Is the hobby dying off?

[luminova11]

I think some of it is that the modern rc's just don't capture kids interest like the stuff from the 80's and 90's. When I was at school every boy and a good number of the girls would have given their right arm for a Monster Beetle or a Clodbuster. Whilst modern vehicles have the performance, they aren't exactly exciting to look at and it's the looks that grabs a kids interest. My bedroom was covered with Tamiya and Kyosho posters, if I was in my early teens now I wouldn't want posters of Arrma's vehicles on my wall, for instance, just no visual excitement although as a vehicle they are light years ahead of anything available in the mid 80's. Maybe with all the classic Re res coming to market, and the continuing interest in scale vehicles, that spark of excitement may just start to burn again.

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[betty]

Some quit, some in.

[bertberr]

Has Betty finally drawn a line under this interesting, and often complex question...???

[autobutcher]

Betty's word is law, nuff said. 

[autobutcher]

With Betty's sage and meaningful advice there for all to see, is it time for Betty to be unmasked and reveal herself to be .....

[atom3624]

Tug??

[.AJ.]

Betty is our friendly Chinese Gens Ace rep 

[Alex97]

This thread just seems to be repeating it's self. 

[Wilsonpaul]

I've just bought a losi mtxl and getting parts is a mare like last lot of parts had to get from Germany 2 weeks.  Even just trying to get a bartolone pipe from uk had to order and say it will be up to 10days +  

So I seen that horizon isn't in UK no more and thought I would buy a baja sc and not even any in stock any where. Then noticed Its not as busy on here with the meets as it used to be.  So hope I've not got back into it at a bad time.  

Edited June 4, 2017 by Wilsonpaul

[Fly In My Soup]

On 2017-6-4 at 10:21, Wilsonpaul said:

I've just bought a losi mtxl and getting parts is a mare like last lot of parts had to get from Germany 2 weeks.  Even just trying to get a bartolone pipe from uk had to order and say it will be up to 10days +  

So I seen that horizon isn't in UK no more and thought I would buy a baja sc and not even any in stock any where. Then noticed Its not as busy on here with the meets as it used to be.  So hope I've not got back into it at a bad time.  

 

Hoodoo highlighted to me that this is people busy season, hence the quiet forum I spose.

 

P.s those postage time frames are not too bad, try getting something sent from contrast, they charge a minimum of €42 for under 1kg and take 4 weeks from spain

 

 

Edited June 4, 2017 by Fly In My Soup

[lfc4life]

For me the biggest problem is the lack of local hobbies shops. 

 

What got me into RC's was seeing them in my local Beatties store as a kid. 

 

Now there are virtually no stores dedicated to RC's. 

 

Where I live I only know of one store and I live in a large city. 

 

Not having the ability to walk into a store and being able to talk to somebody is a huge factor why parents are less willing to invest in what is a lot of money into this hobby. 

[mond]

Blame modelzone. They bought the local shops then went out of business due to suppliers. Physical shops I doubt are profitable in most cities and towns due to overheads.  The only physical shop near me is 15 miles away and they don't stock much. I remember Beatties as well, part of the reason i like the retro Tamiya and Kyosho stuff.

[Fly In My Soup]

7 minutes ago, mond said:

The only physical shop near me is 15 miles away and they don't stock much

 

Same here, i only have rc octane, he doesn't stock much at all, operates out of a unit at dunkerswell airfield, across from armortek

 

He makes most his money from being parts supplier at race meets, take the shop to your customers.

 

We had another store near Dorchester, but that also closed .

[johninderby]

Sadly the internet has killed off the small hobby shop. They just can't compete with the big online shops. 

 

BTW The new owners of Armortek are in the middle of relocating the business to Hampshire and will reopen on the 12th June. 

 

           John

[Fly In My Soup]

17 minutes ago, johninderby said:

nline shops. 

 

BTW The new owners of Armortek are in the middle of relocating the business to Hampshire and will reopen on the 12th June. 

 

 

I'm not sure how to feel about that one... Not exactly great news for my local area, although on the plus side ast least they'll still be UK based

 

 

[yoodoo]

To be honest ,I'd rather buy from the internet. I love it when the postman comes and you have forgotten what or how much stuff you have ordered  

 

J

[Kpowell911]

On 04/06/2017 at 10:21, Wilsonpaul said:

I've just bought a losi mtxl and getting parts is a mare like last lot of parts had to get from Germany 2 weeks.  Even just trying to get a bartolone pipe from uk had to order and say it will be up to 10days +  

So I seen that horizon isn't in UK no more and thought I would buy a baja sc and not even any in stock any where. Then noticed Its not as busy on here with the meets as it used to be.  So hope I've not got back into it at a bad time.  

