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Juggular

Is this an aging hobby?

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I've been wondering if we are an aging group.  Today's birthdays, for example, show members turning 52, 48, 39 and 41.  I don't think I've ever seen members turning 19.   

1) Is this simply a middle-age hobby? We dabbled as kids. We forget about it. Then we suddenly remember Tamiya when our kids demand RC cars?  So it will always be a serious hobby for people of 40s and 50s?  

2) Is it going to die with us when we turn 80?  Tether planes seems to be a dying hobby... (I hope I'm wrong).  Back in late 80s, radio control planes were super expensive. These looked like an attractive alternative. You get to see the plane close, unlike radio control planes. (Vertigo would be a major problem for me, though.) 

Are we facing an eventual extinction like tether planes?  I grew up in the 70s, playing in the dirt. Kids these days don't seem to have the concept of playing outside. "Why do you want me to go outside? I can't play VR games outside!"   Soooo... what's the fate our beloved hobby?  

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27 minutes ago, Juggular said:

I've been wondering if we are an aging group.  Today's birthdays, for example, show members turning 52, 48, 39 and 41.  I don't think I've ever seen members turning 19.   

I started model making when I was 4 (IIRC) and never really stopped and now I am 44 this year. The only thing is I only joined this (and only) this forum last year (43). So even though I first stated RCing in 2010 (32), you will not have seen me here even though you were already a member then. There are many modellers that Google for information and just read it instead of becoming a member. 

I only joined because my friend refused to give me any advise or answer any of my questions as he hates Tamiya. 

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29 minutes ago, Juggular said:

 

I grew up in the 70s, playing in the dirt. Kids these days don't seem to have the concept of playing outside. "Why do you want me to go outside? I can't play VR games outside!"   Soooo... what's the fate our beloved hobby?  

Likewise

It used to be a punishment to be sent to your room now it's a punishment to be sent outside 🙄

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Like lots of people here I returned to Tamiya in my 40’s. It was for two reasons: 

My son had shown a bit (just a bit) of interest and his cheap toy grade cars had stopped working very quickly). I was keen to get him in to Tamiya as he has autism. The idea of getting in to a new hobby, and one that got him out of the house was appealing.

The other reason was that I had thought about it for years but was always too busy or too busy spending money on other things ;) Last year, with Father’s Day and my birthday looming and nothing I really wanted my mind came back to Tamiya. And then I got hooked!

I see a few youngsters with RC cars but they are mostly very cheap toy grade. Older enthusiasts seem to own the modern expensive stuff like Traxxas. In both instances I see the cars take a real bashing. The kind of bashing that Tamiya cars can’t take.

I think a large part of Tamiya’s appeal is a mix of nostalgia and the ability to construct yourself. I think without a community ground-swell (and with some many other options), Tamiya will become more and more niche. Unless they fundamentally change direction with their designs and manufacturing but that seems pretty unlikely. 

Of course “retro” always comes back in to fashion, such as vinyl. But the entry point on Tamiya is too high for a mass audience. 

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There are lots of toy grade RC in the shops which suggest that RC isn't dead.

Friends of my son are now on their third toy grade RC. They (well, the Dad) didn't listen when I suggested a second hand Tamiya, has now spent more than than one would have cost and added more plastic to landfill.

The hobby is niche though and has to compete for kids' attention with gaming and the internet - which it didn't have to do in the past.

Thanks to Traxxas, Arrma and Axial I think RC will be around a while yet. Tamiya will continue to be a model making company (hopefully) with an RC sideline.

 

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I started thinking about this the other week and decided that by the time I am ready to expire (20 years?)  there won't be a crowd big enough to value my M38's and other cars so they will probably end up in the landfill.  :lol:

So I'm going to enjoy each of them while I am still alive.  

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This might or might not be an aging hobby, but either way, I think that web-based forums are an aging way of talking about it. It seems that if it isn't on Farcebook, Instagrumble, Twatter or some other social media platform, kids are blind to it.

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Do the Tamiya classics and even us :ph34r: escape the march of time? No...

However I do think that kids and adults are wanting to get out more and escape from the computers. Its a great time to see the hobby have many new people join. 

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1 hour ago, Juggular said:

I've been wondering if we are an aging group.  Today's birthdays, for example, show members turning 52, 48, 39 and 41.  I don't think I've ever seen members turning 19.   

1) Is this simply a middle-age hobby? We dabbled as kids. We forget about it. Then we suddenly remember Tamiya when our kids demand RC cars?  So it will always be a serious hobby for people of 40s and 50s?  

