Tower Hobbies Terror Nitro 4WD RTR

[PeterV]

http://209.2.68.15:8011/pics/tower_terror.jpg

http://209.2.68.15:8011/pics/tower_terror_chassis.jpg

http://209.2.68.15:8011/pics/tower_terror_wheelie.jpg

Latest from www.towerhobbies.com

For immediate release:

**NEW** Tower Hobbies® TOWER* Terror Nitro 4WD RTR

It goes where other monsters fear to tread!

The skeptics said there was no way that a 1/10 scale monster truck could ever be as strong and powerful as an 1/8 scale monster…but they were wrong!
After months of experiments, Tower Hobbies has created the TOWER Terror RTR — a 1/10 scale nitro monster supercharged with 1/8 scale DNA. You can jump it on four wheels or pop it onto two for intimidating wheelies. Bring it to life and it becomes a nightmare on wheels for every other 1/10 scale monster!

Thrill! to the knowledge that the TOWER Terror RTR is already assembled and painted, so you can start your reign of terror almost immediately!

Wonder! at the wealth of 1/8 scale-inspired aluminum parts, including the Twin Plate Chassis (TPC) — the monster’s unnaturally strong and vertically oriented backbone!

Stare! as the hardened steel gears in the TOWER Terror RTR allow it to survive the sudden, tooth-stripping impacts caused by relentless run-and-gun acceleration and crushing, post-jump touchdowns!

Gasp! as you realize that the TOWER Terror RTR goes beyond the normal RTR to also offer:

• Full bearings
• Aluminum oil shocks
• High-capacity 170 cc fuel tank
• Aluminum steering drag links
• 3-shoe racing clutch
• Aluminum hinge pin braces
• Painted and trimmed body
• Aluminum tuned pipe
• Polished aluminum engine mount
• Independent suspension, with turnbuckle tie rods for fast, easy toe-in adjustments.

Specifications:
• Length: 19.7 in • Width: 14.8 in • Height: 7.3 in • Wheelbase: 11.4 in • Weight: 8 lb • Requires: 8 “AA” batteries, glow fuel (20% nitro recommended) and glow starter

TOWC03** Tower Hobbies® TOWER* Terror Nitro 4WD RTR Retail$479.99 Street$289.99


For more information please visit www.towerhobbies.com

[JohnnyShore]

Huh...actually looks pretty good in the video on Tower...any chance this is a Spyder relative of some kind?

[Holeshot101]

Looks nice, it's nice and small, so maybe if it's good it'll do good on the track because it has big block power.

[mr-retro]

Don't bother taking this to your local hobby shop for parts. A mail-order-only item like this will certainly irritate the guy at the shop.

[Combatcm]

This truck has a shorter wheelbase than a MT2.

[PeterV]

But if they're smart Retro, they'll happily charge the Tower Terror owner a FAIR price for service, sell him fuel and accessories, and make a few bucks on him--and in doing so, they'll get his business when he wants to get his next kit. I've never understood the concept of "Because we didn't make $10 on you by selling you a kit, we refuse to take your money on our high-margin accessories!"

[TheSnick]

PeterV, the biggest LHS in my town does that. The worst part is he is trying to make $100 on kits, then he wont sell you parts because you were forced to buy the kit elsewhere. A great example is the CRT PRO, $660. Captain Insano.

[TheSnick]

By the way, this will be a fun truck. However, it is made by Flying Point, which is the maker of the Nitro Spyder, Dirt Demon, the Quakes, etc... That said, its a steal of a deal for a bashing and stunt truck.

[TheSnick]

I just backordered one. With the latest coupon plus the savings club, its only $264 plus shipping, thats as close to free as it takes to get me into bashing!

