So are the days of our lives.....

[MOmo]

So as I browse through the various articles and readers rides, Im reminded today of the many facets of the Vintage era cars. The changing of the guard and how quickly fads come and go.

Classes come and go. However, certain classes like 2wd buggy still remain strong almost everywhere. Trucks have always been popular. I also think the region has more to do with class popularity as well. For me, 2wd offroad is VERY popular here. Not as much Dirt oval. Now, from what i have seen, places in the mid west have dirt oval racing. Also, oval racing is more popular in areas of the south and midwest. And out west, from what i have seen, its mostly touring car. Even Dirt 4wd is making a strong comeback. With several new mfgs and some old ones who've re-tooled and redesigned what was once THE car to have (Kyosho) and others like JConcepts and MRC trying their hat and prototypes like the Durango/Corally/Serpent car. Its now become very popular again. 1/10th scale gas truck seems to have been replaced w/ 1/8th scale buggy and truggy, which again is a class in an of itself. ( I won't go off on my take on "truggy" classses)

Here in the NW when I first discovered RC, there was a popular indoor carpet track where 1/12 scale was THE class to race. The Tamiya touring cars were just starting to emerge onto the scene, but no where near the popularity of 1/10th and 1/12 scale indoor carpet. As of late, there has been a re-surgence of 1/12 scale carpet, and there are now 3 indoor carpet tracks within 50 miles to race indoor carpet. Combined now with touring cars, people are racing year round.

Another Fad, Rock crawling, has spawned HUGE popularity amongst the 4wd enthusiasts. (See Badhoopty) What began as a simple "can my clod drive over a tree limb or large rocks", to "can my RC crawl up a 75 degree incline." The same can be said for Drifting. I remember when a group of people started talking about drifting back on the old HPI forums. Its since spawned an entire class of cars complete with a scoring system. my how times change.

I know there are members all over the place. Both on this continent and abroad. I know i've talked about racing Vintage and how my local track has a vintage class. Its popularity is growing slowly as people are digging into their closets and finding old Tamiya, losi and AE cars.

So I guess my question is, are there classes that people miss or still run that seem to be a lost art? Are people here interested in racing vintage? How many of the members are still regularly racing vintage or other? What are your takes on the "niche" classes, like the Micro T or the losi slider etc? Like 1/12th scale, can you see a movement to bring back certain classes? I see some of the Tuber chassis' so Im curious if people actually race that class, or would if the support/parts/ numbers were there to support it.

I know, this is just more ramblings from Momo. It was just some observations I have had as of late. Also, what are peoples thoughts an ever changing hobby. I know new products come out regularly, but i don't know if we've ever really had a thread on just thoughts of the industry as a whole.

[MelvinsArmy]

I'd say that if anyone was handed the controls to a Losi Micro T, baja or desert racer, they'd instantly run out and buy one and it would be super easy to start a class. $90 all you need in one box, and as much fun as the 1/10 scale versions.

My all time favorite class for organized R/C anything is Tamiya Mini Cooper racing. Those cars are so much fun.

I'd say crawling has gone way past the fad stage. It's here to stay.

[Mr.Sci-Fi]

I think 1/24th was a fad, I remember my first tamtech. Just for the hell of it I'd put on the track and race with the 1/12 guys during practice. Funny thing, I kept up with some of them pretty good. I think buds racing came out with a popular 1/24th scale car but after that, I don't think 24th went anywhere? Is it still around and I'm just blind?



I totally forgot about the kyosho mini z craze, is that still around? I live in central washington state, racing here is in a real lul.

[templeofspeed]

The BRP cars are 1/18th...but still... I mean the RC18T/MT/B/R really didn't take off either, although they are a bunch of fun and did have their moment in the spotlight.

http://brpracing.com/18scale.html

[MelvinsArmy]

I had an RC18T. It was cool, but it was just too big to really zip around indoors. I'm telling you, these Micro Losis at 1/36 scale are what I've been waiting for, for a long time. They're tiny and they perform just as well as a 1/10 scale truck. I hope they're around for a long time to come.

[badhoopty]

melvins, try reversing the micro-t throttle and steering so the truck runs forklift style. seriously fun...

crawling and trail rc'ing is just really fun, its just like playing with tonka trucks on a dirt pile but a little more sophisticated. its much more relaxing imo than running something real fast. its kinda like fishing or taking the dog to the park.

the hobby is getting alot more popular with axial and tamiya both having crawling rigs now, and i think thats fantastic for the rc hobby overall since a crawler is a perfect gateway rc since they arent at all about speed. but the serious guys will always be making custom stuff, and thats what i really like about crawling and scale trail rigs. and its ok to be heavy... lol.

i think right now is definitely the best time so-far to be in the rc hobby. we got hpi 5b's, micro-t's, picco z's, a next gen tamiya 3spd, lipo and a123 batteries and brushless power with spread spectrum radios, both a 1/10 and a 1/8 ae 4wd buggy.... lotsa cool stuff.

