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Review : Vaterra Twin Hammers Kit/RTR


Tamiyacowboy

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Hello readers and members of MSUK. 

 

my name is Paul aka Tami to most on the forum, and i have been into the rc hobby for many many moons.

i have owned and built up several rc kit version models over my time.

 

This is my Honest And none bias review of the twin hammers by vaterra. 

 

 

The twin hammers is a 1/10th scale radio control desert type off road buggy and rock racer. do not worry i have plenty of pictures for you all to look at to.

But its a medium sized truck with a medium feel weight to it. when you pick it up it feels meaty and heavy'ish but not overly.

It has huge big tyres to crawl over rocks and wrap around them, making this truck also able to crawl things.

 

here is what the box looks like. 

 

GcjikXD.jpg

 

 

Thats a bit small for a built truck you may be thinking and you are right, this is a kit version. the rtr version box is a little bigger

and less hands on work for you. 

thats not all, being a kit there are lots of bags. i mean LOTS of bags, maybe LOTS and LOTS of bags.

well yes there are a few. lets take a look. 

 

YgzoDln.jpg

 

 

So, each larger bag has smaller bags. each large bag makes up a section of the truck. 

Bag a was the whole main two speed, yes thats right TWO SPEED gearbox , will full metal gears.

your rtr version will come with two metal main gears but the rest will be plastic. the kit version are upgraded with metal.

lets have a look at a gearbox once built and a selection of images showing the truck taking shape.

 

nsIA90b.jpg

 

main gearbox two speed

 

iOAf2Or.jpg

 

front diff all built, gearbox installed and the rear battery tray added.your rtr version would have gone through this process

in the factory.

 

Q8Bz4bh.jpg

 

and here is what you finish with , just add the wheels and the body your truck is done. 

 

 

well lets throw wheels on and the body cage 

 

4rbKbcv.jpg

 

25Tosyn.jpg

 

and when your all done with painting you can end up with something like this model.

this is the kit version with a secondary GENRIGHT decal livery used on genright trucks in the king of the hammers off road race.

but i can show more photos later in the second part where we start to talk about the model itself as a machine to purchase and any problems

and niggles. but here we go a taster 

 

TAzPGlf.jpg

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question :SO the twin hammers truck, is it worth buying .........  

 

well i purchased the kit from Modelsport uk. the delivery was super swift and everything was done nice and smooth.

ordering was simple, paying the same , and delivery was great. no faults with the model shop proving the kit version.

as for a kit most would try and stay away, but i think with hand on heart it is NOT hard to build a kit car these days,

(chuckles ) well i should say kit truck . following the manual you cannot go wrong. but some smaller fingered members

around and under the age of 14yrs old may struggle so dad / uncle or big brother could be helpful, but then never rule out mum's to.

 

How long did it take to make paul ? 

 

well for me i took my time and in two days i had it ready to put a motor in and some electronics.

i used the below electrics in my truck. but the rtr version would be ready to run after about 30mins topping up the battery you get.

a radient reaktor 3500kv brushless motor and speed control. (

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nice review! 

 

Its a breath of fresh air to see someone give their thoughts when they actually own the model, most just jump on the 'vaterra hate bandwagon' without even seeing one in the flesh. I've always fancied a twin hammers and i think if i have some spare cash i might invest one day. 

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i tried to be none bias. 

 

and truth is it made me smile and want to recharge the nihm battery i shoehorned into the twin hammer.

i wanted the reader to think. ok its not fast but its not like very slow and its controlled throughout 

and if it makes a 40+yr old man smile it will make a small lad/lady smile to. 

 

Fun is the main factor , going fast can come later, and as it is in rtr or kit with a 3500kv brushless its perfect.

i put cheap stuff in for a reason, thats what newcomers tend to do. so yes the steering is not race quick.

its forgiving , for

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I think a lot of the haters have owned or at least used one, but like you said it simply wasn't the right model for them. Most often they expect it to perform like something cost twice as much and slate if it doesn't.

My lads favorite RC from my collection is the Wheely King. Its slow and it falls over all the time (sound familiar?) but they prefer it to my ultra fast 1/10th racers.

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most just jump on the 'vaterra hate bandwagon' without even seeing one in the flesh.

I must be seen to be in this "band wagon" then....

Actually had a good poke around the hammers, ascender, v100 touring car and in all fairness they do have some quite decent ideas,

The 1/10 on road shells are very detailed (not to tamiyas level)

The twin hammers was a great idea executed poorly, the ascender is not comp legal out of the box and the body is far too big for the wheels, looks like a shopping trolley....

That's not including the toy like rims and diff covers too.

I was even contemplating buying a halix monster truck but alas, it seems to have disappeared as quickly as it came....

Parts support is still poor compared to it's rivals too.

