LRC EXCLUSIVE: Team Associated RC8B3 build video

0 June 30, 2015, 3:24 p.m.

By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

LiveRC was the first to secure a Team Associated RC8B3 Factory Team buggy for a full kit review a couple of weeks ago, so we decided to do something special for the highly anticipated release rather than throw it together for a couple of donuts in a dirt lot somewhere just to get the required photos. LiveRC’s Brandon Rohde, who has plenty of experience racing and wrenching on the B3’s predecessor, the RC8.2, took a shot at qualifying for next year’s Worlds by running at the ROAR Nationals at AMain.com’s Silver Dollar RC Raceway - and gave his employees plenty of ammunition to tease him after he came up drastically, and anticlimactically, short.

We'll just assume this was an accident.

It was a valiant effort, especially after skipping the first day of practice and with so much else going on in the trailer during a race weekend. Basically, Brandon took a few ten minute breaks each 10+ hour work day to try and make it in on talent and luck, and it gave us the opportunity to put together a cool multi-part preview of the car - including build and setup tips, driving impressions, and more. The first episode is a cool stop-motion build that explains why Brandon started the week off at a serious sleep deficit, showing the inner workings of the buggy and how it all came together. He said the car was a very nice build; the parts fit well and the instructions made it easy to focus on setting up everything for the video.

Note: When building a car late into the night, powered by coffee and panic,
it's important to checkall fasteners and wheel nuts for tightness.

After growing more accustomed to the track, staying up late to wrench and glue tires while his co-workers were eating/sleeping, and hitting up both his LiveRC crew and the Team Associated squad for setup ideas and moral support, Brandon ran into bad luck before the start of his 1/32 main and didn’t get a chance to race for a bump-up spot. He’s been running the car since then, so he can share what he’s learned since the Nationals and how the car has been holding up.

Cole and I managed to distract Brandon enough for him
to miss the turn at the end of the straightaway. Mission accomplished.

Sit back, grab your slowsticks, and watch the RC8B3 build itself in front of your eyes. And don't feel too bad for Rohde - if 85 drivers decide not to claim their IFMAR invitations to perhaps the most anticiipated IFMAR Worlds in nearly a decade, he’s in!