[badhoopty]

please excuse my horrible grammar and run-on sentences in the above post...

[scr8p]

i say.........................

BRING BACK THE OLD DAYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

..............when you had to pray your battery would last a 4 minute race.

[Mr. ED]

nice classes? well I don't know much about it but the UK has the bangers class, and the bangers with caravan.
The netherlands had a similar thin with stock car racing: which were gas cars without a clutch I think.

[Mr.Sci-Fi]

melvins, try reversing the micro-t throttle and steering so the truck runs forklift style. seriously fun...

crawling and trail rc'ing is just really fun, its just like playing with tonka trucks on a dirt pile but a little more sophisticated. its much more relaxing imo than running something real fast. its kinda like fishing or taking the dog to the park.

the hobby is getting alot more popular with axial and tamiya both having crawling rigs now, and i think thats fantastic for the rc hobby overall since a crawler is a perfect gateway rc since they arent at all about speed. but the serious guys will always be making custom stuff, and thats what i really like about crawling and scale trail rigs. and its ok to be heavy... lol.

i think right now is definitely the best time so-far to be in the rc hobby. we got hpi 5b's, micro-t's, picco z's, a next gen tamiya 3spd, lipo and a123 batteries and brushless power with spread spectrum radios, both a 1/10 and a 1/8 ae 4wd buggy.... lotsa cool stuff.

Is to much diversity a bad thing though? I'm guessing the modern cars and fads change so fast that to keep up with the pack you have buy more and be willing to switch to what's in fad more or get left out. In the 80's we had an awesome atmosphere, there were maybe two or three competitive cars and if something broke in a race more than likely your pit neighbor/competitor was right there and loaned ya the part you needed if you ddn't have it. Electric 10th scale offroad was king during the good months and indoor onroad carpet 1/10th or 1/12th during the cold. Of course alot of people just put foams on their 1/10th offroad for carpet racing during the winter also. You were an outsider or old if you ran gas 1/8 onroads during the good weather months.

[aconsola]

Is to much diversity a bad thing though?

It can be. All the choices makes it harder to get a race class together when everyone wants to run something different.
It also makes it hard for the smaller lhs to stock parts.
Just think about tires, how many sizes and types are there? a shop owner could take up a whole wall just to stock 1 pair of tires in each size. Then you have the crazy wheels, how many different hub types and offsets are there for maxx/truggy tires? Thank traxxas for taking the long time 2.2" truck standard and ignoring it with there newer 1/10 trucks in favor of their own 2.8," yet another size to stock.

I admit I enjoy the variety of vehicles available, and with the technology and relatively low cost of items today, things are better than ever in RC, I just would not want to be on the retail side of the hobby.

[Mr.Sci-Fi]

Yeah most definitely, a hobby retailer that carried parts could get swamped easily. That's probably why alot of them promote only certain types of racing, micro, off road, trucks, touring and then to mention all the non car rc stuff, planes,boats, helis.

[MOmo]

There are definately more choices now more than ever. it IS hard to choose, esp. when it comes to a reasonable budget.

I worked for an LHS and it was hard for me seeing certain co-workers selling a $500 Tmaxx w/ accessories only to have it all returned a day or 2 later because they got in over their heads and thought it was too complicated. I always felt that a good 2wd elec. would be a good starter. I would spend 20 min talking to the cust. trying to determine what they wanted to do and where they had to run. Most people aren't petient and want that instant gratification and don't want to wait to properly break in a motor.

It used to be SOO easy, do you want ONROAD or do you want OFFROAD? Truck or car/Buggy? and thats it! NOW you have so many options, theres something to fit everyone!

So many choices...So few dollars!



momo

[Tadracket]

So what is next? It is easy to see where things have developed over the years and most are no-brainers. But the difficulty is seeing the next big thing that will wow every one. There is a new battery technology on the horizon that is based on nano technology that will be of great value to us. But those things are given.

What will the next big trend be that might, like crawling did, stick around to be more than just a fad?

Televised competition on channels like ESPN? That did well for paint balling.
Maybe a new propulsion solution? I guess time will tell.

[MOmo]

Radio controlled MICRO MACHINES!


MOmo