February 1, 2024

Mugen Seiki MSB1 1:10 2WD Buggy

Having been given a first look at their first foray into the 1:10 2WD Buggy class at the IFMAR 1:10 Offroad World Championship in Arizona last September, Mugen Seiki has now officially released its MSB1 kit.  This is a hugely significant launch for the Japanese manufacturer who despite its small size is a major force in the 1:8 Buggy competition market.  A brand that punches well above its weight given the actually size of the company, the MSB1 has the potential to bring them a whole new customer base and as well as open up an all year round season due to the popularity of indoor 1:10 offroad racing.  Designed by Shin Adacahi, the MSB1 was conceived from years of testing and development.  It is designed to be used for multi-purpose purposes on dirt, carpet and astro road surfaces.  The slim aluminium chassis provide exceptional precision and stability when jumping and cornering with the kit including front and rear stabiliser, highly adjustable gear differential and 13mm shocks.  The design of the rear suspension is unique and adjustable than other vehicles in this class.  The height of the deferential is adjustable, giving you quick and easy access to the deferential.  MSB1 kit also includes cab forward body shell, front wing and rear wing.

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January 31, 2024

T-Works 1:8 Offroad tyre gluing tool

New from T-works is this tyre gluing tool intended for 1:8 Offroad use.  Available in two models, one for buggy and one for truggy, it is made from aluminium and can be adjusted for precise gluing of different tyres types.  With a 2mm hex you can adjust the push wheel that opens the tyre wall for the application of glue. The height of the wheel can be adjusted using 3 included 1mm shims and with a 1.5mm hex you can also adjust the angle of the push wheel.  The unit comes complete with its own carry case.

View operation here


January 31, 2024

ARC R8.4LCG

ARC has released its latest 1:8 Onroad Nitro kit, the R8.4LCG.  Based on their R8.4 with low centre gravity chassis design, the front and rear upper arm base are all new parts, lower arms and steering block become hard composite parts to increase overall traction and corner speed.  The new LCG chassis R842026 becomes standard parts on the R8.4LCG, with the R822025 LCG engine mount the engine height becomes 2mm lower compared with R8.4, the LCG chassis not only lower engine mount but also increases flexibility in the rear end of the chassis, it helps to increase the steering of the car.  Also new in the kit are the front steering block and lower arms which are all produced in Hard compound.  As well as being harder the arms are also lighter than standard arms, and the harder arms give more ground traction and consistent handling in all conditions, The R8.4LCG corner speed is improved a lot with these hard compound suspension parts.  The front upper arm holder of R8.4LCG is 1.2mm higher compared with R8.4, it changes the roll centre in the front end and makes the car have quicker response handling and less exit steering, it can avoid over steering especially when applying throttle.  Finally, the rear upper arm plate also becomes a new one, the horizontal plate has 3 positions to adjust, more inside gives more rear traction and more stable handling, and more outside position will give a quicker response to follow the front end.

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January 31, 2024

Smokem XQ11 top decks

Smokem has release a set of new top decks options for the XQ11 1:10 competition Touring Car from Xpress.  The main 2mm RS Top Deck draws from Smokem’s experience with previous RS designs, they set out to optimise the flex characteristics of the XQ11 to yield superior lap speed over a wider range of conditions.  A major benefit of the RS design is to allow the XQ11 to accept a large range of pinion gears which is particular useful for 21.5T or higher blinky classes where big pinions are a must.  For the 2mm RS-W Split Front Top Deck is RS Split Rear Top Deck they have refined the shape of the top deck with a thinner cutout for more consistent flex characteristics.  For the front they added a thinner W-shaped cross brace to control the flex to give improved steering feel.  This cross brace can be cut to further smoothen out the steering if required.  For the rear added their trademark V-shaped cross brace for slightly more flex than the stock split top deck for improved corner speed.

View front & rear top decks here


January 31, 2024

Team Bomber Australia 1:12 Ball differential for asphalt

Melbourne based Team Bomber Australia has announced details of its upcoming 1:12 ball diff for racing on asphalt.  Compatible with cars from Team Bomber, Bezerk Katana, Roche, CRC, Destiny, Schumacher, Yokomo and Xray, prototype versions of the parts were recently used to great effect at last weekends TFTR Masters event, taking the title in 1:12 Modified and 2nd & 3rd places in 1:12 Stock.  Team Bomber Australia have designed and manufactured two parts.  Titanium Ball differential rings are cut from gr5 certified titanium and machine lapped for precision parallel flatness and mirror polished.  They are also processed in two coating options.  TiN – gold finish, coating with superior wear resistance / hardness and ultra smooth surface. The second option is TiCN – gun metal finish, coating with ultimate wear resistance and hardness, also yields a very low coefficient of friction for smooth operation of the differential  They are available in 3 outer diameter sizes to suit spur gear range 74t – 92t.

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January 30, 2024

Pepe Group ‘Running-In Oil’

Pepe Group, the producers of well known Italian nitro fuel brand Energy, has released a new specific oil that helps in the running-in phase of RC nitro engines.  The ‘Running-In Oil’ is compatible with all types of fuel where there is no specific running-in fuel and comes in a bottle intended for a fuel content of 4 litres with a graduated band for per litre dosage.

Source: Pepe Group [pepegroup.net]


January 30, 2024

Reds Racing 721 Superveloce Pro Gen4

New from reigning European 1:8 Buggy Champion engine brand Reds Racing is the 721 Superveloce Pro Gen4.  It comes with a redesigned cooling head which boasts the advantages of a lower centre of gravity for enhanced car handling, improved aerodynamics for reduced drag, and superior engine cooling. Furthermore, the new bicolor cooling head features a unique design. The new engine also comes with a new High protection Double seal front bearing for increased durability and idle stability.  Other main Features of the Superveloce engine is that it boasts an Extra Tuned Sleeve by Mario Rossi.  This special modification to the sleeve by Mario Rossi significantly increases engine power and ensures good fuel mileage simultaneously.  The 3-needle carburetor allows superior and easier tuning in all conditions, ensuring more linear power delivery and greater overall power.  All carburetors come with a special sealing ring to enhance sealing and tuning stability.  Fitted with REDS 9 balls rear ceramic bearing for increased durability and reliability, the engine comes in two distinct backplate versions: AirBoost or Rotary RTX.  Additionally, it is offered either as a standalone unit or as part of a combo package with the 2113 X-One pipe. This engine is ideal for tracks where a more powerful engine provides a competitive advantage.

View Technical Specifications here


January 30, 2024

Schumacher Winter Series Round 5 – Report

Chris Lovely has won the fifth & penultimate round of the Schumacher Indoor Winter Series at the Louth Radio Control Car Club in the Contact RC 17.5 stock class.  In qualifying it was outgoing champion Alex Brocklebank with his Schumacher who got out the blocks first as he topped the opening qualifier.  Chris Lovely got himself up to speed taking a close encounter in q2, q3 would have the 3rd different driver and chassis at the top as Paul Sleight and his Awesoamtix. Q4 would see another change at the top and the A final positions sorted with Daniel Burks and his Destiny taking the top spot, and after four qualifying rounds and four different round winners Daniel would take the TQ honours with the top four covered by 1.5 seconds.  Dave Sedgewick would line up 5th for the A final, and Daniel Leonard with his Awesomatix would line up 6th.

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