Anyone feel the new kits, specifically the B4.1 just isn't..

[bozack]

as nice as the older aluminum tub kits were in terms of fit, finish, and overall quality?

I am building one now, spent a couple of hours on it last night, and while it is nice and all, I remember my old RC10 Team car just seeming to be more fun to build, maybe it is revisionist history on my part but something about the nylon parts, e clips for the hinge pins, and the overall build/design of the older cars just to me seemed more fun to build...

Guess every thread is worthless without pics

Here was my old Team Car, wish I hadn't sold it years ago



And here is the progress on the B4.1 after a little bit and two beers

[RC10th]

I think as far as fit and finish the new kits are better, less hand finishing. I agree 100% the older kits were more fun to build. The new cars also work much better. I also liked the aftermarket of the late 80's early 90's, today there isn't really an aftermarket unless you want aluminum bits for your Traxxas.

[kink]

I also once built a B4. It was like a childs toy. Very easy, efficient, yet so dull and plastic feeling. zzz

[flipwils11]

I also once built a B4. It was like a childs toy. Very easy, efficient, yet so dull and plastic feeling. zzz

Agreed, sloppy feeling to the movement/parts in my opinion, too.

[bozack]

I think as far as fit and finish the new kits are better, less hand finishing. I agree 100% the older kits were more fun to build. The new cars also work much better. I also liked the aftermarket of the late 80's early 90's, today there isn't really an aftermarket unless you want aluminum bits for your Traxxas.

So I don't know, I find on the new kit there is a lot of flashing and sharp edges on the chassis, the plastic parts are now super stiff, I guess I can see why they would be preferred over the softer nylon with brushless motors and all, it isn't like the old Tamiyas which had hard yet very brittle plastic, but still something about the new way of building them (no more e-clips, all the hinge pins are pushed in and then secured with screws, the hard plastic bits, the flashing on the parts....) it just doesn't seem to me as "well made" as the older kits were.

I remember someone saying that if they continued to make them in the US they would cost a fortune now, but still I kinda get the feeling building this one that it just to me doesn't seem as nice/fun and while the changes in engineering are interesting I personally can't see why they made some of them

I do agree on the aftermarket, now it seems like the only options I have are if I want to bling out the ride with all aluminum bits or spend a fortune to do a needless shock upgrade to big bore.

One of the things I loved about RC in the 80s - 90s was the customization and stuff they sold which added to durability/performance....sure I can get titanium turnbuckles and hinge pins now from Lunsford but why bother ?

I also think the older kits were easier to service, just looking at the front bulkhead assembly of the new car and if anything goes wrong with the steering assembly I can only see it being a pain to repair...my old Team Car everything was open and accessible, plus the screws really take some force to crank down now, I had some old hex drivers that I couldn't even use as I can't get the leverage without the handle on an allen key.

[RC10th]

Personally I feel the new cars are easier to work on, they are more modular. The captured hinge pins are great in my opinion, no more e-clips to go missing. The moldings on the new kits are more precise. No more bent chassis or noseplates. I remember endlessly sanding hubs and arms to get everything on the old kits freed up.

From a racers point of view you cant beat the engineering and performance of a new kit, not much more to improve on.

I definately enjoyed and still enjoy the older kits more.

[hudson hornet !]

I have always felt that the older kits were better looking. Not so much of the same plastic. I liken it to cars of the 60's vs. today. Back then there was chrome and the interiors were different.

Today the interiors of cars all look like they were designed by Little Tykes, and so do most of the r/c chassis.

[Lonestar]

from a pure aesthetic standpoint, when you hold a (true!) Worlds Car in your hands vs a B4 Worlds Car, one looks like a work of art, the other one a plastic toy... but then again, on the track, it's a different story...

In terms of finish, the later B4's are really (dare I say it) crap... full of slop... but then as someone mentionned it, build them like the manual, and throw them on the track, and they can win races the very first day. With a gold pan, there was some work to get them to 100%...

Net - older cars are sexier, newer cars are faster

Paul

[RC10th]

Something about that pretty white plastic, those were the .................. days about to be reborn


Definately nothing sexier than the black anodizing and white nylon.

[Lonestar]

Definately nothing sexier than the black anodizing and white nylon.

right on! Team Car, sexiest car ever

[steelhead]

Having never had a newer Associated vehicle, but owning "other" brands, the hobby is all about plastic. Not that that's bad, but dang I miss the old style cars. I don't race anymore, just tinker really, but I do miss the old days and all the different companies who were making aftermarket parts and competing with one another. It was so good for the industry. Now the only place I really see the aftermarket parts being strong is in the crawling community.

[hudson hornet !]

I come from the world of carpet oval but we have and continue to run all types of vehicles. Sure a new KSG pan car looks great, but so do the old buggies that we used to run.

In fact, A buddy and myself have just pre-ordered 2 of the classis rc10 buggies and we will be running them on carpet oval just like the good old days.

[rcrob]

I think as far as fit and finish the new kits are better, less hand finishing. I agree 100% the older kits were more fun to build. The new cars also work much better. I also liked the aftermarket of the late 80's early 90's.

Precisely.

Back in the day, the time you'd spend fine-tuning and trimming and adjusting all the pieces and parts was at least double the time you'd spend in assembly. I remember charging $100 to build a kit back then for someone too lazy to build it themselves, but I had all kinds of special drill bits and files and homemade tools to make them perfect. It literally took me all day to properly build a car.
And then, if you look at that car in the first pic/post, it's full of all kinds of aftermarket parts you had to buy. It added up quickly.
I remember when there weren't any "team cars" or factory team versions of anything. And between the aftermarket, and people being handy with a dremel and their own ingenuity, we made our own team cars (or a facsimile of the next best thing).
Could you imagine the fit people would throw today if they had to dump 100-bucks into a brand new kit just to make it race-worth?

These cars today, they're designed and factory fitted and finished for the RTR market - for the lazy hobbyist. People buy their FT cars, slap them together in a couple of hours, go on a forum and ask for a set-up (no R&D time of their own), and expect to head to the track the next day.