BlackSeaRC

FMS FCX24 1/24th Unimog Scaler RTR - Gray FMS12405RTRGY (modelsport.co.uk) Plus red and green versions.

Was looking for this myself. The blue and red ones that are already available are 569 GBP.

It is a new release so may not be available in UK just yet. Modelsport (and others) should have it as soon as it is available as they stock the other FCX24 models.

Was never much of a fan of the TD4 but I always thought the TD2 looked much better. This one looks great! I wonder if Tamiya will launch some new models based on the TD chassis in2024? They obviously spent quite a bit of effort on that chassis and haven't done much with it yet.

Modelsport have it as available to order at 529 GBP.

This is something new that you don't see very often - a fully licensed RC side-by-side vehicle. The new SG Pinecone Model SG-1205 SSV is a 1:12 scale RTR RC vehicle based on the CFMOTO ZFORCE 1000 Sport R SXS. The level of detailing and scale realism is excellent. SG is what I would describe as an intermediate level brand with products at the upper end of the 'toy-grade' scale but not quite at the 'hobby grade' level due to the poor availability of spares and minimal upgrades. However, it does feature a nice 2.4GHz handset with fully proportional controls, 280 brushed motor, 4WD, front and rear independent suspension (double A-arms and coil springs at the front, trailing arms and quad-links with coil springs at the rear) and 7.4V LiPo battery power. Some metal parts are used in the driveline but construction is mostly plastic. Optional metal body oil-filled shock absorbers and metal driveshafts are available. You can find a detailed review in the video below including a close-up look at everything and testing. BlackSeaRC

This is the latest RC car from Rastar, the 1:16 scale Hummer EV with 4-wheel drive and multi-mode 4-wheel steering. The product is fully licensed and it is a fantastic looking body with great scale details. This continues on the interior as well. I just wish that someone made a product like this with a proper hobby grade chassis. As an indoor toy and display model, it is pretty good for the price though. BlackSeaRC

After designing the BBX with a mount for a spare wheel and teasing us with images of it fitted just before release, it would have been nice if Tamiya had sold a single spare wheel/tyre set rather than having to buy 4 wheels and 2 tyres...

Talking of price, the BBX is currently on sale at AsiaTees. Kit price is 184.04 GBP! The price, including shipping by FedEx to UK is 207.40 GBP. Delivery is 2-4 business days from Hong Kong. Maybe you will get caught for import duty, maybe you won't, but the price is VERY tempting...

It was supposed to be this new 1:12 scale side-by-side UTV:

This should have been an interesting delivery after waiting 36 days but excitement turned to big disappointment when I saw it...

The new Tacoma super scale body has a hidden mounting system and Kyosho are crazy not to use something similar with all their scale realistic Fazer bodies.

There's actually not so much choice if you want to build a smaller scale kit. There are a few such as the WPL kits at 1:16 and the FTX Outback Mini XP at 1:18 but the Orlandoo Hunter kits at 1:32 and 1:35 are quite a bit smaller. Additionally, because their aim is high levels of scale realism, the parts are not typically oversized so screws and detail parts are VERY small. I struggled with some elements of the build. There is a brand new Orlandoo Hunter Scania 6x4 tractor truck that looks amazing but an on-road model at this scale has rather limited applications unless you have a desktop haulage yard.

Here is my OH32X02 trophy truck... Plus, you can see the full kit build, including upgrades and customisation in the videos section.

I doubted finishing it several times during the kit build but I persevered, mainly because I couldn't let it get the better of me (and because it was quite a lot of money!).

