# How 'bout those Riggens



## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

http://www.riggenho.com/

Thought about maybe picking up a couple G Jets.But Im trying to get away from the magnet cars and go more old school to the stuff I grew up with.
Also,because I want to scratch build a chassis,and I never really messed with the brass pan stuff when I was a kid other then my Tyco Pros.

Thinking of picking up a couple of these.They look like a blast.

Any of you guys mess with them????? What do you think?????


Mike


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## Dunk2011 (May 21, 2006)

i never messed with them but i got a rattlermark2 car from ho race pro there pretty good but the slide guide wires wear downfast. I got old 1/24 braids and cut the braid off it and sliped it over the wires now i have pickup shoes i ran 1000+ laps little wear. www.horacepro.com great cars :thumbsup:


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## waltgpierce (Jul 9, 2005)

*Riggens ?*

The Front Range HO club (www.scaleracers.com) purchased over a dozen of the new Riggen cars. 
If you are going to run them "out of the box" be prepared for an ill handling, not fun to drive car. And, make sure you don't purchase the "pin style" guide pin. Go with the blade (or custom make your own). We broke EVERY single pin style guide pin that came with the Riggen. BTW, we don't run on sectional tracks either; only smooth MaxTrax, Bowman, Brystal.
My suggestion if you do purchase one is to approximate all of the modifications that the Special Edition "Spena" Riggen has. We had found that most of those modifications are required to make the car driveable/raceable. Once you get the lead weight added and the car balanced, they are fun to drive. However, they will always be temperamental.
For a comparison, the modified Riggen will still not compete with a Super Stock/Fray legal T-jet. The Riggens are very fast in a straight line, but handling is not on par with a T-jet.
BTW: All except one of our Club members has retired their Riggen to the pit box. They are just a little too temperamental to drive when compared with a good T-jet or X-Traction/Magnatraction.
Hope this helps in making your decision.


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## mking (Apr 25, 2000)

*i have a riggen repro*

and it stays in the box. i am glad i have one, its a nice addition, but no fun to drive out of the box, and i havent leanred to tune it. i am sure if i knew people who raced them i could learn to tune it, but i have just had alot more success tuning JLTO, magnatractions, XT's and fray style tjets. i dont know much about tuning Super G's, tyco 440s, or Wizzard cars, but they all run well out of the box. 

perhaps the new version with the silicone sponges is better, and i am sure the spena modified riggen is fun to drive. some day i will probably get another one and learn how to tune the pair.


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## sped (Nov 20, 2004)

Well, 

I did not grow up with them, but I have a real love for the old school stuff. I have one of these reproductions, and in the process of making some from scratch. They are great. They may be temperamental as the others say, but I only think its because they are sooooo overpowered with their mabuchi motors. I find the flag assembly very nice and smooth, and I love the wiper system. I agree they need a bit more weight. They (Ron) just came out with some nice brass mushroom caps for the guideflag. Personally I love mine, and I think they have potential to be very fast, and handle well. One thing that I think gets overlooked is the rear axle. I think it would be better with a bushed rear end, or to go to a slightly oversized drill blank for an axle. The stock holes in the chassis are a little sloppy by today's standards, but its a reproduction of the original so I expected this. I have seen mods by racer with the bushings and they run real nice.

The other real factor is power! If you have a variable power supply try them at 12V - still very fast, but more manageable. It says this even on their website. I would definitely run 12V on smaller home tracks. Just like the G-jets, but real old fashioned brass. I like them as they are like mini versions of the vintage 1/24th scale racers. I like mine so much I may start to make some vac formed bodies for them.

Regards, 

R. Picard
www.slotcarinnovations.com


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

I have their wheelie truck, among about 10 others.. original and repros and I like them.. but they're not easiest car to drive


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Interesting replies.Thanks guys.

Very mixed reviews.Kind of what I expected.I think I'll end up getting one just to have it and to do some experimenting.I still want to scratch build chassis,so I want to explore any and all options.

mking:

If you ever get the urge to play with Super G's,give me a holler.
I spent the better part of last winter learning the finer points of the G3 and taking notes.
Love the Wiz Storms too and have a bunch in my box,but have not spent a whole lot of time tuning them.

 Mike


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## smokinHOs (May 30, 2006)

I agree with the majority of the comments... I pulled a brand new chassis out of the box (not an original- the most recent run of Riggens). It brought a smile to my face to mess with, but it was an absolute nightmare to drive. I have a 4 x 12 Maxtrax and by the time the car wound up I couldn't stop it before the end of the straight. Neat car- but now I know why the early magnet cars dominated back in the day. BTW- I race just about anything, and can say that right out of the box it is not unlike a wiper style HP chassis made by Tyco. Ton of straight and little to no handling. I agree that with some weight or maybe a little neo dot glued to the top of the pan, it might be a blast. For now- it is probably the slowest (per lap) car I own... 

You MUST have one in your box though, great piece of racing history.

My vote goes to three set-ups... First is the new Gjet. Awesome car, lots of fun. Everyone has the same chance (very close to a spec class). Next would be the JL tuff-one w/ a very simple modification. We run STOCK JL chassis's and can only grind the front and rear tires to size. Next we added only one very small (Raido Shack) neo dot magnet on the underside of the chassis. A ton of fun to drive and CHEAP! And last- stock Tjets. Let me emphasize STOCK. No JL stuff included, just stock Tjet parts. Only change was that we added skinny silicone tires on double flange rims (so those little buggers don't fall of). Great racing...

Wizzard has the new Thunderstorm... but I can't comment on it, I haven't driven one...


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

my favorite brass chassis cars are DYNABRUTES with the sidewider motor. Very rarre and expensive but a must for the collection

Cobramites are fun to drive too, also rare, but not as expensive as Dynabrutes.

Then there the tycopro's with the AJ's brass chassis extention, they really imporove the handling on the tyco's


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## martybauer31 (Jan 27, 2004)

I have to agree about the G-Jets, they are a ton of fun to drive, easy to maintain, and are all very even. The guys in my area just had a 6 hour enduro, 1st and 3rd place were seperated by 106 laps... after 6 hours. That's pretty close racing.


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## sped (Nov 20, 2004)

I would have to say that from these comments its apparent why after time, the predominately preferred Brass pan car ended up being a modified AFX car. TCP pans, or homeade version of it with wipers really made the cars handle well. Perhaps the pancake motor just had the right amount of weight and balance to begin with. I still like my Riggen, and recently acquired a cobramite. I hope to someday make an anglewinder. It would be nice with the added interest in cars like the G-jet, that someone tries to improve these brass chassis cars into something that can run well with minimal tweaking similar to the G-jet. But then again, tweaking is something many of us enjoy.....


R. Picard
www.slotcarinnovations.com


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