Made for the Japanese market only, yet very cool are these chrome-plated limited edition Tamiya Hotshot and Avante body shells. They are of the same shape as the standard bodies but come pre-painted in chrome red (Hotshot) and chrome blue (Avante) to make Tamiya’s popular vintage 4WD buggies stand out on the track or the shelf. The shells also include the respective rear wings as well as the standard decal sheets.
Image: Mokei Kagaku
Pro-Line have announced the signing of Mark and Ryan Pavidis to their factory team. The name Pavidis and Pro-Line are synonymous with a long history of winning titles. Mark has won three World Titles spread across 1/8 buggy, 1/10 4WD off-road, 1/10 nitro touring car as well as numerous national championships while being hooked up by Pro-Line. Mark was introduced to the hobby with his father in the mid 1980’s and now Mark is sharing his racing craft with his son Ryan who is already giving the competition fits. For the 2018 racing season, the father and son combo are choosing Pro-Line to continue their winning ways.
Source: Pro-Line [prolineracing.com]
Team Magic have introduced the red edition J-Star 6S ready-to-run monster truck. The vehicle comes factory assembled and including a waterproof Hobbywing 150A speed controller, a 2250kV 6S LiPo-compatible brushless motor as well as a waterproof Savöx metal gear steering servo and a red colour truck bodyshell equipped with a LED light bar. The chassis is equipped with new generation front and rear differentials, a metal centre diff and hardened steel universal driveshafts.
View an image of the chassis here
MIP have introduced a shock cartridge spacer kit for the Tekno RC EB410 1/10th 4WD buggy. The stock shock cartridge setup uses two X-ring seals that ride against themselves. As they aren’t designed to be stacked together they tend to roll during shock compression and they will act like a pump or vacuum, and pull air into the shock body which will make shock bleeding after every run necessary. This is where MIP’s shock cartridge spacer kit steps in. It includes eight spacers which will eliminate the need to constantly bleed the shocks. The spacers keep the same friction on the shaft to allow it to move freely but keeps the X-ring seals orientated to their proper shape during compression and rebound; thus resulting in a more consistent shock feel throughout the run. Included are four cartridge guides and four cartridge spacers but no X-ring seals.
Source: MIP [miponline.com]
Following the introduction of their new MBX8 1/8th nitro off-road buggy and issuing images “sans body shell”, Mugen finally lifted the curtain of the last unknown bit – the said body. By looking at the images it appears the shell is of a slightly more cab forward design that the MBX7 body, yet it is far away from some of the extreme body designs available from several manufacturers. In addition the new shell features sculptured side pods with raised “wing” sections in the side window area while four lines of humps, further to the back, will be adding rear downforce – a technique that is known from the front fenders of pan car body shells. The design is rounded out by a flat rear section that will allow for good heat escape from the engine’s cooling head.
Source: Mugen Seiki [mugenseiki.com]
Teamsaxo have introduced a carbon fibre chassis and top deck for Yokomo’s BD8-2018 touring car. It is understood that the 2.25mm chassis and 2.0mm top plate match the standard kit specifications in terms of outer shape, making them a direct replacement for the kit items.
Coming from JConcepts is the S1 body shell for the Yokomo YZ4-SF 4WD buggy. One of the most recognisable items, the Silencer body style, has now been designed as the original manufacturer kit body for the Yokomo YZ4-SF buggy. It features the common Silencer attributes such as a profiled cockpit and cubicle side-pods, a slight recess just behind the cab with channeling out the rear, and the side-pods have a clipped rear-end, narrowing the rear by angling in just in front of the rear tyres. The main pods are lightly chamfered front and rear allowing plenty of paint and decal access. The end result has the body looking extremely low-profile with heavy JConcepts edginess and appeal. The Silencer is capped off with a cockpit shark fin for more high-speed tracking stability and increased roof stiffness. The package includes two S-Type wings pre-marked for the Yokomo YZ2 and YZ4-SF for the easiest application. Also the body has two cut lines to choose from. The most open cut line can change the performance or aide in the cooling inside the body. The more aggressive (larger opening) cut line is preferred on outdoor tracks or where ambient temperatures are really warm.
Sunpadow have announced the signing of Sweden’s Alexander Hagberg to their factory team. The former long-time ORCA factory driver will power all of his Xray rides using Sunpadow’s high-performance batteries while also assisting with Research and Development. Alexander says:
In recent years, Sunpadow batteries have shown its high performances and reliability in the competitive racing industry. I am highly motivated to be using their range of batteries to compete from now on.
Source: Sunpadow [arc-chn.com]
