Saito2

Just to clarify, you've had 2 of the original style rerelease 2011 Avantes (cam-loc wheel, etc.) and they didn't come with the center ball diff that's pictured on the ide of the box? I thought only Black Special version omitted this for the Egress-style center locked/twin f/r ball diff setup.

In the original thread I started about this earlier, I admit I had some trepidation about being a bit negative about the price. But, I figured we're all here to talk about toy cars so having an opinion is ok as long as one respects other's opinions. I'm happy for those that see value in this rerelease which is more representative of the original and less of a display piece than the clear version. I'm in the hard "nope" category as well unfortunately although I'm glad not to be alone in that. I have sold off cars to make room and saved back for this RC10 but its just too much money. Its much like the feeling I mentioned in the "That's too much!" thread. When I see pricing like that, much like a $10+ can of paint, I can't help but feel we're being taken advantage of. This is even more true with something that tugs on the heartstrings like the return of the RC10 certainly does for some. This "Limited Edition!!!" FOMO crap angle doesn't help either. There will no doubt be defenders of the price and Associated's actions and that's cool. If its worth it to someone then they should go for it and be happy doing so. Everybody knows its nowhere near as bad as some of the garbage that's transpired of late in our hobby (Trashaxx shenanigans and Horizon's destruction of Tower Hobbies, etc.) I have a sneaking suspicion Associated looked sideways at what Kyosho was charging for the JJ Ultima and priced accordingly. Of course, being a replica of the '87 Worlds winner with many unique re-created parts just for that limited edition model means that its worth its price. A rehash of the RC10 Classic with some laser etching? Sorry, nah. I know Associated had to remake the molds yet again so there's expenditure up front to recoup, but they had to do that with the Classic too. This tactic is probably to minimize risk through the max-profit capitalism approach. AE could probably sell consistent numbers of these (much like Tamiya does with their mainstay rereleases that have been in production now longer than the originals were) every year at reasonable prices. Instead they went for the FOMO limited numbers max-profit approach right away and will sell every one made (which we'll likely see, still sealed in boxes, selling for $800+ on Fleabay in 2 years). But that's capitalism, and in the short term, the safer (and some would say smarter) move so we can't blame them. They're here to make money just like all the other manufacturers. Maybe we'll get lucky and we might see a more affordable non "Limited Edition" variant come out after the hoopla of this one has died down, but that's probably dreaming. More likely, there will be other RC10 variants brought out in limited numbers at high prices in the following years if this current pricing scheme works out for them. Of course the second a future rerelease crashes (like the Worlds car did), AE could quickly pull the plug too as we've seen in the past. You know, I've got 8 old RC10s that I've had for many years and could have made a killing selling as prices on them have shot up but I think I'll just tinker with them. I've also got something totally new, yet deliciously retro, called the BBX to put together and run without any guilt.

Tough one. I've got most of what I want. I missed out on the Dyna Storm and Dyna Blaster, so those maybe. Not sure. A Juggernaut 2 would certainly get me interested as well as a fresh King Cab. A Madcap would be nice. If we got a true Wild Willy rerelease, I'd be all over that. Same with a real Holiday Buggy re-re.

CVA shocks debuted as only one length on the Fox. Soon there after, the Supershot came out with a longer variant on the rear. I always guessed that Tamiya, having two sizes at the time, figured, ok, one size is short and one is long. Case closed. But.....fast forward to buggies like the Sonic Fighter and there's a new size to contend with. What to call it, with "short" and "long" already taken? What's shorter than short? "Mini", I guess.

I know everyone is all abuzz about this news, but $380 charged to your credit card right up front when the last one was $250...wow I don't know. I had hopes of getting maybe even a couple (limit one now) to run and enjoy if they stayed at or below $300 (some increase is sure to be expected). $380 is just too much to swing for something like that, especially since its NIB value will probably double in a couple years. I was thinking of a guilt-free runner with fresh parts to re-live the glory days but this is a "special" limited edition piece more for the mantle (more power to those who do buy one and run the snot out of it). Sorry to sound like a downer but I'm glad I kept my Ultima which will now dutifully see dirt .

Interesting buggy with a twin vertical plate chassis and an inline motor.

