RPM has just announced their new Front and Rear Bulkheads for the Traxxas Maxx series trucks. The highlights of the new bulkheads include-

* Made from RPM’s incredibly strong nylon
* Re-designed key areas for more strength
* Lock nuts to keep mounting screws from backing out
* Lighter than stock parts
* Limited lifetime breakage warranty
* Manufactured in the USA
* Available in black or blue
* Fit all versions of T-maxx and E-maxx

The part numbers are as follows- #81062 front bulkheads in black, #81065 front bulkheads in blue, #81072 rear bulkheads in black, and #81075 rear bulkheads in blue. All of the RPM bulkheads have a retail price of $16 per pair.

We managed to make it to yet another Friday, spin the wheel and try your luck at a BSRC Mystery Link.

Here are the part numbers-

70322- Shock Spring Clips Black
70325- Shock Spring Clips Blue
73152- Spring Cups Black
73155- Spring Cups Blue
73157- Spring Cups Yellow
73158- Spring Cups Purple
80242- Front Arms Black
80244- Front Arms Green
80245- Front Arms Blue
80332- Body Savers Black
80341- Body Savers White
80372- Front Bearing Carriers Black
80401- Shock Shaft Guards White
80402- Shock Shaft Guards Black
80404- Shock Shaft Guards Green
80405- Shock Shaft Guards Blue
80430- Medium to Heavy Shock Pistons
80511- Long Rod Ends White
80512- Long Rod Ends Black
80515- Long Rod Ends Blue
80712- Caster Blocks Black
80732- Rear Bearing Carriers Black
80862- Rear Shock Tower
80882- Front Shock Tower
80922- Roof Mount Light Bar Black
80923- Roof Mount Light Bar Chrome
80925- Roof Mount Light Bar Blue
80952- Front Bumper and Skid Plate Black
80953- Front Bumper and Skid Plate Chrome
80955- Front Bumper and Skid Plate Blue
80982- Light Canister Black
80983- Light Canister Chrome
81122- Adjustable Front Body Mounts
81142- Adjustable Rear Body Mounts
82322 – Front Wheel
82323 – Front Wheel
82332 – Rear Wheel
82333 – Rear Wheel

For more information on all of the RPM’s outstanding products visit their official website HERE.

Thirsty for more RPM news? Check out THIS link right here on BigSquidRC.

Retail price is only $7, and they are available right now. Hit up the official RPM Website for all the scoop.

Looking for more RPM news here on BigSquidRC? You can check it out Here.

I think people have been waiting on these for a long time. RPM has announced rear a-arms for the Traxxas Bandit. The new arms have a little more meat to them where needed, while reducing hinge pin slop and wehight by 8%! The part number is #73282, and a pair will cost you less than $12. So if you have a Traxxas Bandit in need of some upgraded toughness, RPM has what you need.

Need more info on RPM products? Hit that link.

Biggest news of the year- There was tons of “big” news in 2012, but the biggest of the big was the announcement that Traxxas was entering the air market with their QR-1 quad and DR-1 heli. Announced late in the year Traxxas was still able to get these on LHS shelves before X-mas, and speaking to shop owners they sold very well. However, hard-core Traxxas loyalists were left in disbelief, not understanding why Traxxas would jump into the air market while so much of their surface line is in desperate need of updating.

While the air gear was their biggest news, Traxxas kept themselves in the limelight all year long. The XO-1 Supercar was announced late in 11′, but shipping in Feb 12′, and you couldn’t get away from the hype machine around it. A couple months later came the widely publicized but poorly received Traxxas drag car. Throw in their new Rally car and LCG Slash 4×4 and Traxxas had yet another year at the top of the buzz (and sales) charts.

Second biggest news- Early in the year it was announced that the Champaign behemoth Hobbico had made a deal to acquire Axial, Durango, and ARRMA. This was some serious eye popping news to many industry peeps, they knew Hobbico has the cubic cash and market savvy to use those lines to take their world domination to a completely new level. Axial was already a hot name brand in America, but during the year you would have to blind not see how Durango and ARRMA climbing the sales charts here in the USA.

