While we are about to crest 100K official deaths due to Corona Virus in the US (the reality is certainly a LOT higher than that) there are a few positives.
Many sellers are offering incentives to keep business flowing. If some of these are items that you are considering, this might be a good time to jump, if you can afford them that is…
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I started this on a whim in 2009 more as a way to just post some top of mind items, and whatever tickled my fancy.
11 years later and more than 1,000 posts, and I have yet to go viral even once. No matter, this is for me. If anyone else gets any value from it, then so be it.
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I should know this from my past experience with hobbies. Yes, they are expensive. You have acquisition costs, and operating costs, but then there is the cluster of trivial shit that you have to acquire.
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The lockdown has led to some boredom, and that, coupled with a new hobby of RC cars, inspired me to buy and build a kit. After a lot of research, I selected the Vanquish Products VS4-10 Ultra. It is a solid platform, with impeccable quality components, and the uplift for the Ultra over the Pro version of the kit is mainly the Curie Portal axles.
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With a year, and about 1200 miles of riding under its belt, it is time to do a follow on update from my original review.
WHile the number of miles is pretty modest (dealing with my step father’s trust and estate consumed way too much of my time last year), I did get a solid feel for the bike.
Continue reading →In the last week, the Vanquish Product’s VS4-10 crawler kit arrived, as well as part of the electronics. After a quick purchase of some grease, and a fresh (as in unbent) needle nose pliers it was time to begin the process.
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Like potato chips, RC cars are addictive and you can’t have only one. Part of the reason is that there is such variety, such a range of capabilities, that you really can’t do it all with one car.
And that’s all right. Currently I have a 1/8th scale Buggy, and a 1/5th scale Monster Truck (The X-Maxx). And I have a thirst for more.
Next up:
I am getting the bug to build a kit. Also, the desire to have a good crawler, something like a well set up Jeep Wrangler. I could go with an Axial SC10 kit, but I know that I would end up upgrading a lot of parts.
Instead, I pulled the trigger on a Vanquish Products VS4-10 Ultra (with the portal axles) and most of the electronics to go with it. It should arrive next week, and will provide a couple of weekends of building enjoyment.
Alas, the motor/ESC electronics are all on back order, so until they are shipped, it will be difficult to complete, but that reduces the “rush” and “cut corners” temptations.
Beyond that:
A smaller monster truck. I debated between the e revo or the new Maxx, a little brother to the X-Maxx. I am leaning towards the e Revo 2.0. It is a stunt-y vehicle, shorter in height than the X-Maxx, more agile, yet with ample punch to have fun, jump, and bash.
I am also looking at a high end driver kit. Something like the Team Losi Racing SCTE short course truck. It is a race class kit, with a lot of good parts. Like the Vanquish above, it will come without the electronics, or tires, but I think I will get a great deal of joy building a top quality kit.
Then I have a hankering to grab one of the modest cost Tamiya kits. The Porsche 911 looks tempting. Or, perhaps I will get one of their “fun” kits and build it up with the neighbor kid. He seems to like watching me drive, and one of the funky, but fun Tamiya’s would be a good way to spoil him.
Last, but not least, I am going to have to get a nitro vehicle. I will probably rarely run it, but the sounds, the smells, the experience is something I want to partake in.
This hobby sucks you in. That is a good thing, especially during the shelter in place orders.
We are about to see a pretty major social experiment in the USA. The red state governors are chomping at the bit to lift restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19, and to get their economies flowing again. At this moment, South Dakota (never fully embraced restrictions), Florida, and Texas are about to play the canaries, betting that they will not see explosive growth of infections, and deaths in their states.
Continue reading →As a denizen of Twitter, I am seeing a few disturbing trends. Since the Orange turd had begun dissembling and looking for others to blame for his fuckups around the Novel Corona Virus pandemic, I am now seeing a new trend.
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A mid year bonus, and approval from the boss (my wife) to allow me to spend a few hundred bucks on something frivolous, I bought a Mavic Mini drone from DJI.
Earlier, the boss bought a $70 Chinese special that worked, but really sucked to use. Some research identified the DJI brand to have the most boob friendly, yet quite capable product.
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