Who is Brian Deegan?

Motocross legend, off-road racer, team owner, and businessman ?The General? Brian Deegan is a pioneer in action sports.

At age 17, outfitted with only a credit card, a dirt bike, and an old truck, Brian left his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska for Southern California with dreams of becoming the next big name in motocross.   Brian?s skills quickly impressed everyone he encountered, and he soon rode his way onto a Supercross Team.

In a pivotal moment in 1997 at the Coliseum in LA, Brian made history and pioneered what is known today as Freestyle Motocross by ?ghost riding? his bike across the finish line ? astonishing the crowd, stunning the AMA officials, and setting into motion a new breed of competition.

Today, Brian is the most decorated Freestyle Motocross rider in the competition?s history with 13 X-Games medals to his name, including X Games 17 Gold medal in Rally Cross.  He also holds the elite distinction of being the only rider to compete in every X Games competition since the games? inception.  In the last year, Brian has dominated the off-road trucking world, taking both Lucas Oil Pro 2 Unlimited and Pro Lite Unlimited Championships, being named Lucas Oil Rookie of the Year in Pro 2 Unlimited, and taking home the 2011 Lucas Oil Driver of the Year (which he also won in 2010).

Brian currently competes in Motocross, Freestyle Motocross, Rally Car, and Short Course Trucks as founder and owner of the Metal Mulisha.

Brian?s road to the top has not been without challenge.  His career is marked by multiple near-death experiences, several broken bones, a lost kidney, and a severe spleen injury.  In the end, it has been Brian?s fearlessness and rebel attitude that has established him as one of the top talents and competitors in the sport.

While Brian continues his domination of the Motocross arena, his partnership with Ford Racing has allowed him to translate his success in Motocross to four-wheel racing while bringing a new sense of energy, talent and excitement to the world of action sports.

Atomik RC is bringing some of that excitement to the RC world with their Metal Mulisha Brian Deegan 1:18 Scale Ford Raptor 150 RC Truck.

There's no doubt the Atomik Brian Deegan Metal Mulisha 1:18 Ford Raptor RC truck is a great looking vehicle and will display great on a shelf when not in use. Don't be fooled, this Ford Raptor is more than a shelf queen.

The polycarbonate body is trimmed and the flashy graphics are printed on the inside of the body. Atomik did a great job of capturing the look of Deegan's race truck. The only decals Needed to apply are the headlights and tail lights.

The body and tires rub a bit while the suspension is fully compressed but it wasn't a problem while running.

Wheels, Tires, & Suspension

This truck has some great looking tires. The hollowed out chevron/block tread pattern is cool and coupled with the medium soft compound, they should provide plenty of traction.

Looking inside the rim's mounting hole, you can see a flot spot which sits on a flat spot on the axle. While this eliminates the need for a drive hex, it also limits your options for spare rim and tire combos.

The suspension is the typical lower H-arm with upper link. The plastic upper link is solid and offers no adjustment. All suspension components are in a fixed position and do not offer adjustment. This simple design will keep beginners from changing settings for the worse, ensuring the vehicle remains in a decent set up.

Four plastic bodied oil filled coil over shocks are used to dampen the ride. Metal caps are used on both ends ensuring oil will stay in place.

The shocks and links can be popped off providing an easy to work on platform.

Drive train

Atomik supplied the short course truck with metal ball bearings supporting the entire drivetrain, including wheel bearings. To keep weight down, the rest of the drivetrain is primarily plastic. This is acceptable for this power source, but I would have liked to see some of the key components as metal to allow for brushless upgrades.

This vehicle is designed for the younger crowd so I must keep that in mind.

The 4wd drivetrain uses two gear differentials and dog-bone style drive shafts which incorporate metal pins for added strength.

As you can see from the picture below, removing a few screws allows you to remove the entire upper half of the chassis. This allows easy exposure of the drive train and is easy to work on.

Electronics

The small 370P brushed motor provides plenty of power for this little truck. There is an On/Off switch mounted to the water proof 2-in-1 ESC/receiver. Unlike other hobby grade vehicles, this vehicle isn't designed to easily replace the motor, ESC, receiver, or steering servo. Each of the components is soldered directly to the ESC/receiver unit. There is obviously a connector for easy removal of the battery.

The Metal Mulisha truck comes with instructions, decals, battery, charger, controller, and truck. The only thing needed to run is a set of 4 AA batteries for the controller.

The 2.4GHz radio system provides uninterrupted control and eliminates the worry of crossing signals with others lucky enough to have cool RC vehicles.