Radio Control! RC trucks, cars, planes, boats, whatever tickles your pickle!

If you hunt on park here you get an AR-15 pointed at your head and have to go to federal court. But there are two that do a quota hunt. It was prob a buck!

 

Before I got into going onto all these trails and everything, I would have never expected hunting to be so permissive in New Jersey. At least in my particular area in Central NJ. I know they have the bear hunts, but I figured that was more of a Northern NJ thing where the mountains are.

SCX24 video here: https://flic.kr/p/2o1muhi

I was driving my new Axial SCX24 Jeep Gladiator this evening. I'm taking it easy on this body because I want to make this stock body my shelf queen body. I already have a clear body, but I haven't painted it yet. Still, I'm not afraid to have some fun with it, and what fun it is!

I am very, very happy with the SCX24 Gladiator. While my Kyosho Mini Z 4X4 Toyota 4Runner was nice but frustratingly limited in its capabilities, the SCX24 Gladiator just goes and goes and goes. It has a can-do attitude and the strength to get it done. The stock tires grip nicely. The stock steering is more than quick enough and has plenty of torque. The low speed control isn't bad at all. The thing just goes and goes and goes.

I am heartily impressed by this little truck. It is enough to make me want to take a closer look at the SCX10 Jeeps. I just got a Traxxas TRX4 2021 Bronco, but if this little SCX24 is just half as good as an SCX10, the SCX10 has got to be awesome! I am genuinely pleasantly surprised by this little truck. I wasn't expecting it to be nearly this good.

For $150, the price to performance ratio is out of this world. I know Traxxas just released their TRX4m for about the same price and is a bit bigger and a bit more fully featured, but I can't find fault with the SCX24. Perhaps it's a bit pricey of a birthday or Christmas present, but this could be the gateway someone needs to get into this hobby. I think this little truck is fabulous. I want to take it out on a real trail on a dry day and see how it performs in 1/10 scale land.

Now I kind of want to see how the SCX24 Jeep Wrangler and 2021 Ford Bronco are...

 

Man down!

 

It needs a coffee! This is the hidden piece of wood under the leaves that I mentioned.

 

Did you make a scrape?

 

Says it’s a kit, but you need:
Wheels
Engine
Body
Transmitter
Servos
Fuel

 

Scrape?

 

Sounds about right. You put in what you want. For transmitter, it's more of a receiver. You can put in a receiver that goes with your preferred transmitter.

 

It's Trailrunner shock rebuild day. This is my first time rebuilding shocks. I prepped with green slime and silicone shock fluid. I already had o-rings. I'm only doing the rears at this time just to make sure I did it right. I'm going to take the Trailrunner out and see how the rears hold up before I do the fronts.

The first one went well. The second one was a mess. One of the e-clips that holds the piston in place broke. Luckily, I have an assortment of metric e-clips. I think I used an M2.5 metric e-clip. I might have to replace all of the e-clips with the ones from my stash for peace of mind. Of course I wasted a bunch of shock fluid and green slime when the e-clip broke. Opening the green slime container is a pain, too. It's easy to slip and plant your thumb directly in the center of the wad of green slime. I wish I got the motorcycle green slime that comes in a screw-shut container. At least it's done.



Here's a link to a video showing the full build someone did from the builders kit. I did almost a complete teardown before building everything back up again.

https://youtu.be/gaiMlsxcIoI

 

Got my Pitts out last night (didnt get pictures because I was flying) but all back up and running after a faulty servo. I may have changed it up a bit while I had it apart and gave it WAY to much tail authority so it is Squirrely! Way more fun!

 

Anyone have a recommendation on a good battery charger?? I don't need anything too fancy or too high end. Just a good reliable well made charger with a balance charging. Having a USB charging option would be awesome too. Looking to charge the stock battery that came with my scx24. Thanks!!

 

i have the Team Tenergy and it has been fine
https://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Bala...r&qid=1669243625&sprefix=tener,aps,279&sr=8-6

 

Thanks for the tip!! I have started reading a bit about this charger. Sounds like it's a good working device. Still trying to figure out the connectors (and all that it might entail) to charge the battery I have. Also trying to figure out if the charger can only be plugged into a 110 volt wall socket for power, or if I can plug it into a Gooloo power pack via USB. Ideally I want to plug a charger into my Gooloo power pack that I have via USB for charging while camping.

 

It has 12v clamps for a car battery but I have not used that function yet

 

Interesting. Not sure I would want to remove power from my trucks starter battery to charge an RC haha.
Sounds like it can't easily be plugged to a power pack via USB huh??

