HotBodies MiniZilla Forum

[ScMc]

This truck looks sweet. Post stuff about it here.

[TMaxxBenny25]

I think that Hot Bodies (cough cough HPI) did a mighty fine job with this little truck. I think that it will whoop on the Duratrax Mini Quake. All this aside I still do want the Associated RC18T more because my Monster Truck is a T-Maxx 2.5!!! Thanks GOD BLESS!!!

[ScMc]

I was thinking about getting an E-maxx but this little truck looks really sweet. Very fast, pretty durable, and does wheelies on command. Pretty good bashing capablities too, from what I've seen so far.

[Duster_360]

Where have you seen anything on the minizilla? I've not been able to find anything of substance about it. I've seen that one video thats all over of it driving around and jumping a few times, but nothing really besides that. I'm real interested, but kinda turned off by the friction shocks its supposed to come with. Prob won't stop me from getting one though. Thanks

[TMaxxBenny25]

in some new stuff there is a good video and some cool stuff thanks god bless

[BJoeHandley]

Anybody know how long the shocks are going to be on it? Need longer travel ones on my VMG.

[fs454]

The video, to me at least, makes it look kinda cheap. I don't see what you guys think is awesome in this. The suspension looks fake or they use VERY VERY hard springs in the video. From pictures, it comes with fair electronics (HPI micro pro control and 280/300 motor)

I'll wait till I see one myself, but it doesn't look as nice as the 18T or even the MQ when it's hopped up.

[Duster_360]

Friction shocks - sprung hard cause there nothing else there besides springs/friction. HB has usually been ahead of the curve with stuff like the Lightning Pro buggies and the Stadium truck. This thing was announced in November and competition has moved on. There are other minis out there that come better equipped. I hoped some of the delay has been to catch up, but the one sold on Ebay last week (a Japan kit) - looked like what had been advertised last Nov - price needs to come down, imo.

[Monsterbrad]

WHERE IS THE VIDEO?????
Also I am a monster truck nut and I have the Mini Z monster and the hair gets into the gears and its just no fun.
I have considered the rc18t but its not a monster and I am not going to convert the stadium racer mini into a monster truck thats not cool.
This truck looks great and i have the LSP and love it so I am not going to buy any mini winter thing till I see this truck first!

[Duster_360]

Take a look here - http://www.one18th.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13981

Also, there is a review with some photos here -

http://www.one18th.com/ShowReview133.htm


Theres another vid out there, but forget where its at - maybe elsewhere on one18th.com?

[Monsterbrad]

thanks
I looked
I am not sure about this truck
I am lookin for a mini
it does not look that small.
Oh well
the rc18t is looking good so far!

[shibby6]

I'm getting one as soon as tower realizes that they need to stock the roller version!

[Monsterbrad]

well i saw the rc18t in action today.
I still want to know what the size of this little truck is??????
Is it the same size as the mini t and rc18t????????

[shibby6]

it has wheel base of 148mm....which is shorter than a m18 wheelbase...it has a 195mm width and a total length of 225mm (go to hpiracing.co.jp) and click on minizilla then specs then chassis

[microrcdude]

IMO, i think someone took a shrink ray to the savage and put electric equipment in it.

[Duster_360]

The first posts I saw about it called it an 1/18 scale elec savage.

[ScMc]

does anyone know if we will be able to use 2.2 sized tires on the minizilla? Thanks

[ScMc]

Hey guys, The minizilla should be here Saturday or monday!!! Woohoo!!!

[Monsterbrad]

Let us know what you think..
Post pics.
Also I have seen the truck on ebay for way cheaper than tower is listing it for and tower does not even have the truck yet!!!!
I am still up in the air about this truck.
ScMc
U are going to be the first on here so make sure you are ready to give the 100% review.
Also did you buy the RTR?????

[ScMc]

Yes I got the RTR. The trucks on ebay (im pretty sure) were the pre-assembled versions of the truck, not the RTR. Dont worry, Ill give you guys a good review when I receive the truck.

[Duster_360]

The 1st Minizilla sold on ebay was the prebuilt model, but lately (in teh last week) there have been both. Either is going for way too much. One18th.com has announce they are selling them in their store and matching Tower's price.

[ScMc]

Ultimate has them for very cheap and with free shipping!!!

www.ultimatehobbies.com

[Duster_360]

I've bought 2 rcs from UltimateHobbies and have not had any probs, but it bothers me that they don't have a secure site. Wish they would upgrade it.

