Our good friend Scott Cramer of Futaba and O’Donnell fame sits down and shows you everything you need to do some work on your RC Vehicle. All the products he talks about can be found at BestRC.com.

Looks like O’Donnell Racing has started to make some waves early this year with a couple of wins at the Motorama event. Driver Barry Baker won Electric 1/8 Buggy with the Z01-E, and Nitro 1/8 Pro Truggy! He also placed well in Nitro Pro Buggy with the Z01B-SG.

Congrats to Barry and O’Donnell Racing!

Hit the O’Donnell Racing Website for details.

Ok, I know this is going to be a mouthful, but stay with me. These are pictures of the new O’Donnell Racing Z01B-SG Team 1/8 Scale Nitro 4WD ULTRA Competition Buggy Kit. See, I warned you. This new kit has a TON of upgrades. Here are a few highlights:
• Stronger, lighter 7075-T6 machined chassis plate with improved weight distribution
• Rear arms with improved geometry
• Rear hub carriers with improved geometry
• Front & rear shock tower with improved geometry
• Stronger CVA axles with large, 3mm cross pin
• New, stronger, front top carbon fiber deck
• New center carbon-fiber top deck
• New carbon-fiber radio tray
• Improved, stronger diff cases
• New 4.3:1 diff gears ratio
• New narrow side pods
• New, solid, 7075-T6 billet-aluminum torsional front torque rod
• New 7075-T6 billet-aluminum rear torque rod with glass- filled rod ends

And there is a bunch more! The kit will need a radio, servos, .21 engine, pipe, tires, and oils to complete.

Hit the O’Donnell Racing Website for details.

In the ‘wow, I should start racing more category’, the folks over at O’Donnell Racing have just announced one of the biggest contingency programs in the RC industry! Drivers have a chance to share up to $120,000 in prize money by using O’Donnell Racing Fuel and finishing in some top spots at many upcoming races.
“There are cash prizes for the top six A-Main finishers in select national and regional races. More cash prizes for first-place finishers in R/C Pro Series A-Mains including the Intermediate, Open and Pro classes. Cash bonuses for taking TQ in every one — and more cash bonuses for winning ROAR and R/C Pro national championships”

So get out there, and make some cash!
Hit the banner or go to O’Donnell Racing.com for more info.

Normally when we talk about ROAR, it’s usually Cubby sharing his ‘feelings’ about the rules or sanctioning body, but this news is a little different. We just heard that Futaba and O’Donnell Racing will be sponsors at the 2009 ROAR 1/8 Scale Off-Road Nationals at Leisure Hours Raceway July 15-19! Look for Big Squid RC to be there grabbing photo’s, video, and handing out plenty of stickers! If you see us at the event, make sure to stop by and say hi!!

Just when I thought my fingers were safe, O’Donnell Racing is bringing out their own Premium Tire Glue.
Press:
O’Donnell Racing Premium Tire Glue is specially formulated to securely bond R/C tires to wheels. It’s available in a .6 fluid ounce bottle – a staple in every pit! Thin CA dries quickly to get racers back on the track fast.

Oh my poor hands!

This just in from O’Donnell Racing!
Just a mere two days after the release of the brand new O’Donnell Z01-B Team Edition, Taylor Peterson took the win at Motorama in the 1/8 Pro buggy class. Peterson was running in the top three until the first pit stop. Then, after a blistering pit stop by Steve O’Donnell, he took the lead from former World Champion Mark Pavidis and never looked back. And the new Z01-B Team Edition, powered by the O’Donnell SS .21, never faltered!

Peterson wasn’t the only O’Donnell driver to impress in the A main. Young superstar Levi Jackson made a very impressive run to take the third spot on the podium with his O’Donnell SS .21 powered Z01-B Team edition. In the end the O’Donnell racing team had a total of five Z01-B Team Editions in the A main.

Made of durable white plastic, the O’Donnell Racing Fuel Bottle is designed to deliver 500cc of fuel quickly and efficiently. It features a threaded machined aluminum adapter with an O-ring seal that positively eliminates spilling.

AVAILABLE: Early March

Just in from O’Donnell Racing is information on the O’Donnell Z01-B Team 1/8 Off Road Buggy 2-in-1 kit. (Limited Edition!) Incorporating all the latest technology, the O’Donnell Z01-B Team Limited Edition kit offers modelers two kits in one! The kif featuers new front arms, caster blocks, steering knuckles and shock tower!

For a limited time the kit will come with the original Z01-B! Pretty Sweet Deal!

