Mindwarp wrote:That was an interesting read! I had never heard of that
X2
okay my take on RC is that it's gonna die with our generation. I swear when I hit sixty, I'm gonna sell off all my stuff.
I disagree -- assuming you weren't being sarcastic. RC is only in its infancy with regards to where it can go, *beyond* merely a hobby. What about remote-controlled drones on other planets, RC bots used to detonate and possibly even disarm bombs, unmanned vehicles & aircraft...the military & technological applications are just barely scratching the surface of where RC can go. I'd like to see more natural implementations of RC, more realistic than what's out there now. Cars & planes & boats are already as realistic as they can get, but what about an RC snake, butterfly, centipede, spider, eagle...now THAT would be cool.
Scale models designed for play are one thing but our collectables all came out of racing. The competitive, purposeful nature of the models is what endeared them to us. Many of you guys own desirable full size automobiles but how many own historic race cars that competed at the highest level? With RC we can do that.
arf wrote:Scale models designed for play are one thing but our collectables all came out of racing. The competitive, purposeful nature of the models is what endeared them to us. Many of you guys own desirable full size automobiles but how many own historic race cars that competed at the highest level? With RC we can do that.
Collecting r/c didn't come out of racing at all. Racers being collecible is only a recent trend. Collectible r/c race cars have only been popular for the past few years. Bruisers and SRBs and other non-race cars have been very popular for years. In 2001 a mint Bruiser would cost you over $400, a mint RC10 would barely break $100 on a good day. Bruisers are still worth more than RC10s. Vintage Losi, the second most popular race brand in the US still isn't worth very much.
Coelacanth wrote:arf makes a good point, though. RC gives us the opportunity to play with (or race) models of cars most of us could only dream of, otherwise.
You mean like a model GT40? I don't know, aside from the looks of a body I see no comparison to a full sized car.
arf wrote:Scale models designed for play are one thing but our collectables all came out of racing. The competitive, purposeful nature of the models is what endeared them to us. Many of you guys own desirable full size automobiles but how many own historic race cars that competed at the highest level? With RC we can do that.
Collecting r/c didn't come out of racing at all. Racers being collecible is only a recent trend. Collectible r/c race cars have only been popular for the past few years. Bruisers and SRBs and other non-race cars have been very popular for years. In 2001 a mint Bruiser would cost you over $400, a mint RC10 would barely break $100 on a good day. Bruisers are still worth more than RC10s. Vintage Losi, the second most popular race brand in the US still isn't worth very much.
Isn't it true that the earliest RC cars were hand made race cars, and that before that control line cars were made for timed high speed runs? And that the most respected RC manufacturers boasted a racing heritage? And after all, RC10Talk is about a race car. Non race cars are more collectable because they are more unusual.
Coelacanth wrote:arf makes a good point, though. RC gives us the opportunity to play with (or race) models of cars most of us could only dream of, otherwise.
You mean like a model GT40? I don't know, aside from the looks of a body I see no comparison to a full sized car.
C'mon, aren't you missing the point? When I was in my teens, something about the mean-looking Mopar muscle-cars totally caught my fancy...I built plastic models of them, I bought AFX slot cars of them, and in the mid-80's when I built my first Optima, I fitted a Parma Charger body on it. Of course it wasn't a 1:1 Charger, but I sure enjoyed driving that around, and showing it off!
Yeah, the first r/c cars were raced. But, with any new invention there is going to be a competition. Bicycles, autos, airplanes, whatever. Crawling became popular and shortly after there were competitions. People race wiener dogs.
Tamiya is one of the most respected brands ever, its racing heritage is a tiny, tiny part of its history.
I'd be willing to bet that less than half of the RC10s produced were ever raced. That might be being generous. It is much more than just a race car.
How is a Bruiser unusual? Most r/c cars are designed to look like 1:1 vehicles. That 3 speed series just did it better than most other r/c models.