Readers Rides – June 2023

Jeep Golden Eagle
Alec Grossman « Winston-Salem, NC
Alec informs us that he initially wanted to paint the entire body of his Rochobby Mashigan, but once he saw how nice it was right out of the box, he decided to keep the stock color. He went ahead and customized it to create a “what-if” model instead. He posed the question, “What would a Jeep Golden Eagle model of the late ’80s be like?” One look at Alec’s Mashigan and it’s easy to picture what a late ’80s Golden Eagle would have looked like. It’s a great-looking vehicle, fantastic job, Alec!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Rochobby Mashigan
– Body: Rochobby Mashigan
– Motor: Rochobby 35T 550 motor
– Speed Control: Hobbywing Quicrun 1080
– Battery: Sunpadow 3S LiPo battery 11.1V 40C 2250mAh
– Wheels & Tires: RC-Hub Heavy Duty Version 1.9” aluminum wheels with stock Rochobby Mashigan tires
– Shocks: Rochobby Mashigan
– Axles: Rochobby Mashigan
– Paint: Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black, Krylon Fusion Gloss Khaki, Angelus Direct Vachetta and Capezio Tan
– Decals: MCI Racing Golden Eagle decals, RC-Crawler.it emblems
– Lighting: Goolsky 12 LED lighting system kit
– Radio System: Rochobby
– Other Options: Injora winch, Hot Racing Skull “Don’t Touch Me” spare tire cover, CGRC metal grille cover, whip antenna and dice by Twisted Tree RC, custom front bumper and roll cage by Scott Lempert, Bob Ross figure by NECA

Maxxed Out T-Maxx
John Komar « Lehigh Acres, FL
John starts off by telling us: “This car started as just something to keep me busy during COVID and became an obsession of mine. All the aluminum was hand-sanded and polished and then powdercoated. I was able to almost completely build a second T-Maxx minus gears and motor with all the replaced parts.” It’s a great-looking build, we’re absolutely loving it! Great job, John!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Traxxas T-Maxx 3.3
– Body: Custom-made metal roll cage
– Engine: Traxxas nitro
– Wheels & Tires: Sweep Road Crusher wheels and belted tires
– Shocks: Integy dual piggyback shocks
– Axles: Steel CV axles and driveshafts
– Paint: Testors Extreme Lacquer Lime Ice
– Radio System: Traxxas

CPE Brushless Clodbuster
Michael MilleR « Westland, MI
This heavily modified Tamiya Clodbuster is one that Michael and his son worked on together and is the vehicle that sparked his son’s interest in the RC hobby. Michael further elaborates: “He now has his own custom Traxxas Summit 1/16-scale. The two of us can’t get enough back-yard bashing together. We love the hobby.” We’re glad to hear it, guys! Fantastic job to the both of you, and thanks for sharing your build.

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Crawford Performance
Engineering Clodbuster
– Body: Pro-Line Chevy pickup
– Motor: Reedy brushless
– Speed Control: Two Onyx 150A
– Battery: Zeep 5200 3S LiPo
– Wheels & Tires: Imex tires, painted stock Tamiya Clodbuster wheels
– Shocks: King Off-Road scale shocks
– Axles: Tamiya/ThunderTech Racing CVDs and axle stiffeners, Hot Racing aluminum knuckles
– Paint: Parma Faskolor custom paint airbrushed by owner
– Radio System: Futaba 3PRKA
– Other Options: Hitec 645 servo, Arch Fabrication front bumper, ThunderTech Racing carbon fiber rear steering lockout

1/10 Scout 800A
Greg Willis « Summerville, SC
We love hearing RC stories, especially when it comes to people enjoying themselves with their vehicles. It sounds like Greg had a bit too much fun with this Redcat Gen 9. “This is my first 1/10-scale crawler,” he tells us. “It drowned accidentally after one week of ownership. I replaced the dead ESC and converted it to brushless.” Nice save, Greg, great job on reviving your ride. Be careful out there!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Redcat Racing Gen 9
– Body: Redcat Racing International Harvester Scout 800A
– Motor: Spektrum Firma 2-in-1 brushless motor/ESC combo 2300kV
– Speed Control: Spektrum Firma 2-in-1 brushless motor/ESC combo 2300kV
– Battery: Powerhobby 5200mAh 3S LiPo
– Wheels & Tires: RC4WD Rock Crusher tires on RC4WD Heritage black steelies
– Radio System: Flysky FS GT3B, Flysky receiver

Bad Trade gone Good
Fred Boylstein « Mechanicsburg, PA
The story of this truck is best told by its owner, Fred: “There are many, many other RCs that deserved to be recognized before this one. However, I thought readers might be interested in this story. Recently I received this Tamiya Blackfoot chassis on a trade but was later told it was actually an Original Frog converted to a Blackfoot with some reissued Tamiya parts. I’ll admit I was a little disheartened to hear that news, but after getting some great guidance from the forums, I decided to rebuild it. Since I’m new to the hobby and never owned a Tamiya before, I must say I learned a lot. The biggest upgrade was the MIP diff. I installed new bearings throughout with some other upgrades. Final thoughts—I think I ended up with a fully functional, unique RC that is a blast to drive. I’m definitely hooked on Tamiyas now!” Great job on making this truck your own, Fred! We love fiddling with and driving our Tamiya kits as well.

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Tamiya Frog
– Body: Tamiya Blackfoot
– Motor: Tamiya RS540 Sport Tuned
– Speed Control: Hobbywing THW 1060
– Wheels & Tires: Tamiya Blackfoot
– Shocks: Tamiya with CRP coilovers
– Axles: Tamiya
– Paint: Vallejo for the driver
– Radio System: Spektrum DX5 Rugged, Spektrum SR215 receiver
– Other Options: 3D-printed rear skid plate, Tamiya 53908 universal driveshafts, MIP diff, full bearings including
transmission, aluminum rear body post brace, aluminum battery stops, aluminum adjustable engine mount, aluminum Tamiya blue rear wheel hexes, carbon fiber front shock tower, CRP rear suspension supports