Introduction
I am in a bit of a production hold. We have things in the queue, but I am not ready to show anything. So, what does the future hold? Unfortunately, I am not a prophet, but that does not stop me from making a plan. I just want to give you a rundown on some of my upcoming projects.
The Fury Run
I ran my mouth about running the Arrma Furies with one brushed and one brushless against each other. I wanted to prove that brushed motors are not dead. I have to raise my white flag on this project.
I cannot say that brushed motors are dead, but I am not going to recommend them in short-course trucks. I tried to do some runs, and the brushed motors kept wearing out every few runs. I think the most amount of runs I eeked out of the brushes is about 3 battery cycles. Yes, the 550 motor is quick and strong. The problem is you are not going to race this thing for a day unless you have a spare motor.
My experience has told me that it is best just to buy brushless. If you are rebuilding motors all the time, it does not make sense for the little bit of money you are going to save. If you are budget bashing, then brushed motors make a little more sense. However, the price of brushless motors has come down. So, I would just run brushless.
Resurrecting my Dark Impact
(I am almost finished with the paint job. I still need to do some trimming to make the body fit. I wanted to do some homage to the screaming chicken associated with the Trans Am. )
I have fond memories of buggies. I remember the Myers Manx, I remember seeing race buggies in California, and I remember RC buggies in the 80s. This brings me to my love of my Tamiya Dark Impact. It is weird how these things hit you. I thought about selling it and buying an updated buggy. I cannot let this buggy go. There is a story attached to the buggy. My mother-in-law had a relapse of cancer and eventually died. My wife went back to be with her for a summer to spend a few months with her mom. I was bored at night. I wanted something to do, and I couldn’t always get out to my wife’s family. So, I walked into a hobby store and bought my Dark Impact buggy.
This buggy means more than just an RC car. I cannot say that it is the best buggy in the world, but there is nothing that will replace it in sentimental value. This is the buggy that kept me pleasantly distracted at night. So, every time I get ready to put it on eBay, I can’t do it.
So, I resurrected it. I rebuilt the differential and the slipper clutch late last summer. I am almost done painting a new body for it. I went for a retro look. Unfortunately, I paid a little tuition to the school of hard knocks while painting the body. I will post my education lesson when I write up the buggy review, so you don’t have to pay the tuition.
Upcoming Buggy Shootout
My son drove the Tamiya DF-03 Dark Impact when I got it limping. He realized that buggies are pretty fun. The Arrma Fury also let him know that driving 2WD trucks is also fun. So, my son combined both of these experiences and bought a Yokomo RO2.0. Luckily for him, our garage door broke, and he had a wide-open garage for a weekend. He took advantage of that and built his buggy in a weekend.
He gave me the idea to run the 2WD buggy against the 4WD buggy. We decided to buy the same brushless system, ESC, and servo. We are going to see how the vintage DF-03 will stack up against the 2-wheel-drive Yokomo. I look forward to doing that test. The only difference in the setup will be tires, gearing, and ESC programming.
The Slash Mini Vs Mojave Grom
We have been running these trucks for about 6 months. I bought both trucks on sale, and I wanted to know which truck I would recommend. I get annoyed when people receive the truck, test it, and then publish a review. Sure, it gives you an idea, but you don’t really know how durable the truck is. My son and I made sure to crash them, cartwheel them, and give them a really good working over. If we were collecting for an NJ crime family, those mini short-course trucks would be telling all their secrets. So, we have found their weaknesses.
My son and I raced these trucks almost every night in July and August to see how they handle abuse. I will say that they are both good trucks, but I know which one I would recommend for the price. I would tell you, but like everything, it really depends. That review is going to take more time to develop.
There are more things to come, but I wanted to let you know that the RC thing and family fun time are not dead. Editing video is fun, but it takes a lot of time. My plan is to do some quick video drops and embed them in the blog.
Conclusion
Our family has had some fun, and a lot of laughs heading out to the RC track. I tell people, “I really can’t explain why it is so fun, but you are free to join me to try it out.” I am surprised at how many people end up buying something after playing with it. If you are reading this, then pick up a Tamiya kit or a Yokomo kit. My son’s buggy was my first exposure to Yokomo. They are legit! I encourage people to take the time to build the RC car. It is a lot of fun. You also see how the car works; if it breaks, then you can fix it, and you have the pride of building it. Besides, it allows you to pass the time while you wait for the snow to come.
Do you have any RC projects you are looking to build? Leave it in the comments. I would love to see what you have on the workbench.
Don’t miss more ideas to get out with the family.
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