Pro-Line Racing has just announced their new SHIFT body for the Team Associated RC8T and Mugen MBX-6. Pro-Line has been doing a great job of getting the first after market bodies out for new vehicles. The SHIFT body is the first after market body for both the RC8T and MBX-6. So if you have either, and are looking to be different from the crowd, Pro-Line has you covered.

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Welcome once again to another exciting and infuriating Cub Report!

BigSquidRC.com’s top man, Brian, is not at the top of his game. He was actually hospitalized this week, but seems to be doing better now. If you get a chance, shoot him a “get well soon” note to brian (at sym) bigsquidrc.com . We need to keep Brian well and healthy enough to keep my checks coming. Thanks!

Also in BigSquid news- aspiring models are needed. If you are, or know of a pretty lady that would like to get in some trade show modeling experience, shoot Brian an email as he is looking for “booth-babes” for this falls I-Hobby International Hobby Expo in Chicago. If you know someone, help Brian have the coolest booth at the show, and help a young lady gain a nice reference on her resume.

I can’t help it, I’ve got Olympic fever. I just can’t get enough! Phelps, Liukin, and others- how can I resist? It just looks so damn good in HD. Seems I’m not the only one, as the ratings of this years Olympics from Beijing are through the roof. But what does this have to do with rc? Not a damn thing other than it’s nice to see a well organized event come off as a huge success, and I’ve got some results from the question I asked last week about who us Americans would like to see represent us if rc racing was actually an Olympic sport. The top 3 vote getter’s from BigSquid readers are….

Honorable mentions- Brian “Dirtinator” Kinwald, Scott Hughes, and Billy “Mr Versatile” Fischer.

3. Mark Pavidis- Perennial front runner Pavidis garnered 3′rd place in the votes. Mark would certainly be a good pick for the team, as he has nerves of steel, and really picks up the pace the bigger the event is. He doesn’t back down from anybody, forcing passes when he has to. And perhaps his largest asset? Car set-up, he’s simply a master at making the most out of his equipment.

2. Ryan Maifield- AE’s latest hotshot has been tearing a wide swath through the pro ranks, winning nearly everything he enters. Driven, determined, and even a bit cocky, Ryan drives the tires off anything he races, and isn’t afraid to huck it huge to make a tricky pass. And, he doesn’t just like to win races, he prefers to CRUSH the field. Confidence is a dangerous thing, and he has lots of it right now.

1. Getting the most votes for our theoretical “Olympic RC Team America” is- Adam Drake. The Drake is not some pretty boy model type, he looks just like you and me. But what he is, is perhaps America’s top racer at the moment. The Drake is known for incredible corner speed, but less known, and more importantly, he is the king at finding good lines. If you want to find the very best line through any section (and have the skill to follow it), just watch where The Drake goes. Likable, friendly, and smart, The Drake deserves his title as being the best liked racer in America, and would represent a Team America in only the best light.

Of course there are tons of super talented drivers left off this list, but the most surprising to me was that not one carpet guru got made the top 3. Just goes to show that BigSquid readers, along with most Amercian rc’ers, know the top dirt guys better than the top carpet guys.

Did you tune in live to Speed TV this weekend and catch the CORR race? Gotta love CORR’s tv package this year with Speed, as you can’t beat Live! Rockstar/Makita/Kal-Gard’s Kyle LuDuc pwned Pro 4, Rockstar Energy/BFGoodrich’s Rob MacCachren took Pro 2, and BOSS Plow/Kumho/Amsoilʼs Chad Hord took Pro Lites. And what the Heck does this have to do with rc? Well, Thunder Tiger/AE unveiled their new rc CORR truck at the event, that’s what!

Dubbed the SC8, which stands for “short course”, the new AE rc CORR truck is based off their extremely fast RC8 nitro platform. The trucks look phenomenal, very scale, even down to the tires and mud-flaps. But will it be a bigger hit than the Traxxas Slash? Oh, it’ll be a hit alright, but don’t expect to see as many of them as the Slash. The Slash has a much better price point, and, it’s electric, which is all the rage now. I’m also disappointed to see the SC8 being a nitro, as it’s obvious the industry is swinging hard to electric now, but, I’m impressed to see AE jump into the “CORR” truck game so quickly. Industry rumor is that word about the Slash leaked out over a year ago from guys within the CORR ranks to the Thunder Tiger/AE camp, giving AE a bit of a “head’s up” to get a similar truck to market. Truth? Who knows.

