Thanks for your continued support. I am looking forward to seeing what interesting new RC releases we are going to get in 2025. Are you hoping for anything particular yourself?

I have a plan to do exactly that. I have already purchased a small brushless motor that will replace the existing motor. I also have a new ESC, a fully proportional RC transmitter with receiver, a new micro steering servo and a compact LiPo battery. I am planning to start an upgrade project in the near future. My aim is to transform the driving experience and hopefully get a bit more performance.

@@BlackSeaRC Cool

It certainly feels as if it needs a power boost. By my reasoning, a 1:14 scale car should achieve 1:14 of the real car's performance to be scale realistic. That means in the region of 15-18mph. In reality, it is one third of that. Mind you, the real car costs between 3 to 4million USD and this one cost 22 USD, so I can't really complain.

I have seen 400kph quoted for a de-restricted car, but that is "only" 250mph. One thing for sure is that this is a very extreme car with an F1 design heritage. It is a little ironic that the car was a collaboration between Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing and now the designer, Adrian Newey, is moving teams from Red Bull to Aston Martin. Oh, and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen drives a Valkyrie as his road car...

I have all the parts already and soon I will start my upgrade project. I am going fully proportional with a new RC handset, I have a brushless motor, ESC, micro servo and LiPo battery. I am planning to modify the Rastar Porsche 911 Dakar.

You are correct, it is not a tank as it doesn't have weapons or armour. Its official designation is "Caterpillar-tracked Transporter - Snow and swamp vehicle Modernized (GT-SM)". To read the interesting development history of the vehicle and to see modern variants, check out my first video on the WPL E-1. Link here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqCpZKt4a7xpfbs

I have looked at various different brands online and nothing especially jumps out at me as being ideal for this particular body in terms of adjustability. A lot of people swear by the Gorilla mounts but looking at the design, I'm sure this would need adapting to the GR86RB as well. They are also quite a bit more expensive than the MST stealth mounts. I therefore tend to agree with what you say. Although the MST parts are certainly not designed well for this body, they at least offer the capability to be modified without spending too much. One tip I would offer is to check the position of the mounts on the front end on the video. The little indents help as the mounts should be directly in a line (but further forward) with where the body posts would be. However, the position overlaps the inner light bucket mouldings and therefore they do not sit properly flat. If I was to do this again, I would trim the light bucket away in that location so the double-sided tape has a better flat surface to stick to. Oh, and set the body height with the battery fitted as this will compress the suspension!

အခိုက်အတန့်မှာတော့ ကားအားလုံး ကျွန်တော့်စုဆောင်းထားတဲ့နေရာမှာ ရှိနေပါလိမ့်မယ်။ ဒီမှာ ကျွန်မစုဆောင်းထားတဲ့ ကျန်အပိုင်းတွေကို ကြည့်ပါ- kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJiwi42emdWsgdE

موز لتون

@@نهادنهاد-د5ح Ладно, у вас обязательно будет хороший день.

हैलो, देखने के लिए धन्यवाद। See my other cars here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJiwi42emdWsgdE

Yes, all the fixings are provided (the bag of fixings is shown in the centre at around 17:33). It is important to lay out all the screws because they are so tiny and very easy to muddle up. You also get some double-sided tape to fit the light mouldings but it is fairly minimal so you might need extra, especially if you plan to fit the duck tail rear spoiler.

The figure is 1:12 scale with a height of 6 inches (15cm). It fits very nicely.

I have used a Verycool figure and a TBLeague figure with this SSV. The TBLeague figure works slightly better as the joints at the top of the legs articulate more. This allows the figure to sit down lower in the seat slightly better.

Charging time is around 3-4 hours if you have the version with rechargeable battery and USB charger.

@BlackSeaRC thanks

@@AlexHernandez-d1z Some of the new larger scale Rastar releases are now coming with either AA or rechargeable battery variants. There is quite a cost difference though.

