I was one of the guys working at the Power Racing booth at the IHobby show and will be doing a lot of work with the truck. The one pictured is the only one in the world and is a rough prototype that arrived early last week. This as-yet-unnamed 1/5th monster truck was designed with a lot of input from different people. Note that the drivetrain is very similar to a lot of 1/8 buggies...even the diffs are "scaled up". Simple is probably better when you're dealing with an R/C truck this big. Someone complained that it didn't have reverse...ah well, can't make everyone happy.

The chassis is the best of both worlds: there is a 3.5mm main plate, and two side plates that attach the main plate in multiple places to the shock towers to create a solid box structure. Two quarter-scale servos will be included and we're still working on the steering rack. They'll probably be flipped around so that the horns will be facing the inside, toward the center dogbone.

The engine is a CY 27cc unit and is mounted just like a 1/8 buggy...we feel that the benefits of 4WD offset the balance issue. The engine is on the right side because the carburetor would stick out of the box structure if it was mounted the other way...it's not as easy to install as a regular glow engine. The brakes will be mounted on the center bulkhead just like a 1/8th buggy....they were not ready for the show, just like the steering system.

As far as the tires go, they can be mounted on FG rims as well as our own (the hub is the same, but the axle lengths are different). Foams are included. They should be available separately by the end of the year. I designed the tires myself for the factory that made the Raptor ("we need a tread pattern by tomorrow, can you do it?"). RDLogics then assumed the rights to selling that truck under their own name: Wolverine (long story there!) late last year. Power Racing has nothing to do with RD Logics at all. This 1/5th monster truck is being made in Taiwan rather than mainland China at a totally different factory/OEM.

There's lots of little things to work on with this car before we can release it. Obviously we want to make it as durable as possible. There are also a lot of upgrades in the works already, like tuned pipes and carbon fiber parts. And we'll have our own Supercab truck body, different from the FG F150 pictured. I think there's enough clones of that out there already.

And yes, it will be under US$1000 as an RTR with FM radio. Hopefully it will be out by the holidays, but I think early 2006 is a more realistic target date. Don't tell my boss that.

I'll try to check this forum if there's any more questions!

Thanks,

-Cameron