Caster Racing USA Fusion 1/18th 4WD Brushless Buggy and Truck

[Chilly Duncan]

New from Caster Racing USA (http://casterracingusa.com):

87620

87621

[Caster Racing]

Note: These pictures are of the prototypes. The aluminum in the U.S. production versions will be the same color as the 1/8 scale kits. We are making almost exact replicas of the bigger models.

Price and specifications to be announced soon!

[Caster Racing]

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9OsDQrW1xtU/Sdl4OH7ySJI/AAAAAAAADhg/l3cHf1OB0HE/s800/DSC04410.JPG

Pic of the 1/8 scale truggy for comparison.

[REVO139]

Caster makes quality stuff. I can't wait to drive one of these.

[HPI-Fan-4-Ever]

Where's the chassis shot? Looks like a dual-arm steering setup similar to the 18T's. I just hope your's won't require a DP delrin link and aluminum parts to remove the horrendous slop :mad:

[Caster Racing]

http://casterracingusa.com/files/118/DSC07262.jpg

http://casterracingusa.com/files/118/DSC07268.jpg

http://casterracingusa.com/files/118/DSC07269.jpg

http://casterracingusa.com/files/118/DSC07270.jpg

[Caster Racing]

http://casterracingusa.com/files/118/1.jpg

http://casterracingusa.com/files/118/3.jpg

http://casterracingusa.com/files/118/4.jpg

[Caster Racing]

There will be a pro version and pro upgrade parts.

Pro parts will include 7075 chassis, towers, servo and motor plates, hubs, arms, holders....almost everything on the vehicles.

I will post the specs tomorrow.

[crazyjr]

Unless you have steel diffs, its just an RC18 knock off

[REVO139]

It may be similar to the RC18, but the big difference is that these come brushless right out of the box.


Caster,

Do you have any idea what pricing will look like? When will they be available? A ball park estimate is fine. I won't hold you to it.

[Caster Racing]

Revo, not sure yet to be honest.

Here are the specs:

F18 comes with LPR Rims and Tires, just like the 1/8th to increase
the driving performance and stability.

Equipped with Threaded Mini Big Bore shocks.

1.5kg steering servo is used to give the car plenty of power to turn.

SPEC:
2030 130s Brushless Motor.
Hobbywing High End Brushless Speed Control (25A.)
Pre-printed Buggy Body and Truggy Body.
1200 NIMH rechargeable battery
Battery charger 350amp
AM radio with EPA functions.
Fully upgradable to Full Option Kit
1.5 Hex Screws all around.
Racing style downforce wing.
Full Ball bearing
Gear Ratio:10.7:1
4WD
L*W*H: 25.0*17.0*10.5cm

[Caster Racing]

Not sure on the price that is. I haven't confirmed true cost yet. Also, we need to decide what to do with this in regards to pricing. We can price it like everyone else or we can try to do something different with it. What do you think it is worth out of curiosity? (ballpark) We also are going to test the radio system. It says AM and we got a new version. We also have FM available and 2.4 available, but realistically, it is more of a toy as a rtr, so we need to make sure we have value vs performance.

I should have some prototypes in next week, so in theory, we should have some available in about a month and a half at the most if everything goes as expected.

[Jason MaxAmps]

Mike,

When do you expect the Pro kits. I want on of each. I've got a couple new Castle micro systems itching to be used. Looks like we should have no issues of getting a 2S or a 3S 25C 2200 in them either.

Jason

[Dan H]

Do these have gear or ball diffs?

[REVO139]

I'd love it if you could keep the price around $200. At that price point i'd take the AM radio and add my own 2.4 setup later.

I realize $200 might be stretching it a bit. I am guessing it will come out at around $250.

I'm a fan of Caster and the fact that you are attempting to play with the big boys (AE, Losi, Traxxas, etc). If I were you I would try to keep the price as low as possible (while still being profitable). The lower the price the more you will sell. The more you sell the bigger your following becomes in the US. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. Your brushless 1/8th buggy is awesome, but not knowing the Caster name someone might be reluctant to drop $600 on it. If they buy one of your mini's and see that the quality is there they might be more likely to take a chance on your bigger more expensive stuff.

Just my thoughts.

I'll be first in line for one of these.

[HPI-Fan-4-Ever]

It may look like an 18T knockoff, but that doesn't matter if the quality on these is top-notch. I love my 18T to death, but I'll admit the quality in terms of manufacturing and consistency is crappy (I do realize they are more of a "toy" though).

[Caster Racing]

I am pretty sure you will love it then.

I can't wait to see the pro version. It will be interesting to see a 1/16th aluminum chassis plate....

[HPI-Fan-4-Ever]

One of the first things I changed on my 18T was to a CF chassis because the stock chassis and upper deck flexed WAY too much for competitive racing (foam/carpet). Even with a CF chassis and the stock upper deck it gives more than I'd like.

I'll definitely give one of these a try! The buggy bodies look solid :cool:

[Caster Racing]

http://casterracingusa.com/files/1%253A18Truggy-1.JPG

http://casterracingusa.com/files/1%253A18Truggy-3.JPG

http://casterracingusa.com/files/1%253A18Truggy-4.JPG

http://casterracingusa.com/files/1%253A18Truggy-5.JPG

Found some pics from overseas.....

