Hello, sorry I didnt know who else to ask, so maybe you know. Will the carisma M10DT volkswagon beetle desert edition come to the U.S?
I sure hope so, it really looks sick.Thanks for your time, oh I love your website.
JA Sugar

Cubby- Hey what’s up Sugar?

The Carisma crew has introduced a bunch of new trucks lately, all of them look like prime bashing mobiles and we have been getting a bunch of emails about them. Back in the day, Carisma was distributed by Horizon here in the States, but not any longer. We’ve heard some rumors of Carisma possibly getting picked up by another distributor here in the states, but as of right now they’ve yet to work out a deal. To boil it down, if you want a Carisma product you’ll have to buy it from overseas. This might be expensive (and a huge PITA), but you will instantly be the coolest guy at your bash spot. If you do pick one up send us some pics.

Hi Cubby my name is Matt got a little problem and thought you might be able to help. I just got a hot bodies dirt demon for 99 bucks and it ran good for about a week and then the trans went to crap. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on replacing the hole trans with something ells being as they do not make the spur gear and more no one does it sucks . If you got any thoughts its a god rc just bad that they do not make the 4wd trans any more. All the help will be helpful .
Matt H.

Cubby- Yo what’s up Matt? That HB Dirt Demon was a cool monster truck back in the day. And… that’s exactly the problem, it’s an old platform.

I haven’t dug into it, so I have no idea what other spur gear might work or which tranny might drop in. The reason why I haven’t researched it is because even if you can find another tranny to drop in, that doesn’t really “fix” your problem. What if you break an a-arm? Or a hub carrier? If you drive your truck at all you are going to break other parts sooner or later.

So.. what I’m going to recommend is two routes for you. The first route is the cheap one. If you have a GOOD hobby shop near you, take your truck in. A good hobby shop will look through their parts supply and figure out what they have in stock that can be used to get your Dirt Demon back up to speed.

The second route is a bit more expensive but it’s the one I would take if I really liked an older platform vehicle. Search around on eBay, Craigslist, and the forums, then buy any complete Dirt Demon you can get your hands on. If you stockpile a
couple of complete trucks you should be dialed for at least a couple of years.

I bought a HPI 2WD Electric Blitz for myself and my son.. Both trucks have the same problem… Press full throttle forward and sometimes no response.. battery is fully charged and I believe to have set up the truck correctly.. I must be missing something???
Please help!!!
Randy

Cubby- Thanks for shoot’n us an email Randy, make sure to send Brian your snail mail so we can hook ya up with some stickers to plaster all over your Blitz’s.

I really like the HPI Blitz. It drives well and the RTR version can take some serious abuse. Sucks to hear you are having a problem with yours but that is part of the “fun” of our hobby.

If both your trucks have the same problem it sounds like you may not have calibrated the transmitters to the speed controllers properly. What this involves is having the speed control “learn” where full throttle, full brake, and neutral is from your transmitters. Read your manual for exact instructions, but this typically involves turning on your radio, then turning on your truck, then going from full throttle to full brake and then to neutral in the first couple of seconds the speedo is on. Depending on the speedo, you might have to press a programming button to accomplish
this task.

If it isn’t a calibration issue then it might simply be there is a lot of lag/delay between reverse and forward. On some speedo’s you can instantly go from reverse to full forward, on other brands it might take a couple seconds. It’s been several years since I have driven a stock brushed Blitz, I can’t recall off the top of my head if the Blitz had a bunch of lag/delay or not.

That’s it for this week folks, shoot me your questions, smack talk, or whatever else is on your mind to Cubby at BigSquidRC dot com. If your question makes the big-time you get free stickers, if I pick yours as “letter of the month” we hook you up with a BSRC t-shirt.

YOUR Cub Reporter

I know we a lot of people have been waiting for this one! HPI has finally announced the new Blitz Flux! Some highlights include a Flux Shot 4300 motor, Flux Reload V2 speed controller, Waterproof, RTR with a 2.4GHZ radio system, HB Megabite tires, and can handle up to a 3S lipo.

From the press release:
Factory-assembled and painted 2WD short course racing truck
HPI Flux Shot 4300KV motor with heatsink casing
HPI Flux Reload V2 with 3S capability, cooling fan and waterproofing
Long composite chassis fits 7-cell NiMH or hard case LiPo battery pack
Painted and detailed body with matte black/graphite look
HB Megabite tires for extra grip and control
High performance racing shocks for extra tuning capability
2.4GHz radio for easy, no-crystal control
Proven racing design for winning potential
Steel turnbuckles for easy tuning
Sealed gear drivetrain for extra durability
Waterproof receiver box
Waterproof steering servo
Tough bumpers front and rear to protect the suspension and chassis
Long wishbone suspension design for amazing handling in rough conditions

Everyone here has been a huge Blitz fan, so it’s nice to see this version finally make it’s way to market. Street price will run about $350.

Click HERE if you are looking for more HPI news.

We told you there would be more to give away. So another week, and another awesome ST Racing Concepts contest!!

This contest is for the following: 1 Blitz / E-Firestorm Aluminum HD Front Bulk Head, and 1 pair of Aluminum Rear Hub Carriers for the Blitz or E-Firestorm.
You also get a set of STRC stickers as well as a set of Big Squid RC Stickers.

