If you have been in the rc scene for any time at all, then you already know who Kevin Hetmanski is from all his work over at RC Car Action.
The entire BigSquidRC crew are stoked to hear that Kevin is now the Product Developer for Horizon’s Pro Boat line. Congrats Kevin, can’t wait to see what trick new stuff you come up with to have fun on the water.
Looking for more information on Pro Boat? Hit THIS link.
Bashers often times mount up bodies that were never intended to go on their trucks. For example, one of the members of our BigSquidRC Bash Crew is known for running car bodies on his Savage to get a custom look. Dynamite has introduced a product that makes it easy to mark body holes for those custom installs. The Dynamite EZ Body Post Marker Set uses magnets to hold the body in place so you can drill body holes in the proper location. Street price is $17 and they are available right now. Hit up THIS link for complete information.
We have loads more Dynamite news here on BigSquidRC, take a look HERE.
Here’s something you don’t see or hear about often. Off road RC and Planes at the same event! This year Horizon Hobby is having their Off-Road Showdown during the US Air Meet 2012 in Sanford, Maine USA. The dates are September 6-9 and the event will include multiple layouts for 1/8th scale nitro and 1/10th scale electric racing. Our buddy Scotty Ernst will be the race director for this one, along with some of the factory guys from Team Losi Racing. This is one of those events that draws thousands of spectators along with some amazing aircraft and flying skill, so it should be an all around awesome time for RC fans. You can get all the info on classes, cost, and schedule at the official US Air Meet Website. I’m not sure Big Squid RC will have anyone covering this event, so if your a fan, and in the Maine area, drop us a line!
I haven’t seen Scotty since the last Trackside Hobbies Event, so if you see him out there, tell him BSRC say’s hello!
The guys over at Team Losi Racing have recently introduced their new Nitro TEN-SCT 4wd RTR. We have been big fans of Losi’s electric version, the TEN-SCTE, since it was introduced over a year ago. The new nitro version features an on-board remote starting system, 3.4 nitro engine, waterproof electronics, and 2.4GHz Spektrum radio system. The trucks aren’t available yet, but you can pre-order yours for around $530. Hit THIS link for more information.
Have you read our Losi SCTE review? Check it out HERE.
All the big hitters were at the HobbyTown USA Convention including Horizon Hobby. In the picture above you can see Horizon rep Andy Miller (also an old college buddy of mine) showing off some of their Blade helicopters. The Horizon crew had a nice set-up in their suite with lots of product and even better, lots of food to munch on. Have you been over to Horizon’s website lately? If not HERE is the link.
Want to read one of our recent Losi reviews? If so click HERE.
Pro Driver, good friend of Big Squid RC, and all around nice guy, Scott Hughes has recently checked in! Scott let us know he has just hooked up with Horizon Hobby, and sounds really excited to do so! He didn’t share too many details, but it sounds like he will be working with the some surface brands.
We have also heard Scott is the proud pappa of a brand new bouncing baby boy! Woo Hoo! Congrats Scott on the new gig and kid!
THE Dynamite Passport Ultra Battery Charger Review
Walking around the pits at the local track or bash spot I started seeing a lot of people using the Dynamite Passport Ultra. What in the world? Since when does Dynamite have a popular charger? What makes it so popular? When one dropped in my lap for review I was pretty stoked to find out what all the buzz is about. Read on for the scoopage on the Passport Ultra…
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Everybody likes free stuff! Losi has a pretty sweet deal going on right now. From now until October 31st, if you purchase a Mini Desert Buggy you get a free light kit! Good stuff. The Mini Desert Buggy is a pretty sweet little vehicle with a killer look. Make sure you check it out if you’re looking to light up a mini buggy 
Jump over to Horizon Hobby to pick one up!
So Horizon Hobby is the latest company to jump onto the uber big marketing promo with their new “SECRET TAPE” campaign. Apparently someone “walked in” on some secret stuff. More videos are promised leading up to iHobby, so we’ll have to stay tuned. Check out the video after the jump!
Are you a dad? Are you a dad that has kids that don’t listen to you? It’s because you don’t hit them enough. Then you probably didn’t get what you wanted for Father’s Day. Well Horizon Hobby is to the rescue with their “What You Didn’t Get For Father’s Day” giveaway. They are giving three lucky dads the chance to win anything they want from the Horizon Hobby web store worth up to $500. Entry is simple, just go to their Facebook page, click the Like button so you can post on their wall, then leave a message there telling them what you REALLY wanted for Father’s Day and why you think it’s cool. Whoever wins gets the thing they really wanted as a prize, so make sure you pick something that is exactly $500, no point in cheaping out on it. The entry deadline is July 4th, so get to entering and check out the Horizon website for all the details and fine print.
For those of you that don’t subscribe to the theory that the iPhone/iPad was created by the devil himself (Brian and I both fall into the “iOS rocks!” crowd) Spektrum will be releasing the new TR1000 STi Telemetry Interface speficially for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. The TR1000 STi allows you to monitor all the telemetry data from your vehicle right on your iOS device, provided you have a DSM2/DSMX Spektrum or JR transmitter paired to a telemetry device. It will even alert you if one of the specs gets out of a range you’ve defined.
