The Backyard – The 1:24 FMS Camel Trophy Trucks

Hey everyone and happy Friday! Welcome to November – start warming up the credit cards for all that holiday shopping!

Last week I discussed a large scale crawler I’ve been working on, but this week I wanted to shift to the opposite end of the spectrum.

Over the Summer, when the FMS FCX24M Land Rover Camel Trophy Edition 1:24 mini crawler trucks were announced, I bit hard. I’m not really a small scale crawler guy, but I am a huge fan of Camel Trophy rigs….so I pre-ordered two of them. I got the Discovery and Defender 110 models. I figured even if I didn’t like them, they looked REALLY cool and would be fun things to have on my shelves as scale models.

Well, it turns out I really do like these little things.

I’ve not been a fan of the tiny crawlers I’ve had in the past because they really aren’t that usable outside, and I don’t have an indoor course nor any real interest in setting one up.

However, these dudes are juuuuuuust big enough to be fun on a variety of obstacles outside, and the two speed transmissions allow for both very smooth low speed crawling and plenty of get up and go in top gear.

I got both of my Landys back in mid-July, and both trucks have been the MVP’s of my, ahem, backyard this past Summer.

I don’t have any crazy terrain around the house, but I do have some stone steps and small rock beds within my landscaping, and these things handle it well. They’ve also been excellent travel companions for me to get in some lunchtime wheeling when at the office.

They look freakin’ outstanding, too. They have little detailed hardbodies that are molded in the famous Sandglow color that the Camel Trophy trucks are known for, so scratches don’t really affect them.

If you can’t tell already, I’m a big fan of these things. If I had to pick one it would be the Discovery, just because in the r/c world you haven’t seen those done as much as you have Defenders, but both are great. Technically the Defender is a smidge more capable as well, as it’s bigger tires give it juuuuust a bit more ride height.

I’m happy to have both in my fleet, though! They look awesome on my shelf and are fun to bomb around with in my yard. They get a thumbs up from me!

Until next time, keep it on all 4’s!