Nice one! How are you liking it so far? I just added some more Rastar models to my RC collection so soon you will be able to see brand new models.

Oui, vous obtenez beaucoup de fonctionnalités intéressantes et de détails fins pour le prix.

Unfortunately, I don't see any Rastar parts available individually, just complete cars.

When is your MST RMX 2.5 arriving? When I bought mine, I only had standard length LiPo batteries but I thought it would be a better set-up for drifting to get a shorty pack. I ordered from AliExpress though so I was waiting 6 weeks for the battery to arrive. Finally got it recently so my drifting practice can start!

@@BlackSeaRC havent gotten it yet lol. hopefully next week. I got a shorty battery for it

When I made this video, I checked the stock in my favourite RC car shop and found that all three High-Lift models are still in stock. This means that they have been selling them for 16+ years now without any updates. I bought my kit in the UK and it seems that different regions often have varying specifications. An ESC is often included in UK but removed for the American market for example. The MFU is a nice bit of equipment but the cost is very high. Even just buying the Tamiya light controller was quite an expense for me. It is best when driven on trails or on the beach but I often think that sometimes, a truck with less capability can be just as fun because it is more of a challenge to drive. My AT4V by Cross-RC is a much more capable crawler but it goes everywhere so easily that often the terrain is too easy for it. Although my HG clone is the Hilux rather than the Tundra, you can see the chassis are virtually identical. Of course, it is not visually possible to tell if the plastics are made of exactly the same material but it feels like it is. Aside from the electronics in the RTR HengGuan truck, everything else feels the same. Based on this, I must conclude that Tamiya is happy to make a much higher profit margin and that it relies on nostalgia for the Tamiya brand to sell products. Yes, it was Tamiya who introduced me to this hobby all those decades ago, but my only recent Tamiya purchase has been the BBX. All my other purchases in the last 2 decades have been other brands that offer better specification and value for money.

@@BlackSeaRC You said something that kind-of surprised me. I was thinking most of the Tamiya kits here in the USA have ESCs but the ones in the UK do not. Maybe they do in both places? Tamiya kits rarely have bearings. Although my BBX did come with bearings but no ESC. Maybe that is what it is. You either get bearings or an ESC? I like my Ford truck but I have other trucks that work better. I also have have the Tamiya Bruiser and also the fake one too.

@@alfredyost7972 The BBX was the first Tamiya kit I have bought that didn't have an ESC or motor. But that is a deliberate thing from Tamiya because the BBX can be set-up with a brushed or brushless configuration. Tamiya was always very conservative and new kits typically still use 540 brushed motors and Ni-MH battery packs. Recently they went through a phase when they were supplying Hobbywing ESC's in the kit instead of Tamiya branded ESC's but I think this was more to do with supply issues. Sometimes, they include bearings in special kits. The Buggy Champ Rough Rider re-release came with metal bearings for example. The BBX is one of the first mainstream kits to include bearings but I think that is because of the performance level it was designed for. The High-Lift used brass bushes even at this price level. As for new purchases, the BBX is the only Tamiya kit I have bought for many years. I have recently been trying other brands but I remain hopeful that Tamiya will release some interesting new kits in the near future.

@@BlackSeaRC Tamiya makes kits that look good and are realistic. They also tend to be easy to build. I like Axial or Vanquish for crawling. Thoughts?

@@alfredyost7972 To me, Axial feels like a brand that has been a bit neglected in recent years. The SCX10 and SCX24 were market leaders when released but are not so talked about nowadays. Vanquish is a brand well respected in USA but not widely available in Europe. My preferred brand for crawlers at the moment is Cross-RC. They have a good range of products and high build quality. Scale realism is also excellent and prices are competitive. I have recently been considering buying a Traction Hobby brand RC vehicle. Since I have quite a few crawlers of different scales, I have also been looking for something a bit faster such as a desert truck. In the last year I almost bought a Losi Baja Rey 2.0 Method Racing and Arrma Mojave 4S but they have rarely been in stock. It seems that most stock goes straight to American customers and everyone else struggles with poor availability and high prices. Looking at current stock levels of Losi 1:10 scale products, almost everything is unavailable.