[metalry101]

But if they're smart Retro, they'll happily charge the Tower Terror owner a FAIR price for service, sell him fuel and accessories, and make a few bucks on him--and in doing so, they'll get his business when he wants to get his next kit. I've never understood the concept of "Because we didn't make $10 on you by selling you a kit, we refuse to take your money on our high-margin accessories!"
Because a hell of a lot of the people who bought the truck on Tower to save $20 (which is what, 5%?), are the same damn people who bitch and moan about the price of everything else in the store. "$33 for a body? Tower only wants $26 for it. And $7 shipping, so it's the same price, but I don't have to pay sales tax there, so I'll save like a $1.50, and the paint is 40 cents cheaper a can too!!!!!!!" I try to help people, but if they're going to be sticklers about a 10% price difference on a $20 item, then they can get on Tower Hobbies and stay there, and when their Evader breaks again, and again, and again, and again, they call Tower and ask them how to set gear mesh, and why their motor gets so hot. Tower's shopping cart knows all about how different motors require different gearing.

Sure, you'll get a few people who appreciate the one on one help you get at the local hobby shop, and the advice coming from someone who's actually been there and done that, but most of them are going to go back to Tower anyways, because they're still pissed that the local shop wouldn't match a price that would have put them at a 10% margin. Regardless of the fact that they're annoying, I still try to help these people to the best of my ability, but I'm not going to go out of my way for them like I do loyal customers. A guy who's having some tuning his Savage that he bought from us is going to get a lot more sympathy and hands-on help from me than the guy who bought it on Tower. I'll give the guy who bought it on Tower all the helpful tips I know, and if he's got the truck with him I'll even look at it and see if I can see if it's anything obvious (way too lean or rich, clogged air filter, bad glow plug, throttle trims, etc), but I'm not going to take time away from paying customers to give a guy who hasn't spent a dime in the store a free tune, which is often what these people expect when they come in. I tell them I charge $30 an hour for labor and that if they're willing to pay for it, I'll be happy to work on their truck. I'll try to diagnose it for free, and encourage them to fix it themselves so that they can learn about their truck, but if they want me to work on it or tune it, I'm going to charge them for my time. That's more than fair in my book...

Oh...and as for the truck...I think it's bull----. Toyota doesn't give me the option to buy an FJ Cruiser on their website. No...they'll let me build one (in a virtual showroom), and get an idea of a price, and then they'll give me a list of dealers I can visit in order to buy it. Does Tower do that? Nah...why do that when they can sell direct at a much higher profit margin? I'll say the same thing about this truck that I say about Sportwerks, Duratrax, and XTM. STAY AWAY. This truck is designed for ONE purpose and one purpose alone. To make Tower Hobbies and their owner (Great Planes, the country's biggest hobby distributor, who your LHS buys most of their stuff from) RICH. Hobby shops aren't going to be interested in it because it has their competitor's name on it, so it will be exclusive to their retail portion of their business. That means it only has to get sold once, not twice. They're not going to pass those savings on to you. They sell Evaders at the same price hobby shops across the nation do, despite the fact that they're paying way less since they're the initial buyer. Oh wait...they own Duratrax...so they don't even buy the thing, they just make it and market it a bit. All that extra markup goes straight to their pockets...and they like that, a helluva lot, as you might imagine, so they push those products more. It makes business sense, so why not. Same thing with this truck. This truck has been made as cheaply as they could figure out how to make it, out of the cheapest materials they could find, just like most all distributor owned r/c factory machines. The majority of Duratrax and XTM owners who've owned quality cars (like Traxxas, HPI, AE, Losi, etc) will agree that the differences in design and materials quality are night and day. I'm positive this truck will be the same. Why deviate from such a successful formula? Global has used the money from XTM's success to open new Hobby People locations and put long time customers (local hobby shops who bought from Global Distribution) out of business. Great Planes is now trying to do the same thing via Tower Hobbies IMO. Who wants to sell 20 trucks to a hobby shop that you've been doing business with for 20 years at a 20% markup when you can sell it straight to the one time buyer at a 40% markup? The answer is Great Planes Model Distributors. The method is Tower Hobbies. The latest product to be launched with this in mind is the Terror. Whether it's garbage like XTM and Duratrax's efforts, or it's pretty solid like most Sportwerk's vehicles is irrelevant IMO, because the company that sells it is not a company that I want to support.

