FTX Outback Gladius Unboxing - The best value RTR trail rig?

[@knowlesmodels]

Great video Mike. Thanks so much for the mention/shot of me and the shop. Much appreciated 👍

[@rcpie]

You're very welcome. Thanks for getting it for me. You're ahead of the game!

[@rcplaytime]

I like ftx,ive got trx4 and axial which i love,but nothing wrong with the cheaper versions, if its fun then thats all that matters i think,great unboxing dude 👍👍😃😃

[@rcpie]

I like originality but I also think that innovation is more than basic design and if it's just that that's copied, then I'm not too fussed. The world of IP is a funny one. Thanks!

[@DonnyrcCrawlers]

Got mine love it started modding already

[@rcpie]

Cool. What are your plans?

[@The_RC_Family]

Wow mate, congratulations on having the only video of this on the interwebs. Sadly I have no funds to get one yet so will wait for your field review. Subbed!

[@rcpie]

Cheers, man. I was pretty rapid getting hold of it and getting the video done. Shame the rain has stopped play for a first drive!

[@The_RC_Family]

@rcpie The weather has been pretty poor tbh. Hopefully, I will have the funds to show one off in my studio before all the influencers get them!

[@Casitascrawlers]

It definitely has some TRX traits here in the US there is very limited access to the brand. It was the perfect day to get a new RC & tinker with it I love to work on my RC’s when it’s raining but here in Cali up until lately we don’t get that many rainy days.

[@rcpie]

This year I've been pretty envious of nice dry places like Cali. This year, living on an island has been as wet as living on an island! 🤔

[@philipbrownrc]

Nice review, I’m a Tamiya fan, I have the cc01 Defender, Cc02 G500 which is my favourite, and the, forget what chassis, but the Jimmy. I’ve had other Tamiyas but sold then. I’m now looking at the Ftx range and liked the look of them. The Gladius looks m good but I’ll be wanting more of a scaler, keep the videos coming I enjoy watching .

[@rcpie]

You're probably better going with the Tracker then, Philip.

[@Mr.NiceGuy80]

I have a couple traxxas trx4 rigs. This is an exact copy of a traxxas. The upper shock mounts, the shifting and diff lock lay out. The motor location, portals, steering, diff covers, they all look like a trx4 to me.

[@rcpie]

It's certainly heavily "inspired" by Traxxas!

[@thegreattreon0177]

Come on y'all why all the hate? There's been plenty of clones since rc models came out and nobody had a problem with then until y'all seen this one. Not everyone has or want to drop $500 to $600 on a rc so if someone has a clone that's half the price and it's still has good performance then I'm all for it and thank you FTX for thinking about the regular folk who don't want to go on a crime spree to buy these new rc's!

[@rcpie]

I have to agree. I don't see any IP being stolen and I don't see any direct moulding copies. The only bit that I really don't like to see is the Hyrax copy tyres as I don't see the need.

[@rcpie]

You know the funniest thing, though? Nobody moans about all the unlicensed body shells. 🤷🏼

[@thegreattreon0177]

@rcpie you remember the Bruiser clone that came out a while back? People were jumping to the moon that they could finally afford a Bruiser that was almost the exact truck but now they can't stand a Traxxas clone? Hot Bodies were clones of HPI, Duratrax were clones of Losi, Thunder Tiger were Clones of Associated, HG were clones of Tamiya and everyone was singing their praises especially for Duratrax!

[@rcpie]

@@thegreattreon0177 Yeah, it's hilarious, isn't it? Are Traxxas building an army?

[@thegreattreon0177]

@@rcpie an army of fanboys who think you're a terrible person if you don't spend your house payment on a Traxxas

[@pandacrawler6x6]

That RC is one of i'm very curious about! Great price nice setup/specs

[@rcpie]

Yeah. Pretty good. I just need a break in the awful weather to give it a drive.

[@pandacrawler6x6]

You and me my Friend 🌧⛈️🌧

[@Luke-en2tk]

I'm not sure why it didn't come with the deans plug wired on to the ESC considering the battery has a deans on 🤷

[@rcpie]

It's a very good question. I guess the 1040 is the new super-cheap ESC that will be making an appearance in lots of RTR rigs and as such, out comes with a super-cheap connector. Perhaps it'd cost more to ask for it to be fitted with a different plug than for them to just buy the adaptor. Who knows?

[@Luke-en2tk]

@@rcpie I have asked and there is a slight increase. I think it would have been better to not come with a battery and charger but have the deans on, most people will use lipo anyway. I don't really see something at this price as a beginners car. I would have liked to see a dig function as well

[@rcpie]

@@Luke-en2tk I suspect there are still a lot of people that will use the Ni-MH that come with their first cars and I suspect that a lot of RTR cars at any price go to RC newbies. For those of us that have loads of cars and batteries it seems daft but wouldn't stop us buying something, whereas a new entrant might reject an RTR if they then had to buy batteries and charger with the additional research and cost.

