Hobbyking ACME Trooper

SO I bought my Hobbyking Trooper a little while ago now. At the time, I was running a Traxxas slash 4x4, (and still am), and I thought for the price, I'd try the HK trooper out.

In the box, packaging looked great, Hobbyking always amazes me at how efficient and safely they can pack your rc itmes.

Out of the box,Mmmmmm, that 'new rc toy' smell filled the room. The truck looked awesome and once I dropped my own RX receiver in, I was ready to rock.

The trooper comes with a 35amp esc which didn't seem like enough power to me. I've run a similar setup on my 2wd traxxas slash with decent result but on a 4WD with a metal chassis and driveshafts??  Seems too heavy for a mere 35a esc. I charged my hobbyking zippy 5000mah 2cell lipo and tired her out. I gotta say, at that time, I was impressed at it's ability to pick up speed and zoom around.  My initial run was around my house where there are rocks on the ground.  I was finding that rocks were collecting on the chassis and blocking the driveshafts. I found myself pulling wedged rocks out of it a dozen times. I build a rock shield for my Hobbyking Trooper with tape and thin plastic and that has solved this issue.

The next thing that happened was that my ESC failed and went up in a pile of smoke.  That smoke smells and is surely toxic. Can't say I didn't expect that 35a esc to go for long. I tried a 60a esc, smoked. I dropped in my Castle Creations sidewinder 1/10th short course truck combo and that smoked my esc. Ok, now I was mad, cheap escs I can get over but my lovely little castle creations beauty of an esc was gone and stinky from that smoke.

During these 'test runs', my rear bumper was quick to snap off. My front bumper did the same so I bolted it back on and it's been holding just fine.  I broke a shock but all I had around were traxxas shocks so I tired it out and guess what?  I was able to fit the traxxas shock onto my Trooper.

My Trooper spent a few weeks on the shelf, collecting dust. I guess I was mad at it for smoking so many of my escs, what a drag!

Finally, I had a Traxxas Velineon VXL system that I could drop into my Trooper. Well, Blow me' down!  The Trooper was all of a sudden FLYING past me, back and forth, zipping here and zipping there!  I was running a hobbyking Zippy 5000mah 2cell lipos. This 2cell felt like a 3cell! When I went to touch the motor and esc, they were warm but touchable. A few more hard runs with lots of throttle delivered the same 'touchable' electronics. I tired a 3cell which is do-able but can get hotter. Luckily the Traxxas VelineonVXL system is equipped with thermal shutdown which prevents your esc from going up in smoke.

I've been running my Trooper with the VXL setup for a bit and I gotta say, I'm really liking the truck now. The problem with the stock setup is that it's not enough power for the weight of the truck.

If you're thinking about getting a Hobbyking Trooper, Get yourself a Traxxas VXL Velineon system to go with it. Take the stock trooper gutts and drop them into that 2wd slash or rustler which they are more suited to. Once your Trooper shocks snap, replace them with Traxxas slash or rustler or stampede shocks. Another big key thing to do with the Trooper is to drop the body mounts down. Drill some new holes on the body mount poles and cut the bottoms off  for clearance.  This will allow you to lower where the body sits and drops the centre of gravity down. You can even use your Traxxas 10th scale tires and rims on your trooper.

Though it took a while, I'm very glad to own a Trooper. I think that they are well worth the money.  The sound of the metal drivetrain and spur gear flying by your is awesome!  It hugs and drifts around corners very nicely.

Many people looking at the Trooper are usually also looking at the Traxxas slash 4x4 and are wondering what to get. As an owner of both, I can honestly say that these two are very different animals. The 4WD slash has a lot more plastic than metal which brings its weight down considerably. The slash 4x4 also has its own issues right out of the box too; such as a 'closed' driveshaft that lets all sorts of debris in, bearings that last a few hours......love the slash but that ones been a road to satisfaction as too.

Here's the sum up for the Hobbyking Trooper - short course truck

-It's great on road, its nice off road but you need to tape on some plastic walls to keep rocks out.

-stock power system is not enough. Needs the power of a Traxxas Velineon VXL system, this is a must have. Run it on a 2cell and it will feel like a 3cell.

-Stock shocks will break, when they do, replace them with traxxas ones, same with the servo.

-cut and drill the body posts to lower the body, makes a huge difference.