Some people frown upon Wal-Mart for the way they treat their competitors and their suppliers. I frown upon Great Planes for the way they treat their customers. Looked at purely from a business sense, it's brilliant. Spend years getting loyal customers and acquiring exclusive rights to many big-name brands that customers demand, and then when the retail arm of your business takes off, screw the lower margin distribution customers in favor of the newer, high margin retail customers. The hobby shops can't really fight it because they have to pay the bills, and customers demand quality products like O.S., Odonnell, and Futaba. The customers love it because they get slightly better prices, and the CEO loves it because his retirement keeps getting more and more comfortable. Who loses? No one important...just a bunch of local hobby shops, the knowledgable and dedicated owners and employees of those shops, and all of the hobbyists that they served. People like me. Maybe people like you?

[performula]

It looks cool to me.

[TheSnick]

Nothing wrong with buyng at Tower. With the right combination of initial pricing, savings club and coupon of the day, some things are cheaper there. Only then do they get my business.

[electro21]

Metalry, We all like to save money, but the majority of time I shop at tower is because of poor customer service at the hobby shop. They don't want to wait on you, discourage you from buying certain vehicles (that they sell in their store) because they don't like it. I know more than the people that work there. It sucks people want your help, but they don't want to buy from your store (i used to work at a hobby store too!). If it's that bad, then maybe you should find another job.

The truck looks like it has Maxx dimensions to me.

[PeterV]

Based on my retail experience in the bike biz, there are indeed some customers you DON'T want. I once had a guy waste an hour of my time trying on high-dollar cycling shoes. When he finally found the pair he liked and I asked if he wanted anything else before I rang them up, he told me he was just their to try them out, but was going to buy them from Performance, the "Tower" of bike stuff! And he honestly saw no problem with that! I asked him how much he would save. "About $30" was the answer. "I have these shoes now, for you to take NOW. How much is overnight shipping, I asked. He didn't know. I told him I was certain it was at least $20, and he would have to wait two days to get the shoes, since he was in the store on a Saturday. He didn't buy the shoes, but I went down fighting.

I suggest any shop use the same approach, especially if friendly, knowledgeable service has no value to your customer. If your customer wants live and die by price, make sure they include shipping--and to be fair, it should be OVERNIGHT shipping. After all, you're going to give them their stuff the second they pay for it, not 3-5 days later.

Of course, some deals are too good to pass up. You can't expect anyone to pass up $50 in savings just because they like your shop. But as we know, buying the kit is just the BEGINNING of the spending! Fuel, glue, paint, tires, glow plugs...it never ends, and the margins are better.

[bobf24]

i think the biggest probelm is not so much that the people want to buy parts from you, its when they buy the kit somewhere else, and then bring it to you to fix it or tune it, my dad owns a hobby shop, and i'm the one that usually does repairs and tuning, and it absolutly drives me up the wall when people bring in their busted up car that they boguht somewhere else, and want me to tune it, i do it, but its deffinatly not cheap to do it, where if the person bought the kit from us, we will help them get it running good for usually free, unless they need a glow plug or what ever, but we dont charge labour to do it,

but we will sell parts and stuff to anyone, its just repairs and tuning we dont like doing for peopel that bought the stuff else where, because they usually expect you to do it for free too,

[electro21]

Beat 'em. Let's just beat 'em all. Vengence shall be ours!

Bobf24, could you order parts for this truck even though it's sold by tower?

[bobf24]

no i dont think so, i was more refering to when people buy a savage, or a tmaxx,

but even still, you can bet that at least some of the people that buy these trucks, will end up taking them into a LHS asking for them to tune it for them,

[performula]

no i dont think so, i was more refering to when people buy a savage, or a tmaxx,

but even still, you can bet that at least some of the people that buy these trucks, will end up taking them into a LHS asking for them to tune it for them,

That's a good thing because you might get their business.

[awnelson]

Just to let anyone know who thinks that all LHS are junk... Hobby Warehouse in Richfield, MN has everything, except this truck which is a cheap knockoff of something useful, for the same price if not less than Tower and sells everyday to anyone who wants to walk through the door. They have support for most vehicles and their parts are less than Tower pricing. If you take the time to shop there and they get to know you, you will get a discount on everything from kits to parts to fuel. Case in point, as Tower increases their price on the E-Maxx to $330, Hobby Warehouse has it for $305 all day long. As a long standing customer, I can walk out of there with it for about $300 with tax. No shipping, no stupid membership in leu of shipping charges and best of all, no waiting for it to arrive. Support your local shops more and they will remain competitive; go to online stores and you will be the ones responsible for increases in cost locally. Also, tell me how your last return went with Tower?

