New Hobbico Aquacraft Hammer EP RTR

[Rio J]

Has anyone been to www.towerhobbies.com and checked out the new electric version of the Nitro Hammer? It has a 550 motor with water cooling built in and ESC with reverse. They are just $129 and I think I'll order one to go along with my Villain EX. I think the 7 cell batteries I have will fit right in. I'll post a review when I get it but does anyone here have a review on them yet?

[elecracr]

I would get it, but the hull is abs, if it was fiberglass i would get it, in a few months when i get more money, im going to get a nitro hammer hull and strip it of everything and rework it with a 700 size or maybe even 800 size motor.

[Ron Olson]

I'm interested in seeing it also. An employee at a LHS has one coming in this week for himself and a Nitro Hammer next week so maybe I'll get a look at it and give my 2 cents.

[TurboVeeIIMod]

What's the difference between fiberglass and ABS?

[Ron Olson]

ABS is vacuum formed plastic.

[TurboVeeIIMod]

Ah, ok thanks.

[Ron Olson]

I looked at the one at the LHS. For $129.95, it's not a bad deal. By the time that you get batteries and a charger you're looking at around 2 C-notes.

[Bash_N_Thrash]

Has anyone been to www.towerhobbies.com and checked out the new electric version of the Nitro Hammer? It has a 550 motor with water cooling built in and ESC with reverse. They are just $129 and I think I'll order one to go along with my Villain EX. I think the 7 cell batteries I have will fit right in. I'll post a review when I get it but does anyone here have a review on them yet?

Short review:
I got one and I really like it. Its not really fast out of the box, but puting a 7 cell battery on it helps. The hull is nice. The graphics are cool and plentiful. One nice thing it has over the Tower Hobbies Turbo Vee II is dual rate steering. I really like that on a radio. Its a bit bigger than the Turbo Vee II also. Its not really any faster out of the box though. The motor is ok. Its doesnt get hot at all with the water cooled stock set up. Replacement parts are few and far between right now. I am having problems finding a better prop for it. Somebody said its an 1/8" shaft and a 32mm prop. I would like to get a 33-35mm prop in carbon fiber that would fit the shaft, and give that a try.

Hey Rio J,
Did you ever get one? Tell us about it if you did. Anybody else also.

[Rio J]

Thanks for the review Bash. I have been pretty happy with my EX and I have spent the extra money buying mods for it. It sounds like a pretty nice boat. If I could sell my Zig Zag racer, I'd probably get one. The Zig Zag is fun but it can't take very much chop. How does the EP handle rougher water?

[Micho523]

I have the Nitro, and it handles perfectly fine on rough water. Speaking of that little hammer of mine,... I put a rearwards facing scoop over the one inch hole they reccomend you cut out, and i am currently prepping it for paint! I bought some blue to red shifter pearls for it, so it should come out looking HOT!! :D I will post pictures if anyone is intrested. Any other hop ups i could do to this little puppy? I have heard that the pipe on it isnt the best match for the engine. Any suggestions or websites would be appreciated! :cool:

[Bash_N_Thrash]

How does the EP handle rougher water?


I havent had it in much chop yet. But I think it would do ok, its really hard to flip (knock on wood). I would like to try it behind a real boat so I could jump the wake and stuff. I dont know if it has enough power to keep up, but I think it does. I need to retract the comment I made on the motor not getting hot. It does get pretty warm after running two 7 cell 1800's back to back. But not what I would consider excessively hot. The batteries are the hottest thing in the boat after a run. Mods I have done so far that are no cost or freebie mods are: I polished the prop shaft where it contacts the brass inside the tube on the front and back. I filed the prop so it is sharp and has no flashings. I greased the stuf tube with teflon grease. Mods I have done that costed a little bit are: I added Deans conectors to the batteries and motor connections. I made my 6 cell 1800's into 7 cells by soldering a cell onto them and taping to the top of the pack. Future mods that I will do are: A new prop, probably the Octura X432 to start with but I would like to try an X435. A faster motor (stock is 27 turn 550) I was thinking a Graupner 700bb. Flex coupler. New stuff tube with bearings (if possible). And a new flexible shaft.

[Bash_N_Thrash]

I have the Nitro, and it handles perfectly fine on rough water. Speaking of that little hammer of mine,... I put a rearwards facing scoop over the one inch hole they reccomend you cut out, and i am currently prepping it for paint! I bought some blue to red shifter pearls for it, so it should come out looking HOT!! :D I will post pictures if anyone is intrested. Any other hop ups i could do to this little puppy? I have heard that the pipe on it isnt the best match for the engine. Any suggestions or websites would be appreciated! :cool:


I dont know much about the nitro version. But in looking at the props they are the same near as I can tell. If thats the case then a new metal prop would be a great upgrade. You can buy them pre-balanced and sharpened at Offshore or you can get one and sharpen and balance it yourself. I would probably do it myself as experimenting with props could get expensive to pay someone to finish them for you. As for tips I would just read around at the various forums for suggestions on pipes and whatnot. I found that Offshore (http://p212.ezboard.com/boffshoreelectrics), and Rum Runner Fast Electrics (http://www.rumrunnerracing.com/feforums/) are great reads in addition to this forum. Good luck.