Hobby Products International
Hobby Products International (HPI-Racing) is a popular RC model making brand that has been producing radio-controlled car items since 1986 . The company is based in Foothill Ranch , California .
Models
The range of models is large. From a scale of 1:18 to 1: 5 (large models), everything is included. Hobby Products International offers both electric cars and vehicles with glow plug ignition engines that burn methanol and nitromethane . Lately, real petrol engines on a scale of 1: 5 have also been represented, which drive with the usual two-stroke mixture.
The degree of manufacture of the respective models also varies. You can choose from RTR models (Ready To Run; ready to drive), pre-assembled models (pre-assembled without RC unit) and kits (without RC unit). The RC unit includes a remote control , servos and receiver .
1:18 scale
HPI is also represented with some products on a scale of 1:18. The Micro RS4 is available as a sport version and a drift version, each in an RTR version with different body shapes.
1:12 scale
In the 1:12 scale, the Wheely King is in the program, a monster truck-like vehicle that has been optimized through translation and weight distribution to perform impressive wheelies, i.e. driving only on the rear wheels.
1:10 scale
The 1:10 scale is mainly represented by electric cars at Hobby Products International, but there are also combustion engines.
There are always two versions of electric road cars. The "Race version" is designed for average driving on the roads, while the "Drift version" is designed for drifting. The two versions differ in terms of tires and engine position, among other things. The racing version has ordinary tires and a rear-seated engine. The drift variant has special tires and a motor located in the front of the chassis. The Sprint 2 is a popular representative of the so-called on-roads with an electric motor . Hobby Products International also offers other electric cars. Mention should be made of the E-Firestorm , the E-Savage and the Brama in the off-road sector, or the E10 chassis in the on-road sector.
The Nitro 3 series is very popular among the RC cars with glow plug motors of this scale . And then there is also the Firestorm 10T and the MT2 in the off-road sector.
Scale 1: 8
The Savage series from HPI-Racing is the largest series in RC car model racing to date. Savages are so-called monster trucks that are powered by nitro engines (2-stroke glow-igniter engine). Monster trucks have a relatively high ground clearance and therefore a high center of gravity. There are innumerable Savages out there, and Hobby Products International is still bringing more of them onto the market.
The oldest Savage is the Savage 21 . The current one is the Savage XL (with 5.9 cm³ nitro engine and 108 mm ground clearance), and the Savage Flux (brushless electric version, appeared in spring 2009). The huge possibilities to customize the Savage and optimize the performance are an advantage of this series. A large selection of tuning parts is available directly from HPI, but also from many other - mainly American companies - in a large selection. It is quite feasible to replace all individual parts in the Savage with higher quality tuning parts, e.g. B. Plastic parts through aluminum.
Between the oldest and the newest Savage there are many other variants of it, which mainly differ in displacement (3.5 cm³ to 5.9 cm³) and the tuning parts used. The Savage XL stands out more because, in addition to the largest displacement 5.9 cm³ engine, it also has an extended wheelbase and is therefore several cm longer. All Savage models have permanent four-wheel drive. A special feature of the Savage models is the TVP (Twin Vertical Plate), here everything is not mounted on a horizontal base plate as with other models, but between two vertical plates, which gives the Savage enormous stability.
Furthermore there is or was the Proceed , an on-road racing car. However, it is no longer in the current HPI program. There is also the Hellfire , which is offered as a kit and RTR version.
Scale 1: 5
Recently, HPI-Racing has also been offering radio-controlled model cars with "real" petrol engines.
As a Baja 5B RTR ready to drive or Baja 5B SS as a kit, each with a 2-stroke engine with 23 cm³ and 26 cm³. The Baja 5B is a dune buggy and is also used for extreme operations. As the Baja 5T , the vehicle is equipped with a 26 cm³ engine and has the shape of a desert truck (it is delivered ready to drive as an RTR version).
All 3 models have a 2-wheel drive (rear-wheel drive). All 3 models are fueled with a mixture of gasoline and two-stroke engine oil. These models are very different from the large models from other manufacturers. They are also the largest model cars currently available for sale. Up to one meter long and can reach speeds of over 80 kilometers per hour.
Web links
Current HPI racing series include: