THE Cub Report, Version 07.04.2010
Another “big” race was held last week. I know, I know, there is seemingly a “big” race every week, but the IFMAR world championships for 12th scale and 10th touring car are only held every two years, and they went down last week in Germany. I bring this up for two reasons- one being that I bet you didn’t know they were being held, and that’s kinda like a tree that falls in the forest. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, did it even happen? And two- in the second 12th scale A final a driver put on the finest display of rc car driving I have ever witnessed. You see, Masami has been grooming a young protege, Naoto Matsukura, and in the second leg of the A he made the most elite racers in the world look like novices. So click HERE to see the BEST driving the Earth has ever seen. (Youtube Video Link)
Btw, while we were enjoying our country’s independence day over here, America got OWNED last week at the worlds in Germany. America might lead the world at many things, but rc racing isn’t one of them.
Let me be one the first to call the new HPI Mini Trophy Truck a game changer. It’s been a long time since a company other than Traxxas has produced the next big thing, but well, HPI has just done it. Sure, the Traxxas Slash (some would argue the AE SC8) started the short course truck revolution, but the new HPI Mini Trophy truck is a huge leap forward, not only in short course truck design, but in scale realism for our hobby. You’ve got people on rc forums saying things like “Hey HPI, here’s my bank account number. Take as much as you want, ’cause I gotta have this.” about their new Mini Trophy. I’ve been preaching for years that realism is good for sales and for the hobby as a whole, and this new HPI truck is the biggest leap in that direction since the original RC10.
Traxxas has not had to follow anyone’s lead for years, for over a decade they’ve pretty much lead the pack via the T-Maxx, Revo, and Slash. How will Traxxas respond to the HPI Mini Trophy, if at all? I bet they aren’t the only company that sits down this week in a board room, invites all the brass in, spreads one large, blank piece of paper in the middle of the table and says “Ok guys, we’ve got some work to do!”. What if you are a company like Thunder Tiger/Associated, who used to own the market, now all they do is react (quite slowly I might add) to the latest trends? What if you are Horizon/Losi (I hate to just call it Losi, because it’s soooo not Losi anymore) and are used to putting out a dozen “different” trucks based on one platform, and now you are faced with coming up with an all new design, and one that’s actually competitive, or even better than the HPI truck? Their last attempt at a short course truck, the Losi Strike, was way off the mark. I know they’ll never do it, but I’d love to see Losi cut a HUGE check and give Sr and Jr a call to see if they’d be willing to lend a hand on a scale Losi short course truck. We all know just how uber a true Losi truck would be. Sadly, it will probably never happen.
On a much different note- BigSquidRC is looking for more models for the iHobby Expo this October. In the past we’ve had readers help us out by suggesting their girlfriends etc, so if you know of a hot chic who is into rc and wants to make some cash, shoot Brian an email.
One more short note for the week, I gotta thank our readers for helping to spread the love about BigSquidRC. Thank you guys for emailing links to your buds, posting links on the message boards etc. Without you all, we’d be just another rinky dink rc site. Slowly but surely we are clawing our way into the rc mainstream, and we sure couldn’t do it without your help.
That’s it for this week, as always, support your local hobby shops, tracks, and bash spots!
YOUR Cub Reporter