[metalry101]

Beat 'em. Let's just beat 'em all. Vengence shall be ours!

Bobf24, could you order parts for this truck even though it's sold by tower?
LOL

That remains to be seen. I also work in a hobby shop...I'll have to look it up and see if this truck or it's parts are going to be available to us. I don't believe that Tower Hobbies brand stuff is...but I could be wrong, as I've never really looked.

Based on my retail experience in the bike biz, there are indeed some customers you DON'T want. I once had a guy waste an hour of my time trying on high-dollar cycling shoes. When he finally found the pair he liked and I asked if he wanted anything else before I rang them up, he told me he was just their to try them out, but was going to buy them from Performance, the "Tower" of bike stuff! And he honestly saw no problem with that! I asked him how much he would save. "About $30" was the answer. "I have these shoes now, for you to take NOW. How much is overnight shipping, I asked. He didn't know. I told him I was certain it was at least $20, and he would have to wait two days to get the shoes, since he was in the store on a Saturday. He didn't buy the shoes, but I went down fighting.

I suggest any shop use the same approach, especially if friendly, knowledgeable service has no value to your customer. If your customer wants live and die by price, make sure they include shipping--and to be fair, it should be OVERNIGHT shipping. After all, you're going to give them their stuff the second they pay for it, not 3-5 days later.

Of course, some deals are too good to pass up. You can't expect anyone to pass up $50 in savings just because they like your shop. But as we know, buying the kit is just the BEGINNING of the spending! Fuel, glue, paint, tires, glow plugs...it never ends, and the margins are better.
Nice. I would probably do the same thing if a customer actually told me straight up that he just spent an hour of my time learning about all of the various monster trucks so that he could go home and order the right one online. I'm sure some people I've helped have done that when they've gone home to "think about it," but I have yet to have anyone tell me straight up that they're going to do that, at least that I recall.

And yes, I'd agree that if somewhere else has a super great price on a kit or something, I do understand that..with an exception. If you know what you're doing (like you and I do), then I'd say it's cool, but for a first timer...maybe that extra $50 you're saving initially isn't quite worth it if it's not a local shop? I mean $50 is $50, but, if it's your first nitro truck and you're clueless (don't we all start that way?), the local shop's price might still be the better deal once you include the extra help they'll be willing to offer in the price. Maybe it is...maybe it isn't. In other cases, if the price is drastically different then yes, I don't expect people to kill themselves financially just to help the local shop. Ideally, they'd come in or call and see if we can match the price before they go elsewhere, but I definately do understand people shopping elsewhere to save a bunch of money on some sale items or something.

Metalry, We all like to save money, but the majority of time I shop at tower is because of poor customer service at the hobby shop. They don't want to wait on you, discourage you from buying certain vehicles (that they sell in their store) because they don't like it. I know more than the people that work there. It sucks people want your help, but they don't want to buy from your store (i used to work at a hobby store too!). If it's that bad, then maybe you should find another job.
Don't get me wrong...I really like my job...but as I'm sure you know, just as anyone who's been in the workforce knows, even the best jobs have their downsides. At the end of the day, I work with toys, I work with people that I like and respect, and I get to help people. I love to help people, and in this job I get to do that with something I love. Some people I can't really help much (train guys for instance...can't say I know much about trains), but I still try to find answers to all of their questions, and if I can't answer them, I try to find someone who can (usually I just suggest that if they're really interested in trains and have a lot of fairly involved questions that they come back on Saturday, when our train guy is in. I think he knows more about trains than God...if not...it's pretty close.).

