Inside scoop
Vieira, Peter
THE LATEST STUFF * SPY SHOTS * INSIDER INFO
World Champ?
ASSOCIATED
RC10B4 Stealth buggy
The A-Team will pin its hopes for yet another IFMAR 2WD Off-Road victory on the long-anticipated car you see here. We first scooped the B4 as part of the December 2002 issue’s “Hot New Now” section, and we chose it as one of our “must-haves” in the January 2003 issue’s “Lust List.” This is the B4’s first appearance with its body (looks killer!), and the car is just about production ready, so keep an eye on those UPS drop-offs at the hobby shop!
You can discuss the new B4 and check out more pictures at raion.com.
In the meantime, here are some of its most important new features:
* New 2.6:1 Stealth transmission with double-sided slipper clutch and high-torque RC10GT differential.
* Super-low-CG chassis.
* Max-legal-width rear suspension with longer MIP CVDs.
* All new suspension geometry with amis of equal length, captured hinge pins and inline or trailing-axle options.
Team Associated (714) 850-9342; teamassociated.com; rclO.com.
HOT ROCKS
TRINITY
New Winds for Trinity Speed Gems Pro
The winds are new, but the Speed Gem Pro features are unchanged; you get P94 “big brushes,” three installed surface-mount capacitors, a D4 can and endbell with adjustable timing, and the armature spins on ball bearings. Next time you’re rock-hunting at the hobby shop, you can pick up a Speed Gems Pro Pyrite (10 double), Nitronite (12 double), Serpentine (14 double), Chromium (16 double), or Arcornite (19-turn spec single built to ARCOR specs).
Trinity Products Inc. (732) 635-1600; teamtrinity.com.
Gee-whiz G35
PROTOFORM
190mm Infiniti G35
I’m just going to say that the new G35 shell includes overspray film, window masks, detailed decals, wing and hardware. I figure the less text I put in, the more room there will be for a bigger picture. This thing is gorgeous! Protoform Inc.; distributed by Pro-Line (909) 849-9781; pro-lineracing.com.
hit the
Dirt!
MRC/ACADEMY RT-4 GP
We haven’t seen a new truck from MRC in quite a while, but the Academy-built RT4 GP looks as if it was worth the wait. The shaft-driven 4WD stadium-style truck is built on a 3mm aluminum chassis and rolls on a full set of ball bearings. Futaba radio gear makes the RT-4 ready to run, but good luck spotting the steering servo, receiver and battery; they’re out of harm’s way under plastic hatches. Even the on/off switch gets a snap-shut lid! Academy’s RT .15 with slide carb and tuned pipe provides the power, and a one-color factory-painted body finishes the truck.
Academy; distributed by MRC (732) 225-2100; moderec.com; academyhobby com.
sold Knuckles
Knuckles buggy tires
Pro-Line debuted the new Knuckles treads at the 1/-Scale Off-Road Worlds in Punta del Este, Uruguay. where the tires helped earn Mark Pavidis a first-place gold (pretty good endorsement, don’t you think?). The Knuckles were specifically designed for blue-groove. hardpacked tracks. and they won’t shed tread during an hour-long Main; according to Pro-Line, the team’s tires still had 50 percent of their tread after 60 minutes of racing while other tires looked like “before” shots from a “Hair Club For Men” commercial.
Pro-Line (909) 849-9781; pro-lineracing.com.
Kinwald Case
TEAM KINWALD Limited Edition World Champion Radio Bag
Trinity will make only 500 of these signature-series bags, and each has its own serial number for extra specialness. But even without the Kinwaldo factor, it’s a mighty fine transmitter bag. Heavy-duty padded construction, extra pockets for crystals and modules and a hang tag for your name and address are standard features. Get yours today; it will be the perfect addition to that scary shrine to Kinwald you’ve been building in your tree house.
Team Kinwald; distributed by Trinity Products Inc. (732) 635-1600; teamtrinity.com.
ACER RACING
Dual Super Polyamide bearings
Light can reach the balls in these bearings, but according to Acer, nothing else will: the polyamide seal is the ultimate defense against dirt, yet it allows the bearings to roll with less friction than a Teflon seal does. Individual bearings and complete sets will be available (this bunch is for the Traxxas T-Maxx), and Acer plans to add this new “seal” technology to the ultra-slick Ceramic Nitride Pro bearing line. Acer Racing (310) 472-8090; acerracing.com.
ACER RACER
ACER RACING AR-8
What’s this? Acer Racing is now in the buggy wars? With Andy Smolnick (fresh from Team Kyosho) at the controls? Well awright! Andy is wrenching on Acer’s new AR-8 Pro; it features a lightweight design, hardened-steel, bevelgear cliffs with spiral-cut ring and pinion gears, and standard-issue titanium turnbuckles. Acer also promises hard-anodized, threaded-body shocks and a complete set of ceramic-nitride bearings (of course, you saw the hearings coming a mile away,. right?) Acer Racing (310) 472-8090; acerracing.com.
pint-size pajeros
Mini-Z Overland
You can expect these pocket-size rock-climbers to be big hits! Kyosho is the first to bring minicars to the off-road world with the new Overland series. The 2WD truck chassis has long-travel front suspension and rear trailingarm suspension. and the wheelbase is adjustable; the Mitsubishi Pajeros in Paris-Dakar paint jobs use the “shortest” chassis setting, Like all Mini-Zs, the new off-readers are completely ready to run with Kyosho Perfex radio systems, painted and decalled bodies and integrated on-board electronics. Kyosho; distributed by Great Planes Model Distributors (800) 682-8948; kyosho.com.
Turbocharged!
COMPETITION ELECTRONICS Turbo 35 GFX
The Competition Electronics guys claim that the GFX is the most advanced charger/discharger available, and with their history, we don’t doubt it! The new unit can show charge and discharge curves for packs and individual cells, and it can do so while it’s charging and when it has finished the charge cycle. More into is displayed on the screens. so there are fewer menus to scroll through, and the backlit LCD makes it easy to see what’s up with your packs as a race day turns into a race evening. The discharges function is a workhorse (0.5 to 35 amps!); the GFX can also run in motors at up to 20 amps, and the charge amp rate can be adjusted while it’s charging. Favorite feature? The low-tech-meets-high-tech rotary dial that makes it easy to change values and select functions.
Competition Electronics (815) 874-8001; competitionelectronics.com.
GOLDEN HORIZONS
Heat-sink Heads
Here’s an easy way to set your HPI Savage 21 or Traxxas T-Maxx apart from the others guys’: a machined GH heat-sink head. Black and silver versions are available with removable purple or blue caps. They’re direct replacements for the stock parts and are perfectly finishedreally classy stuff.
Golden Horizons Enterprises Co. Ltd. (604) 331-2526; ghhobby.com.
Toasty Tires
TRINITY Digital Heat Touring Tire Warmers
Don’t waste the critical first laps of your next race by leaving the line with cold tires! Trinity’s new tire warmers can give your car warm, gooey gumballs right from the starting tone-an instant advantage. But these warmers aren’t merely mini electric blankets; Trinity’s “Digital Heat” technology lets you warm the front and rear tires independently, and there are dual digital displays so you can see just how warm the buns are getting. Pretty trick, eh? You’ll need 12 volts to power the warmers, which max out at 208 degrees Fahrenheit. You can make coffee with these things!
Trinity Products Inc. (732) 635-1600; teamtrinity.com.
Copyright Air Age Publishing Apr 2003
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
