As with all retail industries, the holiday season is particularly important to the world of RC cars, and accordingly the end of the year is often flooded with exciting releases of new kits, updated electronics, engines, pit accessories, and apparel - the kind of non-consumable, big-ticket items that make great gifts. The oft-recognized kickoff to the holiday shopping craze is Black Friday, following Thanksgiving, so the new item announcements begin earlier in November. I sifted out the race reports and original content from our news feed throughout the holiday shopping months for the last three years to see if there were any trends.
Here are the most notable releases over the last two months of 2017:
New Tekin RS PRO 1-S ESC
A Main Hobbies added new packs to EcoPower LiPo lineup
New ARC hooded sweatshirt
XRAY GTXE electric GT-class car kit
PowerHD R6 servo for 1/12-scale pan cars
Team Magic B8ER orange edition 1/8-scale RTR electric buggy
special edition Traxxas funny car with aluminum upgrades
Mugen revealed MBX8 1/8-scale nitro buggy kit
Yokomo YD-2SX drift car kit, BL-PRO4 Drift Spec ESC and Zero2 motor
Reedy S-Plus spec-class brushless motors
Three EcoPower Electron AC chargers
XRAY XB8 2018 nitro buggy kit
Three Team Associated on-board sound systems
Reedy 866 and 877 competition 1/8-scale buggy and truck brushless motors
Team Magic J-STAR 6S monster truck
SMC Low Rider modified brushless motors
HRC Racing Dual Star Pro two-channel charger
Team Tekin servos
Reedy-R hoodies
ORCA Blinky B32 LCG brushless speed control
Yeah Racing black and gold aluminum hex drivers
Team Associated RC28T 1/28-scale Ready-To-Run
ORCA Blitreme spec motor
Team C TC10 2018 touring car kit
Shepherd Velox V8 'WC' Team Edition 1/8-scale nitro on-road racing kit
WRC DUE 1.4 1/8-scale 2WD nitro on-road racing kit
Reedy WolfPack HV LiPo packs
PR Racing 2018 PRS1 V3 and Type R 1/10-scale 2wd buggy kits
Omega high-voltage LiPo packs from RC Concept
CowRC Adam and Ronda Drake signature series pit mats
ONE .12 on-road engine
Speedzone LCG 4300mAh 2S shorty and 6000mAh 2S stick pack LiPos
Team Magic green edition E6 Raptor 1/8-scale brushless monster truck
Speedzone shorty 4000mAh and 5000mAh 2S 120C LiPo packs
Roche P12-2017 USA Spec 1/12-scale pan car kit
Team Associated and Reedy countertop setup mats
Team Associated 2017 Worlds team shirt
Speedzone 6000mAh 120C 1S LiPo
Mugen Seiki OGIO 9800 race bag
Speed Merchant Rev 8.5 1/12-scale kit
Team Magic B8ER 6S RTR 1/8-scale electric buggy
Ultimate Racing M3R 3-port .21 nitro engine
JQ Racing Spec Q Black Edition 1/8-scale nitro buggy
Arrowmax black and gold 1/10-scale off-road setup system
SWORKz Apollo 1/8-scale brushless RTR buggy unveiled
XRAY XT2 2018 1/10-scale stadium truck kit
FX K501R 5-port Racer Edition 1/8-scale off-road engine
Vaterra 1/10-scale 1968 Ford F-100 Ascender 4WD rock crawler
REDS Racing WR7 Diamond High Efficiency engine
Capricorn C803EP electric 1/8-scale on-road kit
Ultimate Racing MZ8 Pro 6-pole motors and MX8 brushless ESC
Arrowmax limited edition IFMAR World Championship off-road car stand
Team Associated MT28 and SC28 Fox