Not to be outdone, Horizon/Losi released info on their 8th scale nitro buggy based Oval car this week. Dubbed the L8ight, this is what you get when you take one of their 8th scale off-road buggys and convert it for oval use. Does it look trick? Sorta. Will it suddenly be the boost that dirt oval needs so desperately? I don’t think so. But, it will open a lot of eyes, and provide lots of enjoyment to owners. I’ve seen converted 8th scale dirt oval cars race, and they look like a blast! Very realistic, lots of roost, tons of fun!

Now, if Thunder Tiger/AE and Horizon/Losi can FINALLY release their BL/Li-po 8th scale RTR’s! I-Hobby, you’ll see.

As previously posted by Brian on the main page, Tekin’s former sales and marketing man, “Scooter” has opened up a new BL and Li-po company. Scooter has been a warm face to see at many a race, and I personally wish him the best on his new business venture. The BL/Li-po sector is a hard one to break into, but Scooter is a down to Earth guy that knows what racers are looking for. I am looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table.

Lastly, Red Bull Cola tastes awesome! It tastes best well chilled, just like normal Red Bull. It is quite strong, but very pleasing. If you can find a can, it’s worth a sip or two.

Till next week, support your local tracks and LHS’s, and check BigSquid daily for the latest and greatest!

Your Cub Reporter

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Good evening, good morning, hello, hello- welcome to yet another edition of the loathed Cub-Report.

So you like to go fast eh? Well, everybody does, that’s why we are in this sport. Word went public this week about this years big high speed run event. Nic Case, current pwn’er of all things high speed, worked with Castle Creations and RC Driver magazine to get an event put together out east this October. I know there are a ton of BigSquidRC readers that do rc drag racing, so what about giving some high speed running a shot? Gear up, go huge, and just see what kind of top speed number you can bust out!

Of interest is the change of support from RCCA to RC Driver this year for the high speed event. Knowing how the guys at Driver handle things, I think we can expect for this years high speed event to totally blow away the RCCA backed events in every way. Expect much larger attendance, better competition, and a much better organized show this year.

Midwesterner Taylor James pwn’ed the boyz at the 8th scale buggy “World’s Warm Up” race out at The Farm 2. The 8th scale buggy IFMAR world championship is the most prestigious racing event in all of r/c racing. Insiders and outsiders are speculating just who is going to take home the world championship this year. Some have their money on the warm up winner and Jammin factory shoe James, others are placing their bets on ThunderTiger/AE hotshoe Ryan Maifield. Personally, my money is on either Kortz or Pavidis. Both of those gentlemen always rise to the occasion for IFMAR worlds, while most of the other top American’s flounder. This year will most likely be different, as the race is being held on a typical American track, where the boyz from Team USA will feel very much at home, while all the Euro’s will bewondering where all the gravel and brick sections are at!

Also of note for the IFMAR’s, Billy “Most Versatile Racer On the Planet” Fischer is ready and stoked to go huge. Billy is easily the nicest guy in the pits, and he has climbed to the top of the 8th scale pile in quite a hurry. If the Fishman is “on” at the IFMAR race, goodness help the rest of the world.

Jeremy Kortz, as I mentioned earlier, is one of my favs for the 08′ world title. What I’ve always wondered about him is this- he looks like the perfect pitch man for outside the industry sponsors, so why hasn’t Red Bull/Monster/Rockstar/Etnies/DC/Spy/Kicker picked him up yet?? Jeremy is all tatt’ed up, sporting a killer left coast look and easy going attitude. Plus, he’s perhaps the most naturally talented racer to come from the USA. Potential sponsors, if you are out there, I’m telling you Kortz can help you sell a s#!tload of product and get your name in the door of the r/c world on the best possible foot.

Anybody else notice LIVE CORR racing on NBC today? That sport has come a long ways, and todays live coverage is more proof of that. Unfortunately for my boy, and 7 time AMA Supercross champion, Jeremy “The King” McGrath, a flat tire ruined his day. Nice to see another ex-motocrosser Rick “Too Hip” Johnson carry the torch at the front of the pack.

