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I should tell you up front I am "new" to Jag Hobbies products. While I have looked at their site many times, I have never previously bought or run a Jag Hobbies chassis with the exception of a single PR-5 (1.7 wheelbase) I got from Gary Fast, to use in an upcoming Lotus 79 project. Well, an offer from Gary to get in on an order for this NEW RS-6 just piqued my interest, so I purchased two of these from Gary on my last visit to F.I.R. and I finally got around to taking a closer look and testing them against the original Mega G 1.5, and it's successor Mega G+........
I have not been shy about expressing my positive feelings about the Mega G, in either 1.5 OR 1.7 wheelbases; I think it is an outstanding chassis, being compact in both width and height to open up a world of possibilities to host not only open-topped roadster bodies (such as Group-7 "Can Am' cars of the '60's-'70's) as well as the cigar-shaped F-1 cars of the '60's). I reviewed postings in the Forum when these first came out, and predicted that the aftermarket would eventually come out with parts upgrades to enhance these even further. And based on the offerings from both Viper Scale Racing and Harden Creek, THAT is exactly what happened, to the benefit of us enthusiasts of the product........
But after several revisions (mostly "Child Safety" related), the chassis morphed INTO the Mega G+; while the chassis dynamics definitely IMPROVED (thanks for listening, AFX), the chassis were now powered by the somewhat polarizing "can motor. Why polarizing? The motor required a controller change from 60 OHMS to 120OHMS (okay; the AFX track allows quick plug in of the controllers), but more importantly, that can motor (especially with that green wirs soldered on top) was high enough to cause the originally low Panoz open wheel body on the 1.7 version to be raised (as opposed to cutting out proper clearance, as Cast-Resin bodies made for the chassis have), and for low-profile sportscar bodies (examples: Ford GT40 Mk.II and the "Modern Ford GT) to have their interior card "bowed upwards" to clear the motor........
There I go again on a tangent; THIS is about the RS-6 and it's comparison to the original Mega G and it's replacement (and current AFX offering) the Mega G+ in the 1.5 wheelbase:
IMG_5874.jpg IMG_5875.jpg
IMG_5876.jpg IMG_5877.jpg
At first glance, the RS-6 LOOKS very similar to the original Mega G; I read somewhere that the idea was to use the same armature magnets/ barrel brushes/pickup shoes as the Mega G; they certainly LOOK the same to me. One thing immediately noticeable is the rear chassis magnets, which are inserted from the SIDE, and not exposed to the track pickup rails underneath. This is a departure from the partially shrouded magnets on the Mega G, and more open on the Mega G+ (NOTE: the Mega G+ has been marked to indicate it has "Level 52"chassis magnets).
The side view (sorry for the poor picture) shows the profile of both the earlier Mega G AND the RS-6 to be similar;it appears they both will take the same body clip (one DID NOT come with the RS-6). The Mega G+ has the higher profile due to the can motor.
What stood out for me, was the tire diamters (as measured on by BSRT Tire gauge); Fronts are .382, while the rears are a whopping .472 , leading to the high track clearance seen in the last picture. I also noticed that there is another set of axle holes; but they are for a SHORTER (?) wheelbase of maybe 1.3. Does Jag Hobbies make a body for this shorter wheelbase? If anybody knows, please chime in.......
I DID like the stainless steel axles, with NO KNARLING on the ends, so if a wheel swap is desired, the removal should not destroy the wheels (As on the AFX product), and while the chassis itself appears "blockier" than the Mega G, it seems sturdy enough to take some punsihment.
My understanding is these armatures are 6 OHM; running them up (after proper lubrication; this was emphasized by Jag Hobbies BEFORE running them), they seemed much peppier; maybe the armature magnets are more powerful than expected.
When I finally ran my pair on my home track (using the AFX Tri-Powerpack on the high voltage "Expert" setting, the chassis (no body yet) ran very quick, and held the track well, considering the higher track clearance and shielded chassis magnets. I had to really overdrive the chassis to get the rear tires to break loose, and eventually deslot. Overall, I liked the results, and now have to test with various bodies, and maybe some lower profile tires........
I have mentioned this before in previous comments on other threads about AFX abandoning previous chassis designs, only to have another manufacturer step in and build an enhanced, "Blue Printed" version:
Super G+ - First BSRT, but more prominantly, Viper Scale Racing;
Turbo/SRT - First Bulldog, but more recently Harden Creek, who make/sell a can motored version of the Super G+ I previously posted on;
Mega G 1.5 - Now Jag Hobbies with this RS-6
Mega G 1.7 - Jag Hobbies PR-5
Jag Hobbies (per their website) is offering a myriad number of chassis right now. While no one had copied the Mega G+, that can motor IS in a version that utilizee the original chassis of the old T-Jet, as well as versioins for both body clip and screw on bodies.