[ScMc]

Buy them on the phone then... UNless you dont get free shipping with phone-in orders.

[Duster_360]

Yep, no free shipping - thats for internet orders. When I bought last from them they had a call for price and when I called, I asked - can I go ahead and order - thats how I found out. The other thing is there is no color choice with their internet order either. You get what they ship - pot luck. They still have a great price and ship stuff out quickly.

Guess I'll have to just go ahead an do it if I'm going to do it an stop worrying about it. Just something about giving a credit card # on non-secure website.

[TMaxxBenny25]

I am trying to decide between this and a RC18T, MiniQuake, and RC18T. I am open to all opinions. My b day is in early march and i dont know which 1 to get. HELP PLEEZE!

[Duster_360]

Go ovre to one18th.com and read the forums. Minizilla has just started to be available and only a few have them. No real opinion on that one yet. Others have been out long enough to be known - strong points and weak points. I'm partial to the MQ cause I've got one, but I am prob going to be getting a zilla as well.

[ScMc]

Just get a zilla and be a guenni (spelling?) pig! Mine should be here tommorow, Ill tell yah how it goes.

[TMaxxBenny25]

or the TLT-1 or Max Climber. i found a sic 1 on ebay and its awesome.

[Duster_360]

ScMc - let us know what motor you get - there appears to be some confusion about the motor. Was supposed to be a 370 and now may only be a 300?? That needs to be cleared up!! Thanks

[ScMc]

Actually, I think some 370 motors can be very similar in size to a 300. Believe me, If the motor wasnt a 370, HotBodies would not advertise it that way. Plus, I wont be able to tell the difference cuz im a nitro guy, lol. Minizilla should be here tommorow, Post office was closed today...

[ScMc]

Hey guys, got my minizilla today. When I opened the box I got butterflys, this truck looks totally sweet just sitting still. And ya know how the stock body looks kinda ugly like it doesnt belong on the truck? You wont even notice it when you have it in your hands... The truck looks nice. HotBodies threw a couple purple aluminum accents that make for some good eye candy

I dropped the truck from about 8 inches off the ground a few times at different angles. I was very impressed with the shocks. Although they are not oil-filled, I must say they do a fine job of handling bumps and jumps. Off-Camber landings were not a problem for this little truck.

A minor gripe I had with the minizilla is that it didnt come with any tools (atleast mine didnt). This is alright, as I have the neccesary hex drivers to work on the truck but It would've been nice to see the tools included. Also, whoever said the front shock tower is flimsy was correct, it is flimsy, And I don't think It will break for that exact reason.

Next on the list was to insert the antenna wire through the tube. As you all know, You can never get the damn wire all the way through without having sore fingers and a headache first. So i cut the tube down to size. 1/18 scale truck, 1/18 scale antenna tube

Enough jibber jabber...

I hooked the included 7.2 volt battery up to my Novak Ionic with some Jerry Rigging, and had the battery charged at .5 amps in about an hour.

Once the battery was charged, I inserted it into the back door, and locked the gate with the e-clip. Very simple and well-layed-out chassis on this thing, I love it. Plugged the battery into the esc, flipped the switch, tugged on the throttle and BAM! Can u say WHEELIE?!?!

This thing hauls on the bottom end, You can wheelie it all day. All of the driving was done indoor so I never really got a chance to open it up completely until the battery was going dead. I have feeling that the stock top-speed will leave some wanting more, and the kit includes more pinions so you can fine-tune your accel/top speed. Right now Im gonna stick with the stock pinion as I love the wheelies. Anyways, This truck turns on a dime, Very sharp and crisp handling and it never once acted like it was going to flip at speed. I had SOO much fun chacing my dogs around the house with this thing. As far as climbing goes, I think as long as the truck doesn't flip over, it does pretty well. I could climb over ten pound weights and dog bones and a 6 inch high dog bed/cusion without a problem. Unfortunately, I didnt have a chance to jump it as I was having so much fun just messing around with the Zilla. All in all I got a solid 20 minutes of Good run-time with no noticeable leak of battery power, and then 7-8 minutes of just discharging the Nicad battery which consists of rolling it around slowly until it stops.

Guess what! NOTHING BROKE!! After crashing the truck into walls, chair legs, couches, and door ways, sometimes at close to full speed, the truck never broke a single part. I didnt have a problem with shock retainers falling out or any driveline problems.