[@Darren.n.RCvids]

I'd not heard of this one till i saw this, I've a few FTX crawlers, It's got a decent chassis by the looks of it, But like you say the body could do with more effort, clear windows,roll cage be good on the back. sub from me.

[@rcpie]

To be fair, I think they're just keeping the price down with the body.

[@rctraildriversuk-lone-wolfvide]

Not bad looking and mega value, i am tempted but got to many crawler/trail rigs including a Fury 2.0 that is very similar with out the extra bits, but not ruling one out

[@rcpie]

I know what you mean. I'm about to sell a couple as it's getting silly.

[@craigrjrich]

Do the dip switches actually do anything? I tried the drag brake ones and nothing seemed to happen.

[@rcpie]

You know, I've not actually tried them. I really should. I'll try to remember to report on it. Thanks for the nudge! 👍🏻

[@craigrjrich]

@@rcpie Thank you :)

[@speckledjim_]

Is it better than the Tracker, or Trooper even?

[@rcpie]

A very different beast. It will outperform the other two but I'd still recommend a Tracker out of the three. A better trail truck experience and much better quality. The Tracker is one of those rare trucks that never fails to please.

[@jammer2150]

no chassis mounted rear bumper, very odd👍💯👍💯👍

[@rcpie]

Keeps the weight down and the approach angle up, I guess.

[@guyrainbow9389]

Hey great vid. I currently own a outback tracker and keep looking at the gladius. Is it going to do or give me anything that my tracker doesn't?..thanks in advance

[@rcpie]

Thanks. I think they're a great pair of trucks to compliment each other. The Tracker is such a nice scale trailer to drive.. I never get tired of watching the way it moves and can always imagine myself inside. The Gladius is a bit different in that it's performance focused. An ugly beast but you just want to push it a bit more. Both great. Both recommended.

[@thindigital]

How much is the Axial Basecamp or element Enduro SE or Gatekeeper in the UK? Over here in the US they are $299 ($269 for the Gatekeeper) ....

[@rcpie]

A Basecamp is £400 and doesn't have the lockers or the 2-speed. An SE is about £300 and doesn't have portals, lockers or 2-speed. (It'll out-crawl this, I suspect, but it's a different rig)

[@thindigital]

@@rcpie wow this will be an attractive option then, 400gbp is crazy for a Basecamp

[@rcpie]

Yeah, exactly. UK prices are crazy for the American brands.

[@paulnorton7444]

Been waiting waiting to see a running video of this but no one has done one.. Does it have issues.....?

[@rcpie]

I've given it it's first run today. Video coming soon.. lots to edit

[@paulnorton7444]

@@rcpie thanks for replying 👍

[@rcpie]

No worries. (It's good, btw)

[@RonBernardino]

Parts compatability?

[@rcpie]

Let's see. What I do know is that FTX only release stuff once they're ready to support with spares.

[@ka4172]

Looks like the next TRX4 Chassis "clone" like the Austar Chassis. I think this jeep is more competitive than the Sherpa and the Crosstrail. Till wait for a 6x6 ha ha!

[@rcpie]

This looks like the best quality TRX4 clone yet. First drive tomorrow!

[@yrchobby]

Wow❤❤❤

[@rcpie]

🤘🏻

[@keldonator]

This seems like an even better clone than the HB-R1001

[@rcpie]

It'd be interesting to run them against each other.

[@brianrapley567]

I have the Mega RC rock viper and they have the gladius FTX HAVE THEM THEY ARE THE SAME CARS AND I CANT FAULT IT I PUT DESERT LIZARD 90mm shocks and it’s a trx4 killer a have both and fir the price I’ll take one of these all day but not in the jeep body I have the pinched body

[@rcpie]

They're spectacular for the money. The plastic is a bit poor but you can't complain. Lots of people complain about the shocks but I think they're perfectly good.

[@jessicajay2484]

How a copy of the rick viper

[@rcpie]

Is it Never Gonna Give You Up? 🤣 It's not a copy, though. It's made by the same factory but rebranded. The one thing they are both more of a 'copy' of is the TRX4.

[@angry870]

hummm....wonder if the part numbers start with "TRA or TRX".........

[@rcpie]

🤣🤣

[@machinedred]

Are they counter rotating props ?

[@rcpie]

No. They turn the same way.

[@Luke-en2tk]

Great crawler for the money I'm just not sure on that body 🤔

[@rcpie]

I'm with you on that one! Not my fave but I'd like a clear one to do my own paint job.