2) Is it going to die with us when we turn 80?  Tether planes seems to be a dying hobby... (I hope I'm wrong).  Back in late 80s, radio control planes were super expensive. These looked like an attractive alternative. You get to see the plane close, unlike radio control planes. (Vertigo would be a major problem for me, though.) 

Are we facing an eventual extinction like tether planes?  I grew up in the 70s, playing in the dirt. Kids these days don't seem to have the concept of playing outside. "Why do you want me to go outside? I can't play VR games outside!"   Soooo... what's the fate our beloved hobby?  

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Control line, that brings back happy memories. .49 glow engines with recoil starters that could cut your finger off in one go, the smell of nitro fuel, and a propeller running at 5000rpm running in head height circles on the end of a couple of flimsy wires. Try doing a risk assessment for that then give it to a 12 year old (my first one)

I started to make models (static) at about 8 I suppose and I’m nearly 64 now. Of all the people I know bar one continued making models of any kind after about 16. It always has been a bit of a niche market especially for older people. I guess it is considered nerdy/anoraky by a lot of people. 
I think there will always be a modelling community but it like most things it will change with the times. There are some extremely talented young modellers around. If you look at the junior entries to Scalemodel world that took place in November they are 10 times better than I’ll ever achieve 😩 

their is space for the RTR smash it up brigade as well as the Tamiya builder but alas I feel that @Juggular is probably right, just hopefully not in my lifetime 

( sorry bit of a ramble as it’s difficult to see exactly what might happen)

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Tethered aircraft's, boats and cars will die as there is not much exposure of this hobby.  Also the lack of places to use them.

RCing will not die because of it's exposure and accessibility.  Look at all the new manufacturers including toy grade.  Even Barbie has rc car.

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the Bmx museum forum that I’m also on is similar. We are all getting old!
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but like Bmx. RC will never die!!

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Started with 1/8 on road when I was 12 I’m now 56 and I’m still working on the same **** cars except restoring them not trying to make them faster :lol: 


PS Tamiyas suck I’m only on here to gloat. 

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I feel the concept of what we consider hobbies, in general, is aging. Whether it be model railroading, plastic models, wooden models, RC models or even thing like my wife's dollhouses, there is decline. In part, its due to increase in things available to kids nowadays. In some ways, the age of "childhood" is shrinking too. The age range that standard toys in general that can be marketed to kids is growing smaller. There is also a defined line of the "tech age" and the "pre-tech age". As a Gen Xer, I straddle that line. My childhood was very analog and being autistic myself makes me, um, somewhat resistant to change shall we say. Still, now I live in the digital age like it or not. My daughter, on the other hand, has known nothing else. However, being autistic herself as well, has made her a bit "off" too. As such, I'm blessed to have a child that loves to ride bikes, play outside, goof around in streams and generally do all the stuff I did as a kid. Go figure. The curse (I joke) is that there are no other children in our neighborhood like her. They are there, but they are inside and I wind up being the constant playmate. That's not easy being in my mid 40's (especially after a long day of work, remember killing yourself for your job is the American way) but at least she likes tooling around with a Lunch Box.

While its a great shame that this awesome hobby, capable of teaching so much, may be dwindling I won't ever stop. I've hoarded enough to keep me going for decades and I never intend to give it up. I don't care if I'm the last person in my state noodling about with old Tamiya buggies and brushed motors. Its what I know and love and that's all that matters. If others want to miss out by having their noses jammed in a smart phone, that's their loss.

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16 minutes ago, Saito2 said:

Its what I know and love and that's all that matters. If others want to miss out by having their noses jammed in a smart phone, that's their loss.

This says it all really.... 

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2 hours ago, GeeWings said:

I think a large part of Tamiya’s appeal is a mix of nostalgia and the ability to construct yourself. I think without a community ground-swell (and with some many other options), Tamiya will become more and more niche. Unless they fundamentally change direction with their designs and manufacturing but that seems pretty unlikely. 

Of course “retro” always comes back in to fashion, such as vinyl. But the entry point on Tamiya is too high for a mass audience.

Yeah I tend to agree mate. The nostalgia thing is clearly big in Tamiya RC. I myself got back into this hobby in Sept last year, shortly after my 41st birthday. I remember as a kid in the early 90's pouring over the Tamiya catalogue and always hassling my Nana to go to Beaties model shop in Watford when we visited, as it was the biggest one I had access too.

