Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

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Kyoshojoe
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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by Kyoshojoe »

I was in a my local hobby shop a while back and a guy was buying a Traxxas brushless sct rtr that was pretty expensive. I asked what other cars he had and he said " I don't own any,this is for my son I think he will like it". I told him "you better get used to the inside of this place" when he asked why I told him he was buying a very fast truck for a first timer and it will get broken daily. Nothing wrong with that but it just made me feel lucky to be really into the hobby and build from scratch side. The shop owner even gave me the "don't ruin my sale look" haha
That's a bit presumptuous and your biased opinion could have turned someone away from the hobby. The fact that you were giving misinformation to a new individual coming into the sport is shameful. The traxxas cars are some of the most rugged and affordable rtr's out there. Probably one of the best choices for a beginner or a basher. When I go into my hobby shop I try and help my guys sell and would never put down their stock in front of other customers.

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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by MeltingPlastic »

Man, I didn't think this post would blow up like this. Don't get me wrong, I understand the appeal for RTR. I was fortunate enough to have uncles who raced/played with them and a father who showed me how to turn wrenches as a kid. My brother-in-law on the other hand can't use a screwdriver but my nephews love these things so he is at the mercy of buying something RTR. The problem i see with RTR is if people want to race them. Say a new kid gets an RC, goes to the track and gets blown away by everyone. Instead of learning what he can do to make his buggy better (suspension, gearing, etc) he decides these things suck and walk away OR drops even more money on a faster motor and creates even more problems for himself. Now he's got a fast buggy he can't handle, hits the berm and wrecks half the steering. See's the pricetag to fix it and walks away thinking the hobby is a waste of money. Now likely someone going RTR isn't going to race, but if they enjoy running it, they likely will somehow end up on a course and getting the itch. I guess the truth is I have a different mentality and each person has their own. I just feel if I'm spending money on stuff or using them a lot, I want to know everything I can about it and building your own RC goes a long way with that.

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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by Kyoshojoe »

Regardless of whether it starts as a kit or fully assembled, I don't think that it really matters. My rtr rustler is quite upgraded and fun vs the kit wraith that never got finished due to its crappyness. Those are the only two rcs I have bought new. So by my experiences the kit i bought for a premium, has been my biggest regret and disappointment in rc.

It's the eletist attitudes and flaming novices for asking simple things that have done the most damage to the hobby not the fact that more rcs are sold assembled. Just go to some other forums like rctech and it's an all out trollfest and battle for proof of superior intellect.

I have to say that this forum is a welcome exception to that and most members here are great at helping others.

While a noble thought, I think that it's a pretty far stretch to claim that building rcs is going to teach you about real cars. I may be wrong but the only real similarities are mostly looks. If you think that replacing broken parts on a toy makes you a mechanic or that setting up camber links gives you knowledge of how to build a grand prix contender then you are quit delusional. It takes an Allen set , phillips screwdriver and a couple nut drives to work on rcs, lwhile it takes a full garage of tools to work on a full size car. The easy bake oven taught some basics of cooking but not how to be a chef.

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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by Coelacanth »

Nobody said wrenching on toys is equivalent to being a mechanic. The basic principles of alignment, camber, caster, suspension functionality are quite similar between real cars and RC cars. Of course they're not the same for parts, but nobody was saying that. The PRINCIPLES are similar.

That said, I work on real cars and toy cars and I'll say I'm glad I did a lot of toy wrenching in my youth because it might've helped me do my own 1:1 car maintenance.

How many of us who build RC cars also work on real cars? I'd surmise it's a higher than normal percentage than say, people who cross-stitch or cook or scrapbook or play music for hobbies.
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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by RCveteran »

Yes to working on real cars here. Though that may have actually started before RC at least observational, dad was an ASE tech for Mobil in the early 1970's and started teaching automotive in trade school in the late 1970's.

No doubt though that setting up RC cars as a kid gave me greater insight into how real cars work. If only real cars were as cool as that first Tamiya Hornet!

As I get a bit older and the body protests more I find my desire to lay under real cars less and less and my desire to take apart old RC cars more and more.

I think the greatest take away for me is not that one teaches the other but what we did as kids taught us things can be worked on and fixed. That just does not exist today. I installed a digital house thermometer the other day and my wife called me a renaissance man, I'll take it :lol: . But I was thinking, I opened the box, followed the instructions, labeled a few wires and done.

A quick poll of my white collar friends showed they would have all called an HVAC guy for something so simple. I credit this to growing up under a mechanic DIY type dad to some degree and to having these hobbies as a kid.

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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by Farabomb »

Building RC kits lead me into making a living working on cars. I'm no longer a full time mechanic but for a very long time it's what paid my bills. It taught the basics and yes, the parts aren't the same but you could translate it to 1:1 cars.

I'm now involved as the crew chief of a NASA PTD car and my driver came from RC too. I wouldn't have the opportunity to be racing every other weekend and driving cars I normally couldn't afford.

I really miss building kits. It's sad that very few are available today. I just finished my re-re worlds and I'm already looking at other kits but there are slim pickings.
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Joey48442
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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by Joey48442 »

It's funny, I almost seperate in my mind my slash and my associated stuff as two different hobbies. The slash was pre built. It's a fun basher and for the track. I don't mind that I didn't assemble it. But it wouldn't have been an issue if I had to. My old associated stuff, I'd almost rather work on than drive. Compared to the slash they are so much more fragile in the street in front of my house. But so gratifying to work on. My airplanes I'd much rather fly than work on. My vintage cars I have more fun working on than driving. In that way the slash is more like an airplane to me.

As for being a hobby, a hobby is anything that you don't *have* to spend money on, or rely on. My Miata is a hobby, my ford ranger is my commuter. If the Miata is in the garage for something, it's ok, it's not necessary to my day to day life. But the truck, I commute and work from it. So it's not a hobby. But I've done a good amount of work on it... So I don't think if people don't work on their own rc it's not a viable hobby. Just a bit different hobby from your own.

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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by Coelacanth »

Joey48442 wrote:As for being a hobby, a hobby is anything that you don't *have* to spend money on, or rely on.
I would say a hobby is something you spend way too much money on. :lol:
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yellowdatsun
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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by yellowdatsun »

I dunno, I keep finding things I *have* to buy for my RC habit.

rhyde
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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by rhyde »

instant gratification doesn't work for me when it comes to rc, i need to build it to enjoy it
however my son who is 11 wants to use it straight away and not to spend days or hours building it
kids today.....

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Re: Getting back into RC, When did everything become RTR?

Post by OldSchoolGuy »

When I'm looking around for something new and fun to buy, every time I see RTR, it is just a huge disappointment. Where is the fun in that?! I want to build it! For me, that's even more fun than driving the vehicle! I like the post earlier about buying a RTR, and the first thing you do when it comes out of the box is take it completely apart, throw all the parts in a box, shake it up real good and then building it yourself. Yeah, that's what I would have to do too!

I can certainly see the appeal of a RTR to many people, and hobby shops are going to stock what sells. Local hobby shops are few and far between these days so I can appreciate a good one that is well stocked. If RTR keeps them afloat, so be it. I just wish the manufacturers would offer their products as a kit, alongside the RTR's, for people who enjoy the process of building it, not just playing with it.

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