 

Today was a post-Thanksgiving feast Enduro Trailrunner outing. I put my newly rebuilt rear shocks to the test, and they seem to work fine and hold up well. I got to go out as the sun was going down and made it back to my 4Runner just as it was beginning to get dark. It was a nice outing for the most part. The leaves tricked me into getting suck a few times, and I had to pay extra careful attention to the horse poo, but it was good. Unfortunately the narrow trenched out trail is ruined because right around the corner from where I took the pic was a pile from where a horse decided to do its business. Thanks, Mr. Ed. It started out as a t-shirt outing, but it turned into a jacket outing as the sun was setting. I'm glad I went out this afternoon. I also saw some new signs. I wonder what they're for. I hope Julian L. Capik Nature Preserve isn't going to be bulldozed over.

 

I had a nice late afternoon Traxxas 2021 Bronco outing today. I went to Jamesburg Park Conservation Area, but I stayed on the loop around the Locust Avenue Spur. I didn't try the long distance trails in the northeast. It was a fun outing. I only had to rescue the Bronco a couple times, and it was only due to leaf-related hidden problem spots. I even went onto a side trail which was challenging for the Bronco. There was one point where I had to drive it through a large patch of thorns in order to avoid a log. I was happy that it didn't get stuck in the thorns! Mostly because I would have had to have waded through the thorns to get it back! I also went down a dead end trail with a small water crossing. That was fun. I went to the dead end trail because I expected to find a couple tiny trails down there, but I couldn't find them. Maybe they don't exist anymore. I also saw someone on a dirt bike who was very courteous and shared the trail very nicely. Some people complain about dirt bikes ruining their hiking outings, but I've never had a problem with them. I also used my current camera's wide angle lens in a couple shots. I think it's good when used appropriately!

 

Went out to a local model air field as a spectator.... These guys were nuts! Crazy good pilots. This is just one of the big ones... Phone died

 

Xmas came early!!!!

 

Anyone Fly using a DX or NX series Spektrum Radio? As I have stated before, I am getting back into it and trying to decide how I am going to re-learn my muscle memory so my radio has the same controls for all my planes. Trying to see what others do to help me decide how I want to do it.

 

I got these new official Kyosho tires for the Mini Z 4X4 today. They're licensed Interco Super Swamper tires, Kyosho part number MXTH003. They're actually halfway decent tires. Unlike the original tires that had been coming with Mini Z 4X4 trucks since a couple years ago (except for the Suzuki Jimny which has smaller tires), these have a decent tread pattern and feel like they're made from a soft and grippy rubber. Even though these tires are a little smaller in diameter than the old tires, they perform so much better. They're also the least affected by their own grip and weight of all of the alternative tires I've tried. The servo still doesn't like them, but the servo's also not totally overwhelmed by them. I heard about someone using a couple of those 3.7V AAA batteries with a couple dummies and got better performance out of their servo while also not frying any of the electronics. I think it's time for me to try that battery setup myself. I may also remove the body lift kit that I installed for the other tires because these Interco tires don't look so great with the body lift kit. Then again, the front bumper remains raised some and gets me some extra performance.

These tires have turned my Mini Z 4Runner from one of my least favorite vehicles to... still one of my least favorite vehicles, but at least it's not in D- territory anymore. It's more like a solid C+.

I also included a video showing the tires in action. They're not perfect, but when they hook up with some grip on a surface you're trying to climb, they actually get you climbing up that surface. It's not lacking for grip at all. The only reason I installed the brass weights back in 2020 or 2021 was because I was looking for more grip, but I'm not sure if I'm going to reinstall them now. I had already removed them for the purposes of making the previous alternative tires work better.






The video: https://flic.kr/p/2o3Rucr

 

Just stumbled on to this and reading through…. Cool thread.


I’ll have to go dig out some photos and share if folks are interested in more air stuff (I do basically everything except boats)

 

I think air stuff would be appreciated here

 

Ok, let me see... my hobby closet is a little cramped lately but Ill try to give you a tour (warning Ive been at this since I was ~ age 10 in the 80s... )

 

Lets see... first up. planes.


This is me and my 12 year old over the summer with dueling Extras. Extreme Flight 91" Extra NG for me (DA 70cc gas ), and Extreme Flight 60" Extra 300 (electric) for my son. The 60 was mine but he took it over



I loooove biplanes. Here are a couple of mine. Pilot RC 73" Pitts Challenger (DA 70cc) that I got them to make in a custom Red Devils team scheme.. and my little bipe a Flex Mamba 10 size foamy. BTW I got my son started at age 5 with foamies, the photo above is his 3rd plane.



