THE Cub Report – Long Walk On A Short Pier

Well, here we are folks, yet another wonderful Monday in the rc car biz. From the look of social media, many of you had a fantastic weekend with your various different rc vehicles. For those of you that were busy and didn’t get the chance to pull trigger, I hope this coming weekend is completely open so you can get a fix for your rc addiction.

Ya know, there are a whole lot of different genres in rc, and that is a good thing. For example, scale rigs might be hot in SoCal, while drag racing might be huge in Chicago. 1/5 buggies might be all the rage in Arizona, while 1/10th scale monster trucks are the thing to drive in North Carolina. Diversity is what has gotten so many different types of people into rc and it is one of the reasons our industry has made it this far.

I was an original sub with Sirius satellite radio. Yes, before Stern, way back in the day when it actually had an admirable stock price. Since then, the wise people at our government decided that it was not a monopoly for Sirius to merge with the only other satellite radio provider on the planet, XM radio. Also since then, prices have shot up, quality has gone down, and goodness help you if you actually need customer service over there.

Diversity is a good thing, even in the rc world. Right now there are some things going on that might very well affect diversity in rc. Instead of it being easy to get a huge number of different rc products, it might become a bit harder. While the hardcore crowd won’t have any problems finding the niche items they are looking for, it might be harder for new hobbyists, and noobies don’t need more help getting out of the hobby.

Ya know, it is really hard to start a topic that you want to talk about, but can’t reveal any details. However, I will say this. Thanks to this hobby/sport/industry, I have met so many amazingly different people. I have run the scale quarter with the gnar-core Chicago drag guys. I have desert bashed with the locals in the Mojave. I have driven boats with Florida natives in the gulf. I have not snow bashed the Kyosho Blizzard with guys from Alaska, but hey, it certainly is a goal of mine.

OK, so you have just read through the most cryptic Cub Report ever. LOL For your hard work I do promise you some epic stuff, we just gotta wait a bit longer.

Before I close shop for the week, you Cub Report readers know I have been plugging the heck out of the Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo. I was personally super stoked on the event as it was not only going to be held in Jeff Hoy’s (if you don’t know who this is, you are NOT a hardcore BSRC reader) home state of Colorado, but I was looking forward to seeing a bunch of the industry back in one spot again. Well, it looks like that show has fell off the side of the planet, if you have info on whether or not the show is actually going to be held, feel free to shoot us an email.

Oh, and on a sad note… the folks over at Model Retailer are done with print. If you are a consumer, you probably never saw an issue, but if you work in the industry, it was a very cool read every month. I remember working behind the count of an LHS when I was just a youngster, where I looked forward to the arrival of the latest issue of Model Retailer with all its scoops and inside info. Now days here at Big Squid, we are huge fans and quite saddened to find out that August is the last issue. Here is a statement from their editor…

“A Fond Farewell

Since 1975, Model Retailer has been proud to provide hobby retailers, manufacturers and distributors with valuable industry news, business advice, trade show coverage and product reviews.

As you are well aware, the hobby market has changed over the years, in ways both promising and challenging. The media landscape has also changed. Sorry to say, we have made the difficult decision to cease publication of Model Retailer; this issue will be our last. Our website, www.ModelRetailer.com, will remain active and updated on a limited basis.

Although this magazine will no longer publish, Kalmbach Publishing Co. remains committed to the success of the market and will continue to express that commitment through its many brands, including Model Railroader, FineScale Modeler and Drone360.

We thank you, our readers, for the loyal support you’ve shown us over the years, and we wish everyone a prosperous future.

–Jeff Reich, editor”

So there ya go, that’s it for this week. Until next Monday, get out and support your local hobby shops and bash spots whenever you can.

YOUR Cub Reporter