Who likes free stuff? Everyone should! Free nitro should be even more fun and if you are looking for a new engine OS and O’Donnell have teamed up to hook you right up. Right now (between Feb 1st and Mar 31st) when you purchase a specific engine you can get up to $20 in fuel. Be sure to check it out at your local hobby shop…

30% with either a .21VG(P) or a .21VG(P)es and 20% with either a 30VG (P), 30VG (P) ES, 21TM w/Revo Manifold or 21TM w/T-Maxx Manifold

They also have heli and airplane offers…

As another year comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to thank all the people that helped make 2008 an amazing year for Big Squid RC. We grew leaps and bounds this year, and really have started to make some waves in the world of internet RC. From our viral videos, to our very much copied style, terms, and stories. We are happy to be the leaders watching the others scramble to be just like us. We woke up a lot of companies at iHobby Expo, and we promise to keep bringing you eye opening and original work in 2009!

Thanks to all of our readers who faithfully keep coming back for more news, reviews and incite. Keep telling your friends about us!

Thanks to all of our writers: Cubby, Jason Anis, Rey (Stangrey), Wesley Dennis (Microman), and our forum moderators Bill (firespring281) and Chris (thenewguy821).

Thanks and good luck in 2009 to our Pro Driver Tim Mohr! We can’t wait to watch you take over the electric 1/8th scale world!

Thanks to everyone who helped make iHobby Expo such a success for us! We could not of done it without you all! Tim, Jason, Jim, Bill, Chris, Geno, Anna, Ewa, Alfonso, Elizabeth and Cubby!

Finally a huge thanks to all of our sponsors this year! Without you all, we wouldn’t be able to pay the electric bill to keep this place running! Make sure to go visit these sites, show your support, and buy their products! Also tell them we said hi. In no particular order:
Duratrax, Max Amps, O’Donnell Racing, Traxxas, Futaba RC, Team Checkpoint, Best RC, HPI Racing, EDS Racing Products, Team Novak, Grand MotorSports, Leisure Hours Hobbies, RC Car Kings, RC Hobbies Naperville, Buku Power, Dragrace Concepts, Acer Racing, Roy Anderson Engineering, Pro-Line Racing, Parma PSE, Schumacher USA and RC Hardware!
Thank you all so very much! Hopefully I didn’t miss anyone, if I did, send your mail to Cubby, he gets lonely.

Don’t worry, Cubby should be back from his vacation next week (fingers crossed) and you will be able to enjoy your weekly soap box once again.

Acer Racing has just released their latest bearing kit for the O’Donnell Z01B 1:8th scale buggy! As usual, not cheap, but for those that can afford the top stuff, and own the Z01B, this news is for you.

O’Donnell Racing has issued a press release talking about their new O’Donnell Z01-T Truggy. It’s 1/8 scale, 4WD, and built to race! I had the pleasure of talking to ‘THE’ Steve O’Donnell himself last week. He’s really a great guy, and cool to talk to every time I see him. They really put a lot of thought into this vehicle! From the captured hinge pins to the large box for the electronics. (I thanked Steve for that.. finally a little room to move around!)
There were a lot of Nickel-plated steel parts like the front and rear drive shafts, outdrives, steering and camber links. There was also a ton of hard anodized aluminum parts! Even though this thing is build for racing, I’m willing to bet it can take some bashing abuse! If we are lucky, maybe we’ll get our hands on one to review!
Check the NEW Product Forum for the full press release.
Here are two shots I got from the iHobby Expo 2008.

That’s right, it is that time of year again! Time to start sending in those Fan Pictures for the Big Squid RC Contest!!
Every year we try to give something back to our loyal fans and readers. Keeping with our standard, this years prizes are even better then last year!
The big grand prize? A Duratrax RT-X 27 RTR Monster Truck! We also have a Team Novak GOAT Brushless System, and XBR Sport Brushless system! Of course we have Pro-Line Racing wheel/tire sets and bodies, along with a Parma PSE prize pack. To round off the great prizes this year we again are giving away a O’Donnell’s Racing TGX1 Temperature Gauge and a R/C Hardware N-Tune gauge for the engine of your choice! I think there are a few more prizes rolling in as well, so as we get them, we will update the Big Squid RC Contest page.

Well, what are you waiting for? Start sending in those Fan Pictures, there is only a few weeks left till the end of the month drawing!

While still playing catch up after our big computer meltdown, I’m finding news we missed posting in backup emails. I posted a few new press releases in the NEW Product Forum. One of them being for the Futaba 4PK 4-Channel 2.4ghz computer system. We talked a little about it back during our coverage during iHobby, and it looks like it should be shipping soon. Start saving your $$ because this is probably going to be THE radio to have this summer!

Some items that will be on your shopping list if you are a racer or a basher are the new O’Donnell Speed Wash Cleaner and the O’Lube Krytech Dry Lubricant. Check out the press release in the NEW Product Forum. I always have stuff that needs a cleaning, and the O’Lube sounds like a pretty cool product. It dries to a hard waxy finish to seal out water while not attracting dust, yet reduces friction.