I have to agree with you. You can buy a decent 1:10 scale RC car for the same price and it will drive much better. I bought one because I have tried just about every type of RC vehicle and wanted something a bit different. There are people who only have small scale RC vehicles in their collection and I wanted the challenge of building one for myself. Would I get another? It would have to be really amazing to tempt me because there are so many other great products on the market and the levels of frustration during the build are hard to forget!

Unfortunately, I have never seen individual spares items available for Rastar RC cars. I guess the only possible chance you have is to approach Rastar directly and see if they can send you one.

@ i have a same car as u

@@datobachilava3111 Did you damage one of the front wheels? You don't have access to a 3D printer I suppose?

@@BlackSeaRC The front wheel clamp, which has a large screw that helps the car turn. That middle clamp broke. I can send u a picture in facebook or on email?

Unfortunately, I think you will find it very hard to get any new parts. Your only hope is to try to mend it somehow.

Do you know of any other hobby grade tracked vehicles that are not tanks or construction equipment?

Actually there are some interesting bodies on toy trucks that can be mounted on a suitable RC chassis. In Europe, the Bruder brand makes some nice injection moulded bodies that can be re-used on RC chassis. This includes vans, trucks, construction and agricultural equipment.

What an interesting combination! It would be fun to see if the Blizzard could tow a dolly with the HG-P804 or HG-P805 military trailers.

Now that is an unique vehicle!

I think Kyosho should pay more attention to their tracked chassis. If you want a hobby grade vehicle that is tracked but you don't want a tank, then there is very little choice. I'm sure if they developed it further and gave some more cab options, it would be much more popular. They gave us the Trail King utility vehicle but it has such potential for something more interesting.

It is lightweight so it floats over the snow quite well but on the downside, that means the suspension doesn't work very well on rough ground. It has great scale realism, I just wish there was something like this available with a larger scale and with full hobby grade components.

@@BlackSeaRC hi B... ' thank explain about R/C model

@@bestamerica No problem. I was looking recently at the tracked vehicles made by HengLong. I am tempted to buy one because they have a much higher level of performance than this WPL product.

The Tamiya Cheetah is a real classic now because, unlike the XR311, it has never been re-released. I wanted to buy an extra body set for my XR311 to try a custom paint scheme, but I just don't see the body available on its own like it used to be.

@@BlackSeaRC hi B... ' cheetah and XR311 are the same chassics / gear with 540 motor... both plastic bodys and tires are different designs

@@bestamerica Yes, the chassis uses most of the same parts and the wheelbase is adjusted by one hole position on the chassis bracket. As for the body, I think that Tamiya was unable to re-release the Cheetah because there was a legal dispute with Lamborghini soon after the real car was built. Lamborghini built the vehicle for a company called Mobility Technology International (MTI). The trouble is, MTI basically copied the design of the FMC XR311 leading to the legal problems.

It is, but in all the years I have owned it, the snow has kept away. When I was younger it used to snow every year but in the last 2 decades, the weather has noticeably changed to be much milder in winter.

@@BlackSeaRC😁👍🎶

Thanks for watching! As you can see, I have owned this truck for quite a few years now. When I bought it, it felt like a substantial piece of RC engineering but when comparing it with modern crawlers, it feels very dated now. Still a great hard body design though.

All the High-Lift kits on Amazon seem to be shipped from suppliers in Japan. This probably means you will add quite a bit of extra cost for shipping and maybe import duty. The High-Lift kits available online at Amain are eligible for free shipping but seem to be on backorder so may not be available for some time. Ordering from Japan at the moment is quite advantageous based on the USD to JPY currency exchange rates. I think this explains the perceived cost difference.