KO Propo RSx3 One10 Flection low-profile servo
Serpent Cobra GT 3.1 Team Edition 1/8-scale on-road kit
TLR 22T 4.0 2wd stadium truck kit
TOTAL RELEASES: 54
Releases by type:
Off-road race kit: 6
On-road race kit: 8
RTR: 9
Electronics: 10
Batteries/Chargers: 8
Engines: 4
Pit Accessories: 5
Apparel: 4
Other: 0
Releases by brand:
ARC: 1
Arrowmax: 2
Capricorn: 2
CowRC: 1
Ecopower: 2
FX Engines: 2
HRC Racing: 1
JQ Racing: 1
KO Propo: 1
Mugen Seiki: 2
ORCA: 2
PowerHD: 1
PR Racing: 2
RC Concept: 1
REDS Racing: 1
Reedy: 4
Roche: 1
Serpent: 1
Shepherd: 1
SMC: 1
Speed Merchant: 1
Speedzone: 1
SWORKz: 1
Team Associated: 5
Team C: 1
Team Losi Racing: 1
Team Magic: 4
Tekin: 2
Traxxas: 1
Ultimate Racing: 3
Vaterra: 1
WRC: 1
XRAY: 3
Yeah Racing: 1
Yokomo: 1
Here’s what was released during the 2016 holiday season:
New Graupner Colt X-8E radio system
New Hitec Phantom X4 charger
New LRP FlowX TC Spec brushless racing speed control
New Team Powers digital coreless low-profile servo
New Tesla T12 V3 "Black Edition" engine
New SMC Totemic stock motors
New HUDY 1/10-scale off-road car bag
New JConcepts microfiber towels
Limited edition Ryan Cavalieri signature Savox servos
New HUDY 1/12-scale on-road car hauler bag
New Arrowmax V3 black-golden on-road setup board
Limited edition Shepherd Velox V8 WC Kurzbuch Edition
New Reedy cloth banner
New Tekno RC EB48.4 1/8-scale electric buggy
New LRP FlowX competition brushless speed control coming soon
New MCD Racing RR5 CF Ultimate and W5 Max Ultimate 1/5-scale 4WD buggy and short course truck
New REDS Racing M3 World Touring S V2.0 engine
New Pro-Line Racing 2017 apparel
New HUDY 1/10-scale on-road car hauler bag
New SWORKz S35-3 1/8-scale nitro buggy
New Shepherd Velox V10 WC 1/10-scale 200mm nitro touring car kit
New O.S. Speed T1202 touring car engine
New Kyosho Mini-Z MR-03VE Pro GP limited edition chassis set
New Axial Racing Yeti Jr. 1/18-scale 4WD rock racer and SCORE Trophy Truck
Reedy's new Blackbox 510R competition speed control
New Sanwa SRG-LS Black low-profile servo
New Roche Rapide P12 2017 1/12-scale kit
New XRAY XB4 2017-spec 4WD buggy kit
New Team Magic B8ER almost-ready-to-run 1/8-scale brushless buggy
New Agama A215T 1/8-scale nitro truck kit
New Murfdogg Racing Demon X 1/10-scale sprint car
New SAMi Products Signature Series Car Stand for on-road and oval racers
New Team Associated SC28 RTR micro short course truck
New Pro-Line Racing Factory Umbrella
New Reedy 540-SL4 sensorless 4-pole brushless motor
New Muchmore Racing Fleta M8.1 1/8-scale racing speed control
New Dynamite RC rechargeable folding LED pit light
New Bullitt B-221 buggy engine with low-profile head
Trinity's new LiPo Factory 7000mAh 1S battery pack
Novarossi's new Mito .12 nitro engine
New Team Associated B64D Team Kit 4WD off-road buggy
XRAY's new 2017-spec X1 formula kit
Special edition Team Associated and Reedy Christmas tree ornament
Limited edition MIP metric hex driver set with black handles
New KO Propo EX-RR 2.4 GHz 4-channel radio system
New Tekno RC MT410 1/10-scale pro monster truck kit
New Raceform 2017 Lazer car stands
New Tesla GT5 Black 5-port .21 engine
