Introduction
R2 Hobbies has once again brought an expensive product from the Japanese market down to bargain prices. This time they have adopted a set of adjustable stealth body mounts for your 1:10 scale RC cars, similar to Waru Mounts. No more drilling holes into your RC body, or ugly body posts. These front mounts are mounted onto existing front body posts and rear mounts directly onto the rear damper stays where body posts previous occupy. Utilizing what is commonly known as Velcro, your body is easily attached or removed from your chassis. These body mounts are very inexpesive at approximately $15USD/¥1160JPY/€11EUR.
Overall Quality
Not sure exactly what type of aluminum alloy it is made of and R2 does not specify. The mounts appear to be quite sturdy. The anodized color was less than consistent, some of the anodization was different a different shade from the rest of the mount. The mismatch in color is dissapointing, but not a big problem, at least it is very inexpensive compared to geniune Waru mounts. The Magic Tape Adhesive provided by R2 hobbies is less than adequate, we recommend going to purchase your own from your local store. The mounts are held together and adjusted using grub screws. When the grub screws are tightened it does scar the aluminum, which leads us to believe the material is not of high quality alloy.
Product Review
The packaging is nothing to brag about, its similar to many other R2 Hobbies products. Their emphasis is low cost, so their packaging also reflects that philosophy. The assmebly instructions was sub par, showing only a picture of it mounted, and two small schematic diagrams for installation. The instructions are simple and to the point, it is enough to get the point across; although these mounts are pretty simple to install and instructions are not necessary.
We attempted to install this stealth mount on a number of different chassis
Overall Value
For $15USD the value is quite good. Initially we were very skeptical as to how well these mounts would perform and found that it does work quite well. There were a number of occasions where the car collided with another car or the wall and the body was very sturdy, we suspect changing the velcro makes a small difference. Overall it is very good value for the cost of the item, it does not compare to the geniune mounts, it is a very inexpensive solution to remove those hideous body posts.
Conclusion
These R2 Hobbies stealth body mounts is a very inexpensive way do away with those body posts. It also means that you no longer have to drill holes into your body and ruin a perfectly nice looking paint job. Granted the quality is not as good as the geniune Waru mounts, however the price is in another dimension of its own. The aluminum alloy used should have been of higher quality and durability, but for $15USD, it is hard to argue with. Just remember that you do get what you pay for, so do not be surprised if these eventually fail.