Passion, obsession, dedication- this is R/C

[z-man280]

It started with "AA"'s.


Those of us in the hobby have, well, an understanding. This is our release, our passion, our affair. This is what we do. From back to our first "AA" battery powered car or truck, to our latest investment now, radio controlled cars, trucks, planes, boats, and more have been in our lives.

Looking back, I recall starting in this hobby at a very young age. I was five years old, and my first car appeared under the Christmas tree. A white Lamborghini Countach. it actually would go without me pushing it, and with no wires. i moved the stick on the radio, the wheels turned. I was in awe at how this could happen. Still am in some ways. I drove it everywhere i could in the house. The old tile floor gave me perfect "roads", as i imagined pulling up to an intersection, and turning the corner. Just like mom and dad .

I am sure there were a few later, but the next one to stick in my mind was none other than the "A-Team" van. Man, it was huge! It was faster too, as i found out within the first minute. it slammed into the frig and broke the wheel off. I was devastated. Seven, and my world came to a crashing halt.

As time went on, several more cars, and a couple of trucks came along. i was getting older, and i was finding more to do outside. Snowmobiles in the winter, a dirt bike in the summer, but i never strayed from the little cars. Still I was drawn to the scale vehicles, and how they moved under my command without physical contact.


Living in a very rural area, and all my siblings older, I often had to find things to do on my own. I started making my r/c cars more "real world" capable with different tires, putting spacers under the bodies, ect. My first jump was with a Radio Shack truck. It was a red Chevy, with spring suspension. I had made a track out in back, and i would stay out there as long as I could. Or, until I needed more batteries.

Finally, I picked up a Tyco with a rechargeable pack. This was great, no more buying batteries. It takes how long to charge? Devastation, again. My friends from school were now starting to be able to "hang out" on the weekends, and i recall one with a r/c truck too. Called a "Big Bubba", it had a working winch, and four wheel steering. I was in love. i had to have one. He could pull my truck out when I got stuck, how cool was that?


As time moved on, "it" finally happened. i was driving on a side street in town, and this little car came out from a driveway. I slowed, and seen it go over a home made jump. It landed as if you tossed a wet rag on the counter. what on earth is THAT? I stopped, and began talking to him. to this day, he is my best friend, over 20 years later.

John had a Traxxas Bullet. A blatant copy of a RC10. I had seen them before in our local hobby shop, but no way could I afford one, nor could my parents buy one for me. We were a modest family, and raising five kids, priorities were in order.

John let me drive that car all over tho. It had a Trinity Monster Horsepower motor, and a Futaba MC112B speed control. A Futaba Magnum Jr. controlled it, and he had some 1200 mah batteries. I think we wore out a few motors in that car. I was working only a couple blocks from where John lived, so I would stop by regularly. I liked the little Bullet, but it was missing something.

I needed a truck. I went to our local magazine store, and there lied Radio Control Car Action. I read it cover to cover about a hundred times, and made my decision. A Traxxas Sledgehammer. When the truck arrived, I wasted no time getting to John's house. Soon, we had it up and running with radio gear in, and batteries charged.

I ran it around, pulled some wheelies, and then blasted it over a ramp. YEAH! I was there, I was "home". Soon, the kits kept coming. A Kyosho tracker, Associated RC10, Tamiya King cab, TA02 S-10, and finally, after a long saving period- The Mountaineer.

My first race followed shortly, as I had heard of radio controlled car racing at the Manistee Forest festival. I practiced, practiced, and practiced more. I entered, and finished third. I needed a race truck now. The hottest thing out was Losi's new truck, but I wanted to wait for the upcoming LXT.
I finally could wait no longer, and when it came, i was racing.





Stay tuned, more to come..........

[dont slow down]

Lol ahhh the good 'ol days huh? As I read that all of my R/c memories came flooding back as well. No matter what other hobbies take me away from R/c I always come back. I don't think I'll ever get rid of my stuff, ever.

I was into cars since I was very very little. My first R/c was of course a classic Tyco. Had a few different ones but one year for Christmas my parents bought me a Radio Shack Red Arrow buggy. It had real working suspension and was fast. My cousins were into R/c's as well and I would drive my Red Arrow with them sometimes. One of my cousins gave me an R/c magazine one day, I literally wore that magazine out. The pages were torn, falling out, but I had my eye on a car in there. I saved my allowance and did odd jobs to earn money and finally got an MRC MT-10S. From that day forward I have been addicted to R/c. I have had many cars and trucks over the years, seen so many advancements in technology, but after at least 14 years I am still not tired of it. I was looking through an old magazine today and there were advertizements for the new "High Capacity 2000 NI-CD" battery packs. Days have come and gone, this hobby has changed so much but I still love it and probably will till the day I die. Thanks for the trip down memory lane z-man!

