Active Hobby Products have introduced the liquid bottle marker, a dedicated container and applicator for tyre traction compounds. Featuring a specially shaped square-type foam applicator that helps to apply tyre sauces more evenly, the bottle is usable with touring and formula rubber wheels but it is also good for the use with 1/10th and 1/12th foam tyres.
Japanese company Active Hobby Products have released two new option parts for Tamiya’s TA07 Pro touring car in the form of a carbon fibre bumper brace and an aluminium bend protection. Starting with the bumper support, the carbon fibre brace helps to keep the foam bumper in place during heavy racing action while also supporting the body mount posts. The CNC-machined part is a direct replacement usable for all TA07-style bumpers.
Horizon Hobby have introduced the Losi Rock Rey 1/10th scale 4WD rock racer. Running on 2.2″ tyres the vehicle can bash over pretty much anything, anywhere, through mud and water. The foundation consists of a 3.5mm, hard-anodised aluminium chassis plate that is integrated with a realistic roll cage made of tough composite material. To this it adds a long-travel, independent front suspension and 4-link live rear axle that look and function exactly like their full-scale counterparts. The attached long-travel shocks soak up the energy from big bumps and jumps an they also feature threaded shock bodies with adjustment collars. External bump stops on the rear provide plush landings on the hardest surfaces.
The recent shock departure of 4-time World Champion Marc Rheinard from chassis sponsors Tamiya and TRF left many doubts about the future of Tamiya’s racing brand as the iconic company looked to clarify their future plans. Now Tamiya have issued a rather vague statement regarding their plans for the 2017 season and beyond that, from what we understand, will see the TRF brand used only to provide support at Tamiya-branded events rather than as a brand with its own competition products and race team which it was up until recently.
TRF has long contributed to Tamiya’s successful R/C product designs via the valuable race data gained through its racing activities in elite races such as world championships. In 2017 TRF will look to provide Tamiya R/C fans of all abilities across the world with even more comprehensive support. We will be present at official Tamiya-sanctioned events around the globe, ready to forge a closer bond with local racers and R/C fans, our goal being to provide a truly all-encompassing experience for the hobby. We look forward to your support and participation in 2017 and beyond.
Source: Tamiya [tamiya.com]
Coming from Avid and made for Team Associated’s B6 and B6D buggies are 7mm offset wheel hex adapters. The 12mm hexes are made of 6061-T6 aluminium and then machined with a chamfer for easy wheel installation and a light weight. The clamping design keeps the adapters in place even when the wheels are off and the hexes also include a set of suitable 2.56 screws.
Source: Avid [avidrc.com]
Yokomo have released two new Racing Performer drift car wheels. Available in a 5-spoke and a 6-spoke variant the wheels offer high rigidity and exceptional precision, resulting in more overall grip. The wheels come in 6mm and 8mm offset variants, in black or white colour, with the 5-spoke rim being available now and the 6-spoke variant hitting stores mid-January.
Coming from Yokomo are the CRT foam tyres for 1/12th scale pan car racing. They are unique the a way that they utilise different diameter foam rings, allowing to use the inner ring as it is while the outer ring need to be cut to 115mm of length before using it on 37mm diameter wheels for practice purposes. Each foam ring is 3mm thick meaning the tyres are nearly race ready to current standards. The CRT foams are available in several compounds such as the L rubber for high-grip CRC carpet, the intermediate R variant for all-round and low traction use while the S compound is best suited for mid-traction ETS-style carpet. The L and S rubber is available for the front and rear while the R compound comes for the rear end exclusively and each set includes a total of eight rings, four small and four large.
Source: Yokomo [teamyokomo.com]
ST Racing Concepts have introduced the version 2 aluminium steering knuckles for Axial vehicles such as the RR10 Bomber, Wraith and SMT10. These new steering knuckles are CNC-machined from high-quality aluminium and they are of a one piece design to increase durability and steering precision. Combined with a solid set of aluminium steering linkage, the parts will maximise the power out of the stock Axial servos by eliminating the flex that comes with the stock plastic parts. Available in black, blue, green, gun metal and silver anodising.
Source: STRC [teamstrc.com]