I should have mentioned this earlier but didn't because it sounded like you were making your own towers anyway. Stock, with original CVA version 1 shock, the Super Hotshot does not bottom out during full compression. Using modern CVA version 2 shocks fixes the problem as they have a longer stroke (despite both being "short" variants"). The version 2 shocks lack the rod guides in the o-ring stack which cuts down on overall assembled shock body length. Sorry if I was remiss. Here's a pic to illustrate:

Lol. Yeah, that seems to be a common slip-up among Boomerang builders.

Just as a heads up, the Boomerang comes stock with a sliding bar steering system that works better (less bumpsteer) the the other buggies in the Hotshot family. It can jam depending on the terrain you run on if you don't clean it out occasionally. That's just an FYI, not meant to deter you from building your own chassis/steering if you choose to. Dual shocks can be fitted with Bigwig front arms (I believe the Boomer kit has the front towers already in the kit). The shocks mount ahead of the arms in with this method. You can also use your stock arms but combined with Super Hotshot towers which mount the shocks behind the front arms. The stock Boomer has a degree of rear toe vs the Hotshots which have none. I run in grass and would err on the safe side with a 13T or 15T pinion when running a brushed motor. Your running conditions may vary so experiment and test motor temps to adjust gearing accordingly. If you have a set that fits and works well, then CVDs are nice to have. I have never gotten a straight answer on what fits and is currently available. I will say that, for reasons unknown to me, the Boomerang and Super Sabre use 4 equal length dogbones while the Hotshots use slightly short dogbones up front. At full droop, the front Boomer dogbones tend to bind. Installing shorter Hotshot/Super Hotshot front dogbones cures this. The usual bearings and steel pinion. The upgrade solid prop shaft from the HS/SHS is a nice upgrade over the bent clothes hanger wire prop in the Boomer. A tie bar of some sort at the upper front control arms is nice. Not for durability, but it cuts down on wear and slop. I hate the battery door on these cars. The battery door is part of the car's lower structure and relies on two small plastic hooks at the end to affix it at the rear. Not enough support and too many loads on the part for my taste. Going to @kontemax's showroom page and looking at what he's done to his very long-lived Boomerang over the years would be helpful. Hope some of this helps.

I think that's Rich Hemstreet's Boomerang from the old days at RC Car Action. It was definitely airbrushed.

I dug through the magazine for the correct quote. The only mention I found of Tamiya in the article was one sentence. "Widely recognized in the States by production-class racers, Tamiya took the I-final win with its Egress, which was driven by Singapore's Lin Shikai," That was followed by "Nikko's results were fair."

Our hobby isn't particularly cheap. Granted, there are far more expensive ones. There's the old joke, "Do you know how to make a small fortune? Start with a large fortune and then buy a boat." All in all, though, there are far cheaper ways to spend one's money (but are they as cool?). In a world of $400 Egresses or $500 Super Dog Fighters or what have you, has there ever been something that makes you say "Nope, I'm not going to spend that."? For me, lately, its been Tamiya PS paints. $4-5 was hard to swallow when a standard can of spray paint ran $4 and was 3-4 times the size. Now Tamiya paint is minimally up to around $7.25 and even at that, I can say "oh well, I need it". Today I'm seeing PS1 White going for over $10 on Amazon. That seems to be my limit. Sure I spent $250 on the kit that will need this color, but somehow I can rationalize the value there. $10 paint? Nope. I just can't do it. Silly, I know. Is there any other aspect of our hobby that has you hitting the brakes on opening the wallet?

Its a longshot, especially being in the US, but if anybody has a chassis to the WT01/WR01 (Wild Dagger, Twin Detonator etc.) lying around that they want to sell, hit me up. I'm trying to cheaply piece to together my ancient Twin Detonator without breaking the bank.

I did some magazine diving and got some answers. The Avante ran $289 without the Technigold motor and $309 with Technigold included. The Vanquish ran $220, roughly the price of a Clod Buster at the time. The Egress came in at $329 Finally the Avante 2001 sold for $224. I've seen the original Avante, Vanquish and Egress all discounted to $99 BITD. That's how I got my own Vanquish back then as a Christmas present (my only Christmas present my perturbed parents reminded me). By the time they were blowing Egresses out at $99, I was a broke college kid unfortunately.

Egress closing in! Check out the AYK/Race Prep Pro Radiant leaping in the background. More Astute action.