My newest toy

Original photo by

Les Chatfield

So, I recently got back into RC cars.  It has always been an interest of mine.  My dad started it by buying my brother and I static models to build.  I absolutely loved ships, jets, and airplanes.  Then, my brother got a Tamiya Hornet one year for Christmas or his birthday, I can't remember.  What I do remember is watching him and my dad build the kit and then watching my brother race it around the yard.  I was smitten.

Original photo by

Marcel030NL

I had the Nikko Turbo-Panther RC car and then I upgraded the body and front wheels to make it look like the Turb-Aero RC car.  That was my ride until I was old enough to have my own job and my own money to buy the real thing.

My first proper kit was the Traxxas Rustler. I bought a "ready to run" package from Stormer Hobbies that included the kit, a battery pack, a charger, controller, receiver, and two servos.  Keep in mind, this was back in the mid-90's, there wasn't a single "Ready-to-Run" kit on the market.  You had to build the kit yourself and supply all of your own electronics to it upon completion.  When I had more money to burn after the initial investment, I upgraded to a Hitec SP-520 electronic speed control to replace the servo controlled mechanical speed control.

Then, a buddy of mine sold me his Associated RC10-T.  This was still the mid-90's and Associated had only just released their updated version the RC10T2.  What an awesome machine the 10T was with it's aluminum tub chassis.  I made that thing into a serious racer, but never raced it.  I had the MIP CVD's, Lundsford titanium hinge pins, Lundsford titanium turn-buckles, RPM 2.72 transmission, several motors of various turns, Novak forward and brake only esc, etc.

Original photo by

BHS Black Hole Sun

Finally, this saga ended at the end of college with my Tamiya TB01 on-road touring car.  That thing was a blast too.  I did many upgrades to it as well, including finally purchasing an FM controller which were a big deal in the late 90's/early 2000's.

I gave it all to a local hobby shop when I moved away from college.  All my parts, controllers, the three kits, everything.

Then in 2012, I finally stepped back into RC.  I had been keeping in-touch through the various publications like RC Car Action and RC Driver.  I purchased a Losi Mini 8ight from the RCX show at the Long Beach Convention Center.  The 1/14th scale Mini 8ight is based on Losi's 1/8th scale 8ight buggy.  The mini version rips.  It comes ready to rock with everything in one package; brushless motor and esc, 2.4GHz controller and receiver, painted and cut body, etc.  All I had to do was charge the battery pack over night with the cheap little wall charger and play in the morning.  At the time, I was living near all sorts of popular tracks like OCRC Raceway in Huntington Beach, CA and West Coast Raceway in La Mirada, CA.  West Coast Raceway has since closed its doors to the public.

However, neither track had a 1/14th scale race at the time and the Mini 8ight doesn't make a good backyard basher.  So, I sold it to a co-worker and went searching.

Original photo by

Yada Liao

I have since landed on my newest toy, The Traxxas Slash 2wd VXL.  It is a Short Course Truck and it is awesome.  Basically, the Traxxas Slash is the SCT that all of the other trucks on the market currently try to emulate.  Sure, there are more race pedigree trucks to be had, but overall the Slash is #1.  Plus, everybody and their brother makes aftermarket replacement parts for the Slash.  You could basically build one without owning the original Traxxas version to start with.  The only upgrades I've made so far are an IFA billet machined gearbox in green, a Proline Flo-tek body, and a set of steel race duty MIP CVD's.

I'm looking forward to bashing and racing my Slash. I live near another cool track called SDRC Raceway.  They have local races twice a week: Wednesday Night Worlds and Friday Night Fights.  So, we'll see and go from there.

Until next time, keep it rubber side down!
Clayton