The Parma Dune Buggy body has been a big hit lately, and it’s cool to see they are bringing it to many other vehicles. Their latest release is for the Traxxas 1/16 E-Revo! Get some paddle tires, and hit the beach!

Visit the Parma Website for more information and details.

Check out the new Parma Dune Buggy body for the Traxxas Mini Slash! When we first saw these bodies at iHobby for the regular slash, we were big fans! Cool to see them bring it to the mini.

Visit the Parma Website for more information and details.

Check out the new Parma 1/12 EE1 Body. It meets all the EFRA/BRCA/ROAR rules, while providing some great realism and performance. It’s designed to provide high steering and high speed stability. It’s available in .030 and .020 lexan.
Visit the Parma Website for more information and details.

Hey all, this is part two of the bigger than usual Cub Report, since the last one was a good chunk with all the iHobby talk, this part is a little different subject matter, but still stuff I wanted to talk about, it was just too much for one report.

Wow, I mean Seriously Wow! I don’t know who the guys behind RC4WD are, and I’m definitely not a crawler guy, but Wow, RC4WD’s new products look sweet. Realism is selling right now, and not only do RC4WD products lean towards scale realism, but they just plain look trick. For years and years rc cars have gotten farther and farther away from the looks of the real thing, nice to see the trend going the other way! New products from RC4WD include their 8th scale comp crawler kit, 10th scale metal chassis, and 10th scale Fracture V8 engine shell with transfer case that you install a normal 540 electric motor in. Trick, uber trick.

Parma! I gotta give the Parma guys some love this week, as their new Dune Buggy body looks really trick! The Dune Buggy body brings back so many fond memories, and is the best looking body to come out of Parma in quite some time. It’s intended to be bolted up on the Traxxis Slash chassis, and looks very much like the Meyers Manx dune buggies from the late 60’s.

Ofna has drastically cut back on advertising as of late, but they’ve recently released info on their new Hyper 10 4×4 SC truck. Most any truck that is a 4×4 is a blast to drive, and the OFNA looks to use a very beefy 8th scale’ish drivetrain for durability. Even though a heavy drivetrain is used, the truck is set-up to run a 10th scale power system on 2S lithium, saving loads of bucks over using an 8th scale power system and high cell counts. Easy to drive 4wd, beefy drive train, and SC looks, Ofna might have a winner on their hands with this one.

A note to ALL he industry folks out there. BigSquidRC will be holding a second Li-po battery shootout. We’ve shot out a ton of emails inviting everyone we could think of to be in the shootout, but it seems many of these emails go unread or are shot into spam boxes. So if you want in on our second Li-po shootout, send Brian at BigSquidRC.com an email to get complete info. If you are a consumer and want to see your favorite brand of Li-po battery included, and you have a inside contact at your preferred battery company, please invite them to shoot Brian an email to be included. We’ll start the second shootout the weekend of November 28th, so all packs must be received no later than November 25th.

We’ll also be doing a battery charger shootout in the next couple of months. So if you are an industry person and want your charger included in the shootout, shoot us an email at Brian at BigSquidRC.com for complete information on how the shootout will be conducted, and a time frame when we’ll need your charger for the shootout.

That’s it for this week, support your hobby/industry in any way you can, you Industry guys, start dropping Brian some email! (Not just the hate kind).

Your Cub Reporter

Introducing the Parma Vintage Dune Buggy body for the Traxxas Slash! We got a first glimpse of these things at the iHobby Expo 2009 and I thought they were sweet. I’m a big fan of looking different when I bash, so these dune buggy bodies will definitely set me apart!

Visit the Parma Website for more information and details.

Introducing the Parma 1/10 RTB GBS Rubber Tire Body. The body has been designed for rubber tires on carpet or asphalt. It has a balanced .30 thickness and has been tested and refined for aggressive racing. It has a molded rear truck spoiler and works with the bolt-on rear wing.

Visit the Parma Website for more information and details.

Looking for a new bumper? Parma has just released the Ultimate Bumbers for the Schumacher Mi2, Mi3, Mi4, and TOP Racing Photon.

Visit the Parma Website for more information and details.

New from Parma is the 1/10 X-citer Stampede Body. It’s a direct fit for the electric, nitro and VLX versions of the Traxxas Stampede. Comes with paint masks and decals.

Visit the Parma Website for more information and details.

New from Parma is the 1/10 X-Citer Comp Crawler Body. The tubular cab design is setup to roll over icely and is strong enough to let you cut out the windows. It will retail for about $24.

Just released from Parma is the 1/10th scale Honcho Truck Body. It’s designed to give a scale look for your crawler or truck. Made from .040 lexan, and comes with stickers and over spray mask.

Parma has released their new Aston Martin DB-9 World GT body designed for precision high speed handling in a competitive class. Fitting all popular 200mm wide pan chassis this sleek design and lower front end creates a balanced downforce and steering not to mention excellent visual appeal.

1/10 DB-9 World GT .030 Clear Body w/Wing*(200mm wide) $24.99 Retail
UPC #659548084371
*Body Includes EASY-PEEL Clear Body Film, Vinyl Window Paint Masks
and Die-Cut Decal Sheet.