If im honest, yes you have IMO, especially with a Losi and a HPI unfortuntely..

[Wilsonpaul]

If im honest, yes you have IMO, especially with a Losi and a HPI unfortuntely..

Why hpi tho they uk based and going strong losi still going strong just not uk based anymore so they tell me in there email.

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[Kpowell911]

29 minutes ago, Wilsonpaul said:

Why hpi tho they uk based and going strong losi still going strong just not uk based anymore so they tell me in there email.

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HPI Europe went bust a while back and have been bought out by Ripmax but its still not sorted. Finding basic spares for a popular model such as a Savage can be tricky, and the models have very long stock replenishment dates. 

 

Honestly, Traxxas to me seem the best option for spares now, but Ive struggled for diff outdrives for my Xmaxx not long ago. In 20 years ive never struggled to get Traxxas spares, but I just think the whole hobby is going down a bit, in my opinion its due to there been too many brands now. Things like Arrma/Helion/ECX etc seem to pop up overnight. Legendary firms like LRP, RB and Novak have gone, i dont think anyone can argue the hobby is on a down turn. 

[Fly In My Soup]

2 hours ago, Guns said:

Things like Arrma/Helion/ECX

 

It is on a downturn for European manufacturers, are these above are eastern based?

2 hours ago, Guns said:

LRP, RB and Novak have

These are obviously European.

 

Maybe that's why hpi went bust in Europe, the markets become saturated with cheap imports from the east no one who makes decent models (expensive to produce) can compete with 

[Kpowell911]

Novak were American, that was my point. Established Manufacturers (wether you blame them for not evolving is upto you) struggled to compete with the Saturation of all these potential flash in the pan companies. You can look at it two ways. Lets take an LRP ESC. Theyre very good quality, but Theyre not cheap. Then a Hobbywing/Turnigy/EZ Run come along with much cheaper examples (at the time) worse quality examples (Hobbywing are now IMO the best ESC choice) . Now either LRP were been greedy and made alot of money and refused to make less so sufffered, or you can feel sorry for them for genuinely not been able to compete financially

[mond]

HPI Europe was simply a distributor. They didn't make anything themselves. They would be hurt with things like import tax but also clones like King Motor and Rovan. I still have no idea how they get away with it. If I was HPI, King motor would not be trading in any country with half decent IP rights laws. Still not sure why Horizon hasn't gone after them.

 

I agree with Guns, some of it is about evolution. Look at Hobbico and Horizon, they've expanded to have budget brands. 

 

I don't know why Novak or LRP went bust but manufacturing in the US or EU isn't profitable in many sectors. Customers don't want to pay more. We can all go on about manufacturing jobs etc but customers don't want to pay more. Oddly, Xray still manufactures in Europe and allot of stuff, especially aftermarket that comes out of China is terrible quality. Just compare Vanquish or SSD with GPM or Boom stuff. It's night and day.  

[bertberr]

The problem is once all the smaller more established brands have gone, the far eastern budget brands start to become less budget from a cost perspective whilst at best maintaining quality or at worst, reducing it as there is no longer much competition to worry about. Just because something has got more expensive doesn't mean it's any better quality. I'm motor trade, and this fact has never been more relevant than it is with my industry today. I just hope this hobby doesn't go the same way.

[yoodoo]

22 minutes ago, bertberr said:

The problem is once all the smaller more established brands have gone, the far eastern budget brands start to become less budget from a cost perspective whilst at best maintaining quality or at worst, reducing it as there is no longer much competition to worry about. Just because something has got more expensive doesn't mean it's any better quality. I'm motor trade, and this fact has never been more relevant than it is with my industry today. I just hope this hobby doesn't go the same way.

 

Never a truer word said,I think this has put this thread into perspective.

 

J

[brit_bulldog]

The bashing side is in decline but racing is as busy as ever over many classes.

Its not about cost, kids have more stuff today then ever!

the causes are simple and obvious to the decline:

1. Kids want video games and online play.

2. Shops have gone, lack of support and window sales.

3. Crap quality models have been most first timers model, they get dissapointed and give up before they start.

 

I think kids years ago aspired to be pilots, racers or whatever and the only way to get attachement was with actual models or toys, slot racing hot wheels meccano etc. But now they can just get an app get there fix then move on to next craze within hours.