Is Scale The New Thing?

All Hail Scale

I’m old. It isn’t my graying (or disappearing) hair that gives it away, though.1 It’s that I’ve been around RC since I was about 8 years old, and that makes a solid 34 years of my being, in some way, a part of this industry.2 I started out as a consumer dreaming about buying a Grasshopperto becoming a racer who stole to be able to afford it,3 working at a hobby shop and, eventually, in the media side of things. I’ve seen this hobby change over the years; I’ve seen the trends flip from on-road to off-road, electric to nitro, nitro to monster trucks, monster trucks to scale; I’ve even been around when oval racing was huge in the Northeast.4

I appreciate all the niches within our niche hobby, and I sometimes appreciate them before the companies themselves do. I vividly recall about 12 years ago, when I was running XRC Magazine, having a bigger company that specialized in both 1/8-scale and on-road nitro call me to let me know they weren’t happy with all the “crawler” coverage we offered. This coverage was during the prime 1/8-scale nitro boom, too. I had to laugh a bit, because one thing I appreciate is passion, and making a company work and stay in business requires next-level, bacon-flip passion.

I’m talking about this because I think it’s official that scale trucks, or trail trucks, have quietly become the most popular things // vehicles on the market.5 Sure-sure, you want the proof of the pudding, for your proof, and that occurred recently announced when Traxxas released its super-scale, all-new TRX4. That’s big news because Traxxas is as big and as mainstream as it gets. This new truck looks amazing, and we can’t wait to get our hands on one to test.

Trends don’t last forever, but right now, scale is hot.6 And we love it.

1. It is one big neon sign, though.
2. Sorry, industry; I’m like herpes–here today, and only hiding when you think I’m gone.
3. I was 14. Stupid … but true.
4. I’ve raced almost everything … except a dragster.
5. Or at least create the most passion.
6. And some may say now it’s over.