[adamzty]

Looking back, I recall starting in this hobby at a very young age. I was five years old, and my first car appeared under the Christmas tree. A white Lamborghini Countach. it actually would go without me pushing it, and with no wires. i moved the stick on the radio, the wheels turned. I was in awe at how this could happen. Still am in some ways. I drove it everywhere i could in the house. The old tile floor gave me perfect "roads", as i imagined pulling up to an intersection, and turning the corner. Just like mom and dad .
That is EXACTLY what happened when I was like 5 years old too :D I got one for Christmas, and then when it broke, I got another walmart one and then I kind of forgot about it. Several years later, I discovered Tower Hobbies when I was looking to buy some testors model paint, and I was amazed at the R/Cs that they had. I had always thought that R/Cs were just little walmart toys until I discovered this, and I was amazed. I immediatley began saving my money for one, and in not too long, I had my first "real" R/C! That was about 3 years ago, and I still love this hobby. It is a expensive hobby, but it is definatley worth every penny:D

[pasan]

Ditto for me. I've got a bunch of Nikkos from the early 80s which I've managed to relocate recently. In fact, I'm currently in the process of modifying one of them to work with my current radio gear.

[z-man280]

continued................


I found racing to be even more of a release, and as i continued, I found myself sponsored. This made life much easier for parts, ect., especially motors. (Thanks again Twister™ motors!)
As I continued racing, i began to find myself getting together with the local racers for some "bashing".

This was a blast. Being near Lake Michigan, we had the chance to blast up and down the dunes as well and i found myself wanting something "different". It was 1994, and Traxxas had an all new truck out, called the Stampede™. I called my LHS, and ordered one. Marty's Model & Hobby in Traverse City, Mi. was the place to go to, and another sponsor for me. I picked up my new truck, along with the hottest packs out- Sanyo's SCRC1700 7 cells. My trip home nearly got me a speeding ticket, as i could not wait to start building. Yes, the Stampede was a KIT!

I jumped in head first, installed my trusty Futaba Magnum JR radio, a 11x3 Twister, and a 1700 7 cell. knowing this would see beach time, I also bolted on a set of the new Pro line Sand Paw™ paddles.

In a word? WOW! This truck could do it all. My buddy with his Kyosho USA-1 was floored with it's performance too. We had a blast running about twice a week, and as we were leaving one day , I spotted another r/c. It was on the water. I knew I needed a boat.

for the next two years, it was a whirlwind of buying- Traxxas Villain, a Clodbuster, ( to go against Dave's USA-1) SRT, a TRX-1 buggy, Kyosho sandmaster, and a host of others. I entered the nitro world, and was hooked by the sound of those little engines.

I went back to Marty's for parts one day, to buy the upgrade slipper clutch for my Stampede, and there it sat- My 1st 1/8 scale buggy. It was huge, loud, and I had to have one. $700.00 . Maybe i didn't.

About a year later, i finally gave in, and 1/8 scale racing took over. As our track had no class, i began traveling to other races. While there, I seen my first quarter scale car run. Al Dieter- this man was an extension of the car. He made no mistakes, and was un-real smooth. I knew if I met him on the track, I would need to step my game up. Being my family was in the excavating business, a call to dad for the bulldozer would get me a track built. With a track built in the yard, I was not only practicing, but holding impromptu racing at the house. After a race in mod truck, I watched a guy hit a ramp in the reverse direction of the track. It was much steeper, and it shot him straight up- a quick stab of the brake, and a turn of the wheel, and he laid it over on it's side in the air....then rolled it back level.

From that jump on, we started holding "freestyle" events. Bashing had reached a new level. Never would i imagine that jump would evolve into what it has become for me now.







more to come............

[cheerwhiner]

I have done racing and I like to just bash now. I don't have to worry about regulations and can do it when I want. But racing does teach you a lot about working on r/c cars. I honestly wish I could afford to race more

[st_dragn_wagen]

funny you should mention AA's. iv got a couple radio shack 56 ford trucks i picked up about 6 years ago. just something to fart around with in between running the real deal, been thinking of picking up some rechargeable AA's after i cash my paycheck so i can run one of them again. give me something to mess with when i don't feel like running the mini cooper :D

[7urb0_c471]

I wasn't aware this was a blogging site. A question just raced across my mind: do people who blog do so because they have no friends irl to whom they can tell their stories?

Actually, this is a site where such derogatory statements directed towards it's other members are not tolerated. But good guess. Take care.

[z-man280]

....

[Kafer_Girl]

just let the hater hate. answering back at him is just going to get this thread locked or deleted.

keep up with the tutorials. some of us appreciate reading them.

[z-man280]

thanks, Kafer Girl, I enjoy it as well....