[Cain]

What, no saddle pack configuration! ;) :D

Very nice looking.

As for which way to go with gear, I would say go with a 2.4 Ghz setup out of the box. Be one of the few manufacturers that offer something out of the box that is worth racing.

If we had an indoor track for this scale I would definitely give this a look.

Oh, any plans to make an Short Course truck?

[Chilly Duncan]

Got a few spy pics of this 1/18th truggy last night at my local track, and I got a chance to watch it in action. It did pretty well considering it was running on a track designed for 1/10th and 1/8th scale. :)

87896

87897

[Jason MaxAmps]

From the battery packs sitting there I would say that Dustin had that one. lol

Jason

[Caster Racing]

Very good guess! But I did stop by and drop it off to him....

So are you accusing me of not racing at tracks?

Here is my history of 2009....

I went to Florida for spring break and raced at WOW.

This weekend I am going to the North RC Pro Series race in Waterloo, Ia.

I figure that I should model myself after Taylor James, not Jerod Tebo or Adam Drake. Seems more time efficient....lol.

[Chilly Duncan]

From the battery packs sitting there I would say that Dustin had that one. lol

Jason

Correct, this was his truggy and pit space.

[Caster Racing]

Hey News,

How did it do? My son ran one on cement, hit the curb wot, and I got to wrench on it for a 1/2 hour.....lol. Amazingly nothing broke and no parts were lost, but I think that maybe a gear on the center driveshaft got pushed in slightly.

It works fine again, but I do want to take it apart to see if I can move it out.

I just got confirmation that they just redesigned the diffs to be tougher as we got 8 samples for testing. Other parts of the world have been testing already. I think being in the U.S. we are the farthest away for shipping purposes.

The cool part of these is every screw is 1.5mm so you need 1 tool. Well, I guess that the wheels are held on by a nut...

He is 5 and he likes driving the 1/8 fusion truggy. I thought this would suit him better.

[Chilly Duncan]

Hey News,

How did it do?

They ran it around on the track and it looked ok from what I saw, but like I said the track was made for larger scale vehicles so any 1/18th out there has to work extra hard just to make it over the large jumps.

[Jason MaxAmps]

Mike any word on the Pro versions yet??

Jason

[vnmsgt]

Been running mine for a little bit now and has performed really good. Servo is a bit slow but thats normal for a RTR. Motor and Esc. have been great. Mine is a testing model so been messing around with it. Only problem I saw which is supposedly fixed is IMO the front axle dogbones need to be a bit longer. There is a spring behind the dogbone inside the diff cup that keeps pressure on the axle to keep it in the steering knuckle and I think it is a bit weak. Put a very small piece of rubber tubing in it and A/OK!! Very nice quality. The KITS should be awesome!

[Jason MaxAmps]

I should have my Pro Kit version hopefully today or Saturday. Looking forward to it. Look for a full video build up on it as well.

Jason

[Caster Racing]

By the way, we officially are trying a different approach for the minis.

We just got another batch in and they are much better than the first ones. They did an awesome job of following all of our recommendations.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=140343107294&Category=44029&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D2

[Mark R]

Wow, killer price. That's less money than other rtr's with brushed motors!

[mLst182]

Jeez for that price I might have to snag one!

[Jason MaxAmps]

It's a heck of a deal. And what's even better you will be able to fully upgrade it with the Pro kit aluminum parts. I've been testing a Beta Pro version and I can't wait until the final version is done, it's gonna be nice.

Jason

[Cain]

Looks good. Does the ESC have a lipo cutoff built in?

Anyway in the future to get those RTR buggy bodies to look as nice as the truggy ones? Love the fit of the Buggy body from what I can see, but the paint work on the truggy one is awesome.

Pic of the pro by Jason @ Maxamps

http://www.nitrokillers.com/picture.php?albumid=10&pictureid=310

[Caster Racing]

The buggy and truggy bodies are the exact same except for how they mount. With the pro kit beta version, they sort of forgot to make the mounts for the truggy. I am sure it will be fixed.

Just so everyone is clear, the ebay deal is for the brushless rtr which is almost entirely plaastic like hte RC18 and the pro kit is a completely separate deal with no electronics but is mostly 7075 alminum like the integy upgrade kit.

[Jason MaxAmps]

Like the integy udgrade but much better quality. The pro is a solid little car.

Jason

[Mark R]

Any pics of the Pro version yet?

*edit* Whoops I missed it.

http://www.nitrokillers.com/picture.php?albumid=10&pictureid=310

[darmiejr]

I have several rc18's T a B and now an R.
I have a box full of extra parts and such. If I were to purchase this, would it be safe to say that the parts I currently have will mostly fit the caster?

OH, and if I have caster parts, would it be safe to say that they may fit some of my other 18 scale trucks?

Thanks..//

[30percent]

Looking good Mike!

You planning on coming out to Colorado for nationals in June? Let me know if you need any info. Discount hotels and all that are getting worked out atm..

It's in Colorado Springs @ Colorado Fast Track....