Protoform is celebrating 20 years of race body development and they wanted to share the good news with everyone. And so master mold maker Dale Epp wrote the following piece look back at the company’s history from its humble beginnings making rc funny car bodies to the modern Worlds winning TC shells.
Pro-Line and Protoform have released a number of new t-shirts to increase their range of merchandising. First up is the Surf style T-shirt in Silver, with its clean silver color and its simple but effective logo placement. The Pro-Line Urban style T-shirt in Slate Blue features a large street-style P-L logo front and center and a full Pro-Line logo on the back, along with a ghosted splattering of tires, cars and logos. For the ladies there is the Urban Girl style T-shirt in Pink which will make your girl look pretty in pink and beautiful around town. The shirt features a gorgeous floral pattern that will stand out from the crowd. Pro-Line is also donating 50% of the proceeds from all Urban Girl Pink shirts to the American Breast Cancer Foundation. Protoform have released a simple black shirt featuring large Protoform logos for the ultimate in pure RC race styling.
The “Gen 2” TCC (Todays Cup Car) from Protoform is the second iteration of the ever-changing look of the modern NASCAR series Sprint Cup racer. It now features an add-on blade spoiler and a double step splitter/spoiler on the front valance. The left side now features a bumped out area for added battery clearance and left side weight bias while the body has additional built-in rake for great stability and handling. The rear window/truck rail has been enlarged just like the 1:1 racer. It’s equipped with spoiler mounting hardware, protective overspray film, window masks and a comprehensive decal sheet that allows you to detail your car just like your favorite NASCAR star. This body will also fit most popular 200mm sedan chassis’.
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Protoform have released this bad-to-the-bone ‘Tornado’ RallyCross body for the Traxxas 1/16th VXL chassis. The Tornado body is made to fit the Traxxas chassis perfectly and it can be mounted super low, yet maintain tire clearance. The body mount holes, as well as wing mount holes are clearly marked. This body is made to be used with the inexpensive Traxxas injection molded wing and it comes complete with window masks, decal sheet and protective film.
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After receiving many requests, Protoform has released it’s rendition of the 1971 Trans-Am Championship winning car. The addition of the J71 to the VTA scene will surely add new excitement and drama to an already diverse class of racing. The J71 features all the unique styling cues of the original car as well as a molded in rear spoiler. The front of the car features an add-on nose with air dam. When mounted with shoo goo and 2mm screws it becomes an integral part of the body. Because this area of a race body is the most prone to racing wear and tear, a second nose is supplied with the body. This configuration allows for molding a lightweight, durable .030 lexan body, which in turn aids the handling ability of any VTA chassis.
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In preparation for the 2011 IFMAR 1/8th IC On-Road World Championships Protoform had produced an all new open cockpit style race body. The R15B has been tested and refined by some of America’s top racers. Last month it was used by Mike Swauger to TQ at the Ron Paris Memorial Race in Las Vegas. This unique design has shown itself to extremely stable and exhibits great turning ability. This body also conforms to the adjusted 2011 EFRA height rules. It’s available in 3 different weights of lexan, regular, lite-weight and Pro-lite for the expert racer. The R15B has been submitted to ROAR and EFRA for official approval.
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Finally from Protoform, is the announcement of a new 190mm sedan race body for rubber tire competition. The new P37-R (rubber) is suited for both indoor carpet as well as paved racing surfaces and is available in both Lite and PRO-Lite weights. It comes with protective coating, window masks, decals and wing hardware and conforms to all the EFRA Global Body Spec criteria.
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For the last 6 years the Protoform Stratus 3.1 has been one of the most popular and successful 200mm gas-sedan bodies. It’s still used even today in race winning performances by many top ranked pro drivers. Today, Protoform is proud to release the P37-N (nitro) 200mm Gas Sedan body to continue that legacy. This new P37-N body uses some of the time tested and proven design features of the 3.1 but includes many evolutionary improvements to aid down force and steering capabilities. The wing struts are enlarged and new oversized nylon wing hardware is now included with the body. The body conforms to all the ERFA “Global Body Spec” criteria and it comes with protective coating, decals and window masks. Available in Lite and PRO-Lite weights.
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