Biggest dropping of the ball- It was August 2011 when HPI first announced that they were attempting to put gas (not nitro) engines in regular 10th/8th scale rc vehicles. A few months later in February 12′ at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, HPI had multiple models on display all showing off their “Xtreme/Octane” series engine. While HPI did tease us once again a few weeks ago in mid December, we’ve yet so see one come to fruition. We really just want to drive one.

Biggest head-scratcher of the year- When the announcement came off the wire that HPI was now the exclusive distributor for Hobao in North America we weren’t the only ones scratching our heads.

Euro gear coming in style- You may or may not still consider Durango a European name, but alas, companies like X-Ray, Serpent and Schumacher also made positive strides in America. Many industry types make claims like the Euro’s are just trying harder right now, they are more focused, pushing harder, the internet is changing the game, etc, and I think you can look for more European brands to start making waves in the American market in the next 12 months.

Product trends of the year- 2012 will go down as the year that saw the emergence of the Rally car, quadcopters, scale off road buggies, nitro powered SCT’s, an uber battery charger war, and of the 8th scale roller “XO-1″ killers.

Rally has never been “so cool” here in America, and both Traxxas and HPI capitalized on this by putting out new rally style cars.

Quads which were once considered $19 stocking stuffers by true hobbyists, but they became a hot item after Traxxas announced their QR-1.

For scale buggies, Axial got their EXO Terra Buggy to the market, the HPI Apache hit (and missed), and even Associated threw their hat in the ring with the SC10B.

Associated made the news again with their SC10GT, Losi announced their Nitro Ten SCT, and finally Traxxas showed their hand and entered the nitro SCT market with their Nitro 2wd Slash. New offerings for the nitro crowd have been minimal in recent years, but the nitro SCT’s of 2012 gave fuel burners something new to play with.

After years of brushless/Lipo dominance, the battery charger companies went balls to the wall in 12′. Everywhere you turned was another company putting out some uber mega high current charger. Venom put out a charger with built in speakers, iCharger put out a charger you can probably weld with, and TrakPower put out one of the most esoteric chargers the market has ever seen. And.. uber chargers weren’t only about putting out ridiculously huge amounts of power, they were also about doing so on multiple channels. Reading some of the specs now days reminds me of the old car stereo days- 4 channels, bridgeable, mono-block, 500 watts, etc.

Why pay over a grand for a Traxxas XO-1 when you’ve already got all the electronics sitting in your garage? Late 2012 showed multiple brands putting out 8th scale roller on-road cars ready to bust out triple digit mph numbers once you’ve slammed in your own electronic goodies. Going crazy fast on-road should continue to be a big trend in 13′.

Accessory companies blowing up- Pro-line is no stranger to having huge years, but a number of other accessory companies put their dent on the scene in 12′ as well.

Pro-Line was everywhere in 12′. Their product line-up exploded with items for not just racers, but also for scalers and bashers. Pro-Line also went WFO on the 2wd Slash, now offering nearly a complete truck of their own in replacement parts. Also of note was the staggering amount of product give-aways that Pro-Line did over the course of the year. 2012 was Pro-lines 30th anniversary and they certain did it up the right way.

JConcepts made their waves too. They are living the dream, getting bigger and bigger and 12′ was a banner year for them. From spur gears for the Slash, to a high speed Traxxas truck body, to tons of racer gear, to sponsoring tons of races across the country, JConcepts was pushing it hard all year long.

RPM ventured out to numerous new models in 2012 and put out perhaps their most involved product yet- a tranny case and metal motor mount for Traxxas 2wd trucks. Consumers have been asking RPM to branch out a bit for years, in 12′ they arguably branches out more than ever before.

MIP, who has been a player in the rc game for years, saw a fresh resurgence in 2012. Their Pro4mance kit for the Losi SCTE and uber shock pistons got the ball rolling early in the year, and they are looking more solid than ever going into 13′.

