THE Cub Report- 04.24.09, Version Beck E-Pro
Is it just me or are there some really Fugly trucks being released this year? It might just be me, but it seems like 09′ is a banner year for ugly truck releases. I tell ya, every week there seems to be another one that tops the previous fugmaster. This week it happened to be the CEN Matrix SC truck. Wow, one look at that thing will make you rip your own eyeballs out with the nearest rusty nail. Seriously, doesn’t anyone at CEN look at the body they are gonna put on their new truck? Anybody there realize that looks are half the reason a typical buyer parts with his hard earned cash? Anyone even think to just source a short course body from Pro-Line or JConcepts, both of which do incredibly good looking bodies? Some things you can’t unwatch, wish I’d never opened that email with the picture of the CEN SC in it.
Ever notice how “trophy race” entry prices are just INSANE now days? Just FYI local track owner guys, $75 per class for a local-joe-blow-trophy-race in sh!tkicker BFE is WAY too much. What are some of you promoters thinking? Yes, we know keeping a track going is tough. Yes, we know you aren’t making much money, even at that price point. But, for $75 per class to race hobby grade rc cars, your race had better be perfectly run, with a Perfect track, Zero computer errors, no hacking allowed, my pits better be air conditioned, the T-shirt you give me better be top notch, and I better be getting a BIG bag full of swag when I show up.
Neither of the big left coast hobby shows got much press last week. You’d think with all the time, money and effort they put into those shows they’d have better coverage for the bulk of the country that could not attend. Maybe next year they’ll fly BigSquidRC out for proper coverage. Just say’n….
Hobbico/Duratrax showed us their new 18th scale Vendetta based rally car this week. Rally car = low sales, short course truck = huge sales. The rally car genre has never been super hot, but it makes you wonder why they didn’t elect to pwn the small car crowd by being the first company to market with a short course mini. Just think’n out loud, thanks for listening.
That HPI Formula Ten looks incredibly trick, like way super dope even. I’m very biased of course, as I’m fanatical about Formula 1 racing, but dang, can’t wait to get my hands on one of those and put some Ferrari paint on it.
HAHAHA, I think Associated did our industry a big favor recently. How? They released their new SC10 truck as a kit first, before selling it in RTR form. This forced a lot of hobbyists that have never built a kit from scratch to do so. Everyone in this sport needs to know how to build one from scratch, and a lot of post T-Maxx RTR hobbyists got their first taste of kit building with the SC10. Props to AE on that one.
One last thing before I close. BigSquidRC is doing a huge Li-po battery shootout. If you are a manufacture and want your battery part of the mix, contact Brian(@thing)bigsquidrc.com for all the details. Otherwise we’ll be shooting out invites to participate in the shooutout to over a dozen of the best Li-po manufactures and see which ones have the stones to man up and submit a pack for an unbiased comparison to the rest of their competition.
Support your local hobby shops, support your local tracks (except for when entry prices are $75!! LOL), and get those rc stickers on your 1:1’s.
Your Cub Reporter
