Ever have a container of shock fluid or bearing oil tip over unnoticed? It makes a big mess. Finding something to store items like this is a bit of a challenge. We have found the perfect storage solution to be a box designed for storing fishing spinner baits. These are easy to find at sporting…
The Axial Wraith and Ridgecrest both use Axial’s AR60 axles. These wide axles take a lot of abuse, but a very common problem occurs with the self-tapping screws that hold the C-hubs to the axles tubes. These screw holes tend to easily strip out. The first and often recommended fix is to replace the self-tapping…
To do any sort of real work on the Vaterra Twin Hammers, the cage has to come off. To make removing the cage a lot easier, use a body reamer on the back of each side panel. Carefully placed, the resulting hole will allow you to remove and install the screws that secure the battery…
Back in the day, I used to advise people to remove the antenna from their radio when transporting it. This included going to the track in a radio bag or being shipping it if needed. If the radio took a hit, an installed antenna could turn into a metal spear and smash into the internal…
As short course bodies become more, um, sophisticated, manufacturers are adding all sorts of fins and wings to increase aerodynamic performance. Usually the strongest method of attaching the wings is with small screws and nuts. Unfortunately, this is a little time consuming, slightly raises the CG and often tear out and rip the body. The…
When your hobby knife rolls off your workbench there’s a good chance it will land in your leg or foot. While perfectly round hobby knife handles are easy to hold, the fact that they roll so easy is a bit of a design flaw. To prevent the runaway knife, slip on one of those kid’s…
Soldering iron tips take a beating and sometimes the tips get to the point where the won’t properly transfer heat (i.e., work). If you don’t have a replacement tip on hand, you can actually cut a small portion of the tip off with a rotary tool such as a Dremel.
Sometimes body posts require trimming (yes, those super long posts sticking out of your hood look horrible). A lot of people hack them with some dull side cutters that squeeze more than they cut. The end result isn’t pretty. Years ago, Peter Vieira of Traxxas let me know about a cool tool, the Craftsman Accu-Cut…
This Tip of the Week comes from Charles Reed. Charles points out that you can cover 4mm flange lock nuts with valve stem caps. Valve stems are available in a a variety of colors and easy to find at auto parts stores and in the automotive section of department stores. Charles states he prefers the…
Whether you drive on- or off-road, ride height is an important aspect of suspension setup. While raising ride height can increase traction, running too high can excessively raise the center of gravity and degrade handling. A lower setup is often stable and predictable, but too low with scrub speed if the chassis scrapes the ground…
A functional scale RC winch is one of the coolest scale accessories you can bolt on your RC scale rock crawler. Their operation is pretty straightforward, but there is a simple trick you can do to keep a winch working exactly as you set it up. Often, winches are set up to operate on a…
If you’re doing it right, your RC trucks get dirty. Getting dirty is fun, but storing trucks with grime on the tires can make a mess of shelves (if you’e organized) or the bottom of the closet or under your workbench (if you’re not too organized). I may not be the most organized person, but…
Common question: Can you use thread-locking compound on screws that thread into plastic? Correct answer: No. While there are some products made to work as a thread locker on plastic, we have found one of the best to be ordinary nail polish. Nail polish is safe on plastics–at least we haven’t encountered a plastic that…
This is a tip that will make your life easier and make you a little more popular with hobby shop owners. Instead of carrying your dirty RC truck into the hobby shop when you need to provide its transponder number, write the number in the “notes” section of your phone. Most cell phones and all…
If you didn’t know your fellow RC’ers are judging you, let me be the bearer of bad news. For example, a loud (as in grinding gears) RC car sounds hack. The problem is greasing gears such as pinion and spur gears will attract grime and make matters much worse. The no mess solution may be…