Model shops are pretty much dead now it seems, which was a sadness to me when I returned to the hobby, but it does make sense given the modern times we live in. Although that (as with many other high street stores) is going to be largely due to the effect of online shopping, I think that is also quite a clear sign of the change in the numbers of people that are into model making are reducing. As others have said, there are just so many other options available to children these days and the tech is just going to grow and grow and grow. Not that I think that's a bad thing, but the thoughts I used to naively have as a younger man where I hoped my children would have a similar childhood to mine were clearly very unrealistic.

The model shops that I've visited in the last few months are still stuck in the dark ages, unwilling to change or become a modern place to shop it would seem. That said, I guess they don't really need to. They have their customer base and if they're bringing in enough money, seem happy enough I suppose. It's a bit like the shops are grumpy old men (perhaps like their owners), stuck in their ways and will stay that way until they die, and they will die as their clientele does, I believe.

I wonder if they classics I've started researching, gathering parts for, building, coveting etc. will still be worth money in the future. Or like you say @Willy iine will everyone they hold a value for also be gone when I am? Does that really bother me though? I don't think it does much really, as the hobby is for my pleasure and it is one of pure indulgence and obsession.

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3 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

@Kol__ We’ll all die happy together.  :D

Maybe we should take them to the grave with us? Just imagine some lucky ****** (or grave robber:wacko:) unearthing a coffin in years to come in the future and finding a pristine stash of uber vintage Tamiya RC hermetically sealed with a corpse wearing a 'Tamiya Forever' T-Shirt:ph34r:

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I don't think its aging, just changing.  Kids don't know about it unless their parents or friends (parents) are into it.  Of my son's friends, all aged 6 - 11, about 60% are interested in RC in some form and the rest just aren't interested.  Which is actually pretty similar if you swap RC with "football (or soccer for you American's), football (or that weird 60min game that takes 4 hours for us non-Americans), swimming, cooking" etc.  However, for them to really get into RC it would require their parents to spend some pretty decent money, and also commit the time to it which is another issue.

Kids will do what is available to them.  They have a lot more options now, and (unfortunately) smart phones are easier for parents, so thats what kids do.  I know people blame kids for not getting out, but its squarely on the parents.  A 10yo shouldn't be able to make decisions to lie on the couch on a smartphone all day, but its easier for their parents if they do.  Those kids who do that would love it if their parents picked up a ball and said "lets go outside and play".  Except parents of young kids can't afford a house with a backyard anymore...

I think things like slotcars and tether planes (who knew!) will die as they were popular because better things weren't available or were too expensive.  Who would choose a slot car set over an RC car or tether plane over an RC plane if they had the choice?  In the 80s RC was simply unaffordable, so lesser alternatives were more popular.  Also, drones are so much more accessible than RC helicopters, so they will be far more popular than RC helicopters ever were.

Traxxas also makes it more accessible as people just buy it and go.  That may lead to kits, who knows?  But it gets more people out there running cars, who may then join clubs.  Clubs are also adapting, its not just racing.  Some clubs have added crawler tracks to their race tracks, others are just dedicated to drifting which needs a lot less space than racing.

I think that the current rere and classic Tamiya's will wane in popularity, but they'll be replaced by other RC things (probably controlled by a smartphone)

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41 minutes ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

Tamiya's will wane in popularity, but they'll be replaced by other RC things (probably controlled by a smartphone)

You are probably onto something there. Every kid and his dog seems to have a quadcopter/drone these days. 

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3 hours ago, svenb said:

Likewise

It used to be a punishment to be sent to your room now it's a punishment to be sent outside 🙄

either situation isnt a punishment at all. if you have your kits and tools in your room then its a win. if you have running cars then outside is a win. if you are to go outside as a punishment then take a car or 2 and some batteries/controllers. next time your parents will wise up and barr you from taking the cars from your room.

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4 hours ago, GeeWings said:

without a community ground-swell (and with some many other options), Tamiya will become more and more niche.

Yep, I'm afraid RC cars get less exposure than Dungeons and Dragons. 

Stories set in the 80s have kids playing D&D.  

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Perhaps because of the continuous exposure, I've seen this place packed last Friday night. 

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I looked at their website. They say "games are best unplugged!"  

Hats off to them!  I can't even say that... plugging a battery is rather important for RC.  

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Well, I would like to give you a bit of good news on things I've seen from the shop I work at. We have a lot of 20-40 y.o.'s the come in to pick up racing times and spare parts. I also have parents come in to pick up kits to build with their kids. :) So I think there's some life yet in the hobby

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@Saito2 a bit off topic but wanted to say how much of your post resonated. Especially as a father trying to keep up with a recently diagnosed autistic child (who much like yours) finds themselves somewhat different and alone. My boy also has ADD and I’m also currently going through the assessment process for both (ADD at least feels a dead cert). 

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8 hours ago, Juggular said:

2) Is it going to die with us when we turn 80?  Tether planes seems to be a dying hobby... (I hope I'm wrong).  Back in late 80s, radio control planes were super expensive. These looked like an attractive alternative. You get to see the plane close, unlike radio control planes. (Vertigo would be a major problem for me, though.) 

I think it dies with "us" when we turn 80. But only as we know it.
 

Examples:

.) Videogames:
It is like Videogames of the olden Days, i love them and there is a big Group that loves "old" Videogames (70s - 90s or early 00s).
"No" 18 year old Kid would be interrested to play Atari or Vectrex, or even NES, even when they turn 36 - they will be nostalgic about their PS4 or PS5 or something because they had that in their Childhood. If they talk about "Retro Games" they will talking about the PS3 or something.

 

.) Furniture:
My Parents and Grandparents loved anique Furniture and they had that in their Flats, as they where hip and Cheap. Now the People died or their Generation is Diying. So None is interrestet in that antique Furniture. Only the Collectors and Sellers are interrested in them, they think they are worth a lot and they have Storages full of them and they are so expensive that 1.) noeone can afford them and 2.) noenone is interrested in them (because Ikea is hip, modular, practically designed and if they brake you can easily can buy new trendy Furniture).

So Antique Furniture died. (there will always ba people who like them, but "my Generation" is more interrested in the 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s Furniture, than in "chippendale, Jugendsil or something from 1800-1930")

 

.) Skateboarding:
In my Generation there Vert (Halfpipe) was dying and "Street" was evolving. So my Generation was all into Streetskateboarding. Higher, Wider, Extremer, etc. There where Peope who were the only People that could do sertain Tricks and Skateboarding was not a "Sport".
The current Generation is into compeditive Skateboarding, you learn it at a young age and trin it like any other Sport. There are Contests, in some way it evolved back into that 70-80s flair where also were a lot of contests....
But now the Skateboarders ride like "Robots" as we say, everyone can do anything and they do that perfectly.
My Generation can`t differentiate any "Style" in their riding anymore, they all do the same Stuff in the same Way, one can do it better, others can`t do it better.....
The "old School" Skateboarders are all into Riding a Halfpipe and feeling that "freefalling-, flying-, zero gravity- Feel" and don`t do "Flip Tricks" or they are into "Freestyle Skateboarding" where they do Balance and Fliptricks, but don`t really leave the Ground.


Things change....
Ever listened to "dubstep" ? :D
Dubstep is horrible new Music, but if you ask the Youth, they will tell you that they don`t listen to such old Music :D

 

 

So i think Tamiya will be Diying with "us", because the leaders of Tamiya are also diying. There will be no Targetgroup AND no Soul behind that Company anymore. They have to orientate new and will produce Stuff we do not like anymore to gat the young people.

So either Way they will die in some Way or another....

 

 

8 hours ago, Juggular said:

Are we facing an eventual extinction like tether planes?  I grew up in the 70s, playing in the dirt. Kids these days don't seem to have the concept of playing outside. "Why do you want me to go outside? I can't play VR games outside!"   Soooo... what's the fate our beloved hobby?  

I think RC will eveolve.

There are these cheap chines RC Cars for about 40 - 100 Dollars RTR that can take Speeds up to 45 kph, so why should the young People buy Tamiyas that "doesn`t look cool", can`t jump fly and speed around AND are super expensive without any Dampers, Radio Gear, Ball Bearings. You have to assamle them, so why the badword do you should buy theese, if they want do assamble something, they can download an RC assamble Simulator for their VR Headgear :D

Also i see RC evolve in the Drone Sector.
There are Races etc.
Now they are "Toys" but i think there will be a greater Scene in the near Future, there will be different Drone Sports and Races, maybe they will get the new F1 Races or something? I don`t know.......

8 hours ago, Juggular said:

Are we facing an eventual extinction like tether planes?  I grew up in the 70s, playing in the dirt. Kids these days don't seem to have the concept of playing outside. "Why do you want me to go outside? I can't play VR games outside!"   Soooo... what's the fate our beloved hobby?  

Thanks for that comment.
I never knew that there is such a thing like "Theter Planes" but we had one in our Childhood!
That Plane was on a String and you could swirl it around and some kind of "control" it. It was a toy and it had a Liquidtank that created Bubbles that fle through the air.

 

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