Builder of the Month: Richard Vinnels-Bell (August 2024)

Meet Richard Vinnels-Bell, our Canadian friend who won 1st place in the U.S. 12-Hour FIX Enduro with the BRX02 Series III 109 in July. In this blog, he shares tips for FIX Enduro participants and other RC trailing tips. You'll also hear about his grandma, Dawna, who joined his trailing adventures after recovering from challenging health conditions. Keep reading to learn more about the August 2024 builder of the month!

Boom:

Welcome Richard, and thank you for sharing your amazing builds with the Boom community. Can you tell us about yourself and how you got into the hobby?

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

Thank you for the warm welcome. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Richard Vinnels-Bell. I'm a 28-year-old Red Seal industrial mechanic millwright from Barrie, Ontario. I was first introduced to the hobby by my dad when I was 2 years old. He would take me to watch him fly his Goldberg Electra in the early morning hours, which grew my curiosity about remote-controlled vehicles. 

Boom:

What was your first RC vehicle? Why choose the model you did? (and the level of detail you settled upon?)

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

My first hobby-grade RC car was an HPI Racing MT2 18ss+ that we purchased from eBay in 2010. It was my dad's decision to go with the MT2 over the Firestorm because it was 4WD, and our local track was angled at trucks like the Savage or Traxxas T-Maxx, but they were out of our price range. I learned a lot from that first car, and after a few years, we purchased my second RC truck, a Traxxas E-Maxx Brushless edition, which I still have to this day. 

Boom:

How did you discover the Boom Racing brand?

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

I first heard about Boom Racing back in 2014 when I was ordering parts to upgrade my SCX10. It wasn't until 2018, when I first met Jason Tsang at the Canadian Recon G6 and saw the then unreleased BRX01 LC70 chassis, that I really started to follow the brand. I made my first Boom Racing vehicle purchase in 2023, and they quickly have became my favorite trail truck.

Boom:

Can you tell us about your Boom Racing vehicles?

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

Well, where do I begin! I currently own two Boom Racing trucks and manage a third for my grandma. 

My first rig is a BRX01 LC70 #1666 with a full leaf conversion, BRX02 center skid plate, KUDU high clearance front bumper, RC4WD sliders powered by a Hobbywing Quickrun Fusion 1200kv motor, and a J&T Bearing Co. 4449 steering servo.

The second rig in my fleet is a BRX02 Series 3 109 #442. It is currently under the knife after taking one heck of a beating at this year's US Recon G6 Fix Enduro to get ready for tackling the Return of the Dragon Recon G6. Modifications include a front skid plate, sliders for the rear leaf spring mounts, and a new set of freshly built PHAT Axles. Spektrum RC 2 in 1 2300kv combo, J&T Bearing co. 600.08 steering servo, Rock Monster silicone tire inserts, and a set of Expedition Classic tires.

Grandma's rig is a BRX02 Series 3 88 #166. I love a shorty, and this rig never seems to disappoint. We have primarily kept this rig stock because it works so well in its factory configuration that we always seem to try something for a bit and then go back because it is that good. We will be bringing it to Return of the Dragon for the Recon side of things. It has a Muscle winch and is powered by another Spektrum RC 2 in 1 2300kv combo but uses a J&T Bearing Co. 5551 steering servo.

Boom:

What's the one tip (when building a new kit & rig) you think everyone should follow?

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

Loctite is your friend. I can't count how many times through my RC career I have lost a race or had something fall apart because I forgot to put Loctite on a critical component. My close second is having tight-fitting tools. Without either of these, it is only a matter of time before your rig will break down.

Boom:

You experience all seasons when trailing in Canada. How do you prepare for different trail conditions, such as snow, rain, and even potential animal encounters?

