Scaling on a budget. Is it possible? It really depends on your definition of the term “scale trail run”. There are less expensive options when it comes to entry level RTR R/C vehicles. Some of the options out there can bring great fun in a little package. One of these options is the ECX Barrage 1/12th scale RTR truck. This slightly smaller than 1/10th scale crawler surprised us with its overall performance, especially for the price. You will be hard pressed to find a scale truck in the R/C world for less than $200 that provides you with the features this truck delivers. This little RTR includes full ball bearings, metal ring and pinion gears, waterproof electronics, LED lights, and a few other cool features that we will get into later on. Let’s dive in and take a look at what this budget crawler is all about. Be sure to watch the video at the end of this article from our first run too!
A shot of the ECX Barrage and the supplied radio. This vehicle truly is RTR as Horizon provides you with everything needed to hit the trail.
A few shots of the truck by itself. The 1.9 wheels and tires are more along the 1/10th scale size, but the scale Falken Wildpeak tires feel really soft for an RTR tire.
Another shot of the super scale Wildpeak tires and 1.9 wheels.
The scale front bumper has tabs for scale D-rings and recessed LED lights for those night runs. The rear bumper also had D-ring tabs and sports red LED tail lights as well.
The chassis is a twin rail design with a three link suspension front and rear similar to the Axial SCX10 RTR’s.
A shot of the supplied 900mah NiMH which provides longer than expected run times.
The little 370 motor surprised us with decent wheel speed and torque.
A shot of the supplied electronic speed control, or ESC, and the receiver.
Underbelly photo shows the 3 link suspension, with metal links. If you look closely you can also see aluminum C-hubs on the front axle.
We must admit, this little RTR truck is a great entry level crawler for anyone looking to get their feet wet in the scale R/C world. What the body lacks in scale looks the chassis makes up for in performance. And, like we mentioned before it has decent low speed crawling torque with enough top speed to bump up short hill climbs. It just worked great in terrain that is scale to its size. Want to see more? Check out the video below of our maiden voyage with the ECX Barrage. And as always thanks for checking out the RPP Hobby blog!
Video from our first run!