was on the rc10 box. i have a rc10t4.3 rtr and havent done a thing to it except shock oil and spring changes and in the right hands i assure you it would be competitive on a race track and you can bash with it too and its seen several jumps and tumbles.
do you know what a monopoly is? traxxas protects and controls there own products and for good reason and i would do the same if i owned that company. horizon owns most of the major brands now. and i see them trying to buy out more and more companies and if or when that happens the hobby will suffer greatly. horizon is just an investment company and its about profit margins not the hobby.

i do agree with one thing tekno has great products. i dont own any of there kits but have bought there parts and they are great.

Traxxas has not made a single patent on anything they invented themselves... all they have done is bought patents that were already made in the automotive industry such as waterproof rubber seals, cantilever shocks, etc...

I agree that Horizon is more in position to becoming a monopoly as a whole, but that's because they bought a majority of Hobbico's assets after Traxxas sued Hobbico, but don't forget that Traxxas sued HPI and Helion... all three companies would go bankrupt after Traxxas sued each of them... the industry would've been in a much better place without these frivolous/baseless lawsuits :(

Fortunately Horizon is playing fair by allowing hobby shops to sell Traxxas products without losing their dealer discount, that's something which Traxxas forces a majority of sales to be for their products or a dealer will risk losing their Traxxas discount.

No matter what happens, things are going to have to change (for the better).. either Traxxas will have to improve their quality, or other brands like ARRMA will take their place as the industry leader for bashers.

Traxxas has the "Blockbuster Syndrome" where they think all the control lies in local parts support, but hobby shops are declining as online retailers offering free shipping are undercutting them to the point where hobby shops will be scarce.... at that point is when Traxxas will have to change their strategy if they want to remain in business.

doesnt matter if they invented it or not. if they own/bought the patent then it is legal and they have the consent of the inventor.

not sure about traxxas but horizon makes it very hard to become a local dealer with all there requirements its ridiculous. its easier to get into almost any other business.

What matters is the fact that this is what has made Traxxas a Patent Troll, they are more focused on bullying their competition with lawyers instead of using that money to build a better product, they have already shot themselves in the foot by suing their main distributor, if they don't change their ways, then they will ultimately be responsible for their own demise... no different than hiring a lawyer for a divorce, only one who wins is the lawyer... shrug

The local track owner in my area had no problem opening up a wholesale account through Horizon for his shop, where are you getting your information about Horizon being more difficult than Traxxas? All I have seen is nothing but grief from dealers who have to deal with Traxxas controlling how they do their business.

Another case in point was DollarHobbyz who was forced to completely change their business model in order to continue selling Traxxas products. They used to be a "chop shop" and would bundle parts for nearly half the price, but Traxxas was greedy and forced them to sell Traxxas packaged products at full price which hurt both the dealer and the consumer in having to pay more for expensive packaging, etc.. :(

i got my dealer info right from horizon, go read it for yourself. was going to open a hobby shop a few year ago until i read there demands for being a dealer. they want you to have inventory before they even sell you any along with other senseless demands. they are not interested in you being a dealer because of there internet sales, that is plain and simple.

traxxas doesnt want you to run a chop shop not because there greedy but because its unfair to legit dealers that are selling traxxas parts, this is done by many companies in different industries. you try to make traxxas out to be some kind of demon but that is just not the case. they are protecting there investment and there dealers and there is nothing wrong with that. but there is something wrong with companies stealing patents and making money off of it. how can you trust a company who does that? traxxas isnt the reason hobbico folded its because someone was greedy and wasnt paying the bills. not sure why you hate traxxas so much for stopping someone for stealing. do you condone stealing patents? it sounds like you do.

I don't see anything from Horizon stating those requirements, it looks pretty easy to me, with the jest:
Do Business with Horizon - Horizon Hobby LLC
I fully support patent protection for which it was designed to protect the original inventor. Traxxas has abused patent protection and greatly devalued its purpose when they have "bought" patent rights that were created by someone else. What's more important is that the ideas were legally reverse engineered by HPI, ARRMA and HELION where in each case, the designs were improved upon, there were no direct copies made of the molds. Each of the cases should've been thrown out of court, but not a single case ever went to trial, each company would go into bankruptcy to avoid litigation. In contrast, there are some Chinese manufacturers who have been making direct copies of Traxxas products and in those cases, they are truly stealing Traxxas designs and I fully support Traxxas in shutting down those companies. The difference is that I support new innovative ideas, if someone can make a compatible TRX connector that is easier to solder or easier to unplug, then that is a win for the industry. Instead, Traxxas has stifled innovation and has forced everyone to use their proprietary products. Make no mistake, if RPM was a big enough company and taking away enough Traxxas revenue, then Traxxas would sue them too! Since you support RPM, does that not make you condone stealing IP too?

The day Traxxas releases all of their patent protection and goes back to their roots by actually introducing new innovative concepts again is the day I will resume supporting the brand. Right now, I see them as a cancer to the industry :(

reverse engineering is stealing, its called copying. all the secret agencies do it. i seen the arrma design of the shock setup and you could clearly see it was a direct copy of a traxxas revo shock setup, if you couldnt see it then you are blind. this is just something you should not do when your in business with someone, its wrong and immoral and its conniving.

"the day traxxas releases all of there patents"? really? lol. you got your morals backwards buddy. im sure traxxas wont miss you.

the chinese dont have patent laws thats why they can get away with it. what the government should do is stop all shipments from china that are in violation of patents. not sure why they are not doing that.

Traxxas is the one who has bad morals, they are destroying the industry, and hurting themselves in the process, they are stifling innovation as well... all bad things for the industry... everyone in the industry has been reverse engineering others ideas since the hobby first started. it has been common accepted practice. Traxxas is no different than anyone else, they are just as guilty by copying other peoples ideas as well, they have no moral conscience by filing baseless patents on ideas they didn't invent themselves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_engineering


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...9c48fd0966.jpg

maybe you should read the paragraphs above what you circled.

it is not lawful to COPY a patented design, if it was then patents would not be any good. what do you not understand. hobbico was in the wrong, they knew it, they settled, its that simple.

i get it you dont like traxxas, you have something personal against them as anyone can see, thats your right not to buy there products. i will personally still buy there products, they have good parts support and they have great customer service and thats all that matters to me.

We can agree to disagree on everything else, but Hobbico did not settle, they went bankrupt to avoid litigation, this same strategy is what happened to HPI and HELION, none of them settled after Traxxas sued them, they simply went out of business because it was far too expensive to "lawyer up". No doubt in my mind that each company could've won but Traxxas went "Venue Shopping" which stacked the odds against each defendant. Traxxas has been pulling every sneaky trick they can to obliterate their competition and the entire industry is hurting because of it.

Just to be clear, I don't hate Traxxas, I just hate what they have done and I would feel no different if any other company has done the same immoral things that Traxxas has done, it's that simple :(