You might have been following my unboxing of the Orlandoo Hunter OH32X02 Trophy Truck 1:32 scale RC kit. I knew from the start that this would be a challenging build but it turned out to be more of an ordeal. In the past, I have built numerous RC kits of all types, shapes and sizes, so have got used to the odd frustration. However, this kit presented not just the occasional challenge but almost every build step throws up some task where either access seems impossible, the parts are super difficult to fit or there is a quality issue to overcome. I lost count the number of times I dropped a screw or a microscopic component. Just when you think that you must have completed the most difficult build step, another comes along to frustrate and drive you close to madness. I usually offer hints and tips for the build as I go along and indeed, I do include lots of them in this video. But at the same time, there are many cases where I just can't offer any tips to make it easier because there is NO way to make it easier. On several build steps, I just had to put the parts down and come back another day because no matter what I tried I couldn't get the parts to fit. But perseverance eventually won the day! As expected on a kit so small, the tolerances on the components are super critical. There were various quality issues to overcome including holes out of position, holes too large (not good with self-tapping screws), or holes not there at all. Threaded parts also regularly caused problems, either because they were hard to fit or not properly secure when assembled. With most of the fixings being tiny self-tapping screws, there is no room for error whatsoever. You will see from the video below that the end result is undeniably impressive. The kit has some very nice engineering and the level of detail included is mind blowing. Scale realism is excellent as long as you find a neat way to hide the electronics. Just imagine a Traxxas UDR shrunken down to 1:32 scale and you get the idea. As if all that wasn't enough of a headache, I also decided that I wanted to customise my model to replicate a real-life trophy truck. Having a truck identical to someone else's was not my plan. Please check out the video below and tell me if the result was worth the time, effort and expense! BlackSeaRC

It's been a while but I finally found some spare time to start building my Cross-RC PG4A Adventurer. This model was released in 2016 and was one of the earliest products from Cross-RC who were only established in 2013. The PG4A is the top-of-the-range model in the PG series, which also included (amongst others), the PG4L dually truck. It never sold in big numbers and was not widely available so consequently, it is quite a rare beast. It is a 1:10 scale crawler kit in the style of a full-size pick-up truck and with a kit this big, it involves quite a large investment in time and money to get it built. It uses a metal C-channel chassis, 2-speed all-metal gearbox, a smattering of other metal parts, 2.2" tyres and a detailed hard plastic body. Of course with a kit like this, you also need some heavy duty electronic parts. Everything about this kit is big and heavy, but being one of the earlier kits, it has a few quirks that meant the build didn't go entirely to plan. In the video below, you can watch how the truck gradually comes together. BlackSeaRC

I hope the curtains were closed...I suppose at least you weren't driving it in the garden naked...

Finally managed to do some work on the PG4A kit build...

If Evri was delivering it, it is an achievement just to receive it! Looks like a nice buggy, it is amazing what you can get nowadays for the price.

I also included some interesting details about the real vehicle the Holiday Buggy is inspired by. It was called the Corsair Stripper and was designed in Southern California in the 1970's. Not a licensed design but clearly based on it.

Yes, stick type transmitters were the way to go in the 1980's. I have Acoms equipment starting in the early 1980's and going all the way through to the latest Techniplus version. I reckon the oldest one was the best built and felt much better quality than the newer versions with a cheap plastic look and feel to them. Amazing really that everything still works. The chargers were also Acoms but actually marked "Made in UK". You don't see that much any more!

Around 4 decades ago, I acquired my very first RC car - a second hand Tamiya Holiday Buggy. In the early 1980's, it was the entry-level 2WD off-road buggy. The Rough Rider and Sand Scorcher "Special Racing Buggies" were too expensive (almost double the price), so I had the choice of a Holiday Buggy or Sand Rover. I had a look at a few for sale and eventually chose a Holiday Buggy. My Holiday Buggy came built by the previous owner with Asahi Acoms radio equipment, quick and slow chargers and a 6V Ni-Cd battery. The Holiday Buggy inspired my enthusiasm for RC vehicles that has lasted a lifetime. In the late 1980's, I decided to repaint the buggy in a white/orange/yellow colour scheme. I drove it for many hundreds, if not thousands, of hours and it never broke down. Gradually my RC collection grew and the Holiday Buggy got put in the loft. Recently, I decided that it would be nice to restore my original RC car to box art colours. I got it down from the loft with a thick layer of dust and found the original 40 year old batteries. Would it still run? Well take a look at the video below and find out. This is the start of the restoration project and a detailed overview of the buggy, including interesting details about its history: BlackSeaRC

Holiday Buggy from the early 1980's. I decided to restore it after foolishly painting it many years ago. Will start a new thread tomorrow documenting the work I've done so far and taking a close-up look at the buggy and all the period electronic equipment.

Yes, it still works perfectly, which is funny when many of my much more modern batteries have given up! This is what it goes in: