How cheap is RC equipment now!

[Wooders28 4723]

Whilst searching for some bits for a different thread, I came across my old Radio Race Car mags from BITD, March 1988 to be exact.Needless to say, searching stopped.

What surprised me was the price of RC equipment back then,no wonder I found I needed 3 part time jobs aswell as all the pocket money I could muster to fund racing!

In 1988 the average UK salary according to Google, was £8000 pa.The average now is £26000,an increase of 325%

A monster beetle then was £87, which would make it £282.75 in today's money, but the same seller has it for £139!,which would make it £42.77 in old money! Today's kids have it easy! lol

[Butler 338]

Same with any electronic goods. Look at the price of TVs.

[Wooders28 4723]

Same with any electronic goods. Look at the price of TVs.

The main difference is that the cars for sale then,are still available now,27yrs later!

I couldn't give a 27" widescreen,with surround sound,CRT TV away last year and took it to the tip.

[markbt73 5316]

The support equipment is so much better these days, as well. What I wouldn't have given for something like a 2.4ghz radio and lipo battery packs back when I was racing! Cheaper, more reliable, better performing, and with features that would have sounded like magic back then. And the fact that all this stuff is backward-compatible (well, mostly) with older cars is just icing on the cake.

The collectors like to refer to the 1980s as the "Golden Age" of the hobby. Well, that may be, but if so, this is the Titanium Alloy Age or something. You can do it all these days, any way you like: vintage classics, re-releases, modern cars of all shapes and sizes, from simple RS540-powered wheelie cars to massive 70 mph brushless beasts to dead-scale-accurate 4X4 trail trucks, and all on the same shelf. My only beef with the hobby these days is the number of vehicles that are only available ready-to-run, but with 3D modeling tools, 3D printers, and hobby-size milling machines all coming down in price, you don't really need to buy a kit at all, if you don't want to.

The "good old days" were fun and all, but I like the "even better new days."

[Wooders28 4723]

What I wouldn't have given for something like a 2.4ghz radio and lipo battery packs back when I was racing! "

If you went back in time,and ran lipo and brushless power,you would lap 2nd place!!

TBH, a battery dumping added an element to racing.You had to gear your car to the track, to not only give you good speed down the straight,punch out of the corners but enough battery to last the race!

I saved up for months to buy a 'magnum SCR' which enabled me to go up a tooth on the pinion for the final.

You can tell it was the 'golden era' by the way you can still buy most of the kits,and they still look the business now.

I must have spent some money on RC stuff over the years looking at the prices!!

[danb1974 93]

Never cheap enough

[Shodog 1835]

Ball bearings were expensive as badword back then. The price of a lot of things are cheaper now

[MadInventor 3884]

Ball bearings were expensive as badword back then. The price of a lot of things are cheaper now

Yeah, I remember 1150 bearings being close to £2ea from the hobby shop back in the mid to late 80's, and £2 was a lot of pocket money back then.

[Tamiyabigstuff 832]

My first Tamiya R/C kit was a 58028 Toyota Hi-Lux 4x4 - still remember how much I paid for it...( 1980/81 prices )

Kit, Acoms 4-Ch R/C gear + Ni-Cd batteries & chargers came to almost £300 which was more than a month's pay back then...

[Wooders28 4723]

Ball bearings were expensive as badword back then. The price of a lot of things are cheaper now

But a must have if you wanted your battery to last.

Today's money a set for a Ninja would be an eye watering £127!

Most cars now you can get a set for £20.

[matman 1499]

We need a thread of this type .

80's advertisement of RC . The marketing stuff , Price etc .

Would make a great thread , Or just add it to this fine thread ?.

I love this type of stuff , looking at what it cost , how it was displayed etc .

Wooders28 , great stuff , do you have more ?.

Thanks ..

[OCD 514]

I've posted this one before:

April, 1992.

The fantasy of walking into a small local hobbyshop and buying enough Celicas and Avantes to fill dump truck is persistent.

What's interesting to note is, you can really see the evolution of the global economy and disposable income as the decades have gone by. Japan was experiencing boom times in the mid 80s, and the prices (and quality) of their consumer products reflect this.

Now that Tamiya has greatly expanded their production capacity in the Philippines and elsewhere, we're really starting to see the effects of this in the variety and value of the yearly lineups. You really get much more for your money nowadays. Of course, there's an embedded consequence that comes with the bargain as well: Child labor and abysmal worker's rights are alll too common in this "brave new world"

[Crash Cramer 617]

I sure wish I knew how to post into the forums, bit of black magic to me, but I guess I am NOT Backward compatible, just BACKWARDS.