The good guys are Schumacher released info on their new touring car, the Mission 3.5 last week. Now, the old Mission 3 was one of the best “elite” TC’s out there, so what could they possibly improve? The retail price, that’s what! Rumored retail of the new scoot is supposed to be right around $299, which looks mighty inviting considering all the other overly priced elite tourers from X-Ray, AE, ect. Props to Robin and SP at Schu for keeping their prices reasonable during these rough economic times.

What was the biggest “release” of the week? No, it didn’t come from BigSquidRC’s editor-in-chief Brian after watching some free internet pr0n. It came instead from Horizon/Losi in the form of new information regarding their all new 10th scale Slider! Now, I didn’t get the memo saying “dirt oval is the hot new thing”, so I doubt dirt oval is just gonna bust off the chains because of this new car. But, with the hot trend being “realistic” looking r/c cars, Horizon/Losi will move a lot of these off dealer shelves.

Btw- Horizon/Losi also announced a new body for nitro 8th scale oval! In some parts of our country, that is actually a pretty hot class. Just take an 8th scale buggy, put some funky body on it, run some crazy camber angles, and go out and throw some insane roost. With Losi’s release of this body, you can only expect for them to produce a Losi 8 inspired oval car at some point in the near future.

Almost forgot, rumor is that Horizon/Losi’s 10th scale crawler isn’t that far off, so all you guys that got your panties in a bunch over them releasing an 18th scaler, should be able to un-bunch soon.

That’s it for this week r/c fans. As always, get off your butt and get down to spend some cash at your LHS, drop by your local track to either watch, help marshal, or get some laps in, and read BigSquidRC on a daily basis!

Cub

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Something really cool happened this week, which seems to be rare in this era of big-buck corporate rc companies. And, no, the cool thing wasn’t a hot new car, yet another piece of blue anodized bling-bling, nor a new “super dope” high voltage lithium based cell. It was simply a piece of advertising.

I’m sure many of you remember the classic old Associated ads- like the one where a gang of fans are standing on their tip-toes just to get a glimpse of Jammin Jay Halsey and his life size RC10 buggy. Or how about some of those classic ole’ Team Losi ads? Well this week, Thunder Tiger/AE released another one of those classics that won’t soon be forgotten. This is simply a statement ad- a throng of fans, a race helmet, half a CORR truck, and the words “Stop dreaming, Start driving”. At the core of every hobby rc driver, is the heart of a racer, one who dreams of being loved by a crowd of adoring fans, one who lives for competition, no matter what level it might be on.

You can thumb through the endless pages of ad, after ad, after ad, in the archaic tree eating print magazines, but only a few times every decade do you see a work of art like the new “Red Bull” Thunder Tiger/AE ad. Each month, dozens of rc companies pay between $800 to several thousand dollars a page (for a cover) to promote their products, yet most of this advertising goes unnoticed and therefore wasted. Michael Glass, the man behind the “Red Bull” ad certainly earned his paycheck this month, as that one will be seen by millions, and will be remembered for decades.

Now, down to the product- obviously AE is hyping a CORR type truck. Myself, like most people, would like to see it be a 4wd. Why? Because 4wd is simply easier to drive, making it more friendly to the masses. No matter if it’s an electric or a nitro, 4wd just makes for a much easier to drive vehicle. And if it does indeed turn out to be electric, here’s hoping that it comes with a BL/Li-po “friendly” drive-line (ie- lots of metal gears!), one that can live through the enormous torque that a 3S Lithium system can dish out. Now days, it just doesn’t make any sense to release any new product unless it was designed from day one with BL/Li-po in mind.

That’s it for this week rc fans, as always, support your sport! Buy some new gear! Buy it from your local hobby shop! Put some laps in at your local tracks, and as always, check BigSquidRC.com on a daily basis!

Cubby

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Brian, the head cheese and uber editor of BigSquidRC.com suspended me last week. I never thought he would have been personally offended at what I had last turned in, but I guess he wasn’t impressed with my last Cub Report that contained more curse words than a typical rap song. This week, I’ll try my very best to keep the spicy language to a bare minimum.

The biggest news of the last two weeks? Traxxas!! The very latest rendition of their top selling T-Maxx is on the way to your dealer’s shelves. The latest, dubbed the “New T-Maxx 3.3″ is the largest T-Maxx yet- featuring larger tires and a longer wheelbase. If you are a typical consumer, you are probably stoked to see the new rig. If you are an LHS, you scratch your head and wonder how you are going to sell off the last two versions, and think about how mad you are that you’ll now have to stock even more parts that will be outdated in 6 months. Literally, the very minute Traxxas unveils a new T-Maxx, selling the older versions is like selling the plague. More dead stock, yippee!

