Review: Brown Engineering Scooby Horton II Scalpel

Out of all the racing classes I’ve run, 1/18th has to be one of my favorites. Yes, an odd class I know, but I think it’s because it’s always amazing to see what something so small is capable of. You expect 1/10th scale pan cars to set blistering laps given their size, their tires and their power-to-weight ratio. Take that same thinking and squish it into a 1/18th scale package and it just seems more mind-boggling. I had a chance to review the original Scooby Horton and it was fun, so I’m excited to see if these new upgrades elevate the Scalpel to the next level.

AT A GLANCE
WHO MAKES IT: Brown Engineering
WHO IT’S FOR: Intermediate to Advanced
HOW MUCH: $65
BUILD TYPE: Kit

WHAT YOU GET
The SH II comes with everything you need to convert your Scalpel to a side-link, side-damper super car. You get the carbon fiber chassis, pod upper deck and pod lower deck. You also get the side links in two different designs to help you tune the SH II to your track. All the needed hardware (including the center shock) is also included to put it all together.

THE BUILD
Detailed, step-by-step instructions would be nice, but thankfully this isn’t my first rodeo so I can piece the SH II together. If you’re not familiar with this car (or this design), familiarize yourself with the pictures beforehand. It will help immensely. Other than that, the SH II goes together nice and easy. Just remember not to over tighten anything. All parts must move freely for the best performance. Speaking of performance, I made sure my performance package was topnotch! An Airtronics 9471 servo did the steering duties. For power, Tekin’s Mini Rage brushless ESC and Thunder Tiger’s Ripper 7000kV brushless motor got the call. To provide the juice, a Thunder Power 1350mAh G6 Pro-Lite LiPo was installed. Finally, to keep everything under control, I loaded up the Spektrum DX3R transmitter system.

PROS & CONS
+ Carbon fiber and red anodized aluminum
+ No T-plate, uses side dampers
+ Adjustable side links
+ Simple, but effective front suspension
– Center shock hits the battery
– A bit too much play in the front axles
– Instructions?

THE DRIVE
As with all pan cars, tire selection is crucial. Checking to see what the 1/12-scale guys were running, I started off with black fronts and magenta rears and set the gearing at 15/49 (pinion/spur). Once the battery was topped off and the tires prepped, I set the Scooby down for some quick practice laps. The good news is the sheer speed of this little bugger. I’ve done a few other small-scale projects and thought they were fast but this is ridiculous. It’s almost, dare I say it, too fast and was certainly an exercise in throttle control! The steering was good, but a little “wander” at times which could be attributed to the play in the front axles. On the second run I switched to a set of purple/pink fronts and white rears, gooping all four tires completely. This was the ticket the SH II needed and I was soon ticking off some blistering laps. This thing is an absolute missile on the straights and handled well on the infield, but I had to really concentrate and hit my lines to make it ‘look good’. Any extra excitement and I was bouncing off the barriers.

FINAL WORD
The Scalpel is a fun little 1/18-scale carpet car. Adding a LiPo-friendly carbon conversion like the Scooby Horton II gives you more adjustability and traction than the stock kit. This allows you to install more power and actually use it. For $65, I think it’s one of the best upgrades you can buy for this car!

LINKS
Brown Engineering – www.BrownEng.org (845) 485-8331