Review - Arrma Fireteam 6S BLX Basher Fast Attack RC Military Vehicle

If you’re a fan of large and powerful RC cars, then this is for you because we are introducing the Arrma Fireteam 6S BLX. This off-road, fast attack styled, speed assault vehicle is 1/7 scale and offers a unique oversized stance, realistic body styling, a mechanical handbrake, and speeds up to 60MPH, but is it really that fast? Well, we find that out, and so much more, as we review the brand new Fireteam by Arrma.

When it comes to 6S capable bashers, Arrma has a lot! If you include the new Fireteam, there are nine different 6S capable chassis platforms to choose from, and they’re all configured slightly differently for various behaviors.

As most of you already know, the Fireteam offers the biggest proportions of all the 6S BLX vehicles in terms of length and width—and arguably, looks the best doing it. Not only with a realistic body, but a tight-body, AND, impressively, it’s a top-mounted tight-body, which we’ll talk more about in a minute.

Before we go into the nitty-gritty, let’s cover the basics, like that the Fireteam has a fully assembled chassis and painted body, glued tires, and is complete out of the box. All the electronics are included, installed, and ready to go. The only requirements are batteries, with the Fireteam requiring 4S or 6S power. Also, the SLT3 transmitter requires four AA batteries.

So, what the heck is a Fireteam? Well, it’s a small military subunit of infantry, usually in a four-person group, designed to provide tactical flexibility in various infantry operations. So, included with the Fireteam vehicle is the car to help them do it, styled similar to a “fast attack military vehicle. The body is an open design, built off a full roll-cage structure with several pre-painted lexan panels attached with screws. The panels are camo painted, with two different color options, in white or black camo. 

The body is large, about the same size as a 1/10 scale trial truck, it’s a lot lighter weight than it looks, at about 897g or about 1.9 lbs. The body looks fantastic, featuring soldiers with goggles and rifles, sitting inside the interior that features even more realistic details. Structurally, the body is solid with little flex. The only thing that can flex is the arms on the soldiers to absorb impacts rather than breaking off, and they’re screwed onto the torso under the body. The body comes off quickly with only 3 body clips, 1 in the front and 2 in the back, and it lifts right up.

Of course, the chassis has regular body posts, so mounting them is easy if you want to use other bodies. The body comes off quickly with only three body clips, one in the front and two in the back, and it lifts right up. When you mount the body, it has rounded rails that need to sit in front and rear cradles on the chassis, which locks it into place when the body clips are added. Once complete, this is one tight-body.

What’s a tight-body, you ask? A tight-body is a lexan based body secured at multiple points to remove lexan vibrations and enhance realism. Because nothing screams, “this is a toy,” like watching a lexan body flap around while you drive. In contrast, when you watch a tight-body car drive around, it looks and feels more like a real 1:1 experience.

Traxxas UDR

 

Losi Super Rock Rey

For example, this is the Traxxas UDR, and it’s a beautiful example of a tight-body, but because of it, the chassis is a bottom loader, meaning access to the chassis is done underneath. Here we have the Losi Super Rock Rey, and its tight-body looks absolutely stunning, but again, it is a bottom loader.

So it’s pretty impressive that the Fireteam body looks realistic and behaves realistic, all while providing top access to the chassis. (Insert applause here.)

Built with a longer chassis, for style and durability.

Speaking of the chassis—this thing is big! As long as an Arrma Mojave and as wide as the Arrma Kraton. For a size comparison, far left is the 1/6 scale Losi Super Rock Rey, the 1/7 Fireteam, the 1/8 Kraton EXB, and lastly, the 1/10 scale Big Rock 3S BLX, on the right. The closest competitor here would be the Kraton. The two are about the same width, but the Fireteam is longer than the Kraton.

Now a few key features before we drive this beast…

The Fireteam uses an independent suspension with sway bars, all-metal gears, three oil-filled gear differentials with 10k fluid front and rear, and 200k fluid in the center. All the shock bodies are anodized black instead of the traditional red, which aesthetically is a good move considering the shocks are visible when the body is on. All shocks are big bore, filled with 1000cst fluid, and they’re extremely plush and tuned for surface thrashing.

Front Shocks

 

Rear Shocks

The steering includes a metal-geared S652 servo with a metal servo horn that works without issue. A second servo is used to control the new handbrake feature, which is the first mechanical handbrake for an off-road car, and it works flawlessly using a transmitter button. It’s not advised to use the handbrake while giving the car power, but off power it works great in the few situations it’s needed. Like for tight turns or our favorite—setting up for a berm blast.

Spektrum S3652 Servo

S3650 Handbrake Servo

Transmitter Handbrake Button

For the motor and ESC, it’s the standard Spektrum Firma Smart Tech, rated for up 6S power, and there are two IC5 battery connectors, so you can connect two 3S batteries or use the included jumper and use only one 6S.

The Fireteam is also 4S compatible, but it needs 6S power and a swap out of the included pinion gear if you ever want to hit that 60MPH top speed.

Firma Smart Tech Motor

3S Batteries & Charger

Smart Firma ESC

IC5 Connectors

How fast is the Arrma Fireteam?

For our first speed run we used our speed meter on the completely bone-stock car, just the way it comes out of the box. After a few passes with a 6S battery, the Arrma Fireteam reached a top speed of 54 mph or 87 kph.

Next, we removed the stock 12T pinion gear, and installed the included 15T speed gear, and tried again. This time, the Fireteam reached a top speed of 61 mph (98 kph).

Stock Top Speed

 

Geared Top Speed

From here, we reinstalled the stock gearing to do some bashing in the dirt parking lot of our local track to see how far we could push this thing.

The shape of the Fireteam body allows you to rock the vehicle back and forth until it is on its wheels "sometimes." This rocking is probably abusing the drivetrain a bit, so it’s not recommended, but it is possible.

Next, we tried some of the jumps on our Silver Dollar Raceway track, and the Fireteam felt really comfortable.

If we had tires that were better suited for this dirt type and more practice for the driver the Fireteam would be putting down some really quick laps.

Check out this dirt bowl we found in a field on the side of the road.

We’ve never driven here before, and it’s pretty dang impressive, but it’s chunky terrain. Thankfully the Fireteam doesn’t care.

Summary

You can clearly see the Fireteam is an absolute surface brute and a realistic one at that. With the new width and length chassis proportions, the Fireteam is exceptionally stable in flat or chunky terrain, and almost no matter what you do, this assault vehicle wants to be on all fours. That’s why the Fireteam is the perfect vehicle for anyone with a wide-open, aggressive driving style where you want to keep it in longer and let off less.

Watch Brett's Review

Arrma Fireteam 6S Video

For even more bashing fun, watch the Arrma Fireteam 6S review on our YouTube channel, and while you're there, be sure to check out more new product reviews, and how to videos.

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