Also, the Japanese kits on Amazon don't come with an ESC, when I believe the ones sold in USA have an ESC included.

@@BlackSeaRC thanks good to know one of the seller foe another truck didn't offer returns so ya pass

@@rcjoe406 To be totally honest, there are much better trucks in this price range in 2025. The High-Lift is for die-hard Tamiya fans only. It wasn't even especially high-tech when it was released in 2008 so when you compare it with other brands 16 years later, you have to REALLY want one to justify the cost.

@BlackSeaRC definitely its for nostalgic fans only nowadays

The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc? It is a nice model but for some reason there is no driver in the cockpit. I guess that Rastar made a licensing deal with Ferrari but it did not include permission to use Charles Leclerc's name or helmet.

I'll try and get this information when the weather improves. All I know is that the top speed is quite high for such a truck. I think that a modern 2-speed set-up would be a much more sensible set-up and really, 3-speeds are never required. You just need a low ratio for off-road and a high ratio for on-road.

Several RC manufacturers have pick-ups and SUV style bodies with a chassis configured with independent front suspension and solid rear axle. I'm tempted to get one of these myself as they seem to perform very well and also have great scale realism.

The Tundra was the last High-Lift released and that was in 2008, so already 16 years ago. All the versions (Ford F-350, Toyota Hilux, Toyota Tundra) still seem to be available. Well at least in UK, all are still currently saying "in stock". This is quite unusual for Tamiya as most kits seem to commonly stay in stock only for a few years at most (except for the top sellers such as the Lunchbox and Grasshopper). You would think it might be quite easy to produce a new version or an upgraded kit but perhaps the demand is just not there. Another issue could be the body as Tamiya seems to prefer polycarbonate bodies nowadays and new hard bodies are much more costly to introduce. Realistically, would I buy a new High-Lift if it was released? At 700 GBP (almost 900 USD) for an existing model to get up and running, there are a lot of other trucks I would rather have with far superior performance. For example, I would take a Traction Hobby RAM Pick-up instead.

There is one problem with that...I would want it and I wouldn't be able to afford it!

@@BlackSeaRC You could probably afford it more than I can.

@@bradkalman2353 Maybe if I sold my full-size car, I would have the money to buy some 1:10 scale models...

@BlackSeaRC I rather keep my 1/1.

@@bradkalman2353 Me too, it is a one off and can't be replaced.

If they were to do it, I think it should be a close copy of the original with metal axles and chassis. Although the High-Lift uses a lot of metal parts, it does have plastic axle housings and plastic crossmembers. The Bruiser is still produced so there is a small chance they may give us the Hilux and Blazing Blazer.

I loved building the High-Lift kit and you could appreciate all the details that can trace their roots back to the original 1981 Hilux. As a fan of hard bodied trucks, the Tundra is a nice model but it is a shame that there is no space for a detailed interior. For me, a Tamiya is not a proper Tamiya without a driver figure! Wishing you all the best for 2025. I think we both have our eyes on that Honda City Turbo!

When I bought it in 2008, the High-Lift felt like the pinnacle of RC pick-up trucks. It felt like a solidly engineered truck with lots of metal components and a substantial weight to it. However, with the new generation of highly capable crawlers, the High-Lift feels dated. You can sense its roots go back to the early 1980's and the performance levels are similar. I love the nostalgia aspect of this product but the cost to get a truck like this on the road nowadays is very high and surely hard to justify unless you are a die-hard Tamiya fan.

@@BlackSeaRC Yea I agree tamiyas are cool but there are new RCs that can do more for less

@@carloshnunez I agree. Tamiya is trading heavily on vintage nostalgia. Almost all the Chinese brands offer far better value for money. Yes, you can usually rely on Tamiya's high quality but brands such as Cross-RC offer far superior performance.

