THE Cub Report, Version- Post Bash Thoughts…
Hello everyone out in rc land, I trust you had an awesome weekend. Mine was pretty much off the charts with getting to watch the STL Supercross in person, picking up yet another new car on Friday night, watching plenty of F1, and better still, on Sunday I got to spend some time bashing.
On Sunday we put on our big 2016 Smash & Bash. Typically we like to do one bash a year, but just like iHobby, we skipped 2015, mainly because we were just too slammed doing reviews and hitting other events. After a good hard day’s bashing, here are a few things that I noticed…
* A whole lot of smiles. People were smiling because they were having fun, they were smiling because they were getting a chance to bash with new people, and they were smiling because everyone showed up with a great attitude. Nope, not one transmitter was thrown across the pits, not one person had a meltdown all day long, something you just you just don’t see at “normal” rc events.
* Brian and the rest of the BSRC Bash Crew had the program dialed. I say this because the event got started on time and generally went by without a hitch. Our Big Squid bashes consist of multiple events, which when combined with a big turnout, can result in some hiccups, but that wasn’t the case this year. The events kept on truck’n throughout the day.
* Leisure Hours Raceways is still one of the best rc facilities in the world. Even though it has been open for a long time now, they have kept the property up and it is still an rc nirvana that the truly hardcore must visit sometime. Their indoor track was primo, their pits are still in great shape, the bathrooms are clean, and they are even building a huge rock racer course outside.
* In the past, Traxxas clearly dominated the car count at our bashes, but that wasn’t so much the case this year. I need to go though our pictures from the event, but there were a whole bunch of other brands being used. Not so much from any one manufacturer as it was from a bunch, but still, it shows that TRX doesn’t have quite the stranglehold on the market that they used to.
* On that note, I expected to see a lot more X-Maxxs at the event, but there was just one. I’ve seen a lot out in the wild, but I was a bit shocked to not see very many at our bash. Maybe people didn’t think they could bring them because we like to keep vehicles 1/8th scale and below at our bashes, but I’m pretty sure that next year there will be a whole lot more.
* Several people commented that us doing a once a year bash just isn’t enough. That is something we need to work on of course, and it goes to show that consumers want more organized bashes. St Louis now has a dedicated rc bashing park, it makes me wonder if “bashing only” tracks/compounds might do real well across the country.
* Ya know, I just didn’t see that many broken vehicles at the bash. Sure, people were going hardcore with their rigs, and sure, there were some broken parts here and there, but overall, I was amazed at how well everyone’s trucks held together. That just goes to show how much better products have become and shows that hardcore bashers are doing a great job bulletproofing their competition rigs.
* Walking around the pits, the most common upgrades I saw were wheels/tires, bodies, and power systems. Pro-Line has done a great job putting out products for the basher market, a market that the other tire/body companies still seem to ignore, and I saw a wide variety of different upgrade power systems in use, but it still looked like Castle was winning that war.
* It was amazing to me that some of our events allowed noobie drivers with relatively stock trucks to do well. For example, a bone stock Bandit piloted by a young driver was able to tie for the win in demo derby, and several inexperienced drivers with stock equipment did well in rc sumo. It was refreshing to see someone in the hunt that hadn’t spent the most time or money on their rig.
* The amount of entries was up 30% or so percent from our last bash, but the amount of cars at the event was probably up 50%. That just goes to show that people in the hobby are continuing to buy more and more cars. This is a trend I’ve talked about before, so while overall sales may be down, the people that are in the hobby seem to be spending more.
So there ya have it. If we can get it scheduled, we would like to hold more bashes, and if we do, we’ll certainly plaster that information on our front page. Until then, keep your eyes out for more bashes, or better yet, get some friends together and hold one yourself (and don’t forget to invite us!). Go fast, turn left, and support your local hobby shops and bash spots when ya can…
YOUR Cub Reporter
