The RC Deep Dive

In the 1980s, the vintage Lancia 037 rally car on the ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) Chassis was simply called the "Lancia Rally"  by the R/C hobbyist community. Those that were active in the radio control enthusiast communities at that time still call it that today, even though Lancia has made many different rally cars over the last 50 years. In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast, we answer the que...

Many of the pioneers of the golden age of R/C are getting old and some are developing disabilities. Many new devices have been created in recent years too help radio control enthusiasts with disabilities to still be able to build, race, bash, crawl, and drift their beloved radio controlled model vehicles. In today's episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we go into all the details about how those tha...

You may already know that on your Tamiya Frog R/C buggy you could put the Subaru BRAT or the Lancia 037 Rally car body on it with included parts that come with your Frog. But Tamiya has other bodies that you can put on your orv chassis as well! Not only that, but a number of third party aftermarket hop-up makers have made similar and wildly different Lexan polycarbonate bodies for the Frog. In thi...

Everybody knows the 1982 Willy's Wheeler and the 1984 Mitsubishi Pajero R/C short utility vehicle wheelie machines And how tamia had the Mitsubishi Pajero and Montero take a more serious scale look after that. But in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast, we look at all of the short utility vehicles that Tamiya has made since those original two classics in the 1980s during the golden age of rad...

In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast, we go over the very serious health dangers of not using a respirator when painting dyeing, glueing and sanding your radio-controlled model vehicles on your RC Hobby workbench. We also go over how to find the best respirator that is good for all of these needs to keep you healthy, safe and strong.

Aluminium Rear trailing arms for the ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis like those made by RcAiDong have suddenly gotten harder to find domestically and seem to only be available as shipped direct from China. But in an age of a global trade war and high tariffs what does that mean for you? The RC enthusiast who's trying to hop-up their Frog, Blackfoot, Subaru BRAT, or their vintage 1983 Lancia 037 ral...

Yesterday was our 365th daily episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast and so as we begin our second year of daily R/C hobby podcasting, we are going to reveal the up-to-now anonymous real persons behind the podcast:  Nikko and his daughter, Ai, both from Japan.  Ini, originally from Nigeria, and his wife, Gemma, both of the Netherlands.  Nik from the USA (United States of America).  R.C. from India. W...

In the 1980s it was a golden era for both radio controlled cars, trucks, buggies, Jeeps, and vans, but also for skateboarding. Professional skateboarders like Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi, Gator, and Rodney Mullen became household names. But what were the golden era R/C cats that hatched their personalities and style? We ride the lines that connect them in this 365th episode of the RC Deep Dive podc...

Besides CRP (Custom Racing Products) and Parma PSE (Parma Speed Experts), Pro-Line was also another giant of R/C hop-ups, especially for the Frog and other ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis radio control model vehicles. In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast, we go back and look to see which of their many hop-up parts for the Frog and ORV chassis radio-controlled model vehicles were the most pop...

Many radio-controlled model vehicle enthusiasts have only run their R/C cars in their backyard, at parks, at skateparks, and/or on hiking trails, but never at an indoor RC car club. What are these radio-controlled car clubs and what brought them to fruition? What resources do they provide to the radio control car hobbyist community? We pull out our membership cards and give you all the reasons why...

The vintage Audi Quattro Rally and Lancia 037 Rally are classic Tamiya 2WD (Two Wheel Drive) R/C cars from the 1980s, bit what is available to hop them up and restomod (restoration modification) them? In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we look at all the parts available to upgrade these absolute rally car legends of the golden age of radio control. 

R/C cars have started crawling, bashing, and drifting in a new terrain, the remains of abandoned malls in the wake of the retail apocalypse. We open the doors to the dangers, the adventures, and the fun that is being had in theses empty relics that sometimes look like an exciting wasteland of a future apocalypse rather than the shopping centers that they used to be in this episode of the RC Deep D...

Parma PSE (Parma Speed Experts) made many hop-ups for the Tamiya Frog and the other R/C model vehicles built on the ORV (Off-Road Vehicle) chassis. We go over the most popular Parma hop-up options and explain why these vintage hookups were both unique solutions to weaknesses in the ORV chassis as well as some of the most sought after upgrades that strengthened these epic radio-controlled model veh...