Horizon/Losi kept up their quest for world domination releasing a slew of new items. It doesn’t matter if you drive their small, ill-handling Micro-T, or their Losi 8 series, new gear was all around. The highlight of the Horizon releases is the new Losi 10th Scale Desert Truck. Now, this truck fits in absolutely zero niches. It’s a class of it’s own, but was born off the XXX-T chassis. It seems this truck was released simply to put out a new truck, as new sells in this hobby market. (remind anyone of their 20 different versions of the Mini-T and Mini-LST?) Most consumers have already owned 2 XXX’s, and 4 XXX-T’s, so for Horizon to get any more of their money they simply had to put out the cheapest “new” design they could. (Even if it comes with one of the slowest motors ever made.)

Horizon/Losi’s second largest release of the week was their 10th scale brushless speedo’s and motors. Horizon must really not give a damn about the Losi name, taking a well known chassis manufactures name and jumping into the BL and li-po market with it. But then, it is the most recognized and famous name they own, so what not use it? The Losi names sells, at least for now till they ruin it. (I’m sure Gil Jr is sooo happy he left before the butchering of the family name began in full force) At the very least, Horizon could have asked their BL source to disguise the speedo’s and motors better. They look nearly identical to another brushless out there. The Horizon/Losi model is blue. I’ll let you find the other.

Associated made some news releasing their RC8 drive-line hop ups last week. Throw a couple hundred bucks at these and you can race your RC8 for a month without the drive-line blowing up. Wait, shouldn’t it have come out of the box that way? Silly me, I come from the ole’ school where Associated equalled reliable.

HoBao showed their new high end 8th scale racer, called the “Hyper 9 World’s Contender”, and their new Jammin CRT .5 killer called the “Hyper Mini-ST”. First off, I can’t even properly pronounce HoBao. Next, name recognition is the single biggest reason anyone advertises. (ever notice that HoBao/Ofna is RCCA’s biggest advertiser?) So why not just say “Ofna” instead of HoBao or Jammin?? Any which way, Ofna/HoBao/Jammin sells about a zillion cheap azz 8th scale buggies every day even if they have 3 names. But who’s to say they wouldn’t sell more if they just stuck with one?? My vote is for plain ole’ Ofna. I recognize the name, and can actually pronounce it.

Finally, the new and revived HPI showed pics of their new Vertex Ridge Toyota Soarer drift car. Now, I’ve made fun in the past of Losi’s drifter that came stock with working headlights. (working headlights are for the Wal-Mart crowd I’m sorry) But, this new HPI has to be the Best Looking hobby grade rc car ever released. Yes, it might be in some goofy azz drifting configuration, but it just looks hot. The type of car that just looks too nice to even be driven. This car might become one of the hottest selling shelf-queens ever in this sport.

That’s it for this weeks goons. I have upheld my promise to keep the naughty language down, and hopefully made some of the people behind this industry mad. Or at least given them the view of what the average consumer thinks when looking at their new “hot” releases. Chao, aloha, peace out punkz.

And as always, support your local hobby shops and tracks!
Cubby

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I am still waiting for confirmation on this, but as of right now, it sounds like HPI has bought outright Team Associated and Team Losi! Team Associated is happy because it might put them back in the news, it’s been quiet from them. Team Losi is excited because they see it as an opportunity to sell 18 more versions of the Mini T! (This year alone, rumor has it there is a boat body, a dirt bike body, and some sort of hybrid turtle). HPI said ‘It seemed like a good deal at the time.’, and will be re-listing both on ebay. No Reserve.

Comment in the forum, I don’t need the hate mail.

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After popping a fresh bottle of Dom Perignon 99′, I sat down to realize that few things in life are appreciated as much as they should be. I appreciate that in the last few weeks there were actually some really cool products introduced to the rc world, because this week nothing of real note was shown.

I’d guess the “biggest” news was the “official” press release for the Associated RC12R FT. I’m sure if you are one of the two hundred people still racing 12th scale in this country, and you haven’t been at any of the big carpet races the last few months, this was huge news to you.

Seems like there were several new crawler bodies and such introduced this week. But I’ve never seen the point in going as slowly as possible with anything, let alone an rc car. So I won’t comment on these products. What I will comment on is BigSquidRC.com’s CFO Brian doing his first crawler competition this week. Rumors leaked out early and often that Brian has mad crawling skills. Maybe he does, or maybe it was his stump pulling Greatest Of All Time Novak system that kept him from finishing last. First this guys pwns the drag world, and now he’s working on doing the same with crawlers??

Hot Bodies shot out their official release on their Cyclone D4 World Edition electric off-road 4wd buggy this week. Lot’s of carbon fiber, very trick looking. And since the Associated B44 hit, the local 4wd classes have been larger than they have been in over a decade. Now if I just had Hara’s skillz I could put it up front like he does. While this isn’t huge news, it should be of note that the once quiet storm which used to be HPI/Hot Bodies is making some more noise this week. They are getting back into the game in a big way.

The strangest release of the week had to be from JConcepts. Normally, these guys make some of the coolest gear on the market. But what were they thinking with the introduction of their J82 conversion kit? For those of you that haven’t seen it, imagine this. Take an Associated T4, and convert it to an electric buggy (huh?). It ends up basically looking like a slightly oversized B4. I’m speechless and desperately need my champaign flute refilled.

So that’s it for this week. Support you local hobby shops, race at your local tracks, and give away some of your old crap to some youngster at the track.

Sincerely,

Cub-a-Reporter

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Here we are, kick’n off 2008 with a (soft) bang in the rc world.

On the product side- MaxAmps, who promised to make huge strides in 08, has already fired the first shot. Early on in the week, a press release was sent out about their exclusive 4700 mah sub-c ni-mh’s. That’s pretty ho-hum in itself, but the bold statement “We offer a 100% money back guarantee that these cells will be the highest voltage, freshest cells you have ever used.” that came along with those cells certainly is not. A 100% money back guarantee on batteries? Those guys out in Washington state just upped the ante for the entire industry.

I had the chance to chew the fat with Austin Else, owner of MaxAmps at the Ihobby show back in October. First off, Austin is about 20 years younger than the typical rc industry type. Secondly, it’s quite obvious he’s got about double the IQ of most guys in the industry. Lastly, he knows more about new-age internet marketing than anyone I’ve met in this industry. He, and his crew, are hungry and focused. A dangerous combo for their competition. Austin talked about making big strides in 08′, and after his December 31’st press release, it’s obvious he wasn’t kidding.

The only other product news worth knowing was Associated’s RC8 “service pack”. These are being provided free’o charge to RC8 FT owners. Hummmmmm, who’s designing the cars at AE now days? I doubt Cliff Lett would let a car go out the door that required a “service pack” a few weeks later. Maybe they need a memo over there that says “do not ship cars that break when you open the box”.

Oh and, it really wouldn’t be a week in the rc world without Losi/Horizon announcing yet another new mini based off the Mini-T, Micro-T or Mini- LST platforms. This week was no different, so world, please welcome the 18th scale Rammunition (yawn)!

The big race this week is the US Touring Car Champs at S&N Trackside in Wisconsin. Now, this race may not mean diddly squat to most bashers. But to many in the industry, it’s one of the top 5 races of the entire year.

Like many of the largest races in this country, this event is not ROAR sanctioned. Seems if you want a huge turnout, it’s better to leave ROAR out of the picture and run the races properly.

Scotty Ernst, a name many may not know, is actually one of the makers and shakers in the racing world (and he runs the track in Wisconsin). No, he’s not the worlds fastest racer, but he is the worlds best race announcer. He gets flown all over this country, and the world, to announce races. He’s also perhaps the best promoter in the country. Between the US Touring Car champs and his Vegas event, not many other promoters can brag about pulling so many racers and media coverage.

Scotty is also one of the very track owners that treats a noobie driving a Mini-T exactly the same as Pavidis, Baker, or Kinwald. He respects everyone, and does what he can to make sure Everyone has a good time at his races. The industry needs a lot more Scotty Ernst’s, homeskillet should be given a medal for his sportsmanship and ethics.

That’s it for the world of rc this week- support your local LHS (or at least go hang out and bug’em)!
Cubbie Dubbie Reporter

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