Overall I give this truck an 8.8 out of 10. I would highly suggest buying this truck! And dont think Im a newb and I think anything that goes in reverse and is fully functional is fun, Im a nitro guy and I usually drive loud things that go 40 mph and i still think this thing is awesome. And you KNOW the Zilla is gonna have a hoppin' aftermarket support, Cant wait to see what HotBodies has in store for us. (8 shocks, carbon Fiber side plates!!)

Thanks for listening to me rave about this truck, I know the review was un-organized But I Really like this truck and Im excited to run it again after lunch

Ill jump it this time and tell you guys what I think. Thanks for listening. Pics are coming soon...

ScMc

[Monsterbrad]

that sounds great ScMc!!!!!!!!
I might just have to get one..
I need a mini monster anyway to add to the collection of monsters I have
MGT
LST
LSP
Minizilla would look nice
plus I do like the sounds of that review !!!!!

[ScMc]

You wont be dissapointed!

[MaximumF350]

options on the HPI Japan site. Aluminum TVPs for the Minizilla. Purple or Silver

[MaximumF350]

heat sinks in purple or black

[MaximumF350]

cvds

[MaximumF350]

silver tvps

[illbreakit]

carbon Fiber side plates!!


ScMc


I don't know about Hotbodies, but I'll have Carbon fiber side plates made soon

[ScMc]

I cant wait to get some upgrades on this beast!

[Monsterbrad]

I can't decide ebay has a few on there now and they are going for decent deals way cheaper than tower that does not have them yet!!!!
Just can't decide,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Duster_360]

Whoa!! Tower does have them in stock and they've dropped the price to $189.99 like UltimateHobbies!!!

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJKY6&P=ML

Shoot, I just did a big TH order too. Well, bettre start planning teh next one, I guess, lol!

[Monsterbrad]

That's cool that they dropped the price...
I will have to see what Speed Zone is selling them for
I just can't stand it I have to try one of these little trucks.
I have all monsters in my collection so I have been waiting for a worthy mini to come out cause the Mini Z monster was crappy got to much stuff in the gears...

[Duster_360]

Well one18th.com has dropped the price on the MiniZilla in their online store to $189.99 matching Tower and UltimateHobbies. Mike at one18th.com also says he's gotten a full complement of parts for the MZ too and once he understands what parts are being broken most, he'll keep plenty of those in inventory. Oh, yeah, Mike said shipping was $6 and up depending where you live. Another source.

[Monsterbrad]

Ebay is not that good of a deal then..
Check there prices out they are still kinda high
189 is the best so far from a dealer

[littlebuddha]

ya guys, but dont forget that tower has a $25 discount for orders over 150, so it seems the best place to buy at the moment!

[Duster_360]

Man, you gotta love those TH discounts! If you're a club SuperSaver Club member too, you get free shipping on top of the discounts. Hard not to take a deal like that

[GrAfiX]

Yup I wonder how they stay in business with the $25 off I'd be loosing about $20 on every one that I sold at the $189 price.

[Monsterbrad]

They get discounts for there huge orders they take from the companies..
The hell with tower buy from somewhere else...

[ScMc]

Over the years I have spent over 3000 dolalrs on Tower, Just counted up all my orders! And i think they erased some of them like when i ordered my stampede and rustler...

[Duster_360]

Mike, welcome from over here. Got my Stegga today and it looks awesome!

I'll be doing more business with one18th.com for sure! Thanks!

[shibby6]

BUT is tower stocking the kit version....NOOO is one18th.com...YESSS one18th.com has my money..eventually

[Duster_360]

Are you sure about that? I was just over there and the online store only shows the rtr and its currently out of stock. I would be more interested in the kit so I could chose my own electronics, only place I've seen teh kit is ebay and the ones I followed went for almost as much as the RTR.

[CooLJoE8]

Yeah, if I get one, I want the kit version.

[Duster_360]

The guy selling the kits on Ebay has stopped putting them up for bid and now offers them only as "buy it now" at $179.99 which seems a little steep to me. For $10 extra, you get all the added RTR stuff - I'm not going to be buying a kit from that guy at that price.

[CooLJoE8]

I saw one last night that was $129 buy it now.

[Duster_360]

Thats that same guy thats been selling the kits all along on ebay - guess the price drop finally got to him too. Much better deal, 145 delivered. Going to have to think real hard on that. Thanks for the heads up!

