The focus is on the car, the drivers line is silent, 30 seconds to go and FINISH! The young racer asks “How many laps did I do?” It is clear, another enthusiast is born! Sunday, Hobby Town Orland Park invited the Chicago Mini RC Club out to the 9th annual Mopar/AMC Show and Shine to do demo of the new Losi 1/24th scale Short Course Truck (SCT) and Rally car. We’ve recently posted our unboxing of the SCT and Rally and the next step for a proper review was a day of bashing/racing in the hands of the target demographic, newbies, kids, and their parents (wallets). With the fleet of vehicles fresh in hand Friday night, I invited Craig Guibas from I-lap R/C lap timing systems over to my place for some PCB diagnostics. After some banter regarding Losi’s decision to include a 27mhz setup vs 2.4ghz, Craig was able to locate a regulated 3 volt circuit connected to the switch of the PCB. After a successful test the first harness was in. The transponder lit right up and our initial tests showed that even with just 3 volts, we were getting registered laps with the bridge sensor as far as 3 ft above the car (and this was with no holes drilled in the body for the transponder IR emitter). The game plan was coming along nicely. New trucks in the hands of new drivers running timed races. In the words of my 10 Y.O. at heart, “COOOOOL!”

When we arrived at the Show and Shine, we saw that the showroom was wide open and out of the sun. We had power but no air conditioning. I’m not the biggest fan of being under the sun from 12-3pm while running around marshaling cars driven by new drivers (my quadriceps are KILLING me). We decided we’d setup in the showroom where there was no breeze (Or roughly translated, we are filled with R/C passion and about 2lbs lighter and the end of the day). The new Losi Tracks aren’t released yet so we setup the club’s RCP tracks. Again, I tapped my inner 10 Y.O. and began looking for boxes to make ramps for the track. The corner markers Losi includes made for some nice little bumps in track too. On Craig’s advice we also made the track wider to accommodate a center area for inner marshaling. White board up announcing the race start time. Will a crowd form?
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Another cool product from GH Racing is this Fuel Cooler. Made from 6061 Aluminum for 1/10th nitro vehicles, helps keep fuel cool with a heat sink design. Helps stabalize fuel flow to the engine also. Comes in blue and orange.

Head over to the official GH Racing site for more info! Don’t forget to tell them Big Squid sent ya!

More and more people are releasing hop-up parts for the Traxxas Slash 4×4 which is making me think it’s really starting to catch on! New from Venom are a ton of cool Aluminum Hop-Up parts for the Traxxas Slash 4WD! They also have Steel Universal joint shafts from front and rear! (seen on top)

Here’s a list of what they have available: Front and Rear lower Arm Sets, Front Knuckle Set, Front C Hub set, Rear Hub set, Front and Rear Shock Towers, Motor Plates and Motor Plate Mounts! All in Red or Gun Metal!

Visit Venom-Group.com for details.

New from GH Racing is their packs of Heat Shrink Tubing. Each pack has 4 strips, 1/8″ diameter and 4″ long. Designed to shrink up to 1/2 it’s original size. The are available in yellow, black, red and green.
You know you need some! Head over to the official GH Racing site for more info! Don’t forget to tell them Big Squid sent ya!

Whoa, check this out! Over at the Pro-Line site there is a new contest! Write a review, and you have a chance to win $1000!
Hmm.. maybe instead of posting our reviews here, we should just put them directly on the Pro-Line site!

Head over to the Pro-Line Contest page for details!

Day 6 is the last build day of DuraTrax Evader DT Week. I’m finally getting around to doing my custom paint on my DT. The pre-trimmed, pre-drilled clear body from DuraTrax (Part DTXC6218) looks great and is easy to paint. There’s not much more to say about this one, I’m certainly no artist, but I like the way it turns out in the end. As I say in the video, this week long feature hasn’t just been about putting hop-ups on the Evader DT, it’s also about taking the time to make your truck truly yours, and not just another off-the-shelf RTR. So get out there and get to customizing, no matter what kind of car or truck you have.

