Red RC - RC Car News

Calling it a Career – Dale Epp

Posted: 18 May 2021 08:01 AM PDT

After 30 years at the head of Protoform, Dale Epp is ‘calling it a career’. The Canadian’s impact on the RC industry, since starting designing body shells at the beginning of the 1990’s, cant be understated. If you have ever raced in any onroad class in the past three decades, you have at some stage driven a body shell penned by Dale and in more recent years even if it’s not made by Protoform you will have driven something heavily ‘inspired’ by his work. With 25 World titles and countless other International and National victories, his designs not only looked great but performed exceptionally and in many cases were ahead of their time. The Protoform brand under Pro-Line will of course carry on, aided in no small part by son Eric, ensuring that each product still carries some of that Epp magic. Dale reached out to us recently to ask to publish a few words to say farewell and thank you to everyone he encountered during his time at Protoform and of course we said yes.

“I had been a lifelong fan of motorsports, but growing up here in Canada made it extra difficult to be involved in any way. However, thirty years ago, in the spring of 1991 I became aware of this “new thing” called RC cars. I thought it might be a place where I could be involved to some degree. It was just too cool to ignore. In a random “cold call” phone conversation with the art director at RC Model Car magazine, Mike Ogle advised me that a “better” drag race funny car body was badly needed. He promised me a color centerfold in his magazine if I could produce a good F/C on time for the IEDA Worlds event in Colton California. In approximately 3 weeks time I’d created a very crude Dodge Stealth F/C (left). I red-labeled it to him, and within days he’d TQ’d, Won and set both speed and ET records with this all new body. Protoform suddenly had a world championship caliber body and I wasn’t even in business yet.

So a few months later the new Protoform Race Body company made its debuted at the huge RCHTA hobby show in Chicago. I had ten different designs at the show. After the first few years of very long days, and many gallons of Starbuck’s coffee, Proline took the reigns of Protoform so I could concentrate on advancing the art form of rc body design. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of finding that very fine line between an attractive form while having a functional aerodynamic shape that produced quick lap times.

When my son Eric went to work in-house as PF Brand Manager, I experienced an unexpected new level joy and satisfaction, working with him almost daily for the last 6 years. The 29 years I had in the rc body business flashed by so quickly it’s almost surreal. Last fall Protoform came under new ownership, and it seemed like the perfect time to retire. The last mold I did in 2020 was ironically a drag race body (below), like mold #1. So strange….like everything else in 2020.

During those 3 decades I was constantly in awe at the raw talent I saw everywhere in the rc on-road racing world. The advanced chassis designs, the tuning ability of the racers and their mechanics and of course the artistic skills of the body painters. The driving ability I saw at local and international race events left me speechless many times. I’d like to express a HUGE – THANK YOU to all those team drivers as well as hobbyist customers who supported the brand and allowed me to do be involved for so long. There’s simply too many pro-level racers for me to name, but you surely know, just who I’m referring to. You guys were amazing!

A big “thanks” to RedRC for their excellent race coverage, and allowing me to feel a little bit connected to many race events, while at my computer in Ontario Canada. The many friendships I’ve made along the way are more valuable to me than gold. It was a genuine honor for me to be a part of it all.”

Sincerely – Dale Epp

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Exotek turbine cooling drag slipper disks & top shaft

Posted: 18 May 2021 05:06 AM PDT

New from Exotek come these turbine cooling drag slipper disks for the DR10 & TLR 22 (1.0-5.0) top shafts for quicker slipper cool downs before the next pass. Provides added slipper cooling via the extra heat sink fins that also spins as fan blades as the motor turns for increased air flow over the slipper plate therefore helping reduce heat glazing of the slipper pads which results in melted pads. Works with the stock DR10/TLR 22 slipper pads, spurs and top shafts. Hard anodised alloy they only weigh 9 grams for both plates. Also new is the heavy duty steel top shaft replacement for the DR10. A heavy duty constructions it still only weighs 12 grams each.

Source: Exotek [exotekracing.com]

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SWorkz S12-2 aluminium rear shock tower support

Posted: 18 May 2021 04:57 AM PDT

From SWorkz this new S12-2 series aluminium rear shock tower support option part will strengthen the area between the shock tower and gearbox. With this option, there will be less movement from the shock tower to the gearbox improving the car’s performance and durability.

Source: MW RC Cars [mwrccars.at]

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T-Works MTC2 foam bumpers

Posted: 18 May 2021 04:50 AM PDT

T-Works have released two foam bumpers for the popular Mugen MTC2. Available in regular version which comes in at 6.8grams, they also offer and extra hard version which is also heavier at 12.8grams making for an easy way to add a little extra weight to the front of the car without compromising strength.

Source: T-Works [rc-tworks.com]

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Rêve D DP5 & UL12 competition wheel series

Posted: 18 May 2021 04:42 AM PDT

From Rêve D comes their latest innovation, the release of their new competition wheel series. There are 2 types, 5-spoke DP5 and 12-spoke UL12], both look stylish and work great. By optimising the material and design, they have achieved super light weight at around 11g per piece while maintaining strength. Sufficient traction is secured by paying attention to the hexagonal hub mounting points and rim dimensions. Both offsets are 6mm, and there are two colour variations, white & black, for the first release with other colour variations to be released soon.

Source: Rêve D [teamreved.com]

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Element RC Enduro Ecto trail truck RTR

Posted: 18 May 2021 12:36 AM PDT

Aimed towards the serious RC rock crawler enthusiast, the new Enduro Ecto Trail Truck RTR from Element RC is packed full of performance features that are sure to impress. Featuring the Gatekeeper Suspension package (GKSTM), the GKSTM package consists of rear trailing arms that move the shocks forward, allowing a larger window for shock tuning and providing improved weight bias. The trailing arms are paired with a rear anti-roll bar for a more stable and consistent suspension when crawling on the rocks. An adjustable aluminium track bar mount firmly bolted to the chassis rail gives the Enduro Ecto more reliable and responsive steering without the flex. The shock mount inserts with multiple mounting positions allow for precise suspension tuning, whether they’re moving the shocks up, down, forward, or back.

The Enduro Ecto Trail Truck is built on our proven stamped steel C-channel Enduro chassis and retains the same awesome features as before. The behind-the-axle (BTA) steering link greatly improves approach angle and front-end clearance, making rough terrain much easier to handle. The Stealth(R) X features the ability to adjust the rear drive ratio independently of the front drive across three levels: stock overdrives the front end 5.7% (installed in RTR), option 1 provides a one-to-one drive ratio front-to-rear (available separately), and option 2 overdrives the front end 11.83% (included with RTR). Feeding the power to the tires are 3-piece telescopic driveshafts with an extruded aluminium centre section, universal front drive axles, and hardened steel ring and pinion gears. With the Enduro drivetrain, delivering useful and reliable power will not be an issue.

The Enduro Ecto Trail Truck RTR isn’t just all about performance, it’s got looks, too. With inspired styling from competition off-road vehicles, the Enduro Ecto looks awesome tackling the terrain. The new Ecto Trail Truck body comes equipped with injection-moulded mirrors, hinges, door handles, fuel cell, and roll bar with number plates. Also included is a detailed decal sheet with lots of extras to make the Ecto Trail Truck your own. Gripping the trail is a set of officially licensed General GrabberTM X3 tires moulded in a high-performance, soft compound rubber. The General GrabberTM X3 tires are mounted on Ocho beadlock wheels. No more worrying if your RTR tires will come unglued.

Source: Associated [associatedelectrics.com]

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