THE Cub Report, Version- Steppin’ To The A.M.

Hello all and welcome to this week’s Cub Report. I personally had a weekend that pretty much could not be beaten. I got to watch some of the uber pros at the Futaba Nitro Challenge, watched a ton of F1/AMA MX/FIM MXGP/UFC, and got in some much needed trigger time with the new Pro-Line Ambush Scale Crawler. Yes indeed, life is good.

While at the Futaba race, it was impossible to not notice just how hot it was. Ok, it wasn’t crazy hot by St Louis standards for a weekend in August, but still, it was plenty warm. After coming home all covered in sweat, I couldn’t help but think about fall and winter, they will be here before we know it. And with the cooler weather means indoor season, not just for racers, but also for bashers. In fact, this particular winter season might be one of the biggest for bashers in a long time. Why would that be?

Because… mini scale crawlers just might take off. Yes, there have been a few entries into the genre in the past, but now with Pro-Line and RC4WD in the mix, bashers that hate going outside when it is 10 degrees have some pretty kick azz options to drive indoors. When there is two feet of snow on the ground, a mini crawler will come in mighty handy to get in some trigger time, especially when they are really trick.

In the past people have tried to run 1/18th scale off-road trucks (like the Mini-T or RC18) inside their house. While small, they were simply too fast. Even bone stock, a brushed RC18 can eat up a 20 x 20′ room in a hurry. Mini crawlers by nature are much slower, making them safer and easier to drive. They can even be used in super small areas like 5 x 5′. And the courses are incredibly easy to make. All you need is some spare cardboard, or wood blocks, some carpet, and about 5 minutes of time to make a course that you can have fun on all day.

And… a huge part of a genre taking off is aftermarket support. RC4WD has always been great at putting out a plethora of hop-up parts and we can see companies offering support for the Pro-Line Ambush as well. Then you have places like TheToyz.com that specialize in upgrades for small scalers, which will also help things out. Driving with your buddies is always fun, but its even more fun when you can mod/upgrade your truck during the week, then meet on the weekends to see who’s truck comes out on top.

I am not a “crawler guy” and never have been, but even I am looking forward to taking on different BigSquid crew members this winter. I can see us making crazy/impossible courses for our mini crawlers, then modding our trucks like crazy just so we can “king of the hill” on the weekend. Yes indeed, I sense some really good times ahead.

Ok, before I bring this week’s Cub Report to a close, I want to give out some love to Mike Garrison and his new wife Britani Jo. Mike is not only a cool dude, but also a great racer and race announcer. Plus, he does a ton to help promote the hobby on the web. Best of wishes to him and his new bride, you can see the happy couple Right Here.

So there ya have it folks, another Cub Report is a WRAP. Support those local hobby shops and bash spots when ya can.

YOUR Cub Reporter