If you haven’t already done so go read our review of the Evader DT. As a quick recap, on day one I installed a full set of DuraTrax’s hard anodized shocks, day two saw me installing a few chassis mods with some aluminum parts and the graphite chassis, on day three I put a full set of ball bearings in the truck and an aluminum idler gear in the transmission, and on day four I installed a Castle Creations brushless system and Futaba 4PK radio gear. Day 5 was the beginning of the end, I took the time to clean up and paint some of the detail pieces that are on the body. To follow this feature week just bookmark this link. For a full list of optional accessories that are available for the DuraTrax Evader DT be sure to check out the DuraTrax web site.

In the ’something all RC’ers need’ category comes the new DuraTrax Hauler Bag. We here at Big Squid RC do a LOT of traveling for bashes, events, demos, etc.. and to have a giant bag to carry a lot of your gear around with you is a huge plus! The DuraTrax 1/8th Deluxe Hauler Bag features a nylon exterior, 3 large drawers for your 1/8th scale 1/10th scale, or Short Course vehicle with plenty of room for radios and other accessories. The drawers are plastic (not cardboard like some) with large pocket for pit mats and stuff like that. It also has a retractable handle and wheels! If you do a good amount of traveling for RC, you should really consider picking up a bag like this.

Keep a eye on the DuraTrax web page for info.

So I started getting the text messages from Brian around noon today, “Cubby, where the HELL is THE Cub Report?”, “Hey call me, I am getting a bunch of emails wondering where THE Cub Report is!”, etc.

Last fall I was pretty burnt out on our hobby. When I had originally signed on with BigSquid I agreed to write a Cub Report each week, but over time I was seriously slack’n, and when I didn’t have anything good to write about the Cub Reports would often be a week or more late. Well, each year iHobby expo is the time we sit down and see how things are going, and last year it was obvious I was pretty burnt out, but I promised I would try my best to keep pump’n them out. BigSquid continued to grow, so right before January I decided that I would give 100% to BigSquid for one more year, one more big push to see just how far we could take this website. So when I made my commitment to give a big push for 2010, I also had the talk with the man in charge Brian, asking him to do the same. We basically had the talk of “lets make a big push in 2010, give it 100%, then sit down at iHobby 2010 and just see if it’s worth all the work”. So far, 2010 has been ridiculously incredible, basically going from a wanna-be/poser website to the rc site that is leading the pack into the switch over to the internet era.

As I have mentioned before, THE Cub Report starts out on Sunday mornings. Texts go flying back and forth between myself, Brian, and a half dozen industry peeps trying to come up with good ideas to write about. Yesterday (Sunday) I was coming back from the AMA motocross national in Southwick Mass and the normal texts were exchanged, but I was nowhere near a computer, and even worse, I was feeling down about our hobby. If you are too deep into our hobby it’s hard to see it, you just get used to it and it’s hard to see all of the problems, but when you frequent events that aren’t all F’d up like AMA motocross, it’s obvious that rc racing is under achieving. Hence the reason I was in no hurry to sit down and mash out a Cub Report last night, I just hate seeing a hobby that could be excelling, floundering around.

So I’m wondering, does a Cub Report on why I was late with a Cub Report really count? I guess it’s going to have to, because I’ve got nothing else for ya this week. LOL But thanks to all those people that flipped out because it was missing, it’s still hard for me to believe that people are actually reading this. I hate submitting less than stellar Cub Reports, but more importantly to me is that I do get one pumped out, and that is at least keeping it real with the readers, for better or worse. The only consolation prize is that I will have a pretty uber “ASK Cubby” coming out this week, so keep your eyes peeled on BigSquid Thursday.

Thanks for reading, and as always, support your local hobby shops, tracks and bash spots!