RDRP blew up on the accessory scene in 12′. A little known Euro company a few months ago, they are now one of the “hot” brands to have in your pit at the local track.

Exotek was once a tiny company making a few 18th scale parts, in 2012 they really expanded their product catalog and market share.

You can’t talk about upgrade parts without talking about STRC. They landed a big deal with Great Planes and keep putting out more and more parts for nearly every vehicle (worth owning) on the market, plus their LCG Chassis for 2WD and 4WD Slash Vehicles!

Other significant happenings-

Thunder Tiger was once a joke in the American market. Today, with distribution from Great Planes, they are one of the biggest names in the bashing market. After multiple new releases in Q4 of 12′, expect their market share to keep on growing in 13′.

Firelands Group is making some waves. From Anza hop-up parts, to Helion, to Radient, to Ares, they might just be the model company of the future.

Venom Group had a big year. From putting out loads of innovative products, to changing their name to Atomik (and seemingly failing, everyone still calls them Venom), to inking a deal to sell Brian Deegan/Metal Mulisha gear, Venom is working their way towards the front of the pack.

Associated made the news here and there, the introduction of their SC10B was huge news, as was their announcement of their new “Qualifier Series” basher line-up.

ECX also had a big year. Sales were solid and they ventured into uncharted territory with their new 8th scales, one electric, and one nitro. Expect to see more big things from ECX in 2013.

Kyosho made a push in 12′ with loads of new products (the Scorpion XXL Ve for example) and a solid marketing push. Unfortunately their distribution blows here in the states and most consumers only saw the new stuff on the web, not in their LHS.

Oh ya, BigSquidRC had pretty good year too, thanks to you guys-

Our March Bash-Ness contest was huge again, and it sported a controversial winner, the Helion Dominus. We did a great job of busting out juicy Traxxas news in good time and our “chat with us in the forums” morphed into our live Google Plus show. We also had solid coverage of not only iHobby, but of RCX SoCal, Nuremberg, and the HobbyTown USA show. And lastly… traffic was once again way up, for that we must salute you guys out there!

That’s it for this week ya’ll, next week will be my also annual “looking forward to the coming year” Cub Report, till then, support your local hobby shops and bash spots!

YOUR Cub Reporter

Your truck is not a true bash-mobile unless it has RPM parts on it. In our quest to make our Losi SCTE the most bash-worthy truck possible, we installed a bunch of RPM hop-up parts. Today we’ll be taking a closer look, are the RPM Losi SCTE hop-up parts worth the cash? Read on…

From: RPM RC Products

Direct Link: RPM Losi SCTE Hop-Ups

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Parts Tested: 73112 Rear Bumper ($11), 73312 Rear Bumper Mount ($9), 73042 Front Bumper ($12), 73142 Rear Arms ($12), 73262 Front Arms ($12), 73032 Mud Flaps and Number Plate ($11)

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, and Tim

Test Venues: RC Outlaws in Collinsville IL, CostCo parking lot, and a backyard

Review Platform: Our MIP/STRC Tuned Losi Ten SCTE 4wd SCT equipped with Castle Max Pro Speedo, Castle 1410 motor, Hitec steering servo, Dynamite SpeedPack 2S Lipo, and a Futaba 4PK Super-R was used to control the beast.

Installation: All the RPM parts were easy to install. Tolerances were better than the stock parts they replaced, and there was no need to trim off excess flash etc.

Durability: We’ve yet to break any of the RPM parts, and it’s not for lack of trying. We’ve pounded the boards, done roof hucks, and played plenty of demo-derby with no ill effects to the RPM parts. Tough stuff.

Issues: Absolutely none.

Misc Notes:

The RPM front bumper does not use an upper mount, we thought this might be an issue but it was not. Kudos to RPM on doing their homework. The RPM front bumper flexes on big hits but doesn’t break. We had broken multiple stock front bumper top mounts, nice not having to worry about breaking another one.

