Last week, our own cub reporter started to let the cat out of the bag talking about some Big Squid RC news in the near future. Well, this is the news he was talking about. Not only will Big Squid RC invade iHobby Expo 2008 again, bringing you all the latest and greatest in RC news, but this year we are going to have a full booth setup AND we are now the official RC track sponsor at the show!

If you have always been wanting to make your way out to one of the biggest and best RC shows in the US, this will be the year!
We will be handing out stickers at the booth that you can use for the Big Squid RC Contest by sending us your Fan Pictures! We will also have some cool prizes to give away, AND we are also working on an awesome demo for the track. More details about that later, because just like everything else great that we pull off, the paper magazines will be sure to follow a few months later. So we don’t want to let any tricks out of the bag just yet.

Anyway, head over to the official iHobby Expo 2008 web page and sign up! Also make sure to check out the floor plan, we are booth 2611! You can also see us on the official sponsor page! Hope to see you there!

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While a lot of people enjoy our forum area, we have had a few requests for us to open up a place to hang out and chat.
We bring you the Big Squid RC Chat!

You will need to be registered with the forum to be able to use this new feature. So far, people have really been enjoying the chat area as we have been testing it for a while, but now it’s time to let the public know about it.

The topics inside are usually RC Drag Racing, or RC Monster Trucks, or just about anything RC. If you are looking to chat later, there is now a new RC Chat button over in the left side menu. Enjoy!!

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Wow.. never would of seen this coming! The rules for the RC Pro Series are now allowing Nitro VS Electric! Talk about wars and debates! Imagine a nitro truck up against a brushless LiPo truck! This is HUGE news! Anyone have any thoughts they care to share? On one hand, I can see electric just killing nitro, on the other hand, if it’s a 30min main, it’s not so easy to change battery packs in just a few seconds! Can’t wait to hear the results from their first few races.

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Yes, even the best opinion writer in rc can miss a deadline. After the constant hate text messages from the men in black suits at BigSquidRC, I decided it was in my best interest to get my Week 3 review in their inbox.

First, before I start ranting, BigSquidRC is breaking out the big money and making sure you, the faithful reader, has live, daily coverage from the biggest rc race on the planet next week- the Snowbird Nationals. This is a big step for BigSquidRC. Unfortunately, I drew the short straw and am being forced to spend a week in all that horrible Florida weather covering the event for you.

O.k., so last week ROAR decided to jump into the 2000’s and release some Li-po rules. On one hand, it’s nice to see them finally get their heads in the game, on the other, they are about 4 years late (again). People can, and will argue about the pro’s and con’s of the specifics of these new rules, but at least they now exist. Let’s hope that when the next rage in cells come along (Li-Fe and others), they won’t wait 4 extra years to make them legal. Oh and, can I kick them in the shins again about keeping races at 5 minutes?

Losi jumped the shark. No, not last week when they introduced their version of the Rustler VXL, but when Pops and Jr decided to hand over the keys to Horizon. That’s not to say Losi is eating babies now days, they aren’t. But they are no longer a “win races” company, they are a “make money” brand name. Everybody has to keep food on their tables, but we’d rather see innovative products instead of Traxxas clones.

Before I sign off, I’d like to answer one note I received via email.
“Dear Cub Reporter,
You sound like an #@#$#@. Can’t you ever say anything positive?
Steve”

First off Steve, it takes one to know one. Secondly, I do make positive remarks, but only when they are warranted. It’s no secret this hobby/sport is in a downward slide, both on the race side, and on the retail side. Perhaps a little kick in the rear will do the industry more good than the constant positive banter. I’m only critical out of love for the sport.

With that said, support your local hobby shops, buy all the bling bling your Visa can handle, and be sure to check out BigSquidRC weekly, you never know what will be said next.
From the sub-zero middle of nowhere,
Your Cub Reporter

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Week two in 08′ has flown by.

Product wise, MaxAmps, trying to make good on their vow to dominate in 08′,
introduced another product- some hard case saddle pack li-po’s. The jury is still
out on encasing li-po’s in a hard pack. On one hand, protecting them is very
important. On the other, li-po’s don’t like being contained in essentially, a
warming blanket. Before it’s all said and done, a compromise of the two- a hard case
with either a cooling system or vent holes, is bound to become the standard.

