I was at work earlier, hence the short post. This could be considered the full length rant.

Some of what I am about to say is just speculation, so it may be off mark. Correct me if I've gone astray.

Since this trucks announcement last November, it appears that HPI has been trying to pull off something new. Not an easy feat for a company that has only produced a few competitive on-road models and a whole lot of bashers. What has been unfortunate is the way they went about the product release. From an engineering standpoint, the Hellfire's design is pretty remarkable yet HPI shot themselves in the foot for releasing the RTR version first. An RTR at the $600.00 price point simply cannot have the right materials in place for full competition use. I won't rehash the results of that decision. Those can be seen all through this and other forums, and I've read to many to even consider repeating the basics. Like any company, model manufacturers are always under the gun to made good on their investments, and it seems that HPI's marketing department may have been responsible for compromising the Hellfire's reputation by pushing it to market before the engineers could get the full option kit into production. Parts were broken, expectations were crushed, and tempers flared.

Time moves on.

I still don't own a Hellfire, since the kit version hasn't hit the distribution channels. That should be resolved this month. I did consider picking up a Lightning Stadium to fill the gap, but the deal fell through and the truck never materialized. So now there is still a pile of servos, batteries, diff and shock oils, tires, and an extra Spektrum receiver sitting here on the workbench. My LHS has promised the first SS kit through their doors to me. I could go out and follow the crowd by buying another truck, but I remember taking a similar leap of faith on another car over a decade ago. It was called the Kyosho Burns. Since this is my return to racing after a long (and getting longer) absence, I'll take another leap.

BTW- Very well put Dnell. Even if I'm wrong about this truck, I'll still respect your opinion on the basis of your reason alone.