Drop by Parma for a look!

Parma has sent out this new sheet of tires prices with some new compounds there as well. If you are looking to pick up some new on-road shoes, maybe head over and check out their site!

Gotta love 2009 already. AMA Supercross is the first “big name” racing to kick off the new year, and their season opener last weekend in Anaheim was one for the ages. James Stewart could’a, would’a, should’a PWNED. But, after some brain fade and/or Yamabog, he took out arch rival Chad Reed (and eventually Kevin Windham), and finished the first round with a huge DNF. Reed went on to finish with a damaged front rotor in third place, while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Josh Grant took his first Supercross win. Look for full scale motowar to go off tonight in Phoenix as Stewart is surely going to be in full warpath mode on his new Yamaha. Bubba does not take losing lightly (but then, how does?).

In rc racing, the first big race of the year is always S&N Trackside’s US Touring Car Championships (aka- The Novak Race). To the average rc basher/racer, perhaps it’s not such a big deal, but if you are a carpet racer, it’s easily one of the best, and most professionally handled races of the year. Mains go off tomorrow, best of luck to everyone racing up there in Brookfield WI this weekend. Btw, I heard Wisconsin just got the internet this week, congrats!

Bet ya didn’t know that BigSquidRC is now getting more views than every print mag website except for RCCA’s. Head tentacle Brian S. has been working harder than a Vegas stripper on free samples day, and the huge increase in hits/views is proof positive. Give him another 12 months, and I’m certain BigSquid will reign supreme in the E-zine battle.

On another Brian S. note, rarely does he contact me about rc related items, but I received the wildest phone call from him a couple weeks ago. Why all the fuss? He had just got done testing the big HPI Flux monster truck. He just kept going on and on about how fast that beast is. Brian is normally a gashole, but even he couldn’t resist the charms of an extremely overpowered brushless monster truck. I have yet to drive one, but if Brian raves that much about the power, it’s got to be something “above and beyond”.

The new Castle Creations 8th scale buggy system should be hitting consumer hands in the next few weeks. It features a 2600 kv motor, and the much maligned Monster speedo. But- as with all Castle products, it has a reasonable price point, making that 8th scale conversion of yours a bit more affordable/doable. How well this system goes over will have a lot to do with how many 8th scale coversions are done this year. Let’s hope it’s rock solid.

Tekin released computer renderings of their new 8th scale speedo, and boy does the heat sink/fan set-up look a lot like a piece already on the market. Competition is a good thing, unless it’s just really just one company making them all right?

Know that PITA rear bumper arm that keeps popping off the back of your Traxxas Slash? Well bless the guys at RPM. They have a new uber trick bumper mount that totally fixes that mess. RPM is a basher’s God, putting out the right parts at a decent price that are nearly bulletproof. In the rc dream world that I drift off into each night as I sleep, RPM makes not just hop-up parts, but entire cars. Yes, in my dream world, I drive entire cars made out of that sweet RPM plastic, where hitting curbs WFO on 4S only results in minor scratches. But to get back to the real world, maybe the RPM crew should hire a good car designer/engineer, get a trick looking uber durable design cooked up, and have a go at it. This industry needs less cheap ass Chinese knock-offs, and more good ole’ USA kick ass engineering/design. Just say’n………….

Trinity has put out a Li-po battery warmer. It’s hard for me to even type here because I’m laughing so hard. Yes, warming Li-po cells does give higher voltage under load. But- putting out a dedicated “Li-po wamer” is like committing liability suicide. Hope Ernie puts some miles on his Bentleys, because some sue happy idiot will be driving them next year. I’m still laughing my head off at this one. Why not start selling a high zoot Li-po dead short device as well? How about a flame powered Nitro bottle warmer? I can’t stop laughing, this is gonna get good.

Horizon has released info on their Losi 8IGHT-T version 2.0 truggy. I’m sure it’s all high zoot and fast ect. But is it just me, or is the body on that thing the ugliest I’ve EVER seen? That body is ugly enough to make me want to poke my own eyes out with a hot soldering iron. Damn.

Speaking of ugly bodies, seen the new Parma Mini-Comp Crawler body? Luckily, I already poked out both my eyes with the soldering iron, but I’ve heard it makes that new Losi 8IGHT-T look trick. I dig the guys at Parma, hell even dig their gear, but perhaps another couple hours should be spent on cosmetics before going full bore on the molds?

Pro-Line is the latest entry in the rebate war. Buy more Pro-Line, send’em the receipt, get 10% off. Hell Ya! Goodness knows we spend enough on Pro-Line tires/rims/bodies each year around the BSRC office to keep the owner well stocked on Ferrari parts. The 10% offer is Awesome.

That’s it for this week guys. As always, support your LHS and local tracks! Get off the net, get on the track!

Your Cub Reporter

Parma has just released their Mini Comp Crawler Body Kit for the Losi Mini Rock Crawler. It includes a detailed interior with driver all ready to be painted anyway you like. The tubular cab is designed to roll nicely and stay strong. (Maybe they will do a 1/10th scale version!) Comes clear with window masks and decals.

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.