INSIDE R/C >>> One of the primary sponsors of this year's Hobby Expo, Inside R/C is a weekly television show focused on the various aspects of radio-controlled modeling. Airing each week on the Outdoor Life Network, the new season begins on September 29th, 2003. If you've got DirecTV or the Dish Network, you're all set; if your cable provider doesn't offer the Outdoor Life Network, be sure to give them a call to ask for it. Once you're watching the show, you won't be disappointed! There's nothing quite like seeing your favorite hobby come to life on the screen.

			Here's the view from the Inside R/C booth. With episodes of the show running all day long, everybody got a chance to see what it was all about.

You can visit Inside R/C on the web at www.insiderc.com.

JACKAL HOBBIES >>> Jackal Hobbies was at the show to display their new line of internal paint transfers for lexan R/C bodies. Borrowing on a concept that we all remember from our younger years -- water transfer decals, tattoos and the like -- Jackal has engineered a type of water-transfer decal that will work with different kinds of lexan paints, including those you would use with an airbrush and those you would find in a can.

Jackal is offering 25 different full-body transfer kits, each with a retail price tag of $10. There are also 21 different hood-only decal sets, each retailing for a little over $4, and 6 different external decal kits that you would apply as normal, for $7 each. All in all, they are an excellent way to get an exceptional looking body without a ton of work or a lot of money going to a professional painter.

			Jackal brought an incredible array of Pro-Line/Protoform bodies with them, all painted up with their internal transfer decals. It is easy to see how well these bodies turn out, even with simple one-color paint schemes.

			Some more close-up shots of some of Jackal's internal decal sets.

You can visit Jackal Hobbies on the web at www.jackalhobbies.com.

LOSI >>> Without a doubt, Team Losi had the star of this year's show with its incredible 1/18th-scale version of its XXX-T truck, the new Mini T. The Losi/Horizon Hobby booth featured a small, elevated carpet track, complete with little jumps, and spectators could line up to test-drive the little trucks. Losi offered demo versions of the truck with alkaline, NiMH and even Lithium Polymer batteries (the Li-Poly truck had so much punch, you could hardly keep the front wheels on the ground). The trucks had very responsive steering and took the jumps well, and seemed quite durable as we drove them around. Given the success of on-road 1/18th cars from companies like HPI, this truck is bound to be one of the hottest fads in R/C this holiday season.

In addition to the Mini-T, Losi was also displaying a few other new products, such as its XXX-4 Graphite Kit, and the brand-new XXX Brian Kinwald Edition 2 buggy. Also present were their other popular vehicles, the XXX-S Graphite Plus sedan and the XXX-T Matt Francis Edition truck. With this kind of line up, Losi might be the team to beat at the sales counter this year!

			Close up views of the new Losi Mini-T. The truck comes standard with plastic shocks, but Losi plans to release oil-filled versions soon, as well as a variety of other hop-up parts. The Mini-T will retail for about $150, and should be available in November 2003 as a RTR kit.

			This was the track set up for Mini-T "testing" at the show. Adam Drake and Matt Francis were on hand to answer questions and give demonstrations.

			The new XXX-4 Graphite Edition takes the XXX-4 and dresses it up with all of Losi's graphite bits, similar to their XXX-S Graphite sedan. It also includes threaded shocks, aluminum CVDs, and redesigned front arms.

			A new edition of the XXX made its debut at the show as well, the XXX Brian Kinwald Edition 2. The changes include a lowered transmission, minor changes in suspension geometry with additional possible adjustments, titanium-nitrade shocks shafts and hinge pins, and all of the other factory hop-up parts you would find on the original BK edition buggy.

			Also on display was last year's show star, the XXX-S Graphite Plus edition sedan. The car is still at the top of its game, reigning internationally as the most popular belt-drive sedan in current production.

You can visit Team Losi on the web at www.teamlosi.com.

NOVAK ELECTRONICS >>> Novak's booth at the show featured demo vehicles with their various brushless motor systems, as well as a display case with their full range of ESCs, brushless motors, and other accessories. New products include the Super Sport 4300 Brushless Motor, meant for stock-level racing, and the HV-Maxx High Voltage Brushless Motor System, designed for use with the E-Maxx and similar vehicles. Novak also mentioned that they are delving into the world of batteries, and have been testing their own charging equipment and matching methods (different methods from the those used by the TurboMatcher, which has thus far been a widely accepted industry standard).

			Novak has introduced a lower-power version of their original Super Sport brushless motor, aimed to be more competitive with typical brushed stock motors. Both motors use the same Super Sport ESC.

			The HV-Maxx Burshless System is a 550-sized brushless motor and matching ESC, designed for use in the Traxxas E-Maxx and similar scale applications where voltage and current requirements are higher.

			The larger sized HV-Maxx fits quite nicely inside the Traxxas E-Maxx, and provides all the torque you'll ever need out of an electric motor.

			Proving that their brushless systems are quite versatile, Novak displayed the Super Sport system in both a Tamiya TA04 and an Associated RC12L. Don't let anybody tell you that the design is too bulky!

			One of Novak's display vehicles was a Losi XXX-S, this one having the Super Sport 5800 system installed in it.

You can visit Novak Electronics on the web at www.teamnovak.com.