[hijacker]

Yep, it doesn't matter what you have to say, there is always someone who will come along and be a jerk.

Keep it going Ron.

[rccardude04]

Good read Ron. Some people may not enjoy the 'blog-esque' nature but it's not so bad. Just not the typical forum style. :)

Looking forward to part 2 mister... :D

-Eric

[z-man280]

Thanks for the support. As some of you may recall, I asked you for stories relating to r/c experiences for a coffee table style book I was planning. I have another non-r/c related book in the works as well, for the last year, and slowly am getting it done. If this thread continues, and I hope it does, I will continue to enter small excepts and stories submitted from what should be an interesting look on the world and hobby we enjoy.



To those who complain about this thread: it's okay . Really, it is. The amazing part is, if you don't like what i have wrote, you simply need not read it. It's your right. I think it's great that we live in a country where you can express yourself in that manner, even tho you aren't educated well enough to leave rational, well-thought responses. I blame the schools, not you. Returning to a public forum after personal attacks on me under a new screen name was a nice touch as well, you dodged the total ban bullet- kudo's to you. No one has perfect aim all the time, but moderators, we do understand. It must be difficult to sift thru what must seem like a never-ending sea of useless banter and ramblings that either are belligerent, or just self-inflicted stupidity .

i commend you in your efforts.


More to come........

[Jason MaxAmps]

Keep it coming I've been in this hobby since the age of 12. I enjoy reading how others have progressed thru the years. And at just shy of 37 I for one plan to keep with it until I can't hold a tx'er anymore.

Jason

[GT Freak]

wow, awsome blog(whatever that is) keep oing, then have others add to it.

[z-man280]

as promised................






After our local track dissolved, myself and other began looking for impromtu racetracks. WE all had similar cars/trucks, so it was only natural to start racing again. I had bought a Tamiya TA-02 S-10, and everyone loved it's scale looks. A few others joined in, and we had scale "Mickey Thompson" style racing.


Through all this time, I had never given up on my bashing tho- and that is what kept me in the hobby. We only "raced' about once a month, which by no means, satisfied my thirst for r/c. Still having a supply of motors, I bolted a 11x3 in my TA-02, and a 13x-2 in my trusty Stampede. The Ta-02 wold FLY! the Pede was crazy too, as I ran it on 8 cells. Me and my buddy headed to the beach, with a set of paddles, and a couple jumps. We blasted around, and people were amazed at how fast they were. We set up a jump, and I flew the Pede over my buddies car, which by then, the people at the beach were in utter shock.

The Stampede also played duty as tow vehicle, as i would pull the Villain down to the boat launch with it. If it were not for the bigger tires, it would of look like the real deal. land, sea, or air, it didn't matter what was running ,as long as there was a radio in my hand.


More to come later....

[ironoutlaw]

I wasn't aware this was a blogging site. A question just raced across my mind: do people who blog do so because they have no friends irl to whom they can tell their stories?

funny i thought this was a site for sharing information ? and i think thats what is being done

[generis]

this is just friggin awesome that some fella is willing to set up all our stories and bashing tales in some form of blog or book... you know, all of us are going to be too old to turn a screw driver some day, and our grandkids can come over and read us this stuff and get us laughing.... Good on you for setting this up, and send me a copy of the book!
Cheers

[BIGDADDYV]

I know this thread is rather old, but I felt the need to add to it ..

As some of you that know me on a personal level may know, my R/C Club is installing an Indoor Rock Crawling Course at our LHS in efforts to bring more business into the shop and to get more people into RC in our area ..

A club member and I were at the LHS today buidling and installing one of the next to last pieces of the course and we were approached by an 11yr old boy .. He asked me if the course was open for crawling I told him in a few weeks it would be after everything was built and had time to set up and harden ..He told me that the shop owner told them that the course would be done by the first of the month.. I told him to due scheduling problems and materials we were in a slight setback and it would be a few more weeks at least .. His father then showed up behind him and we began to talk as young junior walked all along the front of the course and talk to my buddy whom was just cleaning up some things from our last section of the build .. from what dad had to say they came almost 45 min away for Jr to run his truck . His dad told me that his son is a basher and saved just about everything he could for almost a year to buy an Axial Rock Racer .. After a while we got back to work and with the new section totally finnished and installed, it was now time to test it out .. Just then the little guy came over and told us he was leaving and thanks for all the great advice on his truck .. I couldnt let the kid run off so i asked him and his dad to come back to the rear of the shop .. I told him since he watched us build and install that section they couldnt leave until it was tested .. I asked him if he had a charged battery in his truck and he was eager to tell me he had charged it fully just before he left his house to come there .. I told him to go get it and he must run his truck over the entire track .. No rules just make sure when his truck leaves the track that the entire battery ( 1500 dynamite pack ) was totally dead .. I told him he has the entire track to himself and noone will bother him and to take his time .. We needed his input on the track ..That lasted for about 5 min until he asked us both to join him so he could follow .. To be honest ( and having children of my own his age ) I have never seen a child smile that wide and get weak in the knees before at the same time .. He ran that entire battery out of that truck and before he left he thanked us at least 40 times .. I have to say in 25 yrs of this hobby that is probably one of the coolest times I have ever had .. I am soo glad that some kids are being taught to value a dollar, fix thier own rides, and pay for them all with money that they earned .. Although his rig wasnt really set up to do some serious line picking ( if you have ever used the ROCK RACER version you will understand ) this young man exhibited manors, positive attitude, patience, problem solving, and EXCELLENT sportsmanship ..