YOUR Cub Reporter

News from Futaba shows that their Futaba 3PL 2.4GHz FHSS Radio system will be shipping early September. Their new radio is meant to be a little easier on the wallet, and we like that! If has 3 proportional channels and a 4th for special mixing needs. It has 10 model memory, 4WS mix for crawling and brake mixing for 1/5th scale vehicles, and throttle fail safe. It comes with the R2004GF receiver. Expect to see them soon under the $125 range.

Hit up the www.2.4gigahertz.com site for more info!

Recent news from ACER Racing is that they are now shipping Kyosho Mini Z size 2×6mm and 3×6 Ceramic Ball Bearings. You can buy as a set, or individually.

Head over to the ACER Racing Website for info.

Day five of DuraTrax Evader DT week is the beginning of the end.  The last job I’m going to do on my DT is to put a custom paint job and other details onto it.  I’m using a new, clear body from DuraTrax (Part DTXC6218) and I’m reusing the hard plastic detail pieces from the current body.  This is going to be a two parter and in this first video I paint the detail pieces using a combination of enamel spray paint from the hardware store and Testors model paint through my airbrush.  Check back tomorrow when I’ll finish the Evader DT by painting up the clear body with a custom design.

If you haven’t already done so go read our review of the Evader DT.  As a quick recap, on day one I installed a full set of DuraTrax’s hard anodized shocks, day two saw me installing a few chassis mods with some aluminum parts and the graphite chassis, on day three I put a full set of ball bearings in the truck and an aluminum idler gear in the transmission, and on day four I installed a Castle Creations brushless system and Futaba 4PK radio gear.  To follow this feature week just bookmark this link.  For a full list of optional accessories that are available for the DuraTrax Evader DT be sure to check out the DuraTrax web site.

Recently we posted our DuraTrax EXT2 Exclusive Spy Shots and now we finally have the actual press release details and official photo.

The DuraTrax Evader EXT2 will be RTR, has the MagnaFlex chassis to make it extra tough, a complete ball bearing set, new precision metal idler gear, and uses the Sprint ESC system. There are plans for plenty of hop-ups based on the original evader series so it’s cool to see the truck will be supported in that respect.

We look forward to getting our hands on one soon, and beating the heck out of it for your viewing pleasure .

Get more info at the DuraTrax web page.

Looks like LiFeSource has a new charger and battery available. The LiFeSource AC/DC Charger Economy Charger can handle 110v or 12vDC, it’s small, lightweight, and easy to use. It has a built in balancer to ensure that all the cells are balanced.
The 6.6v 1900,Ah 4C LiFe battery give you all the great advantages to a LiFe battery like safety, high multiple uses/charges, and at a great price. It’s ideal as a receiver battery or in a Futaba 4PK Transmitter.
Both products will be at your local shops soon, and are under $40 each! Good deals!

Hit up the LiFeSource Batteries for more info!

Short Course just got… shorter? The smallest Short Course Truck (SCT) to date is debuted with the Team Losi 1/24 scale SCT. The box is typical of the Losi Micro with the product clearly displayed through the clear window with the radio and accessories tucked away inside. It’s a full Ready To Run (RTR) that requires no assembly of the car. Just screw in the transmitter antenna, install the included AA batteries, and charge up the 220mah 4.8v NIMH stick pack with the included A/C wall charger (1 hour). I received the truck at work today and the overall impression was “Hey, that thing looks cool!” followed by an immediate “How much is one of those?” The street price of $109 was considered fair by all given you get everything you need and it is ready to go out of the box.

The familiar combo receiver/ESC from other Losi Micros is installed. Again, the antenna is the basic wire antenna straight out of the receiver all the way out the top of the truck. Still no protective tube or wrapping for the receiver antenna. The transmitter is the same unit provided with previous micros. Features of the radio include trims, steering dual rate, and servo reversing switches.

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This post is just all about the pictures since under the body it’s identical to the Losi Micro SCT. You can read all about it, and check out those pictures Here!

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