We’ve broken 4 stock rear bumper mounts since we first started driving/testing the Losi SCTE platform. Rear end landings eventually kill a stocker. The RPM unit withstood some ridiculously punishing rear end landings without breaking. Sweet.

The RPM arms have some flex to them to withstand big hits, but not so much as to notice a change in handling compared to the stockers.

Summary:

Time to Bash – 8/10 - Installing a bunch of hop-up parts is not a quick job, however, the RPM parts bolt up without issue.

Car Show Rating – 8/10 - The RPM bumpers look nice, better than the stock parts. They aren’t some bling-bling anodized aluminum units, but look good for plastic.

Bash-A-Bility – 10/10 - After 2 months of abuse none of the RPM parts have broken, a testament to their design and quality of plastic used.

Value – 9/10 - Higher quality than stock at very reasonable price points.

BigSquid Rating – 8.75/10 - Tentacles. The RPM hop-ups for the Losi Ten SCTE are good quality units that not only take a beating but also look better than stock, I highly recommend them.

RPM Products is legendary in the bashing world and are proud to announce their new hybrid gearbox housing and rear mounts for Traxxas electric 2wd’s. The kit comes with a new gearbox case, a 3mm thick 6061 aluminum motor plate, and 0 degree and 3 degree rear mounts. You can get the kit in three different colors- blue, green, and black, and they have a retail price of only $30. Also, each kit has been designed and manufactured right here in the USA. Hit up the RPM Website for more information on all their uber-basher products.

Want to completely re-do the rear end of your Slash/Pede/Rustler/Bandit? Check out THIS link.

Looking for more RPM news here on BigSquidRC? Click right HERE.

Today we’ll be taking a closer look at the RPM front and rear upgrade a-arms for the Axial EXO Terra Buggy. Since first getting the EXO it has been one of the most driven vehicles in our entire stable of test-mobiles. And being wired the way we are, over time our EXO has suffered some pretty serious beatings. Most recently we used the EXO in our BigSquidRC demo’s at the iHobby Cleveland track, which basically means hucking as huge as we possibly can for 4 days straight while landing to a thin layer of carpet over concrete. After iHobby we noticed all the stock arms were basically taco’ed out and needing replacment, luckily RPM had just sent us some of their uber-basher arms for review. Are the RPM arms better than the stockers? Are they worthy of your cash? Let’s find out…

From: RPM RC Products

Direct Link: RPM A-Arms for Axial EXO

Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby

Street Price: $15 per pair, part #70472 for the fronts, #70452 for the rears

What Is It?: Upgrade a-arms intended to offer a better fit and to be tougher than stock.

What’s In The Box: One pair of a-arms, RPM stickers.

Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, Tim, Sam The Noob, and Iron Mike

Test Venues: Leisure Hours in Joliet IL, backyard, CostCo parking lot, and a cul-de-sac

Review Platform: Axial EXO Terra Buggy kit with STRC hop-ups, equipped with Castle Sidewinder speedo, Castle 1410 motor, Hitec steering servo, Dynamite SpeedPack 3S Lipo battery, and controlled by a Futaba 4PL radio system.

Installation: RPM claims to produce arms with closer tolerances than the stockers and I would have to agree. The RPM arms mount up easily with no issues and fit better than the stock parts. Kudos, it takes a lot of time to make a part fit better than stock and RPM put the hours in and pulled it off.

Durability: Our STRC tuned EXO uses aluminum hubs at all four corners, thus transferring every bit of impact force directly to the a-arms. We drove the EXO like we stole it for two weeks, basically bouncing off every pipe possible, hitting every big rock, and jumping off every high point we could find and we not able to break the RPM a-arms. At this point I think we’d have to total out the EXO to have a shot at breaking one of these arms.

Issues: None, zip, zero.

Misc Notes: The stock Axial arms are made out of a fairly pliant plastic, comparing them against the RPM arms in-hand showed the RPM’s had slightly more flex. On track we didn’t notice any extra flex of the RPM arms.

Summary:

Time to Bash – 8/10 - Doing any sort of wrenching on an EXO can take some time, so installing the RPM arms was not a quick mod, however they bolted up easily with no issues.