I just wanted to share this with you all it really made my day ..

[jwaj2002]

I got into the hobby in 88, I have a copy of RCCA from 1989 I read that magazine from cover to cover many, many times, I couldn't tell you what my first RC car was (brand wise) but my first RC was a hobby grade, with a tamiya super beetle body, 2 to be exact, one red for bashing/racing, the other painted to look like herbie, I recieved this christmas of 89, at the time my dad was proffessionally racing a Kyosho big brute, which I am restoring as we speak, he raced and won because when he showed up at the old club track with it everyone told him "you can't win with that" well we being the way we are, he modified it, spent thousands doing this, and one, in 1/10th mod truck class, after that he bought a losi jrx buggy and losi jrx t and continued winning, then the second iteneration came along and I inherited the originals and he got the first upgrades the truck and buggy, sometime in 90/91 he got sponsored by traxxas, and was given a traxxas eagle kit (yes a kit) it was red (unlike the others that were white) the red signified a sponsored vehicle, after some bad stuff going down at the club track we backed out, in 99 I got my first nitro, an hpi mt, I ran the tires (and 2 motors) off of that rig, the first day I was at the new track I fell in love with the 1/8th buggies, my dad had purchased the HPI mt kit so he could bash with me (I drug him back in after so long out) we both went racing again, then he bought a t-maxx and I bought a storm, I raced for until 03(I had the storm a year ran a half season), then we backed off and quit for a while, as I had college, I still ran the mt some but not much, I've kept in the hobby my entire life, I've got basicly every x-mod ever made (sept the newest ones) I've got a mini t, micro rs4, a new stampede, desert truck, and a slash, I love the simplicity of the slash class...

[RCGuyN8]

I'm here for you Z-man. I'm a lot like just about everybody else on this site, my first car was a Nikko Lobo buggy. I saved up the money for the many AA rechargables it required, and even a rechargable 9V for the transmitter. A friend tossed me a Tower catalog one day in study hall in Jr. High, and I knew I had to have one. I saved my lawn mowing money for a whole summer.and was ready. I wanted an Associated RC10ST to start out with, but the hobby shop was out of them. The owner recommended a Losi Jr. 2, which I bought. I spent a few evenings building the car, but was out of scratch to get the electronics. Flash ahead to Christmas that year. My Grandmother took me to the big hobby shop in Butler, PA, which had an indoor track. A gent was out running a Blue Eagle LS. My eyes glazed over. We went into the shop, and I picked out my electronics. An Airtronics Rival 2P radio, a Tekin 412-P Speedstar ESC, and an extra battery. During the time between, my chore money bought me an Astroflight timer charger, and a Race Prep Purple Haze motor. Christmas morning, My car made it's first run on the frozen Tundra of my back yard. I started racing and was hooked for good.


Last year I was diagnosed with cancer. After not having as much time as I wanted for my hobby for years, I now had the time to work on things and get my cars in better running order. Through two surgeries and chemo, this hobby has been my salvation. When I'm driving my cars and working on them, I'm so focused on them, that the rest of the world and my worries vanish. I'm currently working on my new Lunch Box, mounting a Parma Midnight Pumpkin body on it. I made my own set of mounts, have the body cut and ready, now comes time to paint...and forget my worries and go back in time to be the nerdy, eager-beaver 15 year old I was when this obsession started. :o:D

[z-man280]

thanks so much for sharing guys....

rcguyn8- hang in there buddy. WE are ALL pulling for ya.

These stories just solidify why I love holding Bashfest. Its not about who comes in first, who won the most, or who had the best time- it's about the experience you get, and walk away with.


Keep the stories coming, and Vinnie, props for the shovel on this thread!!

[RCGuyN8]

Thanks, z-man, it really makes me feel good to know my fellow hobbyist are out there pulling for me. The folks in this hobby are some of the nicest folks I've ever associated with.

[crazy4rc]

RCGUYN8, Like Zman said we are "ALL" pulling for ya. I hope after two surguries and chemo the doctors bashed the cancer for you. Good luck!