As for the crappy hobby shop thing...I understand that. I've heard that from sooooo many people on these boards, and to be honest it pisses me off, because IMO, it kills the hobby. I've been a customer, and while I haven't been in a ton of hobby shops (there are only about five around here, and I don't really travel to other big cities very often at all), I've been in three shops that I consider to be excellent (the one I work at, one in northern Utah called Earl's Hobby Hanger, and one in OKC called Competition R/C), and the rest were anywhere from okay to miserable. The 3 worst that I can think of are the others in the Salt Lake valley. If I didn't have an alternative to those places, I probably would be shopping at Tower as well. I really do understand that there are a lot of hobby shops out there that are just worthless. High prices are understandable on some things...a lot of people don't realize just how low margin most hobby stuff is, and the more expensive it gets, the lower the margin gets. In a shop that sells a lot of stuff, they can work with a little lower margin because their volume will make up for it, but a small shop has to pay the bills...and a 10 or 15% margin doesn't go very far towards that. The thing that drives me up the wall are owners and employees who don't want to help you. Lack of knowledge is frustrating but forgiveable in my book if they try to help you, but basically ignoring customers...no way...I wouldn't give a shop that employs that kind of people my business either. I'd ask when the owner was available and I'd talk to him about it. Maybe he'd do something, maybe he wouldn't, but if the service as that bad, I'd let him know about it, and I'd let him know that while I like to support local business, I wouldn't be supporting his until there was someone who was willing to help and take care of me.

[CarbonMadness]

I bought my electric truck from my LHS, but now the problem is it closed down :( and the next shop is about 35-40 miles away (after gas mileage thats alot of mony to run back and forth) :( So what you are saying is if I were to go some where else then I wouldn't get the same amount of help because I bought it some where else. This is just the customers point of view.

[electro21]

The owner of the hobby shop i was referring too, is usually the one who ticks me off. I live 45min (30min speeding) away and I called to see if my stuff was in and he said yes. I get there and guess what, half my stuff is not there. I go when I need something (regardless of how crappy they may be at times, can't let it put a damper on a good race day) pronto.

All hobby store stuff a side, this actually looks like a decent truck. If I didn't already have 5 off-roaders, I would give it a try.

[performula]

I think Tower is trying to offer Horizon a run for its money and this is a great value. Whether it is a MTronics, Flying Point, whatever. Tower seems to keep their branded items around for a while. Their Tower ST-15 (something like that) nitro truck has been around since at least 1998/1999. Of the mainstream brands the RC10GT and Blizzard only come close to that.

[bobf24]

I bought my electric truck from my LHS, but now the problem is it closed down :( and the next shop is about 35-40 miles away (after gas mileage thats alot of mony to run back and forth) :( So what you are saying is if I were to go some where else then I wouldn't get the same amount of help because I bought it some where else. This is just the customers point of view.


i woulnd't say less help, but for me, i would be less willing to tune things or set it up for free, as far as buying parts or ording stuff in, i would hope you will still get the same amount help,

an example of the kinds of things i'm talking about is this, a week or two ago, a guy called up asking if we tuned trucks, he had just bought a savage and it wasn't running good, and his 3 speed wasn't shifting properly, both of which can be pretty time consuming to get working good, so we asked where he got it from, and he says such and such shop, which is like 30min away, still open, not closed down or anything, and of course he didn't want to pay much if anything for us to tune it for him,

i can see both sides, if i lived really far from a shop, i would probally mail order everything too, and i do order non RC stuff off the net alot, like a while back i bought my Ipod off best buy's website, with free shipping, and basically the same price, it saved me the gas to drive 30min to the store, or the time spent looking for a store that had what i wanted in stock, but if i have issues with it, i'm not going to expect the local electronics store to help me out with it, i'll have to send it out where ever,

but ya, back on topic, i think the truck looks ok for a beginier, but anything past that and i dont think it would cut it,

[MrCrash]

I feel bad for you guys that have awful hobby shops. I have a semi-local shop I go to frequently, and have gone to for about 5-6 years. They probably recognize me by now, and I am always treated very nicely there. It takes me half an hour and a fair amount of gas to get there, but the prices are just as good as any online shop, they carry parts for almost everything, and everyone there is friendly and EXTREMELY knowledgeable, especially the owner. On more than one occasion he has come out and personally helped me find what I needed. They are always willing to work on prices with you, and they will help you out as much as they can to get you running again. The only time I order things online are if they don't carry it, or if they don't have it in stock, and I need it ASAP, then I order from Killer Hobbies. However, I still prefer to buy from my LHS just to keep them around. They got me set up with my Inferno back when I was a wee noob. They helped me out when I broke it (little tips and tricks to make things much easier), and when I came back for my next truck, they cut me a deal on it, and threw in some extras. That's why I went back for all my upgrades and parts, and I will continue doing so until they close, or I am unable to get up there anymore.