To see a fully licensed Lamborghini model, check out this Aventador SVJ 63: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIWUh6qCo5iEd9k

Yes, no mention of the brand Lamborghini because this is an unlicensed product. No one can fail to recognise what this model is supposed to be though!

El McLaren es un coche bonito y me encantan todos los detalles que tiene. Acabo de comprar un nuevo coche Rastar, el Ferrari 499P LeMans Hypercar. Lo revisaré pronto.

Los últimos coches radiocontrolados Rastar a escala 1:14 suelen estar disponibles en variantes de pila AA o batería recargable (pero la versión USB es más cara).

When they are raised off the ground, they generally sound noisier than when they are running on their wheels. The funny thing is, most RC vehicles have a similar noise problem, whether they cost 50 GBP or 500 GBP.

For me, these models are more for display than driving because of the excellent scale realism. They are also fine for driving around indoors on a wet day. I have them in my collection because they are incredibly popular and people always like to watch the videos. For example, my G63 cost the equivalent of 20 GBP and has almost 100,000 views but my hobby grade machines can cost 500 GBP and struggle to get more than 1000 views. Of course, the expensive models are substantially more fun to drive but the cost effectiveness when I am funding my channel 100% by myself is very low. I do have an interesting plan for a Rastar model though. I shall be carrying out a hobby grade electronics conversion shortly to transform the driving experience.

Best wishes for 2025 my friend!

@@BlackSeaRC😁👍🎶

Rastar RC cars use handsets with push button throttle and steering controls. Unfortunately, this means non-proportional control. You press and get full power so it is a very "stop/start" style of driving. The car can be difficult to control is small spaces or when driven by inexperienced operators. When searching, the key is to select something with "fully-proportional throttle and steering controls". This often means a "pistol grip" style RC handset with a throttle trigger and a wheel. The specific brands available will depend upon your location. Are you looking for a similar type of vehicle or would you consider other choices? If you would consider other styles of vehicles then WPL is a possible brand. Typically, "crawler" style vehicles are good for young drivers as they are easier to control, don't go too fast, turn nicely and can even be used outside on uneven ground. The WPL C74 is a nice example of this. Also, look at the MN Model MN82.

@ thank you so much for your detailed answer! Really helpful! Yes I was looking and hoping to get the same kind of vehicle! But if not possible I will consider the other options you mentioned! Thanks again.

@@nathlinda6105 Also take a look at MIEBELY. They have supercars and some of them have fully proportional controls.

I suppose if driven continuously in a large open space it will be around 20-30 minutes. Swapping from cheap brand AA batteries to something with a higher capacity can extend the run time. Note though that the performance will start to drop off almost from the first few minutes with AA batteries and by the end, the speed will be quite a bit less.

Nikko do make some interesting RC cars but it seems they are much more popular in USA than they are in Europe. This makes them hard to find here. I do like the idea to get some vintage RC cars though.

@BlackSeaRC including there hobby grade ones. From the 90s.

I have recently purchased a low cost 2.4GHz pistol grip and wheel RC transmitter and receiver, ESC, brushless motor, micro steering servo and LiPo battery. I will be attempting to convert a Rastar vehicle to provide fully-proportional controls and improved performance. The components are hobby grade but only at the lower end of the cost scale to make the conversion realistic. I would say semi hobby grade as it is very difficult to modify the base chassis and suspension. My aim is to achieve the scale top speed of the donor vehicle so if the real vehicle has a top speed of 200-250mph, then the 1:14 scale version should achieve 14-18mph. That is approximately 3 times better than the stock model.

The only 4WD Rastar model I have is the Hummer EV. I think the technology in toy grade RC cars is going to change in the next few years as we have already started to see fully-proportional control at this price point. There is often huge negativity about toy RC cars in the RC community. Many just say they are junk and to buy an Arrma Typhon Grom instead. But that is simply not realistic for many people. The Typhon Grom costs 130 GBP. I just bought the newest Rastar model at 1:14 scale for around 30 GBP, so less than 1/4 of the price.