New 6MIK red-anodized aluminum multi-tool
New Team Losi Racing 22SCT 3.0 2WD short course truck kit
New HPI Racing Pro Series tools
New HB Racing E817 1/8-scale electric buggy kit
New Maclan Racing MRR Team Edition brushless motors
Shepherd introduced new 2017-spec Velox F1
22 Empire apparel now available from GS Hobby
Team Magic's E6 III BES RTR monster truck
New Fantom Racing FR-1 V2T and V2R spec motors
New HARD Racing Magellan hauler bag with internal plastic box
New Reedy Zappers shorty packs
New Yokomo BD8 touring car carrying bag
New Helion RC Conquest 10ST and 10MT XB and XLR, Rock Rider RTR's
New officially licensed 2017 Ford Raptor replica Traxxas Slash
Kyosho's new 1991 Honda NSR500 and 1992 Suzuki RGV-Γ 1/8-scale electric motorcycle kits
Serpent officially released new SRX-2 MidHybrid 2WD buggy
Kyosho's new Jared Tebo and Kohta Akimoto edition Mini-Z Sports buggies
SWORKz Fox 4x4 mini-cage buggy RTR
New Tekin RX4 HardBox crawler and rock-racer speed control
MOTIV RC Incite Pro 160 ESC
Hobbywing's new QuicRun WP 1080 rock crawler ESC
New Shepherd Velox V8 WC kit
Picco's new E1 "dual start" engine
New Castle Creations sensored brushless motors
New Duratrax Onyx 260 charger and two new LiPo packs
New Futaba 4PV 4-channel computer radio system
New Team Losi Racing 22 3.0 Spec Racer 2WD buggy kit
New low-profile O.S. Speed B2102 engine
New Team Corally 75-watt soldering station
New Arrowmax V2 tool bag
TOTAL RELEASES: 85
Releases by type:
Off-road race kit: 9
On-road race kit: 7
RTR: 13
Electronics: 18
Batteries/Chargers: 5
Engines: 7
Pit Accessories: 17
Apparel: 2
Other: 7 (Two Kyosho motorcycle kits, two MCD Racing 1/5-scale off-roaders, one Murfdogg Racing sprint car, a Team Associated/Reedy Christmas ornament, and a Tekno RC monster truck kit that doesn’t necessarily fit the off-road racing or RTR categories)
Releases by brand:
6MIK: 1
Agama: 1
Arrowmax: 2
Axial Racing: 1
Bullitt: 1
Castle Creations: 1
Corally: 1
Duratrax: 2
Dynamite: 1
Fantom Racing: 1
Futaba: 1
Graupner: 1
GS Hobby: 1
HARD Racing: 1
HB Racing: 1
Helion RC: 5
Hitec: 1
Hobbywing: 1
HPI Racing: 1
HUDY: 3
JConcepts: 1
KO Propo: 1
Kyosho: 5
LRP: 2
Maclan Racing: 1
MCD Racing: 2
MIP: 1
Murfdogg Racing: 1
Novarossi: 1
O.S. Speed: 2
Picco: 1
Pro-Line: 2
Raceform: 1
REDS Racing: 1
Reedy: 4
Roche: 1
SAMi Products: 1
Sanwa: 1
Savöx: 1
Serpent: 1
Shepherd: 4
SMC Racing: 1
SWORKz: 2
Team Associated: 3
Team Losi Racing: 2
Team Magic: 2
Team Powers: 1
Tekin: 1
Tekno RC: 2
Tesla: 2
Traxxas: 1
Trinity: 1
XRAY: 2
Yokomo: 1
And here’s what dropped for the 2015 holiday shopping season:
Serpent's new S411 ERYX 4.0 touring car
New JTP apparel for men and women
REDS TXX Pro 1/8-scale ESC
New HPI Racing Vaughn Gittin Jr. Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5 RS4 Sport 3
New Team Associated Factory Team 17mm wheel nut wrench
New blue version of KO Propo EX-1 KIY
Hitec's new X2-700 DC twin-channel mega-charger
HPI’s new Venture FJ scaler
Trinity's new 24K certified motors
New HUDY team rucksack
Serpent's new S100 LTR 1/10-scale World GT pan car
New Intech Racing ER-12M 2.0
New Team Associated TC7!
