Review: Robitronics Scooby Horton Scalpel

My first drive of a Robitronics Scalpel was back in late 2009 when I tested a bone stock 4-cell Pro kit. On carpet with foam tires, this little rocket was fast, nimble and a whole lot of fun! Skip ahead a couple months and to the release of the new Scooby Horton Edition. This longer-wheelbase chassis not only accepts a 6-cell pack, but rumor has it that it also handles like a micro-1/12 scale! I decided to put that rumor to the test but with a slight twist…I’m taking it to a high-speed asphalt track!

Electronics
For the build, I used the Hitec HS-225MG servo and Futaba 4PK radio system from my original Pro kit. The Scooby kit includes new angled servo mounts that, once installed, took up quite a bit of room with my slightly larger servo. Dropping in the receiver and Tekin Mini-Rage ESC, I only had enough room for a Reedy 4-cell pack. That’s quite alright as that means I can strap in a slightly higher KV motor. In chose a Reedy 7000KV mini brushless motor.

Chassis & Suspension
Besides the new, longer 6-cell chassis, the Scooby kit includes a new rear end setup as well. Replacing the adequate damper plate was a new, larger center shock and damper tubes. This is a well proven suspension setup that is easy to tune. The stock carbon fiber t-plate is swapped out with a new fiberglass unit.

Body & Tires
I chose the Parma Mini Speed 8 body for its high downforce. For most of my reviews I like to let some professional RC painters showcase their work, however for this project I took the conservative route. I applied a stellar paint scheme of red and white; high visibility colors for use on the large indoor track. Brown Engineering sent out an assortment of different tire compounds to help me tune the Scoob to the asphalt track. Pink fronts and white rears made their way to the car for the final runs.

PARTS USED
Brown Engineering
• Scooby Horton Conversion Kit, P117
• Scalpel Pink Front Tires, 109D
• Scalpel White Rear Tires, 110A
• Parma Mini Speed 8 Body, P104

Parma
• Mini Speed 8 body—P104

Futaba
• 4PK 4-Channel 2.4GHz, FUTK4900

Hitec
• Hitec Mighty Mini Servo, HS-225MG

Tekin
• Tekin Mini Rage Brushless ESC

Reedy
• Micro Brushless Motor 7000KV, 913
• VMX Concept 1600mah Micro Pack, 621

The Drive
Final preparations included setting the tweak, setting the Tekin ESC and saucing the tires. Jack the Gripper tire sauce was applied to half the front tire and the entire rear tire. Once I was ready, I wiped the tire sauce off, locked the body into place and took the Scoob for a test run. Thank goodness I painted the main color white as this little rocket was a blur on the large track. Handling was a little twitchy and hard to control. After the 5-minute run I brought the Scoob back in and gave it a once over. I changed out the tires (to the previously mentioned pink fronts/white rears), installed a different pinion gear and reapplied tire sauce. Now we’re talking! Back out on the track, the softer rear tires locked the rear end in and the different gearing not only made the Scoob faster but also extended runtimes. The Tekin ESC/Reedy Motor combo was actually very smooth. I can only imagine what it would do on a 6-cell pack!

Final Thoughts
I thought I was going to have my hands full with this little car on asphalt. Heck, I thought I was going to have my hands full period! But out of the box, it’s a good little conversion. It will require you to massage it a bit to get it to work how you like, but all the ingredients are there. There’s no rumor about it; it is fast, it is fun, and it is nimble. Add an additional 2 cells and it’ll be insane. Just the way I like it.

Brown Engineering-www.browneng.org
Futaba–www.futaba-rc.com
Hitec–www.hitecrcd.com
Tekin–www.teamtekin.com
Reedy–www.reedypower.com