The perfect "old man" hobby

[markbt73]

For many reasons I won't get into here, my wife and I have been thinking a lot about how we want to spend our "golden years." We're not there yet, but we may have the opportunity to at least ease off the throttle of the rat-race a little bit and have some time to do things we enjoy. And obviously for me, that means more time to devote to RC models.

My wife has never really been all that supportive of my RC habit. She tolerates it, but that's about the extent of it. I tried early on to get her involved, even helped her build her own Midnight Pumpkin, but she never caught the bug, and now the Pumpkin sits on a shelf with my other monster trucks. I won't touch it, because it isn't "mine," but I doubt she'll ever want to do anything with it again. Which is fine; she has plenty of hobbies I have no interest in either. I think it's probably healthy to have different interests, especially later in life, so we're not in each other's hair all the time.

I'm a 1:1 car guy too, with an MGB project to prove it, and someday I'd still like to get something old and Italian, a Fiat or something. And my wife has flat-out said that she's a lot more supportive of my real car hobby than the "toys" (her word). So another project car won't be a problem, at least in that regard.

However... the last time I had to crawl under a vehicle to fix something - a dead starter in my Chevy truck - it took me half a day to recover from the aches and pains. Even getting in and out of my beloved MG isn't as easy as it was even a couple years ago. And I'm beginning to understand why so many hot rods at cruise nights are automatics. Being a gearhead gets a lot harder as you get older.

And while I would love to have a huge shop/barn someday to work on cars, building something like that probably isn't feasible, and is certainly not possible on our current property. My 1:1 car activities will have to remain on a small scale, which is probably for the best anyway.

If only there were a way to take all the fun and mechanical fascination and creative thinking of working on cars, and shrink it all down to a manageable size. Oh wait; there is!

RC cars definitely scratch the mechanical itch. They take up some room (boy, don't I know that), but nowhere near as much as even a couple of real cars would. No need for a big barn; any basement or attic space with a door I can close to keep the cats out will do fine. Need to work on something under the car? Pick it up and turn it over! Need a place to store "parts cars"? Any dresser drawer or plastic tub will work. And even the bluest of blue chip RC cars only cost about as much as a tuneup on a Lamborghini.

In other words, this hobby that has given me so much over the years, ever since I was thirteen years old, is the perfect activity for me as I get older. I already have a ton of stuff to work on, and I can add to it piece by piece as I want. I'm less interested in new kits, even re-res, as time goes by, but restorations and customizations can keep be busy for the rest of my life. As long as I can still find batteries to power them, I'll never go wanting for things to work on. And, more importantly, drive. Because not only does this hobby keep my mind sharp by working on stuff, it gets me up and moving and going outside. All I need is a little piece of land to turn into a track, and I can stay busy and active.

A lot of people seem to worry about the future of the hobby. I say, why bother? All this stuff is still here for us to enjoy, and who cares if the kid are into it or not? In fact, I kind of hope the interest wanes, and prices fall, so I can mess around with more and different stuff in twenty years.

He who dies with the most toys... still dies, but has a lot more fun getting there.

[GToddC5]

I agree, it really is the perfect hobby for those of us that are mechanically inclined with limited space. I too dream of a garage larger than my house, but the reality is I don't see it happening without a huge financial windfall. Even then, is my body up to it? I have enough on my plate as it is (FJ40, C5, '21 Bronco), and my small garage can at least store one of them (maybe two if I open up a wall). Honestly, three are too much to really concentrate on and support with maintenance, mods and such, so I've been considering unloading the C5. My body also doesn't appreciate crawling around on the ground so much anymore.

What I have found most enjoyable is the return to the R/C hobby, and I only need a spare room in the house, and a small area in the garage. After I lost my Honey a few years back, I kinda floundered around with different hobbies to keep me busy, but it's the hobby that I fell in love with when I was a kid that ultimately brought me some joy again. God willing, I turn 50 this year, and I've amassed enough cars/kits over the last 14  months to keep me out of trouble for quite a long time! I haven't gotten bored because there's always a treasure to hunt for, something to build, something to fix, something to drive, something to stare at and admire, something to rescue and rebuild, something to learn! My next thing will be combining my design background with a 3d printer and then the possibilities are endless. 

And how great is it that we have forums like this and other social media outlets to share as much or as little as we want with like-minded people? So for me, another thing I have been enjoying is sharing pics of my current projects and acquisitions on TC, TB and IG, because I know there are people like me that really get a kick out of seeing these things built and outside of the boxes, and maybe finding out something about them they never knew. I also get inspired by what others share and their great talents, to help motivate and push me to be better.

What we have at our fingertips now and at an age where we can afford things we couldn't possibly buy with our paper route money, absolutely makes this a perfect "old man" hobby. :cheers:

 

[Twinfan]

Yep, I'm on the same page as you guys.  Love my 1:1 car and track days, but tinkering with them is difficult on a driveway and expensive in parts and workshop time.  A single front tyre costs more than an Optima Mid re-re  

I only got back into the hobby a couple of years ago but I've built and collected quite a few kits now.  As you say, it's the perfect hobby for older folks with time especially those who like to tinker with stuff.  There's a definite link to 1:1 cars for sure and they make a great substitute IMHO.

