The Backyard – The Truck(s) That Got Away

Happy Friday and welcome to The Backyard!

You know, as I sit here trying to figure out what JConcepts Reactor I want to build (short or long wheelbase?)—and then going down the rabbit hole of what body, what tires, what direction I want to take it (more on that in a future write-up once I actually decide)—it got me thinking about something else entirely.

The trucks I’ve let go over the years.

Now, I’ve bought and sold a lot of R/C vehicles over time. Enough that there are quite a few I’ve completely forgotten I ever owned until someone else brings them up. The funniest version of this is when I see a truck a friend has… and then realize it used to be mine. That’s always a bit of a moment.

But out of all of those vehicles, there are really only a couple that I truly regret letting go.

Before I get to those though, I do have one honorable mention—because while I didn’t technically sell it, I still miss it.

My original Traxxas Hawk 2.

That was the truck that really got me started in the hobby back in the early ’90s. It’s the one that got me into racing. I don’t even have any photos of it, which is kind of crazy to think about now—but I do still have the trophies I won with it.

Somewhere along the way, it just… disappeared. By the time I hit my late teens, it was gone. I assume it ended up in a box at my parents’ place or something along those lines, but I honestly don’t know.

And yeah, I’d really love to have that one back.

Now, as for the trucks I actually sold…

The first one that comes to mind is a Tamiya TXT-1 that I bought back in 2004. That truck was special for a few reasons, but the biggest one is this—it was the first thing I bought with my first paycheck after getting a job with the Bigfoot monster truck team when I was 19.

I remember placing the order through Tower Hobbies, and in fact, I started my Tower account that day. I still have the order sheet for it, which makes it even funnier that I don’t have the truck itself anymore.

At the time, I think I sold it to fund other monster truck projects, which makes sense… but man, that’s one I’d really like to have sitting on the shelf these days.

The other one is a little different—and maybe even a little more painful.

My original Axial SMT10 (photo at the top of the article).

I pre-ordered that truck the day it was announced. It was also the first vehicle I ever intended to run under the “Rotten Apple” name, which has kind of stuck with me ever since. So there’s a lot of personal history tied up in that one.

The weird part is, I don’t think I actually sold the whole truck. I ended up parting it out—using the chassis, running gear, and various bits for other builds over time.

Which, at the time, felt like the practical thing to do.

But looking back on it now? Yeah… I wish I would’ve just left it alone.

I do still have the body, though. It’s been cut up and repurposed into a display piece on my main workbench, so at least there’s still a little piece of it hanging around.

Outside of those, though, I’ve actually been pretty good over the years about keeping the stuff that really matters and letting go of the things that don’t.

But those couple?

Yeah… those sting a little.

It makes you wonder sometimes—when you’re thinning the herd or moving something along—if that’s going to be the one you think about ten or fifteen years down the road.

So now I’m curious.

Do you have a “one that got away” story? A truck or car you sold, traded, or lost track of that you wish you still had?

Let me know—I’d love to share some of your stories in a future Backyard. You can shoot me a message at – doug at bigsquidrc dot com.

Until next time, keep it on all four’s.