[kawasakirider]

Based on my retail experience in the bike biz, there are indeed some customers you DON'T want. I once had a guy waste an hour of my time trying on high-dollar cycling shoes. When he finally found the pair he liked and I asked if he wanted anything else before I rang them up, he told me he was just their to try them out, but was going to buy them from Performance, the "Tower" of bike stuff! And he honestly saw no problem with that!

HAHA ROTFL what an idiot

[dom223]

You guys who have a local shop are lucky. I have to order all of my rc equipment from online sellers because the closest hobby shop to me is almost 200 miles away.

[TheSnick]

LHS' are hit and miss. I have the best stocked LHS I have ever seen, and I and many others go out of our way to avoid them, when possible. There is something about LHS owners that turns them into arses in some cases....maybe when they realize that they spent all that money to open a toy store? :)

[electro21]

This truck is like a combination of a Maxx and a Savage.

[kawasakirider]

I don't see where you get maxx from i see the savage scaled down mixed with an ek4

[electro21]

The size of the truck.

[Jake M]

Looks identical to this:

http://www.storacingproducts.com/cgi-bin/trolleyed_public.cgi?action=showprod_SSTPC

[CarbonMadness]

Looks identical to this:

http://www.storacingproducts.com/cgi-bin/trolleyed_public.cgi?action=showprod_SSTPC
Wow it does. :eek:

[performula]

Looks identical to this:

http://www.storacingproducts.com/cgi-bin/trolleyed_public.cgi?action=showprod_SSTPC

It is that truck, labelled as Tower. Flying Point makes this truck along with the Trinity Spyder.

Tower Terror = Zircon SS TPC

A couple people from UK said that the Zircon SS TPC (Terror) is a great truck. So there you go fellows. Looks like an OK truck afterall... Just because Tower has its name on it doesn't mean anything. There are a few major companies out there I avoid.

[Philster]

I personally don't consider Tower products.

I own two vehicles that could have been bought via the Web, but went to me LHS because I like getting their support, and I agree completely with the LHS when they pay more attention and go the extra mile for people who buy throught them.

I had to order my Mayhem ST and my Inferno GT, and I went to the LHS, and sure enough, I was back there talking about set-ups and other options and they treated me like royalty, because I told them I only expect a competitive price. I don't need it to be 5 bucks cheaper.

I do buy from on-line sources, but funnel most of my money through my LHS. They know it and take care of me.

Tower rubs me the wrong way. I buy from them, but only in a pinch.

[TC4RACER]

Hey, this is the same thing with the Team Associated Monster GT here in Finland. Here, the Monster GT is a Thunder Tiger :eek: People have told me that Thunder Tiger designed the engine that is in the Monster GT. :confused:

[Philster]

Thunder Tiger bought out AE a couple of years ago. AE operates somewhat independently, to keep a diverse product line. Sharing of engines and other parts is always common in these arrangements.

This is different than the issue being discussed, unless you drag in ACE hobby distributors if they someday start doing the Horizon or Tower business plan.

[CarbonMadness]

Thunder Tiger bought out AE a couple of years ago.That was only last year.
TC4RACER the MGT is made by AE and the engine is made by Tunder Tiger. AE was bought out by TT (Tunder Tiger) and now it is a AE TT truck. ;)

[TC4RACER]

Oh ok i guess this makes good since now ;) I knew the Monster GT was made by Team Associated, its just that I didn't know AE made a deal with Thunder Tiger. :)

[rs4 rally boi]

chassis layout looks kinda clumsy like they designed the chassis and were like "o crap we gotta put motor batt. box and fuel tank on this thing" w/e though it probably runs nice.

[TheSnick]

The MGT is not made by AE, it is made by Thunder Tiger, along with the engine. All of AE's RTR's are made by Thunder Tiger, and MGT was designed by TTR. It is sold as the MTA4 everywhere except North America.