So yes I can give a honest opinion without wasting my money buying one, would I buy one? Of course for the right money..... Would I pay retail? Certainly not.

Beginner or not, there are much better entry/mid level rc out there that just wipe the floor with the vattera range......

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most just jump on the 'vaterra hate bandwagon' without even seeing one in the flesh.

 

 

I must be seen to be in this "band wagon" then....

Actually had a good poke around the hammers, ascender, v100 touring car 

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Not really sure you can give it a glowing review after what 20 minutes of drive time tam ? 

 

Perhaps it might shed some light to others if you linked your build thread too as about 3 posts in you were calling it retarded !! and you're still having trouble with the diff.. 

 

Let's wait and see you punch some more drive time in and tackle some different terrain as 20 minutes is far too short to show any weak spots or flaws IMO although it is showing up the diff is a bust !! 

 

Unless this is just a out the box review in which case crack on  :thumbsup:

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It is just out the box. rtr its just showing the differnet changes. 

 

like plastic main gears in tranny, where the kit upgrades you to full steel gearing.

shocks are adjustable and not the clamped spring type.

lockers both front and rear (expensive as an upgrade item)

full front and rear tune'able ainti roll kit.

 

if you add these extra onto the price of your rtr it soon shoots up.

where the kit is more a mk2 version with those better options added in.

 

the first place you tend to take your model is out the front door to the street.

its not like you go searching for the local trails or dirt tracks, your to eager.

so hence why i went out in the street and over peoples front yards etc etc.

just like a new driver would, and Yep i blasted it up and down the road a couple times

before the nimh battery went and she started to act all poltergiest like lol.

 

as with kits, they are user built so a user mistake can cause problems,

like my diff in the front, i rebuilt three times, but i now think its because

steering tests were done without weight. so the front end was free floating and hanging

at max , the hard steering mean the dog seating into the front diff cup was at max to, hence the cogging grind effect.

 

3.7kg servo is NOT much good , you do not have much force to turn those large heavy sticky tyres

and move that buggys full weight to. so i will need to upgrade to a more stronger servo for My needs.

 

 

i do still think the KIT does offer a better choice to a newcomer Or a young lad/lady. more hands on

so repairs they are ready for and know how to strip down and re-build. 

for an instance i found a front locker priced at

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Not to be a killjoy here but anyone reading this thread is soon going to get bored with all the text, keep it simple stupid and will attract more folk.

We need testing time results too not based on your current usage, so first off get some more batteries and give it a thorough beating......

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Do not worry you can lock the thread if you see/feel the need. 

i will not update this any more. i already know the forums feeling on the vaterra brand or that of the hammer. 

 

I don't want it locked i want you to give your review after say 30 more packs and a mix of lipo and nimh and on a good mix of different terrain.. I also want you to finish building it ie adding the shifter servo ! and see what you think of that design feature.. 

 

So yes we want you to update the thread, if not what's the point in all the effort so far ? ..

 

You seem to ramble on about how great it is to build a kit with however and yes this is great but its not really what we need to know as this will apply for any kit .. 

 

So no please don't chuck the towel in unless its all gone Pete Tong on you !   

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Not to mention video if you can mate. Vattera do have some cool ideas. I like the revo style front end of this one. I like the assenders floating battery too and the v100 looks very modern. Once the brand picks up sales it could rise up quickly. It is horizon behind it they even come with spectrum radio.

Edited by RCbutcher
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  • 1 year later...

Video of the twin hammer running onroad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRMAR7JTO2c

 

 

 

My twin hammer taking to the road for testing, running a 2000mah nihm battery and radient reactor 3500kv brushless motor. 
gearing is a 22t pinion to a 78t spur. midway i can be heard selecting low range and high range gearbox shifting.

Edited by Tamiyacowboy
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  • 1 month later...
On 08/11/2016 at 12:17, Tamiyacowboy said:

Video of the twin hammer running onroad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRMAR7JTO2c

 

 

 

My twin hammer taking to the road for testing, running a 2000mah nihm battery and radient reactor 3500kv brushless motor. 
gearing is a 22t pinion to a 78t spur. midway i can be heard selecting low range and high range gearbox shifting.

 

Tam fella that footage was  a year old you got any new stuff ? I remember you posting that before you not had it out since then ? 

 

Whatever happend to it was it shelved was it finished was it binned ? ;) 

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got put on the shelf , i kinda drifted away from rc ( that darn twostroker got all my pennys and gray matter thrown at it) 

i did try and sell it, but that never got anywhere not even one interested person so it went up on the shelf to gather dust. i been busy with the scooter and now dumping pennys into savings for an old school honda cub / chinese copy cub , will bust the TH out in summer and throw it in the backpack when i head to the beach / greenlanes

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