I also build scale. I spent 5 years building this Balsa USA 1/4 Fokker Triplane (35cc) . Its done in fabric and all painted in authentic Red Baron colors.



We have a few others under construction I can show if interested... Ive probably built 30-40 planes over the last 25 years.


You might like some event photos from local fly ins and smaller get togethers with my flying buddies...

 

I also fly helicopters.

Started on a Trex 450 flybar... later converted it to flybarless.



Later my buddy got me into 700 size gasoline. We fly these on 30cc engines, they weight about 12-14lb. Love these.

Foreground: Trex 700N I converted to gas with a kit from a guy in Australia, and in the Background is a Miniature Aircraft Whiplash gasoline. This is an orignal from when they where made in Montana, a couple in Germany has since bought the company and moved production to Europe.


I wanted a little one to bash in the backyard so last year I picked up this tiny OMP M1. Its nuts.




And we have helicopter fun flies too... The blue truck in the lineup is my old Tacoma TRD

 

~5 years back my son wanted a car from Santa. I picked up a Traxxas Latrax 1/18 scale monster truck for him. That thing was so fun I did some upgrades with a brushless motor, etc. Then it gave me the bug to get some cars of my own. Last car I had was a 2WD nitro buggy in college and before that Ratshack cheapies in the 80s.

... so of course I decided to relive some childhood fantasies...

I started with an Axial SCX 10 Jeep JLU builders kit. taught myself to airbrush and built it out with a Holmes Hobby brushless, etc. Then I couldn't resit and got the inferno MP10e electric race buggy (I lusted over Infernos in the catalogs as a kid). All hobbywing electronics and I did my first attempt at airbrushing flames. Looks fair from 20 feet.

But this thing is so fast its hard to drive in the yard. we need to go find a track.

Last one is the Rochobby 1/6 scale Willys. I just couldn't resist grabbing one when they went on half price sale at Horizon.



The buggy is basically built stock. The JL I added a lighting kit (unfortunately its down right now with a bad motor). On the Willys I added some metal upgrade pieces, rebuilt the shocks and detailed it out a bit by painting he engine bay and adding the toy soldier driver.

 

The other fun thing about sharing the hobby with my son is we spend a lot of time building together. He has two more planes of his own he is working on. He basically saves all his allowance money for it.




And at this point he is a better pilot than I am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM3A-6lTnv4

 

I went to John A. Phillips Preserve this afternoon. I went clockwise taking the longest loop possible around the place. It was a pretty good hike. Some of the northern area has gotten seriously covered up with downed trees. I had to pick up my Traxxas 2021 Bronco and straddle trees more than a few times. There's one bridge that's feeling flimsier than ever. (Not the Lukas Anderson Memorial Bridge.) Interestingly there's a new elevated footpath over this one spot that gets deeper with water. It's too steep for my Bronco to get up, but the big problem is that they covered up the bypass that used to be around that spot! They should've used their resources to fix the wobbly bridge. I think that thing's going to fall apart soon. Hopefully it doesn't take someone down with it. The southwestern area also is covered with downed trees, though I was able to get around most of them. It made a couple spots hard to navigate, and I think I even doubled back somewhere I didn't mean to. At least it wasn't too bad to get through. I don't know what was going on, but there were a lot of small groups of people on the trails not far from the entrance. I don't think I've ever run into this many separate groups of people on a trail. There were some people with dogs, and the dogs found my Bronco very interesting. There was also this one nice husband and wife who were curious about my Bronco. I told them about the hobby shops in the area, so maybe they'll go check them out.

 

I went out for a muddy trail outing with my Traxxas TRX4 2021 Ford Bronco at Julian L. Capik Nature Preserve today, but before that there was this new mound of dirt in the parking lot at the baseball field that was fun to drive on. When I finished at the mound of dirt, I did something I don't usually do while going to the trails. I went to the rather flat lowland area. It can get muddy there, and today was no exception. It was my first time in that area with my hiking boots, and it wasn't bad with them. I stayed dry, and the boots gripped better than my sneakers. There was also a higher flat area that allowed me to run the Bronco at full speed. I even turned up the gyro a bit in order to let me run the Bronco fast without being so worried about flipping it when turning. I like that you're able to set the multifunction dial to the gyro. I pretty much never use it, but it has its uses. It might be interesting to run a Traxxas Slash in that spot. I eventually found my way onto the usual trails and looped back to where I parked. I saw some people riding horses along the way, too.