A few years ago, Nintendo’s real-life-meets-video-game Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit turned my pandemic home into a theme park racecourse for my kids. Now, Mattel and Hot Wheels have created a new mixed-reality game for remote-controlled cars with Mario Kart Live developer Velan. 

Hot Wheels Rift Rally, arriving March 14 for $130, is an RC car video game that races around on your real-world floor.

And just like Mario Kart Live, it’s a lot of fun.

You need a Nintendo Switch to play Mario Kart Live, but Hot Wheels Rift Rally works with iPhones, iPads and the PlayStation 4 and 5. It can cross-play between them, either locally or with others online.

Hot Wheels Rift Rally is an RC car video game with a camera built in to stream racing to your phone or TV, with mixed-reality effects.

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I played with the Rift Rally for about an hour in New York. The concept is similar to Mario Kart Live: A camera-enabled RC car streams its point of view to your TV or Apple device. From there, you drive the car and see the real world augmented with all sorts of video game special effects and a glowing race track.

The twist with Rift Rally is that the car itself, a sort of futuristic compact race car called the “Chameleon Car,” can transform in-game into 140 different Hot Wheels cars. It works weirdly well. Even though the physical car drives around your home the same way, in-game you see a different car appear, along with different driving physics and speeds.

Rift Rally works on iOS with or without a controller: We played with an iPhone that had a Backbone snapped on.

Scott Stein/CNET

Much like Mario Kart Live, the camera-equipped car works along with four included gates that form

The Poletto Collection is the largest model aircraft and airliner collection in the world.

“There are 885 aircraft in the collection total,” said Benjamin Donnelly, the stepson of the creator and a Professor of History at University of Providence.

Bary Polletto began the collection in the late 1970’s, first put on display at the Great Falls International Airport.

It was then the collection grew, and a hobby became an overwhelming and unfathomable number of aircraft for one many.

With 885 total planes, there are 97 types of aircraft from 190 nations around the globe. Some of which are not countries anymore.

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Poletto worked for Pan American Airlines as a load master in the 60’s creating a spark for a cabin in the sky.

For Donnelly, his love began with his biological father.

“My dad was in the Air Force, so I grew up around airplanes. So, my earliest memories are my dad taking me out to the to the tarmac out at Malmstrom. And there’s he’s got a picture of me as a three-year-old hugging the landing gear, an F-4 Phantom fighter. And so, I’ve been around airplanes all my life today.”

As much as his love for planes began at a young age, Ben doesn’t call himself a model builder. He is a historian by trade and his vast knowledge of each aircraft in the collection is documented.

The collection grew and others donated to it, time began to fade for his stepfather.

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Poletto built his final aircraft model in 2008 and five years later he passed away, leaving the collection to his stepson, Benjamin.

“It means a lot to me to be able to continue on their legacy of that. I mean, I may not be a model builder myself, but I can at

Buying a car in 2023 is hard, but that seems to be the way it’s going for just about everything these days — even toy cars. And supply-chain disruptions alone don’t explain it. Just like concert tickets, sneakers, game consoles and luxury watches, the Hot Wheels market has been overrun by resellers who snap up the most desirable new die-cast releases from Mattel and flip them for a profit. As with all those other products, the problem has only grown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows no sign of stopping.

In case you missed it:

About a year ago, I wrote about how Target and Walmart seemed perpetually low on stocks of Hot Wheels die-casts, along with possible explanations for that phenomenon. At the time, Mattel’s pre-pandemic staffing cuts, the pandemic itself, and physical bottlenecks like the Ever Given debacle and last year’s border-crossing blockades were believed to play a role. But there’s another issue affecting the Hot Wheels market, the same one you know all too well if you ever attempted to get your hands on a PS5 over the past 24 months — scalpers.

Hot Wheels “mainlines” — the cheapest, blue-blister-pack cars you see in supermarkets and drug stores — cost $1.29 a pop. It’s frankly an astonishing price, barely 40 cents more than what Mattel charged in 1982, even though inflation means they should really cost around $2.88. Positioned above the mainlines are premium, “adult-targeted” collections like Car Culture and Team Transport, which will set you back about $7 or $15, respectively, if you’re buying them in a store.

On the whole, then, Hot Wheels are pretty cheap. However, new casts drop in waves, cycling in and out of stores very quickly. Retailers get shipments every few weeks, and

Car modification is illegal in India. Any kind of modification including the addition of aftermarket accessories is not allowed. A Jammu and Kashmir court imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Zahid Iqbal Wani for modifying a Mahindra Thar SUV.