I have some good old US and UK magazines from the 80's and I have even found a couple of old Futaba catalogs with prices. I try to post the good details in my showroom, but sure do agree, a thread and/or collection point for these old magazine articles is always welcome to me. Just the other day on TC BCollection showed us an very nice period influenced HotShot chassis he built himself using a template from an old Model Cars magazine. I would love to know what issue that was and the templates for things like that, well you just can't always find things on the internet that easy to scale. Reminds me of another post not long ago that someone made the alternate body in styrene as demonstrated in a Guide Book from ages ago, hard to duplicate that on a computer screen, need the magazine.

[Wooders28 4723]

Wooders28 , great stuff , do you have more ?.

Thanks ..

Cheers!

I have a few mags,but not as many as I should as they all got cut up.

I made a race track around my bedroom wall (when I was a teen,not recently!) and cut out and stuck on rc pics to make it look like they where racing.

[OCD 514]

I sure wish I knew how to post into the forums, bit of black magic to me, but I guess I am NOT Backward compatible, just BACKWARDS.

I have some good old US and UK magazines from the 80's and I have even found a couple of old Futaba catalogs with prices. I try to post the good details in my showroom, but sure do agree, a thread and/or collection point for these old magazine articles is always welcome to me. Just the other day on TC BCollection showed us an very nice period influenced HotShot chassis he built himself using a template from an old Model Cars magazine. I would love to know what issue that was and the templates for things like that, well you just can't always find things on the internet that easy to scale. Reminds me of another post not long ago that someone made the alternate body in styrene as demonstrated in a Guide Book from ages ago, hard to duplicate that on a computer screen, need the magazine.

Photobucket.com ? Make account > Upload pic > Copy link > Click the "picture" icon in the above menu bar > Paste link > Magic!

I have that guide book here somewhere - It wasn't that cool of a design in my opinion ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but coincidentally I tried to "scratch build" a body from cardboard when I was a kid, and it ending up looking VERY similar to that guidebook body LOL

[lee1980 71]

I got my first tamiya when i was about 13, A Chevy S-10 (Ta-02), at the time the deal was something like £150-200 in Beatties.

I really. really wanted the Pajero metal top wide, it was about £50 more though.

I know as I got older that I was lucky to get the Chevy when I realised how little my Dad earned and my mum was not working then.

I progressed on to Nitro cars and enjoyed going with my Dad to.

Now I have a re-re pajero of course, lol still not finished hehe. Now able to afford more of course, and kits do seem a lot cheaper though not as cheap as was before recession. Im glad technology has vastly improved to!

[topforcein 1764]

In 1988 the average UK salary according to Google, was £8000 pa.The average now is £26000,an increase of 325%

I would love to meet the idiot who came up with that average salary of £26.000 and call him a few choice words cause he at got a clue .

In 1988 I was on the yts scheme witch payed £28.00 a week. And don't know any one who is on £26.000 a year know.

[Wez-li 1790]

Great thread, Tamiya RC's were massively out of reach being a kid in the 80's, didn't get my first brand new model till the Manta Ray (1990)

I would love to meet the idiot who came up with that average salary of £26.000 and call him a few choice words cause he at got a clue .

In 1988 I was on the yts scheme witch payed £28.00 a week. And don't know any one who is on £26.000 a year know.

Bit confused, do you think 26k too high or too low?

[lee1980 71]

For an average wage 26k seems to high but then it is the average overall. Thankfully mine is higher but then glad it is for the amount of stress involved lol!

It does mean its easy to get carried away and now have like 4/5 different cars at various stages and not enough time to work on them or use them! lol

[Wooders28 4723]

For an average wage 26k seems to high but then it is the average overall.

I would say it's about right,for a 40hr week (or part time as I call it).I think that's where the 'average' gets a bit inaccurate.My 'average' week last year was 76hrs,which even on min wage is £26k.

[Wooders28 4723]

Interesting enough,the second hand market looks familiar!

[Wooders28 4723]

Oct '89

[Wooders28 4723]

Again from '89

Touring car/rallycross shells,predating the dedicated touring car chassis.

I raced a sapphire cosworth shell on my mid,with some success.

[Crash Cramer 617]

Oh to think I could have put an M3 body on my HotShot all those years ago. WOW, I wonder if I can find one nowadays???

[Wooders28 4723]

Oh to think I could have put an M3 body on my HotShot all those years ago. WOW, I wonder if I can find one nowadays???

Says it fits,doesn't say it fits well! lol

Otley modelsport have a HPI one?

http://modelsport.co.uk/hpi-bmw-e30-m3-body-200mm-/rc-car-products/37896