Speaking of compromises, Schumacher USA issued their press release on the Speed
Passion brushless controller this week. What really catches the eye is their use of
hybrid technology. It uses sensors like a Novak or LRP for the first few feet off
the line, then switches to non-sensored mode so motor timing is adjustable. This
seems to use the best of both worlds. Several of these systems were used at S&N’s
Trackside’s US Touring Car Championships last weekend with great results. Expect an
interview with the suits at Schumacher right here at BigSquidRC in the near future.

In the sport of rc racing, if you talk about the single best American racer, the talk always begins and ends with Brian Kinwald. Arguably, he’s the best American of all time.

This week, the press release went out that BK had signed with X-Ray. Nothing wrong with that of course, Brian is top of the heap, just like X-Ray is. But, it brings up a problem that is particularly bad in the rc world. Brian drives for X-Factory in electrics, and now, X-Ray for nitro and touring. This is sort of like Dale Jr. driving a Chevy in the car series, and a Ford in the truck series. Only one chassis can be the best, so it sends a mixed message to consumers.

Every time a factory shoe signs a contract, they always say “I truly believe they have a superior product”. But if they are driving for two chassis manufactures (or three!), how can this possibly be an honest statement?

So what’s the cure? A couple. Factory shoes should limit themselves to only driving for one similar sponsor at a time. Just because you can get free gear from everybody on the planet doesn’t mean that you should. It devalues both the driver and the manufacture when they send out conflicting signals to consumers.

Manufactures should demand exclusivity from their drivers. When someone asks “what chassis does National Champion guy drive?” there shouldn’t be a half dozen answers. Manufactures are only sponsoring “National Champion Guy” to increase their own exposure, not other companies as well.

On the racing front this weekend, the biggest race in the country is the annual Midwest Electric/Nitro Off Road Champs in Columbus Ohio. This weekend, they are racing electrics, next weekend, nitro’s. The host club is CRCRC, say that 10 times fast!

Some pro’s love this event, as it gets them away from the office for 2 full weeks. Others loathe it because of having to spend 2 full weeks in a cold, humid, shed in the middle of nowhere. (most SoCal guys consider anyplace other than California as being the middle of nowhere!)

That’s the highlights from this week in rc. Support your local hobby shop, get off the computer and go racing!!! Oh and remember, Red lost the war at CES, buy Blu Ray!

Straight from a cold bunker in the middle of the desert,
Cub-a-dub Reporter

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1. For Kyosho to actually release something worth buying. Over the last two years,
Kyosho has bought up some of the best rc minds in the USA. Joel Johnson, Steve Pond, Gil JR, and Mark Pavidis make up arguably the best team in the entire rc world. Since then, we’ve seen nothing come out of there worth laying cold hard greenbacks on. Here’s hoping that dream team throws some incredible products to USA consumers sooner rather than later because what they sell now is stale and lame.

2. For magazines to grow some ****s. Being a realist, I know this isn’t going to happen. But this is my wish list after all, therefore I have the right to wish as hard as I want. Consumers will buy more magazines when the reviews are actually truthful, and reveal flaws in products. If I read one more positive review on a product I know is junk, I’m going to poke my eyeballs with a hot soldering iron.
Naw, I’ll just continue to save money and not buy any mags. Much easier and I will still see afterwards. We all know the mags are afraid of losing advertiser revenue after giving negative reviews. But who are the mags here for, their faithful readers, or some jerk*** advertiser who only imports manufactured junk?

3. For all car manufactures to beef it up! Most of us quickly become accustomed to “hit something and it breaks”. I wish all manufactures actually drive their cars, see what breaks, and then beef those parts up. I’d rather spend more money hopping my cars up than simply keeping them in one piece. The less time I spend replacing a-arms, the more time I’ll have to buy go-fast parts.

4. For ROAR to figure out it’s 2008, not 1993 anymore. Earth to ROAR, electric races have been 5 minutes FOREVER and now we have batteries that can go 15 minutes or more. Duh.

5. I wish all nitro engine manufactures would quit making more power and make their engines run more reliably. Hint, hint, we’ve got way more power than we can use now, can you just make it start every time for at least two gallons? I promise if you do that you’ll make more money than you ever thought possible in the rc world.

Coming from you live, way atop my soapbox, your friendly, understandably hung-over
Cub Reporter

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