The court cited the contravention of Section 52 of the Indian Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. In the judgement after the violator appeared before the court and pleaded guilty to modifying the vehicle from its original condition. The present state of the Mahindra Thar was different compared to the specifications on the registration certificate of the vehicle.

Also read: Buying a pre-owned Mahindra Thar is better than buying a new one: 5 reasons

Court judgement said,

Since the violator has contravened the provision of MV Act, therefore after considering the fact that no previous violation has been proved and after taking a lenient view, a fine of Rs. 5000 only, is imposed and in default of payment of fine he shall suffer one-month simple imprisonment. The challan is accordingly disposed of and shall be consigned to records after its due completion,”

Court order to remove modifications

Additional Special Mobile Magistrate (Traffic), Srinagar Shabir Ahmad Malik also directed the remove all the modifications and restore the vehicle to its original state.

The RTO Kashmir at Srinagar is directed to remove all the modifications those were done in contravention to the provisions of Motor Vehicle Act and rules and restore the vehicle (Thar) to its original position as specified in thee Registration Certificate (RC) of the vehicle originally specified by the manufacturer,

The price paid for removing the modifications and extra fittings will be recovered from the violator. The process will be filmed and will be submitted before the court.

Modifications of cars in India

Apart from other fuel options, certain changes can

Remote control cars are one of the most popular motoring hobbies – and many people even consider it a sport, racing their cars against other owners. As with real vehicles, remote control car aficionados are often willing to spend a lot of money to get the best equipment, as well as spending time making their own modifications to the way the cars perform and how they look.

There are even world championships in different types of remote control car races, from track racing to off-road competitions, just as you get with the real thing. Competitors from around the world take part in these events, with drivers and teams from the US and Japan often dominating events.

The same goes for the manufacturers of remote control cars, with foreign-based companies producing many of the best remote control cars on the market – and also the most expensive. Most people unfamiliar with the world of serious remote control car competitions might think of the models they have seen in their local toy shop, which can sell for as little as $20. While this may be a good way to start out, if you want to win the world championships, you are going to have to be prepared to spend a lot more money.

In fact, many of the best remote control cars can actually cost more than real cars – as you can see from the expensive, hi-tech, not-to-be-played-with toys on this list!

20 Freefly Tero

The Freefly Tero is not only the most expensive remote control vehicle on this list, but it is also different from the other model cars. While the likes of the Vektra 5 and the various Kyosho creations are designed for racing and for enthusiast

The modder’s name is Stan Dmitriev, and he is the CMO and co-founder of SurrogateTV. According to his Twitter bio, he’s into robotics, chess, and esports. He is also a talented SBC enthusiast, as his latest project demonstrates once again.

Dmitriev also worked a GoPro and capture card into his project, though notes users can employ a Raspberry Pi camera module or webcam instead.

“The setup runs via a website called Surrogate.tv and uses its open-source Python SDK. There’s a premade game template for an RC Car setup, so you don’t even need to code to replicate the setup,” Dmitriev explains.

What is especially neat about this mod is being able to control the RC car through the web, with a pretty fast response time. According to Dmitriev, there is about a 200ms delay. That might be disastrous for gaming, but as he demonstrates in the video, it works really well with the RC car, which he can

[This is a sponsored article with RC Paragon Universal.]

Toy cars were often found in my house during my childhood. My brother and I had a large box of Hot Wheels Cars, and would also race our AA battery cars around our living room.

As we grew up though, we also grew out of these interests, but for some people, this hobby continues into adulthood. Some may even only discover this interest in adulthood.

Others even take it one step further, by immersing themselves in the remote control (RC) cars community, which is a more serious take on toy car modification and racing.

Small but mighty 

RC car competitions are played in three different categories:

• Competitive racing; 
• Speedrunning;
• Leisure bashing.

To elaborate, competitive racing is usually categorised based on skill levels, the scale of RC cars, and types of surfaces such as dirt, astroturf, and on-road, to name a few. 

These tracks are specifically made for RC car racers to test their abilities in manoeuvring through the tracks, with some examples being the Kota Raja on-road track, Putrajaya P6 off-road track, and more.

Meanwhile, speedrunning is where things get serious for RC racers. It challenges a racer’s modification abilities and capabilities in keeping control of their cars at high speeds. 

Fun fact: Within Malaysia’s RC cars community, the current national record for speedrunning was set in 2022, when a competitor managed to get their toy car speeding from 0km/h to 260km/h on a track that was under 1km long. According to Malaysian hobbyists, it was a feat that put Malaysia on the map for the global RC community.

Leisure bashing, on the other hand, is where most players start. Bashing in RC generally means racing without rules or

RC Bandito is a really fun novelty act for GTA Online players. Sometimes a player wants to mess around in a public lobby. This is where RC Bandito comes into play. This remote control vehicle was initially part of the Arena War update in 2018.