[CarbonMadness]

The MGT is not made by AE, it is made by Thunder Tiger, along with the engine. All of AE's RTR's are made by Thunder Tiger, and MGT was designed by TTR. It is sold as the MTA4 everywhere except North America.
But it was out before AE was bought out by Thunder Tiger.

[crazy1]

Off topic but on thread. Have tride to buy parts that Tower has in stock from my local hobby shop. Great Planes just back orders them. :eek: They are trying to FORCE me to buy from Tower. Wonder if that happens with parts for this truck. I do not buy form Tower direct any more. They keep on sending packages by US mail to my house. My hose dose not have US mail delivery. I live down a dirt road thatthey will not deliver to. Can they us my PO box? They tell me I can not have a differnt Address for UPS and US mail. So I can not buy from them.

[metalry101]

That was only last year.
TC4RACER the MGT is made by AE and the engine is made by Tunder Tiger. AE was bought out by TT (Tunder Tiger) and now it is a AE TT truck. ;)
No...the MGT was designed by Thunder Tiger. It may have been released as an AE product first, but it was designed by TT. The easiest way to tell? The hardware. Any true AE product uses standard hardware. The MGT uses metric hardware throughout...not a single SAE screw on the truck that I can recall.

I don't think less of the truck because of it...I own an MGT and absolutely love it...but I know that it's a TT designed and built truck that's just been rebadged as an Associated design.

[TheSnick]

Carbon, even though TTR ownes AE just recently, TTR has been making AE's RTR's for them for many years. I have a feeling you didnt know that Losi's LST was made by someone else other than Losi as well?

[CarbonMadness]

Carbon, even though TTR ownes AE just recently, TTR has been making AE's RTR's for them for many years. I have a feeling you didnt know that Losi's LST was made by someone else other than Losi as well?I don't really care, as long as the truck is kick a$$. I get now.

[rc411]

Hmm, Flying Point's history is not really a great one. They haven't really had a good "success" vehicle. From the zircon, to the nitro quake, to the spyder, to the axis.

All this truck is, is the "1/10" version of the Spyder.

[TheSnick]

Yep, less weight = less strain on parts = more fun.

For the price, even if it said Smartech I would give it a shot :)

[rc411]

Nice... now thats despiration ;) In this case, give the Duratrax Raze a shot. Its smartech blood :D

[Tamiya4ever]

Anyone planning to get it?

[rc411]

I dono, this is tough to tell if it'd be a wise decision. If it holds up and is built better than the rest of their products (flying point), then it should be a goodie. Should ask some of the oz guys how strong the zircon really is (tower terror).

[Tamiya4ever]

Yes better wait a little bit to see. Someone may get it and then let us know how it holds up.

[BMM]

HI there - without wishing to get into the hobby shop debate (I also work in one - UK) I have to say that the truck was indeed very impressive, I owned one over the christmas period and though not trouble free represented excellent value - especially for guys who could cope with minor stuff like replacing the standard shock "water" for oil, setting the brake up etc.

It proved very tough and parts were reasonable to source though somewhat expensive in comparisoon to the truck. Minor issues such as poor shimming of diffs, bad brake set up and horrid stock body will (should have) been addressed by tower.

Looking at the US price it represents excellent value.

Few more pics of it here - http://www.lstshop.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=623

The engine appears different - though it may just be the head, UK spec came with a SH 24.7 which was plenty quick enough though as it came with a roto start fitted ate the OWB`s.

[Tamiya4ever]

Thanks BMM for the info. Yes the price looks great. And for what you get is a really good deal.

[metalry101]

HI there - without wishing to get into the hobby shop debate (I also work in one - UK) I have to say that the truck was indeed very impressive, I owned one over the christmas period and though not trouble free represented excellent value - especially for guys who could cope with minor stuff like replacing the standard shock "water" for oil, setting the brake up etc.

It proved very tough and parts were reasonable to source though somewhat expensive in comparisoon to the truck. Minor issues such as poor shimming of diffs, bad brake set up and horrid stock body will (should have) been addressed by tower.

Looking at the US price it represents excellent value.