[shibby6]

mike at one18th.com sais that they have not arrived yet (kits) thats why you dont see them listed...yet

[Duster_360]

one18th's online store is going to be selling the kits ?? I must have missed that announcement. Any idea when he'll be getting them? He mention what his price is going to be?

[shibby6]

he didnt exactly announce it in the news section but its in the minizilla forums in the thread "just touched down" I think, not sure on price but knowing mike he will try to give the best deal possible (I'm guessing a little over $100-$125)

[Duster_360]

Thats a deal worth waiting on! I'll be one of his first customers for a deal like that. I'll keep watching one18th. Thanks

[crazy-rc]

any more vids?

[Monsterbrad]

I would like too see one of these trucks with some oil shocks and all the stock stuff.
Just seems that it would have oil shocks on it!
Look cool though
does it do mad wheelies?

[SteveK]

Anybody have pictures of the Minizilla with a different body on it?

[ZeroMax]

has anyone tested the stock top speed of these things? how will it compare to a TLT-1 with a 19T motor?

[Devillish]

So does anyone have one of these? I should be getting mine today, ordered an mini t escalade body too so i'll take pics after i get that painted and mounted.

[Devillish]

well if anyone is wondering i got it today. this thing is crazy fast. Pulls wheelies like crazy and will flip on its lid if you go wot. It will even pull the rear wheels up in reverse. Over all its a really nice truck. It even has mounts so you can set it up with 8 shocks like a savage(its big brother really) The friction shocks arnt that bad at all. The only thing i really dont like about it is theres slop in the steering but i have an idea of how to fix that using TC3 and rc18T parts. Also i think you can use wheels from a mini t on it too but i'll have to check out the Ts wheels. The bodys for the T fit almost better then the stock body. I think this truck is very under rated. The mini T and the RC18MT are nice but this is more of a real monster. Iam very happy that i got this one. But i really cant wait to go back to the LHS in japan and see what kinda stuff they got for this thing!

[bret4]

I ordered the Mini zilla the other day too. It looks like a great basher. I had the mini quake and I still have the RC18MT. The mini quake is junk. I hit the quake head on with my RC18MT and busted the front lower and upper arms on the quake. The RC18MT has had many crashes with curbs and a few with larger 10th cars and never broke a thing.

I may put my Mamba brushless in the mini zilla. Some people have put 2.2" buggy wheels on the zilla. That should make it go over a lot of things that the RC18MT just makes it over. From video's it looks like the Zilla should jump a lot better than the RC18MT. Maybe I will put a Mamba 8000 motor in the MT and make it a parking lot bruner. Then the Zilla will be my fun all around small basher.

I never thought the 18th scale would be so much fun. I have had 1/8th and 1/10th scale electric and gas trucks. These little trucks are great fun. Much easier to carry around and the batteries on my MT last up to 20 min's and cost 1/3rd of my large truck batteries. Best of all I am just as fast as my friends 4.6 Savage with the Mamba in the MT. Should be able to do the same with the Mini zilla. Can't wait!

Bret

[nitro_newbie]

is this truck pretty durable wat are the eak points on it that tend to break and wat king of wheels fit on this and buy upgrading to a higher capacity battery would this go faster or is it the motor and does it come with full ball bearings and wat kind of accessories does it come with would a mamba destroy the tranny and gears also were can i get hop ups and can i fit more than a 6cell pack
thanx alot for the answers:)
nitro~newbie:)

[jocktheglide165]

is the minizilla 4wd? I was thinking of getting one because since I got the 1/10 E zilla mind as well get the baby also....

[Duster_360]

Def a 4WD - here's a review -

http://www.one18th.com/ShowReview168.htm

[kurrz]

Has anybody had any issues with the stock esc. I can't get the wheels to stop turning. I bought this off ebay with no radio. I put in a radio that was flawless before. I turned the throttle adjustment all the way back but, it still moves a little. Thanks

[kurrz]

Anybody got one?

[CARTRANCE17542]

I bought mine used with mamba brushless system. I rebuild the center gear, and now it run really quiet. The gear meshing is very easy. I only have 5400 and this baby can run.

[h82b2nd]

I just bought one used and put the extended chassis on it right away to mount a TLT body on it - looks great

anyway I wanted to know about the trans,

when I hammer it - to wheelie it clicks a couple times

does this truck have an internal slipper like the VMG that slips/clicks to save the trans.?

[whiteman]

where can we get a wheelie bar?