[Kpowell911]

Im not old (I hope). Im aged 37. And I couldnt agree more with this. Im massively into my 1:1 cars, but currently only own a van for my job, and a Focus ST I share with my Mrs. Id like something more special. Maybe a newish Audi RS3 or similar. Financially, I could afford one, or at least the finance payments, which is how cars appear to be paid for these days. But you know what, Id rather spend the finance payment + running costs on my RCs each month…..

[Twinfan]

32 minutes ago, Kpowell911 said:

Im not old (I hope). Im aged 37. And I couldnt agree more with this. Im massively into my 1:1 cars, but currently only own a van for my job, and a Focus ST I share with my Mrs. Id like something more special. Maybe a newish Audi RS3 or similar. Financially, I could afford one, or at least the finance payments, which is how cars appear to be paid for these days. But you know what, Id rather spend the finance payment + running costs on my RCs each month…..

The only thing I'd say is that if you want a nice new, or nearly new, petrol car such as an RS3 you might want to buy or lease one sooner rather than later.  They're only going one way and that's towards extinction.  At some point in the not-too-distant future they'll be fossils and I suspect incredibly expensive to own, run and maintain.

[GToddC5]

8 minutes ago, Twinfan said:

The only thing I'd say is that if you want a nice new, or nearly new, petrol car such as an RS3 you might want to buy or lease one sooner rather than later.  They're only going one way and that's towards extinction.  At some point in the not-too-distant future they'll be fossils and I suspect incredibly expensive to own, run and maintain.

Related - That's why I spec'd out the 7MT for my Bronco, because who knows when the manufacturers will stop offering manual transmissions with such low take rates nowadays.

[Twinfan]

Yep, exactly the reason I went all out for a Porsche GT4 allocation and went manual 

[Kowalski86]

..

[lee82gx2]

I am also pretty into Lego if you guys dig that. Its a different type of joy, and another deep pit to sink your cash into. Between that and RC, you have many ways to drive your spouse into irritation with the space and finance and time spent away from her. 

I was almost able to afford a fast car too. Until I realized I hardly have the time and space to unleash the horses where I live.

[GToddC5]

^ Oh yeah . . . I'm all too aware of the Lego money pit! I bought up a bunch before I got back into R/C, put a couple together, and now the rest will sit in storage while I chisel away at all these Tamiya kits that stole my interest and time.

[lee82gx2]

1 hour ago, GToddC5 said:

^ Oh yeah . . . I'm all too aware of the Lego money pit! I bought up a bunch before I got back into R/C, put a couple together, and now the rest will sit in storage while I chisel away at all these Tamiya kits that stole my interest and time.

oh my, we are so similar. Technics? 

[Mad Ax]

I grew up as a born petrolhead.  I was fascinated with cars from the moment I knew what they were.  I always felt that I'd have a life and possibly a career in cars.  But the scene bit me when I was in my early 20s, and the wound turned sour.  I was always trying to to the car scene on a budget, and always felt like I was behind everybody else.  I figured I'd save cash by doing the hard work myself, but never had the skills, the tools, or the weather cover to really do it properly, and my enthusiasm waned.  I did have a couple of nice cars that I was proud of, but what I mostly ended up with was heaps of debt and cars that were only good for the scrap heap.

RC has given me an opportunity to live my petrolhead dream in a small scale.  So I want to own a nice street car or hot rod?  I build one, and display it on my shelf.  I want to be a race driver?  I build a race car and go racing.  I want to be a race team owner?  I build support trucks and trailers and put my team name on them.  I want to go four-wheeling in the hills with my buddies for the weekend?  I go to the UK Scaler Nationals.

Yesterday I went to a big rig meet, almost on a whim.  Fortunately I'd driven my rigs not that long ago so I knew I had two trucks that were good to go, I just needed to charge some batteries.

It's been a while since I've been into the truck scene, but it seems to me the perfect hobby to keep me going into old age.  (I'm not there yet, I just turned 44, but with persistent back pain and what now looks like kidney problems, I feel old before my time).

I guess I'm not the only person thinking that, as there are generally more older members at the truck meets than younger ones.  I think of it like model trains but more sociable.  With more time in retirement to put into all the little details, plus things like 3D printing to make all those parts that can't be bought, it could be a great way to pass the days.  Plus there's far less running around than there is with racing, or the tricky terrain associated with the crawler scene.

I could have gone racing yesterday.  Actually I wanted to go racing.  But back pain plus severe abdominal pain from the suspected kidney problems put me off, so I went trucking, and I had a thoroughly fabulous day out

[GToddC5]

7 hours ago, lee82gx2 said:

oh my, we are so similar. Technics? 

Some yes, and stuff like Optimus Prime, Star Wars Mandalorian, Space Program, The Office, Seinfeld, etc. Then there's a few from the Block Zone because they make kits and even some r/c block kits for my 1:1 FJ40 and Bronco, so had to get those of course.

[87lc2]

I've been thinking the opposite lately, strangely enough.  I've always been into real cars, but they've pretty much been put on hold since my daughter was born and I got heavily into RC.  I'm still pretty young (40) and have lots of real car goals to accomplish in my life so I think its time to shift back to the real stuff.  Guess I just feel like no matter how many RCs I build, races I win, etc. it really amounts to nothing.  It can be fun at times, but doesn't give nearly the rush that the real thing can give you.  Going to get the old cars out in a few weeks when the weather warms up and see how I feel then.  Like the wind, my mind can change very quickly and without notice, haha.