Despite the startup costs, players can get a return on their investment with RC Bandito. It all depends on whether or not they like to screw around with other players. Of course, the vehicle’s full potential won’t be realized until it’s fully upgraded. That’s when the fun can truly begin in GTA Online.

Note: This article reflects the writer’s personal views.

Is the RC Bandito worth getting in GTA Online?

This article will let players know everything they need to know about RC Bandito. It’s a costly vehicle, so players need to consider the costs. This is only worth getting if the player has money to spend.

Where to buy and how to buy

RC Bandito can be purchased from Southern San Andreas Super Autos. Players will have to fork over a lot of money since it costs $1,590,000. This is some heavy cash to spend on RC toys.

However, GTA Online players will also need to have Arena Workshop. This is where they can store RC Bandito. Depending on the upgrades, the price ranges from $995,000 to $4,365,000.

Money will be the biggest issue in buying this vehicle. With that said, it offers plenty of modifications for personal use.

What is the main purpose of the RC Bandito?

GTA Online players can spawn this vehicle through the Interaction Menu via the Inventory tab. Whenever a player selects “Request RC Bandito,” their main body will disappear from the game world. They will also be off the radar in GTA Online. Now they can remotely control

Want to drive the Hoonicorn? Well now you can! 

Ever since its first debut in Ken Block’s Gymkhana Seven video, the famous Hoonicorn drift car made an impact on car enthusiasts all around the world. The Hoonicorn V2 takes shape as a heavily-modified 1965 Ford Mustang, with a sophisticated all-wheel-drive system and 1,400-horsepower twin-turbocharged V8 engine platform. While getting behind the wheel of the Hoonicorn poses to be a dream for any car lover, the team at Hoonigan is excited to team up with the RC experts at Team Associated to make that dream a reality on a smaller scale. Hoonigan x Team Associated is proud to announce the release of its new Hoonicorn 1/10th-Scale 4WD Electric Read-to-Run RC Car, featuring an accurate replica of the modified monster that made its claim to fame with professional driver Ken Block.

MUST-READ: Ken Block’s Hoonicorn Mustang Price & Specs

The remote-controlled mustang presents itself in the Hoonicorn V2 livery, with exact exterior parts and decals to match the original build. The main focal point lies at the hood, where a partially exposed twin-turbo system appears from the depths of its engine bay. The pre-built kit includes a pre-printed/decaled replica Hoonicorn V2 body (Hoonicorn vs. The World 2 livery), a set of replica American Racing VF503 wheels, the brand new Team Associated Apex 2 shaft-driven 4WD chassis, plus a radio transmitter and all the electronics needed. The all-new Hoonicorn 1/10th-scale RC Car is currently available through the Hoonigan website for $359.99. View all of the current Ford Mustang examples for sale on duPont REGISTRY by clicking on the link below. Check back into duPont REGISTRY for more upcoming luxury gear releases and news.

VIEW ALL FORD MUSTANG FOR SALE

7 Photos

Source: Hoonigan

We’re just halfway through the first month of 2023 but we’re already looking forward to the next holidays. That’s because we’ve already found the first entry to our holiday wishlist: ROC Hobby’s radio-controlled classic Volkswagen Beetle.

Manufactured for almost 70 years, the Volkswagen Beetle or The People’s Car left a lot of impression on our childhoods. After all, over 21 million units were sold, making it an automotive icon across the globe. This RC model in RTR Gray color tugs our heartstrings and we can’t blame you if it does yours, too.

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Just like the real thing, the RC VW Beetle comes with its motor at the back, albeit, battery-operated. It also has independent suspension on all fours. But unlike the actual Beetle, the model comes with a two-speed transmission and a switch to go from RWD to 4WD.

We love the details on this scale replica, as well. There are realistic fabric soft rubber seats and working lights, while the engine hatch, doors, and front compartment are all openable. There’s even a spare tire stowed inside the front trunk, plus the canopy opens to bring sunlight into the cabin.

The 1:12 scale model measures 13.3 inches (339 millimeters) long, 5.5 in (139mm) wide, and 5.5 in (139mm) tall. It has a wheelbase length of 8.0 in (202mm).

Out of the box, the RC VW Beetle comes with a 130 Brushed motor powered by a 2S Lipo 7.4V 380mAh battery, good for a maximum speed of 5 miles per hour (8 kilometers per hour). There are 9g servos as well, which control the steering and front wheels in a synchronized manner.

The price? FMS Hobby lists the ROC Hobby RC classic VW Beetle for only $189.99. Only four AAA batteries for the transmitter are needed to make it