Few more pics of it here - http://www.lstshop.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=623

The engine appears different - though it may just be the head, UK spec came with a SH 24.7 which was plenty quick enough though as it came with a roto start fitted ate the OWB`s.
Excellent information! I think overall the truck looks pretty solid, especially for the price. If it's available through hobby shops under a different name at the same price point, I'll probably pick one up.

[derbi75]

I am not a nitro person but this truck has sparked my interest. The video on towers site is awesome. I loved the long wheelies.
Thanks for all of the posts on this truck.

[jacsac]

The way some of the hobby shop guys in here talk you would think that no one ever bought anything when they lived somewhere else. Maybe your shop is not out for those to see. But hey now you got a guy in front of you who needs some help and perhaps some parts. What are you gonna do? Should you treat this newb with the snooty know-it-all done-it-all pimple-faced common counter troll attitude? Yeah go ahead cause you don't want to build a life long customer by showing him what a lot of factory guys are willing to do, which is teach with a hand on approach. Once bitten by the R/C bug none of us ever quit we just get back in and out every few years. If you showed that guy that you knew your **** and gave him some of your time he WILL be back. I don't support my LHS because since I moved here to Reno all they want to sell is XTM, CEN, Traxxas, and Duratrash. So every time I race, buy a new kit, or some other high end I have to drive back to my real LHS 150 miles away. Take heed owners, good sound service beats a ten dollar price difference. Next time you hire some flunky ass wannabe to man your counters it might cost you more than the minimum wage you pay.


By the way, Tower sucks cause after you order then you find out they only have 3 out of the 4 shock shafts and bodies you need.

[Billabob91]

The way some of the hobby shop guys in here talk you would think that no one ever bought anything when they lived somewhere else. Maybe your shop is not out for those to see. But hey now you got a guy in front of you who needs some help and perhaps some parts. What are you gonna do? Should you treat this newb with the snooty know-it-all done-it-all pimple-faced common counter troll attitude? Yeah go ahead cause you don't want to build a life long customer by showing him what a lot of factory guys are willing to do, which is teach with a hand on approach. Once bitten by the R/C bug none of us ever quit we just get back in and out every few years. If you showed that guy that you knew your **** and gave him some of your time he WILL be back. I don't support my LHS because since I moved here to Reno all they want to sell is XTM, CEN, Traxxas, and Duratrash. So every time I race, buy a new kit, or some other high end I have to drive back to my real LHS 150 miles away. Take heed owners, good sound service beats a ten dollar price difference. Next time you hire some flunky ass wannabe to man your counters it might cost you more than the minimum wage you pay.


By the way, Tower sucks cause after you order then you find out they only have 3 out of the 4 shock shafts and bodies you need.


i think you lose a bit more than 10 bucks in the gas money it takes to drive 150 miles...

[androdz1]

I personally support lhs, but a few of my encounters with lhs have forced me to take my business elsewhere ocasionally online. I run gas boats(26cc zenoah, and quickdraw engines) and I wanted to buy a r/c nitro car so I did some research and went to my lhs. They were 4 customers and 6 people working. I had to wait like 20 minutes till someone would actually help me and then they told me the rc10gt was not good @ all for racing and that I should get a jato (old version they had in the store) or a tower terror they had on display. When I told them I had read that those 2 trucks not good, the workers then said who knows more about this cars you or us. Not to mention the ridiculous price mark-up. I mean I can do 10-20% mark-up for kits and such. But selling a old v. jato for $460? I know they can help me later on, but trying to sell me a pos they got telling me its the best out there is not exactly being loyal to your customers. They were planning to sell me a pos so then I would have to buy another pos from them. I know they are good lhs out there and who ever runs one I salute you since you are one of somewhat a dying breed imo. I have visited so far 6 lhs here in PR and only 2 have been friendly, and those 2 were lhs that sell gas boats.

[derbi75]

I posted this on our local r/c site and darn near had my butt kicked about it.
Out of the three local shops only one was cool and bashed Tower hobbies.

[TheSnick]

Most LHS owners are a bit nutz, and unfortuneately, most of the 'local' forums are run by said shops.

[TheSnick]

got my Tower Terror. Cool little truck. However, they dont tell you they changed the radio to a crappy low end Futaba radio from the promised FM radio.