ASK Cubby, 05.28.2014, Version- Can I Answer Your Questions? Can Andy Dufresne Cook the Books?

“My first

Hi my name is Anthony. I’m looking to get a RTR RC truck. I’m into electric RC trucks and so far the only 2 I like are the hpi savage flux hp and the TT mt3 3G. Is there any RC you can recommend and is there anything you can say to make the choice easier between either RC that I have interest in? Like is the savage flux really waterproof? I’m new to this so I’ve read a lot of blogs and reviews including from your web site but there are so many RC to choose from.

Anthony T.”

Cubby- Yo hey Anthony, hit Brian up with your snail mail so he can get a BSRC sticker pack headed out your way.

So… yet another “which should I get” email, this time between the Thunder Tiger MT4 G3 and the HPI Savage Flux. So where do I stand on the two trucks???

I’m personally a big fan of the Thunder Tiger. Why? It has rip the tires off power, it has a layout that is easy to work on, and it rarely breaks in such a way that the truck can’t be driven. We use a number of the Thunder Tigers to put on driving demos and its one of our favorites. We can bash the heck out of them for an entire weekend, and while they might be all twisted and tweaked afterwards, they are still driving. Oh and, they are typically a little easier on the wallet up front.

However, we do have other members of our Bash Crew that would select the Savage. It has big power, arguably more than the Thunder Tiger, and once you have it dialed in is known for being one of the toughest trucks out there. As far as waterproofing goes, as far as I know they are not waterproof, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do a little work yourself and make it that way.

“Cubby,
I have been looking all over the web for a positive review of the Octane Savage, so far I have found none. Can you give me one good reason to buy the truck?
Kyle V.”

Cubby Ok, let me get this straight, you are emailing me, me (?????), to get one good reason to buy an HPI Savage Octane? You do know I hate gas/nitro more than being stuck behind a woman applying for a home loan at an ATM, right?

Ya, I am seriously an electric guy. I dig they are quiet so I never get run off a bash spot, I dig their ridiculous torque, and I dig that they either start every single time, or go up in flames, no in-between.

However… I actually have two good reasons for you to buy the Octane- 1. it’s a game changer, and 2. it’s great for people who like a challenge.

Now… it might not be a very good truck, but neither were a bunch of other ground breakers. Shall we remember the original T-Maxx? Holy smokes, how many times did I see a guy that couldn’t get his to start? How many times did I see guys with fubared one way bearings in the starter? How many dead “quick start’ batteries did I see go dead after constant cranking? How many times did I see guys finally get their T-Maxx started, drop it on the ground, to only have it die when their first foot hit the drivers stand? How many times did I see a runaway T-Maxx going 40 mph across a parking lot with its overweight owner chasing it like he was Usain Bolt? Ya, the original T-Maxx, the biggest seller in the history of rc, was no real gem of a truck.

Hey, how about the original Losi Mini-T? Remember the friction super bounce shocks? Remember the poor range? Remember the non-standard servo wire? Remember how its servo was so slow you could measure its transit speed with a sun dial? Out of the box it wasn’t kick’n any ass.

Or how about the almighty Slash? Remember how the shocks exploded the first big jump you landed? Remember how easy it was to polish the teeth off the spur, even with the stock brushed motor?

Those trucks were all huge trend setters, and I swear a big part of their allure was the fact they were not perfect out of the box.

Enter the aftermarket, companies that took ground breaking trucks and actually transformed them into something you could actually drive. Remember all the dozens upon dozens of aftermarket companies that sprung up with T-Maxx hop-up and bling parts? Remember the same about the Mini-T?

What I’m trying to say here is the Octane is not perfect out of the box, far from it, but there are a whole lot of hardcore hobbyists that actually prefer trucks that need some innovative thinking to finally get them up to their full potential. If you are the type of person that liked the challenge of making the T-Maxx or Mini-T into full tilt bash machines, I would say you need to hop on the Octane bandwagon ASAP.

That’s all I have for ya this week. Keep those letters coming in, my email is Cubby at BigSquidRC.com. Each and every letter that hits the big time gets a free sticker pack, if I proclaim yours as letter of the month we’ll totally hook you up with one of our sweet new BSRC t-shirts.

YOUR Cub Reporter