Posted: 11/9/23
An RC car store offers more than RC cars
If you have an RC car store in your area, congratulations! You’re very lucky to have those resources close by. This is a time when brick-and-mortar retail shops of every kind are struggling to compete with online mega stores and big box discount chains.
Having a physical RC car store nearby that you can visit whenever you like is something of a luxury these days. Imagine being able to interact with real people, face to face, who have first-hand remote control car experience to share. When you walk in the door, they ask what you need, help you find it, show you how it works, and send you on your way with a smile and a promise to be there for you whenever you need their assistance again. Imagine!
And the local RC car store often serves as much more than just a place to buy radio control car merchandise. The majority of RC car stores also provide resources that are intended to benefit the community around them. Check out the hobby shop locator at HorizonHobby.com to find an RC car store near you. Here’s just a sample of the services you’re likely to discover there.
The RC car store gives you a place to run your models.
If you have the space, it’s not that difficult to set up a basic track for racing RC cars. All you need are some ordinary garden tools to clear debris and level the ground, and perhaps some bricks and pieces of plywood to make a few ramps for jumping. But pretty much everyone who buys a remote control car or truck eventually wants to drive it in places beyond their own backyard. Many RC car stores build permanent, professional caliber radio control race car tracks in their lots and have them available for their customers and the community to use.
What makes the track at an RC car store any better than one you can create at home? For one thing, the owners of the RC car store probably have access to high-quality grading equipment and track accessories. These can easily turn a simple dirt course into a thrilling, competition-level RC race track. The well-maintained tracks at RC car stores can stretch over 20,000 feet and include a drivers stand plus frequent turns, washboard sections, and off-camber corners. These are the touches that give RC car drivers at all levels an exciting challenge. Moving around the track at insane speeds over multiple elevation changes, the more advanced RC race cars sometimes leap more than 30 feet in their sprints for the win.
An RC car store that invests in such a track will most likely use it to hold organized RC racing competitions, possibly even beyond the local level. These races provide an incentive for area RC car drivers to keep growing in the hobby. They also give the community some exciting spectator entertainment. The winners often go home with beautiful trophies and valuable prizes.
If your local RC car store doesn’t have its own track, don’t worry. Just ask the staff. They’ll know where you can find one nearby. Not only can they guide you to tracks for competing with your RC race car, but they can suggest great spots to take your RC rock crawling rig for adventuring on the trails.
An RC car store offers unique educational opportunities.
The owners of an RC car store understand that if they hope to attract new customers, they need to reach out, talk to people, give demonstrations, and teach the community about the radio control car hobby.
One form of community outreach that RC car stores use is to offer hobby-oriented classes and workshops. These are usually held after school hours or on weekends, at no cost or with a small fee to cover materials and supplies. Young and old alike can get some basic, hands-on instruction from experts in how to build, drive, and maintain a radio control car. From there, the participants can decide if the hobby interests them enough to purchase an RC car of their very own.
In addition to teaching hobby skills, an RC car store might organize and offer membership in RC car clubs. These clubs are a great way for people interested in RC cars to find each other, enjoy racing together, learn from each other, and build lifelong friendships.
Hobbies are an essential part of the STEM education now used in many schools. These lessons emphasize learning practical skills in science, technology, engineering, and math. Teachers may seek out partnerships with an RC car store in their community to develop STEM lesson plans that incorporate radio control cars. Staff members from the RC car store visit the class and explain the various scientific principles that go into making an RC car operate. Then the students are invited to put together and run their own RC car, bringing those principles to life. When the RC car store assists educators in bringing RC models into the curriculum, it increases the students’ interest in learning by making it active and fun.
Community events come alive with help from the RC car store.
Most communities hold annual festivals and celebrations for residents to come together, have some fun, and support local charitable causes. The organizers of these events work hard throughout the year finding groups that would be willing to provide entertainment and attractions. Local shopkeepers use the opportunity to set up booths and provide samples and demonstrations of their products.
If you’re ever tasked with helping to find exhibitors and entertainment for such an event, be sure to invite your local RC car store to participate! The RC car store brings a lot more to the occasion than another tent where merchandise is sold. The RC car store tent is a legitimate attraction. The staff will bring “Try Me” samples of entry-level RC vehicles and let parents and children alike experience for themselves what it’s like to drive a well-made, hobby-quality RC car or truck.
RC car store owners jump at the chance to expose new potential customers to RC in this way. In return, you’ll have another drawing card to include on your event advertising.
The RC car store is where hobbyists connect.
Beyond selling and supporting quality RC products, the most important service provided by the local RC car store is that it brings together many different kinds of people who have a common interest in cars and radio control. Each and every day, the RC car store offers — in a smaller scale — the same thing that events such as Axialfest and Pro-Line By the Fire give to hundreds of individuals once a year: an opportunity to join a community that’s tightly bonded by the love of RC.
Words by Wally Armstrong
Wally has been writing about the RC hobby since 1987, when he was hired by Hobbico as a Copywriter after completing his master’s degree in English in 1983 and teaching for several years. He managed the Hobbico copywriting team until 2018, when Horizon Hobby purchased the company and brought him on board as a Senior Copywriter. Wally especially enjoys getting a first look at new Horizon RC products from the Product Development teams – and having the privilege of sharing details about their innovations with RC hobby customers.
