THE Cub Report – Line Up & Send It

Well hello there fellow rc fanatic, I am Cubby, and this is my weekly column about our hobby. As people start filling out their taxes here in the America, the rc industry is gearing up for the annual “spring bump” in sales that tends to go along with people getting money back from their taxes. Once consumers get those fancy dancy new rigs, wouldn’t it be neat if they had someplace really cool to drive it??? Here is a list of cool events scheduled for those of you looking for something extra-awesome to do with your new rigs this spring/summer.

Feb 21-23, Ultimate Scale Truck Expo, Williston, Florida
April 3-5, Weak Signals Hobby Expo, Toledo, Ohio
April 25-26, RCX Hobby Expo, Pomona, California
May 15-16, Pro-Line’s By The Fire, Apple Valley, California
June 12-14, Horizon Hobby RC Fest, Monticello, Illinois
June 25-27, Axialfest East, Attica, Indiana
July 22-25, Axialfest West, Norden, California

For starters is the USTE down in Florida, a scale crawling event that our guy Jeremy will be flying down to cover again this year. This event has not only loads of crawling, but also has numerous manufacturers and vendors showing off their latest and greatest products. This show is on the rise and seems to get a whole lot bigger every year. From an insiders perspective, USTE becomes more important at the manufacturers level each year.

Next up is The Toledo Show put on by the Weak Signals crew. This has historically been mostly an air show, but in recent years seems to have gotten to be a bit more surface oriented. We first met Mike from Team KNK hardware at that event several years ago, and since then his company has really taken off. I say this because if you are a small vendor looking to take things to the next level, you can rub a lot of industry elbows at this event. If you are a consumer and are up for hitting the show, they always have plenty of hardcore hobbyists walking around, and they always have some incredible builds on display (cars, boats, and planes).

Then there is the revived RCX show out west. The RCX show has been around for a very long time, and at times, even did two shows a year (remember RCX Chicago anyone?). The BigSquidRC Bash Crew will have a booth at this year’s RCX to get out and help support the hobby, plus it gives us a great chance to hang-out with all our left coast readers. It sounds like a bunch of hobby manufacturers are going to support this show, if you are up for a road trip to hang out with all the industry big hitters, start planning now.

After RCX, it really starts picking up. Pro-Line’s By The Fire scale off-road event has become a “must attend” event for the hardcore scale road-road crowd. By The Fire features loads of fun trails along with all sorts of good people. Also the event is known for giving away tons of swag. This year’s theme is “The Carnival”, so expect loads of epic builds to go along with that theme.

Horizon Hobby’s RC Fest kicks off the second week of June in central Illinois. This is a multi-day event that was designed to be fun for everyone. From rock crawling, to 1/8 nitro, to trying to break the long jump world record, Horizon Hobby’s RC Fest is loads of fun for your entire family. Camping, a giant area for rc bashing, plus those incredible fireworks, you really should try and hit this one.

Then there is the very first Axialfest East! The BigSquidRC Bash Crew has been to the Badlands off-road park in Indiana many times to test rc cars. Oh and yes, it is gnar-core off-roading at its finest (and where we jumped our review SBR off a three story tall motocross scoring tower (three times, LOL)). And actually, you west coasters will probably be more family with the terrain than most of the mid-west or east coast drivers. Badlands is a whole lot of sand with huge rocks laying around, much like most of our western states. This different style of terrain for the area will definitely give everyone a serious challenge, and we can’t wait to see what kind of trails the Axial crew lays out for this event.

Immediately after Axialfest East is Axialfest West. Held in California, this has been the premier rc rock crawling event for many years. If you’ve never been, you really should go and see what all the fuzz is about. If you’ve been there before, then I don’t have to convince you to go back. Featuring incredible trails and hundreds upon hundreds of hardcore rc crawlers, Axialfest is an event that every “hardcore off-road hobbyist” should have a go at.

That is just a small list of upcoming rc events coming to a venue near you soon. Check your local FB groups to learn more about local events, but I’m here to try and get you out to one of the big boys listed above. Even if you just go to look, that is a great way to support your hobby. If you attend and compete/drive at the event, even better! At the very least you’ll meet some cool like-minded people just like yourself. At the most, you’ll be rubbing elbows with the biggest makers and shakers in our industry and take home loads of information that you never knew before.

Every week for years I’ve ended THE Cub Report with “get out and support your hobby”. If you never had a place to go, just look at that list above for a start. The BigSquid Crew, as well as all the other people in our hobby would love to meet you, yes YOU! So like always, if ya can, get out and support your hobby!

YOUR Cub Repoter