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

It's always a challenge to select the right gear for the right condition here, but we have been slowly growing our clothing selection for the different seasons. We'll start off with the hot weather stuff for 25°C+. I typically wear quick, dry convertible pants/shorts with a thin athletic t-shirt. <20°C I will use quick dry pants with a thicker top or, if it's windy, a sweater. <10°C I swap for a set of Under Armor sweatpants with a sweater. <0°C is where I start making the calls for what grandma and I wear in the woods because it can mean several things. If it's windy or snowing, we will add windbreaker pants and our rain jackets. If it isn't windy or snowy, we will go in our Ororo heated sweaters that have up to a 12-hour battery life. <-15°C sees the most swing depending on humidity and wind. Typically, we wear a thermal base layer, and if that isn't enough, we will swap our rain jackets for our heavier winter jackets, and if it's really windy, we will add snow pants. Typically, when we get into temps this cold, we are doing night runs, which brings out the next piece of kit that we have standardized on because it just works our Black Diamond Storm-500R headlamps. These headlights have 6 settings and 3 LEDs providing a 5 hr battery life on high in -30°C temps. The biggest reason we went with them is that even if they do run out, they won't leave you without light. They have a built-in 15-hour emergency reserve with low-level lighting to get you out of those sticky situations. As far as animal encounters, we typically have Coyotes or Foxes in our area, and they are more afraid of us than we are of them. I do, however, carry bear spray when we go to remote trail networks in the north.

Boom:

We love that you bring your grandma Dawna with you on your trail runs. How did she get introduced to the hobby?

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

Grandma was in really rough shape in 2016 when she moved in with my mom. She had blood clots in her legs, her lungs were damaged by black mold from her previous place, and she could hardly walk. While she was lying in bed during the winter of 2016, I would come into her room and talk to her about what I was building or working on and how much I enjoyed walking in the forest. Eventually, I said to her that if she started walking again, I would take her with me. At first, all she could muster was the strength to go from the basement to upstairs and back again. Then she was able to put on all her winter clothes and step outside, wait a bit, and then come back inside. She was eventually able to walk to the end of the driveway and, by the end of the winter, was walking around the block with occasional issues. I felt she was strong enough to go out for her first trail run with "The Dodge," which was a SCX10 Dingo kit with a Proline Dodge Ram 1500 body on it. From there, she cut her teeth learning to drive at a place nicknamed "The Playground" in northern Ontario. After getting used to driving, we decided to go to "Berkley," a GCM Adventure series event in the early spring of 2017, where she had an amazing time encouraging us to take on the Recon G6 event hosted at Warsaw Caves conservation. 

Boom:

Congratulations on achieving first place in the 4200 class at the US Recon G6 12-Hour FIX Enduro with your BRX02 Series III 109. What did you do to prepare for this challenge?

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

Honestly, as far as the truck is concerned, I did a nut and bolt check on my truck the day before the FIX and found a few things that needed to be tightened down, but I felt confident that I would be able to drive this rig to the finish line. As far as personal physical preparedness is concerned, I enjoy riding mountain bikes and gravel touring on the regular, completing long rides, usually in the 50+ km range on dirt or my personal best of 170 km on gravel. On top of all this, I go for 2-3 trail walks with grandma a week, usually in the 6-10 km range each, to help get her ready to handle a long 12-hour event like the Fix Enduro.   

Boom:

We are excited to host our 3rd Asian Scale Invasion, "Return of the Dragon," Recon G6, in November this year. We are even more excited to hear that you and Grandma Dawna are coming! What are you looking forward to the most for this upcoming event?

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

We are super excited to be coming to the "Return of the Dragon" Recon G6 and it has been all grandma and I have been talking about this summer. We originally planned on going international in 2020 to compete in the European FIX Enduro but unforeseen world events made that impossible. With that my biggest thing we are looking forward to is experiencing Hong Kong and meeting all the wonderful people at Boom Racing HQ. 

Boom:

The 3rd Asian Scale Invasion will feature the very first Asian FIX Enduro event. Do you have any tips for those participating in their first FIX Enduro?

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

My biggest tips for people entering the FIX Enduro are to pack lots of cold water, eat well the night before, and drive smart! 

The later hours of the Enduro are the hardest the truck will be wearing out, trail will be destroyed and the drivers will all be getting pretty darn worn out. All of this is a good recipe for mistakes, breakdowns and injury so watch your footing, keep your head in the game, drink water and eating lightly but often. 

REMEMBER!! Bananas are a FIX Enduro driver's best friend. 

Boom:

And finally...What final words of wisdom do you have for the rest of the Boom community to fire them up and inspire them into an epic build of their own?

Richard Vinnels-Bell:

I hope to meet some of you at the Asian Scale Invasion/FIX Enduro. I love seeing all the amazing builds and especially first time builders. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder just because it might not be someone else's taste it shouldn't stop you from building your dream truck. I am so excited to be hopefully starting a 6x6 winter build when I return home.