Force RC Northwood and Hammerjaw discontinued?

[TIME MACHINE]

I was contemplating buying a Northwood for my son, who is 3 years old. Low and behold, I see they are on clearance at Horizon and Tower. In fact, quite a few Force RC products are on clearance, while others have disappeared completely.

Anyone have any info? Was Force RC a failed experiment at an entry level product? I wonder if the rate of returns were cutting into profits?

https://www.horizonhobby.com/storefr...tores/force-rc

[Jim85IROC]

Didn't they just release the Northwood a few weeks ago?

If the Hammerjaw was cheaper I'd grab one, but $10 off isn't enough.

They're probably getting hammered with warranty claims on these. The Hammerjaw and Northwood use the same axles as the Gen7, with the same plastic lockers. On a 2.2 rig, there's no way those will last more than a few minutes.

[TIME MACHINE]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

Didn't they just release the Northwood a few weeks ago?

If the Hammerjaw was cheaper I'd grab one, but $10 off isn't enough.

They're probably getting hammered with warranty claims on these. The Hammerjaw and Northwood use the same axles as the Gen7, with the same plastic lockers. On a 2.2 rig, there's no way those will last more than a few minutes.

I think you are right. The reviews indicate a ton of failures. When I look for replacement parts on the Tower website, they have almost nothing listed. I will definitely steer clear of this one.

The other interesting tidbit is that they appear to be eliminating the “go fast” stuff. The 1/8 stuff is on clearance. I think Force RC might be going down the same path that Helion did, which is straight out of business.

[JatoTheRipper]

I don't understand why Horizon needs ECX and Force. I'm not sure you even need one cheap brand, but you certainly don't need two.

Checkout the ratings on the Northwood. 1.5 stars. Only two ratings, but still. Avoid that garbage.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by TIME MACHINE

I think you are right. The reviews indicate a ton of failures. When I look for replacement parts on the Tower website, they have almost nothing listed. I will definitely steer clear of this one.

The other interesting tidbit is that they appear to be eliminating the “go fast” stuff. The 1/8 stuff is on clearance. I think Force RC might be going down the same path that Helion did, which is straight out of business.

It's worth noting that there are a ton of HSP and Gen7 parts that work on that truck, and a bunch of Axial parts are easily adapted. If the price falls a little more, I'm grabbing one. It'll be a nice budget-friendly companion to my Bomber. At the price they're currently asking though, I think the RGT Rock Hammer (almost the same truck) is a better deal because it comes with better electronics.

At $250 I have some interest in that 1/8 scale monster truck, but I'm not familiar enough with that platform to know whether those parts are out there under a different brand name. That and I don't own a single 4s battery.

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I don't understand why Horizon needs ECX and Force. I'm not sure you even need one cheap brand, but you certainly don't need two.

Checkout the ratings on the Northwood. 1.5 stars. Only two ratings, but still. Avoid that garbage.

Isn't ecx a in store only brand?

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Isn't ecx a in store only brand?

I first saw them in a local HobbyTown USA years ago, but they are available online now.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/storefronts/ecx-brand

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I first saw them in a local HobbyTown USA years ago, but they are available online now.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/storefronts/ecx-brand

They all say available in store only, so I guess that is a yes.

[JohnnyAnguish]

I believe the Hammerjaw and Northwood use a redesigned axle (wider without spacers like the Rock Hammer). I think that's the issue. Apparently one of the front axle shafts is very prone to breakage. The axle shafts are out of stock and I'm not sure there's an alternative.

Tower had a deal for Super Saver Club members that had the Hammerjaw going for something like $120. It was very tempting as a fun project to tinker with, but the axle issue ultimately kept me away. I suspect the issue can be mitigated somewhat if you have a radio with endpoint adjustments, but I couldn't find enough detailed info to verify.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by JohnnyAnguish

I believe the Hammerjaw and Northwood use a redesigned axle (wider without spacers like the Rock Hammer). I think that's the issue. Apparently one of the front axle shafts is very prone to breakage. The axle shafts are out of stock and I'm not sure there's an alternative.

Tower had a deal for Super Saver Club members that had the Hammerjaw going for something like $120. It was very tempting as a fun project to tinker with, but the axle issue ultimately kept me away .I suspect the issue can be mitigated somewhat if you have a radio with endpoint adjustments, but I couldn't find enough detailed info to verify.

Good to know. I had concluded that the rear axle was wide like the one used in the Redcat Camo X4, but I never put 2 & 2 together to conclude that would also require a wider front axle.

Still, I would have jumped at one for $120.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

They all say available in store only, so I guess that is a yes.

All this time I didn't realize they were listed in the website, but not for sale!

[fomoco]

I have the northwoods picked it up from tower right after Christmas, iam running axial wraith universals axial ring an pinion gears an steel lockers an redcat steel tranny gears only mod I had to do was cut one universal down to fit, iam running the truck on my fltsky gt3c radio, so far so good makes for a decent trail beater, out of the box no mods it wont make it 50ft but with these cheap mods I can trail all weekend no problem

[Crashoverrideplik]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

Good to know. I had concluded that the rear axle was wide like the one used in the Redcat Camo X4, but I never put 2 & 2 together to conclude that would also require a wider front axle.

Still, I would have jumped at one for $120.

Your wish has come true. They just lowered the price to $129. I had to buy one at that price.

[JohnnyAnguish]

Originally Posted by fomoco

I have the northwoods picked it up from tower right after Christmas, iam running axial wraith universals axial ring an pinion gears an steel lockers an redcat steel tranny gears only mod I had to do was cut one universal down to fit, iam running the truck on my fltsky gt3c radio, so far so good makes for a decent trail beater, out of the box no mods it wont make it 50ft but with these cheap mods I can trail all weekend no problem

So the Wraith universals work if you cut them down? That would address the one truly fatal design flaw I've heard of.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by Crashoverrideplik

Your wish has come true. They just lowered the price to $129. I had to buy one at that price.

It figures that it happens right after I plunked a bunch of money on a Kyosho Tomahawk during Ebay's 15% off sale this week. Thanks for the heads-up. If they're still around in a couple weeks I may have to grab one.

[Jim85IROC]

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered one from Tower. $130 plus an additional $7.50 off was hard to resist.

Time to raid my Gen7 axles for the lockers, CVAs and aluminum high steer knuckles.

[Jim85IROC]

Mine came in on Friday and I had a chance to look it over. The axles are larger and wider than the Gen7 stuff, so nothing except the center spools are the same. This could make repairs/upgrades challenging, especially concerning the front dogbones. I would like to swap to CV axles, but now it looks like it will be more work because I'll have to retro a lot of Axial stuff in to accomplish it.

Aside from that, I'm actually really impressed with the truck. The plastic feels very good... not floppy and soft like Axial plastics. It reminds me of the plastics on the Gen8. The axle housings look very robust. The tires are firm-ish, but still kind of sticky. The foams appear to be a memory foam, which will be a problem because they're like cement in the cold, just like the Gen8 foams.

I'm anxious to drive the truck, but so far I'm really liking it.

[t9dragon]

I just picked one for $115 on Tower. Going to give it a try and if it fails I will just build something else with the parts.

[Jim85IROC]

Just make sure you turn down the steering dual rate so that the dogbones don't bind and be ready to replace the servo and the lockers.