Car Show Rating – 7/10 - These were never designed to be anodized aluminum bling parts, just tough as nails black plastic that works in the real world.

Bash-A-Bility – 10/10 - RPM durability is legendary stuff and their EXO arms were no different.

Value – 9/10 - Stock Axial arms are $10 a pair, while the RPM arms go for $15, a 50% increase in price. However, RPM arms are worth their weight in gold if you are a serious basher, thus making them a great value.

BigSquid Rating – 8.5/10 - Tentacles. The RPM a-arms for the Axial EXO are very high quality parts that not only fit better than stock, but are also more durable. I highly recommend them for all you hardcore Axial EXO owners out there.

On the flight back from COTA (outstanding track don’t ya think?) I got to thinking about a comment a consumer made to me at a couple of weeks ago. We were at a track testing some gear, meaning purposely ramming into each other, jumping off the nearest roof etc, and one of the locals came up all freaked out wondering what the heck we were doing. I went on to explain that we work for BigSquidRC and that it was our job to break rc cars. After my spiel the local made the comment that we had his “dream job”. At the time I didn’t think much of his comment I guess, but being uber-bored on the flight back from Texas it crossed my mind again.

So… seriously, some local thought working in rc media was a “dream job”? First off- the first check you collect from doing anything instantly means it’s a job, thus meaning a whole lot of the fun factor has flown straight out the window. Yes, running two trucks into each other WFO does tend to put a smile on your face, even the thousandth time you do it, but I can assure you the thousandth time you drive around in little 5 mph circles just so the photographer can get a certain shot is fun in no way, shape, or form. I am a huge fan of driving rc, back in the day I was the guy always using the highest mah packs on the market just to get longer run-times (and even then I couldn’t get enough) but now days spending 40+ hours at a track driving some truck that I’d normally not even touch with a ten foot pole falls pretty low on my “ways to have fun” scale.

And once the truck driving is done, that’s just when the “real” work begins. Photo’s have to be edited, which to me isn’t such a big deal, but the actual writing of a review/column can be rather torturous on the mind. A buddy of mine has a rough day at work when his back goes out at 4 hours into a 10 hour shift while working bridge construction. I can have just as torturous of a day when I’m in a staring contest with a blinking cursor because my mind has just hit low voltage cut-off from the solid 6 hours of writing I had already put in that day. Just like any other job, there are a lot of hours to be put in, whether you feel good, or bad, or verbose, or have terminal writers block, the show must go on.

And… then there is the endless politics. Just like any other job on the planet, politics is a huge deal in rc media. My buddy on the bridge job might be in a war of poltics with a colleague over a job promotion, or in a war of politics hoping to win a contract over a competitor. We’ve received some pretty nasty emails from manufactures over slightly negative things we’ve written about them just in passing. We’ve received some pretty nasty emails from manufactures about things we’ve said that were too nice about their competitors. We’ve received emails from manufactures about how their review was too short, or it was too long, or it didn’t touch on certain sales points. And then, we’ve received certain monetary offers to change reviews, not just on their own product, but also reviews of their competitors. We are lucky around here that Brian is a good guy, he works well with companies keeping most of the politics out of my hair, and he isn’t afraid to stick to his morals.

To boil it down- is destroying rc cars a “dream” job? I don’t think so, I think for anyone to make that statement just shows they haven’t thought much about what the real job would be like. Working the rc media scene is pretty much like any other job, lots of long hours, lots of hard work, and it still has all the little issues that would bug the crap out of you whether you are working at Wally World or at Ferrari.

But ok… I gotta admit running a brand new truck into a concrete wall can still be a LOT of fun.

On a different subject…

We have something All new to the rc scene and insanely cool coming up on Wednesday November 28th. More news to follow, but mark your calender now. Yes seriously, it’s a big deal in the net media game.

We are hosting another give away of some sic Pro-Line product this week. It’s free Pro-Line stuff, meaning register now because you can never have enough trick Pro-line gear. Look for more info on the front page.