New BMT 601 touring car
New VBC Racing WildFire D08 touring car
New Team Magic E4RS III+ touring car kit
New Team Durango DEX210v3 2WD buggy kit
HPI Racing Baja 5B RTR updated with D-Box 2 stability control system
Limited edition Oscar Meyer Mini Weiner Rover
New Reedy Sonic 540-M3 short stack 10.5 and 21.5 motors
Serpent's limited edition 35th anniversary Viper 977 EVO
Trinity's new 24K modified motors
New MOTIV RC lightweight work board
New HB D216 1/10-scale 2WD buggy
HPI's new Baja 5R 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302
Reedy's new Blackbox 800Z Zero-Timing ESC
New MCD Racing X5 Rally 1/5-scale rally car
HPI's 1/8- and 1/18-scale Ken Block Ford Fiesta ST replica RTR's
Team Durango's DETC410v2 touring car now available
Kyosho's new Blizzard FR
New REDS Racing Flexfit Flatbill hat
Yokomo's new ETS-ready YR-10 formula-class racing kit
New Team Associated Worlds Team t-shirts and hoodies
Novak's new Pit Wizard Plus programming box
XRAY announced new XB2 Carpet and Dirt Edition 2WD buggy kits
New Absima Cube 4 You, GPS-1, and CTC-DUO TOUCH chargers
Maifield and Phend Edition 1/14-scale Losi Mini 8IGHT-T RTR truggies
Yokomo's new YZ-114 Plus auto-detecting balance charger
New Kyosho PLAZMA Ra 2.0 1/12-scale race car
New VBC Racing Firebolt DM2 mid-motor 2WD buggy
Team Orion's new Ultra LiPo shorty pack
Schumacher CAT K2 1/10-scale 4WD buggy
Hitec's new X1 Mini AC Input Balance Charger
New Team Orion VST2 Pro XLW motors
Core RC's heavy duty hatchback-sized hauler bag
Yokomo's new BD7 2016
New Team Losi Racing 8IGHT 4.0
Team Associated's new Factory Team hex and nut drivers
New Tamiya FF-04 Evo Black Edition kit
Team Associated RC10B5M Champions Edition
New Schumacher Cougar KF2 SE special edition 2WD buggy
New Team Losi Racing 22 3.0 2WD buggy kit
Flash Point RC's new 4S LiPo pack for 1/8-scale cars and trucks
LRP's new budget-friendly ANTIX LiPo packs
New Reedy 324-S compact LiPo balance charger
Mugen Seiki's new nitro and electric MBX7TR and MBX7TR ECO
New HPI Racing Crawler King Ford Raptor
New O.S. Speed R2102 1/8-scale on-road racing engine
Kraken RC VEKTA.5 1/5-scale desert buggy
TOTAL RELEASES: 62
Releases by type:
Off-road race kit: 13
On-road race kit: 12
RTR: 10
Electronics: 7
Batteries/Chargers: 8
Engines: 1
Pit Accessories: 6
Apparel: 3
Other: 2 (One 1/5-scale vehicle each from Kraken RC and MCD Racing)
Releases by brand:
Absima: 3
BMT: 1
Core RC: 1
Flash Point RC: 1
HB Racing: 1
Hitec: 2
HPI Racing: 6
HUDY: 1
Intech Racing: 1
JTP: 1
KO Propo: 1
Kraken RC: 1
Kyosho: 2
Oscar Meyer: 1
LRP: 1
Losi: 1
MCD Racing: 1
MOTIV: 1
Mugen Seiki: 1
Novak: 1
O.S. Speed: 1
REDS Racing: 2
Reedy: 3
Schumacher: 2
Serpent: 3
Tamiya: 1
Team Associated: 5
Team Durango: 2
Team Losi Racing: 2
Team Magic: 1
Team Orion: 2
Trinity: 2
VBC Racing: 2
XRAY: 2
Yokomo: 3
Obviously, these stats aren’t perfect — many companies release their holiday-ready items in October or even sooner, and products announced throughout the holidays may not actually make it in time to be gift-wrapped for December 25th (does Santa still leave gift certificates?). But it’s interesting to see the change in quantity from each brand, as well as that overall - there were way more items released in 2016 than either 2017 or 2015, and this year was the slowest yet. The 2015 holiday season was a bit one for racing kits, with far more off- and on-road racing cars and trucks hitting the shelves than either year since. The electronics category, comprised of motors, speed controls, servos and radio systems, is consistently the biggest group of products released each year.
What other trends do you notice?
Eng / Usd
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Recent comments