[@Luke-en2tk]

@@rcpie yeah the shape looks alright but not a fan of that paint job and stickered windows

[@rcpie]

@@Luke-en2tk Same old story!

[@1622_SCALE_DIVISION]

I still didn't see Russell Crowe in that box 😎🤣

[@rcpie]

He's hiding on the missing pages of the manual!

[@ruyteves5235]

This FTX outback. I know why your Transmission, it's just spinning in the middle switch of the remote.. That 3 position switch on remote is meant for Difflock, and the other switch is for the transmission. It's almost bang on to the Trx4. Sorry to say.😔

[@rcpie]

That's an interesting idea. It makes some sense but it still leaves the gearbox with an intermediate position. What would the 3 diff options be in this setup?

[@davidhiscock1969]

@@rcpie on the traxxas tqi controller there is a toggle switch on the top . Position nearest you is both diffs unlocked, middle position is front diff locked and furthest position forward is rear diff locked ( so both front and rear locked ) . Maybe the plugs are in the wrong slots in the receiver. Possibly be able to swap connections around so the 3 position switch operates like the tqi one

[@rcpie]

I've just tried swapping the channels and it didn't achieve anything. I guess they just used the standard 4 channel radio gear and this was the best fit.

[@davidhiscock1969]

@@rcpie was worth a shot. Obviously the traxxas tqi has a bit more programming in it to allow it to work that way . Would be interesting using a higher end transmitter to see if it does lock / unlock separately

[@rcpie]

I'll probably end up putting this on my Flysky GT5 with everything else, then I can separate the diff channels. For now it needs to stay stock, though.

[@TheLilhulk1111]

Great service twice the money. The hobby shop closest to has shit service and charge two to three times as much I will pass

[@rcpie]

That's a shame that your local shop is so expensive. I think most people don't mind paying a small premium but any more and the ship will kill its own business.

[@stephenr6427]

This looks like the fms blazer and thats a knock off of a traxxas i think ill stick to my trx4 sport i cant do copys

[@rcpie]

Interesting. Where have you seen the new FMS chassis?

[@stephenr6427]

@@rcpie on a video harley designs did not a review he was at a trade rc event

[@rcpie]

Cheers. I'll have to have a look.

[@stephenr6427]

@@rcpie it was episode 281 on harley designs channel

[@rcpie]

@@stephenr6427 Thanks, Stephen.

[@lowblueranger]

Seeing the tamiya plug is a dead giveaway that’s it’s very cheaply made…..lol

[@rcpie]

I think that's just a sign of a cheap, standard ESC, to be honest. The quality of the truck itself seems pretty good.

[@mickd8188]

I suggest the reason its cheap is that they have done no research and development..its a blatant rip off of the Traxxas Trx4.. yeah i get it Traxxas blah blah who cares but c'mon FTX think for yourselves..

[@rcpie]

Which particular part do you think they've completely ripped off Traxxas? Yes, it looks fairly similar, layout-wise but it's not the first and won't be the last. Most rigs share features with others. That's car development in 1:10 or 1:1. If features were truly original, they would have patents, wouldn't they? To suggest that FTX don't do any R&D is a little off. They're a very reputable company and I know they spend a lot of time testing stuff, even if they've re-branded another car, as they've done a lot with RGT. It means some releases are months behind the alternative but they want to do things properly as well as making sure parts support is there. (I'm certainly not anti-Traxxas, BTW.)

[@stephenr6427]

It looks like the new fms blazer chassis which is a copy of the trx4 fms even got licencing for the blazer body i agree with you they should do their own design

[@pwrofgrayskull]

Come on now, please sit down with a TRX-4 and this rig for a few minutes side-by-side. You can’t honestly tell me again you somehow believe this is not a clone. Let’s just be real, please. We all know that’s how the price is lower.

[@standforjesus7427]

It's traxxas definitely a clone

[@gibbyzr285]

The only thing different is the esc is in a different place.

[@TheLilhulk1111]

It is a copy of the trx 4 but crappy material

[@rcpie]

Have you tried the material? I've heard it before about other trucks and they've proven that to be untrue. Time will tell.

[@spenn2007]

STFU, traxxas is junk, keep overpaying for a name while this gent paid less for a bigger 1/10 scale that appears to be more durable.

[@danialirfan8847]

clone trx4

[@rcpie]

Let's say it's heavily inspired. 🤣

[@ThePeter710]

another trx4 copy , pitty

[@rcpie]

Traxxas and Axial will always get this, though.

[@toddbertram6556]

Dig? It's not a crawler without dig

[@rcpie]

Hmmm.. That must mean that 90% of crawlers aren't crawlers.

[@Mike-ti6hg]

TRX4

[@rcpie]

It's certainly a distant cousin, if not separated at birth! 🤔🤣