Here is this weeks schedule-

Monday- THE Cub Report
Tuesday- Review Tuesday, from what I hear the Pro-Line Pro 2 chassis review is finally ready, as is an RPM a-arm review and perhaps even a Helion truggy review.
Wednesday- This weeks Wednesday Interview is with Horizon/Pro Boat’s Kevin Hetmanski, should be a great read
Thursday- ASK Cubby, yes even on Thanksgiving, we don’t take days off around here.
Friday through Sunday- The normal PR’s and news of the day.

That’s it for this week guys, as always, hit up your local hobby shops, tracks and bash spots!

YOUR Cub Reporter

To start off with, a friend of ours over at RPM is dealing with a fairly serious illness right now. Richard might not be cool with me making people aware that he is sick, but myself and the entire staff here at BigSquidRC hope he gets back to full healthy quickly. If you have a few extra minutes this week shoot a “get well soon” card his way, I’m sure it would put a smile on his face.

On a different note…

What’s bigger news, Traxxas putting out a purpose built shelf queen or Associated releasing a basher line? Humm…. I’ll start with Traxxas.

If you were to go out and ask core Traxxas users what the name “Traxxas” means to them you’d hear a lot of responses like “A tough truck that takes a beating”, or “An affordable truck to beat on”. What you would not hear is anything involving the words “shelf queen”. Everything jumps the shark sooner or later, tv shows, rock bands, heck even entire countries, so you just knew sooner or later Traxxas would do the same thing. Some may argue that Traxxas jumped the shark at the Revo, others might argue at the XO-1, but IMO when they announced their dedicated shelf-queen-drag-car-static-display model that was the time. The Traxxas name has been long related to tough basher trucks, a static model drag car is about as far away from that as I can possibly imagine.

With Traxxas’s “jumping of the shark” comes the alienation of their core audience, and quite frankly, the apogee of their popularity, no different than what happened to “Happy Days” after Fonzie donned those water skis. If Traxxas is spending the time and cash to develop a shelf queen, they aren’t spending those resources updating their aging truck/car line-ups, the vehicles that put them on top to start with. You can already see it from cruising the Traxxxas forums that their hardcore users are not amused as their favorite platforms keep getting more and more dated, while Traxxas puts out new products (like the XO-1 and drag car) that they couldn’t care less about.

Traxxas jumping the shark is great news to the other basher chassis manufactures. They have seen all the things Traxxas has done with their success (mainstream acceptance, tv commercials, race series, etc), and they want it bad. Now is the time more than ever for them to make their big push- to go big with their marketing plans and to manufacture more new innovative platforms. Traxxas can’t/won’t be on top forever, and I know how hungry the other companies are, they have an opening now, will they go for the throat?

And…

As I’m sure you’ve already seen Team Associated announced their first “Qualifier Series” truck last week, a 4×4 SCT. It was interesting to see many of the forums guys scratching their heads wondering just why in the heck AE needed a second 4×4 SCT in their product line-ups. When AE used the words “sport” and “fun” and “low cost” to describe their qualifier series all I read was “Basher Series”. So… bashers who are AE loyalists should rejoice, they’ve just gotten what they’ve long been wishing for- AE putting out a basher series of trucks. Now before all you hardcore AE racers guys go into full meltdown mode about a new basher line just remember- bashers foot the bills for all the uber trick racer stuff coming down the pike, so the more they sell, the sooner (and more esoteric) your future race gear is going to be. To boil it down, props to AE for looking at the masses and making something for them. It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to drive something from AE, the qualifier series has just changed that.

And lastly…

We started reviewing/driving the new HPI Ken Block car last week… unfortunately it suffered a major malfunction less than 2 minutes into the testing. I have the feeling that review is not going to end well…

That’s it for this week folks, support your local hobby shops, tracks and bash spots!

YOUR Cub Reporter

Have a rebuttal for THE Cub Report? Shoot it to Cubby at BigSquidRC dot com.