The TR1000 STi should be avaliable by mid May for around $100. Check out the Spektrum website for more info!
Holla rc fans, you’ve come across yet another fantastically satirical edition of THE Cub Report, the column that makes people with a sense of humor giggle, and those without, well.. they have epic meltdowns.
Australia + 3 days, 20 hours, 14 minutes and 56 seconds = Formula 1!!!!
Speaking of epic meltdowns, while I was in Jacksonville Florida last weekend I got to witness the AMA Supercross series have its share. Did the big bad full moon have anything to do with it, or was it caused by THE Cub Reporter being on premises? I don’t know, but the Supercross series points look a whole lot different now than 48 hours ago. In the East Lites class Monster/PC/Traxxas rider Blake Baggett was second in points go into J-Town, but he failed to make the main, dropping him out of title contention. Geico/Honda/Associated rider Justin “the Martian” Barcia went on to win the Lites main, cementing his East Lites points lead.
The real meltdowns actually came in the Supercross class, where points leader Ryan Villopoto failing to qualify for the main, and James “Bubba” Stewart crashed out (hard!) of the main on the first lap. Villopoto went from being over a race ahead in the points to only leading second place Chad Reed by 7. Bubba went from second in points to a distant 4th, but luckily he was not seriously hurt and is said to be racing this weekend in Canada.
Before I left for Jacksonville last week I got in some trigger time with a couple of our BSRC test trucks. Brian posted his review of the Electrix Ruckus a while back, but I didn’t get to wheel it till just last week. Ya, I’m one of those guys that likes tech/race type vehicles, but I had a blast driving the Ruckus around. The Ruckus drove better and had more yank than its price point would indicate, and more importantly, we still haven’t broke a single part on it, and I can assure you I drove it like I stole it. Heck, it was even able to make some of the big double jumps at our test spot, something I never thought a truck at its price point would be capable of doing.
The second test truck I’ve been getting a lot of wheel time with lately has been the Venom Gambler RTR. I should have the full review ready for next Tues. The Gambler is a gorgeous looking truck that Venom obviously spent a lot of time designing.
Horizon introduced their new Electrix Boost RTR buggy last week, which prompted a lot of discussion between myself and my industry friends. So lets say you are in the market for a new rc buggy this summer. Lets say you look at AE’s lineup and you see the tried and true B4.1. The B4.1 is a great buggy no doubt, but the 4 series buggy platform is far from being a spring chicken. Now lets say you look at what Horizon has to offer- they’ve got the new Losi 22 for the uber racing crowd, they’ve got the XXX SCB, which IMO is going to be the hottest thing to hit the market since the Traxxas Slash, and they’ve got the Electrix Boost for the entry level market. To boil it down, if you are looking at buying a new buggy this summer Horizon has all the bases covered, Associated, has an old workhorse. I think it’s pretty obvious who is going to pwn the buggy product category this summer.
RC Car Action hosted their RCX hobby expo over the weekend out in the 909. BSRC sent Jeff “The Uber Web Dude” Hoy to cover the show, so keep your eyes peeled on our main page the next couple days as Jeff finishes up his show coverage. Btw, for you readers that may not know, walking around an industry show in a BSRC shirt is typically a lot of fun, readers come up all the time saying how much they dig the site, and the majority of industry peeps say the same. But, and there is always a but, a BSRC shirt can bring the wrath from some of the industry types that don’t enjoy me ripping them a new one each week in THE Cub Report. So props to Jeff for hang’n in there through some pretty rough “conversations”. And just FYI for you readers- just know that we wear each and every a$$ chewing as a badge of honor, it means we are doing our job here, telling things how we actually see them, not just printing what some advertiser likes to read. Here’s a link to our RC Expo 2011 coverage.
Jeff reported back that RCX had excellent consumer attendance, so props to all your guys and gals for turning out and supporting rc. It’s not surprising that both the latest RCX and iHobby shows have had large turnouts by consumers. Rc hobbyists are freak’n core and love showing their support. I know on the industry side there are a lot of companies that are simply burnt out on the show scene and/or whos business has been slow and find it unjustifiable to spend the money on a show. But… can you really put a price tag on making a show and spending face time with the people that dig your product? Or a price tag on how much free advertising you get via show coverage from the mags and on-line sites (like BSRC)? Or a price tag on making a contact at the show that totally turns your business around via shooting the bull over a couple beers? While working in the industry makes it really hard to have the passion about the hobby that consumers do, the best moral booster for me is spending time with consumers. When I’m burnt out working on hobby product spending a weekend at a trade show, or local track or bash spot with those that live for the hobby makes me a whole new man when I hit the office on Monday morning. So to finally digress, consumers continue to set record attendance at the trade shows, and even though we are in a tough economy, the manufactures should return the favor and do the same.
One last note- BSRC is hosting a pretty uber March-Bashness. Readers will be voting to determine the ultimate rc bashing machine, with one of them winning a cool prize. Keep an eye out on the main page to put in your vote!
That’s it for this week, thanks for reading, and support your LHS, local tracks and bash spots!
YOUR Cub Reporter
