Red RC » Cars

April 14, 2014

Kyosho to re-release the 1980’s Scorpion 2WD buggy

Kyosho to re-release the 1980's Scorpion 2WD buggy

German news platform RC-News.de report that Kyosho is planning to re-release the iconic 1982 Scorpion 2WD buggy. Designed by Akira Kogawa, who was also responsible for the Kyosho Beetle, Tomahawk and Optima, the buggy marked the beginning of Kyosho’s successful line of 2WD buggies that later became the Ultima, a kit that won the 1987 World Championships in the hands of Joel “Magic” Johnson. It is understood that the re-release Scorpion buggy will be on show at this year’s Shizuoka Hobby Show that will kick-off at the 15th of May. We bring you more information on the kit as soon as they become available.

Source: Kyosho [kyosho.com]

April 12, 2014

Murfdogg Physco SC truck kit

U.S. company Murfdogg introduce the Physco SC truck kit. Especially designed for the use on high-bite tracks such as sugared clay and astro turf, the truck features a mid motor layout with a 4-gear transmission and a centre biased weight distribution. The kit is made from 3mm and 3.5mm quasi-isometric carbon fibre sheets including the chassis plate, chassis stiffeners, front shock tower, rear shock tower, battery locators, battery hold down strap, transmission brace/camber plate, an rear body mount brace. Other parts include silicone nitride diff balls, VTS slipper assembly, full ceramic ball bearings, Pro-Line and DE Racing wheels as well as a Pro-Line Evo racing body.

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April 10, 2014

Serpent Natrix 748 – Prototype photos

SerpentNatrix748-5

Serpent have released first images of the Natrix 748 200mm nitro on-road kit. The follow-up model of the successful 747 is designed with the input of Serpent’s factory team drivers such as Mark Green and the Sahashi brothers in order to create a platform that works for club and high-level racers alike. Therefore the kit comes with redesigned differentials that sport new housings and internals, repositioned ball-raced anti-roll bars, lightened rear brake and 2-speed shaft holders, a redesigned fuel tank that makes for a lower centre of gravity and new servo mounts with a more centralised position. A new chassis plate with a more backward mounted engine helps to optimise the weight balance while a new steering block design, taken over from the 977, allows for a leading or trailing position and adjustable kingpin inclination. Both the front and rear hubs are designed for the use with aero discs and the carbon fibre radio plate offers a wide range of flex adjustments. The Natrix 748, that is visible with white 3D printed prototype parts here, will be ready for a release around mid-May.

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April 9, 2014

Serpent 747-e full kit

Following the 747-e conversion kit Serpent now introduce a full kit allowing to build an electric-powered 747 car from scratch. The idea behind the conversion of a nitro-powered sedan into a whisper-silent electric racer is to offer a more solid platform to race on nitro outdoor track where noise emission can be a problem. The kit is based around a carbon fibre chassis with tough front and rear aluminium bulkheads, a specially designed aluminium motor mount and wide track suspension components taken over from the 747. The kit features a laydown servo mount, ball-raced anti-roll bars, carbon fibre battery holders, aluminium shock absorbers, as well as front CVD and rear dogbone driveshafts and it is usable with 200mm touring car bodyshells. In terms of the power unit the car is best powered by a 3S LiPo battery pack in combination with a 540-size 4-pole motor and an 1/8th scale speed controller. The 747-e kit will become available by end of April.

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April 9, 2014

Tamiya TRF201XMW & Rock Socker announced

Tamiyablog have first images of two new Tamiya kits available in the form of the TRF201XMW and the Rock Socker. Starting with the TRF201XMW, the 2WD buggy was introduced last year as a conversion kit for the TRF201 rear motor buggy and it is understood that the XMW will be a full kit rather than just a chassis and gearbox conversion. The XMW will feature a new long wheelbase 3mm aluminium chassis extending the wheelbase to 284mm, the gearbox will still be an all-aluminium affair that allows to use a ball or gear differential and the shock absorber upper caps incorporate a bleeding screw. The kit is set for a late May release.

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April 5, 2014

Exclusive – Xray RX8 preview

Following the first two parts of our exclusive Xray RX8 presentation in the form of an in-depth interview with Martin Hudy and hot on the heels of our article about the making of the RX8 we now bring you the third part of the RX8 story – an exclusive preview with first images as well as more details on the car’s features and specifications.

See the exclusive preview here

April 4, 2014

Exclusive – Making the RX8

Xray Column – Making the RX8

Following our exclusive interview with Xray’s onroad designer Martin Hudy about the forthcoming Xray RX8 1/8th nitro on-road car we now have a more in-depth article in which Martin explains the challenges of making an already proven car even better and how he tackled the recent tyre rule changes.

Read the full exclusive article here

April 4, 2014

Serpent Cobra 2.1 1/8th nitro buggy kit

Serpent introduce the Cobra 2.1 1/8th nitro buggy kit. Building on the current 2.0 the 2.1 features a new 4mm longer main chassis that helps with rear end grip on rough tracks with short bumps but that also keeps the rear more planted on smooth and fast tracks. To go with the longer chassis the buggy received an extended rear aluminium chassis brace with the short version also being usable. Also new is a longer rear centre driveshaft, the kit comes with new aluminium shock caps for improved durability and 14 degree caster blocks to smooth out the steering a bit. Otherwise the Cobra-B kit, which is available now, remains unchanged.

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