ASK Cubby – Saving The World One Letter At A Time

“Capra Crazy

Cubby,

What’s the scoop on the new Axial Capra that is being teased so much? Think it is gonna be something crazy?

Derrick O.”

Cubby- Hey ya Derrick, be sure and send me your home addy for one of our sweet BigSquidRC sticker packs.

I received Derrick’s letter about a week ago while the Axial Capra teasers were in full swing. Earlier today, Axial dropped full info, so by now, Derrick is probably down at his LHS getting on the pre-order list.

So what about that Capra now that we know everything? Well, IMO it does bring something different to the plate. If you are looking for a scale/rock rig that is capable of hardcore performance right out of the box, the Capra should be high on your list. Portal axles give it extra ground clearance in the rocks (and over branches, tree roots, water crossings, etc), plus it comes stock with a dig function. The dig function can make it easier to get around ultra-tight corners, as well as help when you get in a really tight bind. With portals and a dig function, the Capra just might be the best performing crawler of all time when driven bone stock.

At the end of the day, for all you guys looking to start a new build this fall, the Axial Capra is going to be one hot commodity, better get on a list now.

“Hobao Hyper 8sc-e

Hi Cubby,

Lately the larger scale shourt course trucks are getting more popular. I’m wondering what Hobao is doing wrong because they have the Hobao Hyper 8sc-e, but I don’t see many of them around. I myself own one and for €499,- it’s a great price I think.
Maybe it’s discontinued and the european seller is selling the latest stock, but I can’t find anything about that. Do you have any insights?

Keep up the good work, I enjoy reading BSRC items every week!

Greetings,
Peter B.”

Cubby- Yo Peter B., thanks for taking the time to write in. And yes, a snail mail for a sticker pack as always.

So… it looks like the HoBao Hyper 8SC-e is available if you look around for a while here in the states (thanks to eBay). Looks like they are selling for a bit over 5 hundy here. So why don’t you see more Hobao product out on the streets?

Here in America, Hobao hasn’t done a lot of advertising lately, nor do they have much distribution. We hit a lot of bash events, and go out driving at local parks on the daily, and I can’t recall the last time I saw a Hobao out in the wild. With a plethora of vehicle choices from a vast assortment of manufacturers, it takes a solid advertising program (think Traxxas), to go along with solid trucks, to really make a dent in the marketplace. The last couple of Hobaos that I drove seemed like solid trucks, but for them to get a better foothold here in the states, they will need to expand their marketing, and perhaps get hooked up with more distribution channels.

That is just how I see it for here, but I think Peter is from Europe, so I don’t really have any info for there. I will shoot out a couple emails, if I should get some answers about Hobao distribution/sales in Europe, I will let ya know bro.

Have a crazy question? Need a crazier answer? Have a wild rant that you just can’t keep inside anymore? Email me- thecubreportrc at gmail dot com.