Please comment if you have experience with this chassis; it would be interesting to read what others think about this chassis, as well as Jag Hobbies in general.......
I have not been shy about expressing my positive feelings about the Mega G, in either 1.5 OR 1.7 wheelbases; I think it is an outstanding chassis, being compact in both width and height to open up a world of possibilities to host not only open-topped roadster bodies (such as Group-7 "Can Am' cars of the '60's-'70's) as well as the cigar-shaped F-1 cars of the '60's). I reviewed postings in the Forum when these first came out, and predicted that the aftermarket would eventually come out with parts upgrades to enhance these even further. And based on the offerings from both Viper Scale Racing and Harden Creek, THAT is exactly what happened, to the benefit of us enthusiasts of the product........
But after several revisions (mostly "Child Safety" related), the chassis morphed INTO the Mega G+; while the chassis dynamics definitely IMPROVED (thanks for listening, AFX), the chassis were now powered by the somewhat polarizing "can motor. Why polarizing? The motor required a controller change from 60 OHMS to 120OHMS (okay; the AFX track allows quick plug in of the controllers), but more importantly, that can motor (especially with that green wirs soldered on top) was high enough to cause the originally low Panoz open wheel body on the 1.7 version to be raised (as opposed to cutting out proper clearance, as Cast-Resin bodies made for the chassis have), and for low-profile sportscar bodies (examples: Ford GT40 Mk.II and the "Modern Ford GT) to have their interior card "bowed upwards" to clear the motor........
There I go again on a tangent; THIS is about the RS-6 and it's comparison to the original Mega G and it's replacement (and current AFX offering) the Mega G+ in the 1.5 wheelbase:
IMG_5874.jpg IMG_5875.jpg
IMG_5876.jpg IMG_5877.jpg
At first glance, the RS-6 LOOKS very similar to the original Mega G; I read somewhere that the idea was to use the same armature magnets/ barrel brushes/pickup shoes as the Mega G; they certainly LOOK the same to me. One thing immediately noticeable is the rear chassis magnets, which are inserted from the SIDE, and not exposed to the track pickup rails underneath. This is a departure from the partially shrouded magnets on the Mega G, and more open on the Mega G+ (NOTE: the Mega G+ has been marked to indicate it has "Level 52"chassis magnets).
The side view (sorry for the poor picture) shows the profile of both the earlier Mega G AND the RS-6 to be similar;it appears they both will take the same body clip (one DID NOT come with the RS-6). The Mega G+ has the higher profile due to the can motor.
What stood out for me, was the tire diamters (as measured on by BSRT Tire gauge); Fronts are .382, while the rears are a whopping .472 , leading to the high track clearance seen in the last picture. I also noticed that there is another set of axle holes; but they are for a SHORTER (?) wheelbase of maybe 1.3. Does Jag Hobbies make a body for this shorter wheelbase? If anybody knows, please chime in.......
I DID like the stainless steel axles, with NO KNARLING on the ends, so if a wheel swap is desired, the removal should not destroy the wheels (As on the AFX product), and while the chassis itself appears "blockier" than the Mega G, it seems sturdy enough to take some punsihment.
My understanding is these armatures are 6 OHM; running them up (after proper lubrication; this was emphasized by Jag Hobbies BEFORE running them), they seemed much peppier; maybe the armature magnets are more powerful than expected.
When I finally ran my pair on my home track (using the AFX Tri-Powerpack on the high voltage "Expert" setting, the chassis (no body yet) ran very quick, and held the track well, considering the higher track clearance and shielded chassis magnets. I had to really overdrive the chassis to get the rear tires to break loose, and eventually deslot. Overall, I liked the results, and now have to test with various bodies, and maybe some lower profile tires........
I have mentioned this before in previous comments on other threads about AFX abandoning previous chassis designs, only to have another manufacturer step in and build an enhanced, "Blue Printed" version:
Super G+ - First BSRT, but more prominantly, Viper Scale Racing;
Turbo/SRT - First Bulldog, but more recently Harden Creek, who make/sell a can motored version of the Super G+ I previously posted on;
Mega G 1.5 - Now Jag Hobbies with this RS-6
Mega G 1.7 - Jag Hobbies PR-5
Jag Hobbies (per their website) is offering a myriad number of chassis right now. While no one had copied the Mega G+, that can motor IS in a version that utilizee the original chassis of the old T-Jet, as well as versioins for both body clip and screw on bodies.
Please comment if you have experience with this chassis; it would be interesting to read what others think about this chassis, as well as Jag Hobbies in general.......
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