The Astute gearbox isn't that bad, especially with a pretty mild brushless system. They got the bad reputation due to Tamiya sticking it in the King Cab stadium truck and expecting it to handle race motors with the monster size tyres.
Biggest problem with it is when people don't maintain them as you have to dismantle the diff and add shims to adjust it, you can't just tighten up a screw in the outdrive when it starts slipping. They also weren't often built with proper silicone diff grease, all contributing to excess wear, then they aren't reshimmed to adjust them to take up the play.
Build it properly, adjusting the shims so it doesn't slip, and it should be reliable.
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