The Despe EC280MG isn’t likely to win you any race down the local tracks, but if you want to dig a hole those nitro-powered RC spitfires can fall in, you aren’t gonna find anything better. A 1:14.5 scale replica of a real-life heavy-duty excavator, the radio-controlled behemoth is both adorably genius and downright ridiculous.
Why would you buy one? Maybe you want to dig a hole in the garden but don’t particularly favor getting your hands dirty; maybe you want to show your kids the finer points of construction work; or maybe you just want to smash those $1,000 pimped-out model nitro trucks that keep beating your ass in the dirt. Well, this is the model for you.
As durable as the monstrous vehicle it is based from, the Despe EC280MG is built from powder-coated steel, a far cry from the predominantly plastic crap everybody else is driving down your local circuit. It weighs a staggering 62lbs, which should be enough to break your toes if you accidentally drop it on your foot, much less all those puny 1:10th scales blitzing through the tracks. It operates via six motorized axles (powered by four Ni-MH 7.2v batteries), runs on PVC/steel tracks and comes with gears built from C40 steel.
Operating heavy machinery has always been a source of endless fascination for boys of all ages and this RC excavator sort of fills that empty space in the market. We’re not sure how big that market is, of course, but count me in, Despe. Oh wait, you’re selling it for $4,500? You just pushed me out of the market, dammit.
[via Hobby Media]