Many people think that R/C building, racing, bashing, crawling, and drifting is a sedentary activity like playing video games. However the actual science shows that many of these activities give the radio control enthusiast a really good workout both physically and mentally. We break down the radio controlled model vehicle activities that are helping you be a healthier person in this episode of th...

Most people use a standard pen style hobby knife such as a #11 Exacto knife. However, when it comes to cutting decals and placing them on your R/C model vehicle's body shell, this is not the ideal choice nor tool. Instead, a finger loop hobby knife is the best for helping you achieve exact cuts every time. We cut through the nonsense and put our finger directly on both the hows and whys of finger...

Tamiya has released and rereleased the Mitsubishi Pajero a.k.a. Montero a.k.a. Shogun 1:10th scale R/C car/truck/jeep so many times that it's hard to keep track. However in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we go through the changes of this vintage, classic, rere, and modern radio controlled model vehicle that has changed chassis so many times that it had almost become chassis agnostic whil...

To make the Tamiya Sand Scorcher R/C baja buggy live up to it's iconic name you will want to put paddle tires on ask four wheels to make a square setup. But how do you do that? It's actually a bit more complicated than you think. We scorch the earth to find the best way to put the best paddle tires on your vintage or rere (re-release) Sand Scorcher so you can truly dominate the sand and surf the n...

Depending on your radio controlled model vehicles, you might need different kinds of hardware, including screws, washers, nuts, etc. for building, repairing, upgrading, and rebuilding your R/C car, truck, or buggy. How do you know what hardware to have on hand and where can you get it to make sure that you get the highest quality hardware? We get into the nuts and bolts and give you the plan for y...

Have you ever wondered if moving the knife or moving the decal sheet was the better way to cut out R/C decals? What truly is the proper way to cut out decals for your radio controlled model vehicle? Which way is more ergonomically safe for your body? Which way helps you cut out intricate curves more easily? Although it may not seem intuitive, we cut deep to the truth and make it clear in this epis...

In this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we cover the hows and whys of the 4 different ways and firmware update options to upgrade your Flysky FS-i6x radio controlled transmitter in your R/C car, truck, buggy, bus, jeep, airplane, helicopter, jet, submarine or boat including step by step instructions as well as the best upgrade options, including both the advantages and the disadvantages of eac...

The Super HotShot 4WD (Four-Wheel Drive) R/C buggy already comes with a powerful Tamiya 540 GT Tuned Motor, but it can handle more power after a couple tweaks and upgrades to the stock parts. Once those hop-ups are in place we let you know exactly how powerful of a mirror you can put inside your rere (rerelease) of the 1986 SuperShot in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast. 

Most people are usually focused on speed, but those who know the importance of torque to get over obstacles, to be first of the starting line, and to sure around corners, look at torque as well. We look at Tamiya's currently available 540 motor stock and give you the actual measurements in this episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast.  [NOTE: We do not include Tamiya's Torque Tuned Motor as it actuall...

While you should always buy from your LHS (Local R/C Hobby Shop) if possible, when you do need to order online you should avoid mass retailers like AliExpress, Amazon, Temu, etc. and buy from trusted officially retailers like AMain, EuroRC, Hearns Hobbies. RCMart, TTP Models, etc. Why? We dig into the many less-obvious reasons why you could be setting yourself and your radio-controlled model vehic...

While the Flysky FS-GT3B is a often the recommended budget pistol grip and wheel radio control transmitter, what are the best budget stick control radio transmitters? We breakdown the details and specifications of those claiming to be the best option and in the end crowd one option to be the kind of budget stick transmitters for your land based radio controlled model vehicles in this episode of th...

In today's episode of the RC Deep Dive podcast we present an audio guide ranked from necessary to nice-to-have hop-ups that will turn your Mighty Frog inspired Neo Fighter Buggy or Neo Frog DT-03 (DT stands for Dirt Two-Wheel-Drive) R/C buggy into a modern racer, in an easy ranked format for your convenience. Which hop-ups will you use to upgrade your DT-03 radio-controlled car?