How do you enter? Easy.. you need to leave a comment with a valid email address on this post, OR go LIKE us on our FaceBook page and leave a comment on the wall about winning the HPI Blitz or E-Firestorm STRC Hop Up Parts from Big Squid RC.

The deadline for entering is Friday, January 20th, 2012 at midnight. Once we put all the entries into our database, one winner will randomly be chosen with our random number generator. We will then announce the winner shortly after. Because this isn’t some HUGE prize we need to try and ship, or some crazy electronics or battery thing, we are opening up this contest WORLD WIDE. We would really like to give this prize to someone that owns a HPI Blitz or E-Firestorm, so if you don’t own one, please do not enter. We have MORE prizes and contests coming up.. so let someone wins who needs it please.

One entry per person, we have ways of checking and verifying this stuff.

For more information on the products or to check out some other vehicle hop-ups head over to the ST Racing Concepts Webpage.

Cubby what is the best body for my HPI Blitz?
Tommy C.

Cubby- The best body for your Blitz is whatever style you like best, so go with your own gut on this one. But… if you really can’t make up your mind- I personally like the Pro-Line Flo-Tek, especially in 2wd short course where the parachute effect is the hardest to correct with the throttle and brake. The Pro-Line Flo-Tek is the trickest looking IMO, and handles the best on windy days. It does take a bit longer to cut out all the extra body vents, but IMO that is time well spent.

I saw you helped test the new Arrma raider buggy cubby. I am going to buy a new buggy is the raider good or am i better off with a boost?
John

Cubby- Hummm…. what’s better, the ECX Boost or ARRMA Raider? Now that would make a great shootout. Thanks for the idea John.

But really, not to dodge the question, if I had to pick one of the two buggies I would personally pick the Raider, and here’s why.

1. I like the looks of the Raider better, I like how original it is.
2. It has a beefier powertrain to handle brushless power.
3. It jumps better.

On the other hand… the Boost is no joke and is a daily driver around here (yes, I drive one nearly every day, no joke), it drives well and is tough as a tank.

So… if you were to go around the office and ask 6 of us which we’d pick you’d probably get half for the Boost, and half for the Raider. Every person has different wants and needs, which one is best is really up to you.

Dear Cubby,
You always say “support your local hobby shops” but I do not have one, the nearest hobby shop to me is over 2 hours away, so now what do I do?
Rayford D

Cubby- What’s up Rayford? I saw in your email that you are from Oregon, no doubt you don’t have too many local hobby shops.

Anyways… your answer is easy, you are gonna have to mail order. Yes, I know it’s a sin and all, but a 4 hour round trip is gonna cost ya some serious bucks in gas. So…. if you have to mail order I only recommend one place, Tower Hobbies. You can hit’em on the web HERE, or call’em toll free at 800-637-6050. They are good peeps over there and will hook ya up. They set the standard for mail order, good prices, outstanding inventory, and quick shipping, they are who I’d use if I lived 150 miles from an LHS.

YOUR Cub Reporter

Be sure to check out ST Racing Concepts for more information!

These new wheels are available now direct from the DE Racing for about $9.00 per pair.  Check out the DE Racing website for more info.

Waterproofing is the next big thing, thanks Traxxas.  But this post is about HPI, specifically their new version of the Blitz RTR with all new, waterproof electronics.  The waterproof components include the SC-15WP brushed ESC and SF-10W servo.  There’s also a waterproof radio box to protect the newly included 2.4 GHz receiver.  Beyond the electronics, other changes include the new Scorpion body with two new color schemes and the inclusion of a 7.2v Plazma battery pack (NiMH), an AC charger, and AA batteries for the transmitter, so this is a truly ready-to-run truck right out of the box.

The new Blitz RTR will have an MSRP of $435.00 when it starts hitting shelves in a couple months.  This truck hasn’t hit HPI’s website yet, but check it out just for fun.

EXOTek has a way for you to toughen up your Blitz and Blitz ESE while also adding a bit of color to it’s monochrome looks.  Their new Blitz Rear Brace is machined out of heavy duty alloy for extra toughness and then annodized blazing orange.  EXOTek says the brace strengthens a “known weak point” in the chassis and protects the chassis from breaking in half.  They also say that the lightweight brace allows for side-to-side flex for proper traction, but limits front-to-rear flex to increase strength.

The Blitz Rear Brace is available now direct from EXOTek for $17.99 plus shipping.  Check out the EXOTek website for more info.

I like me some universal/cv driveshafts.  They’re usually super smooth and can take a beating more than your typical dog bone.  On that note ST Racing Concepts is preparing a new line of heat treated, carbon steel universal kits that are compatible with Team Associated SC10 and RC10T4 as well as the HPI Blitz and OFNA Hyper 10SC.  Their new design is a thicker, more substantial design that should stand up well to massive amounts of power put out by LiPo/brushless combos.

Prices for complete kits will come in at just under $40 and they’re available now.  Slash owners don’t fret, you can expect a set for the Slash 2wd soon.  Check out the STRC web site for more info.

The complete kits will be retailing for $28.99, while the pairs will be going for $9.99.  They will be available directly from the ST RC web site soon.