This is always my favorite article to put together at the end of the year. I love seeing which products made the cut this year — and which ones dropped off the list entirely. I hope it’s as much fun to read through as it is to put together. As always, this list is compiled by comparing our gross profit for each item in the store. The highest number earns the highest spot. It’s worth noting that because this is a cumulative total for the entire year, recent releases like the Hoss didn’t have had enough time to make the list. This isn’t a list of our favorite products, nor a list of the top products to release in 2020. These are simply the best performing products in our store this year. Now, without further ado, here is the Top Ten for 2020.

Notables

Sometimes a product has to suffer so others can thrive and sometimes a great product falls just a little short. Here’s a look at honorable mentions and some products that underperformed expectations, landing them outside of the top ten for the first time in years.

Boy, what a year. It started off on a pretty down note, with slow traffic and sales. In March, we announced the store was for sale, and only three weeks later we, along with most other Michigan businesses, got shut down due to the once-a-century global pandemic. Yet even after five weeks with no income, our customers kept us going to the point that we beat the goal for most of our months and are in a better financial position now than we have been in the last five years.

It’s been a crazy year with lots of ups and downs, so here’s our list of the top hits and misses of 2020 as they relate to our store and the hobby industry as a whole.

Miss #1: Horizon’s Spree of Discontinued Products

There are a lot of products I look back on fondly. The Blade mCX2 was one of the best-selling products in our store’s history, and it was as easy to fly as it was successful. The E-Flite Apprentice was one of the best beginner R/C aircraft we carried, and when that was discontinued, we brought in the Mini Apprentice instead. The Blade Inductrix was one of the smoothest drones we ever sold, the Hobbyzone Champ was a steal at its sub-$100 price point, and the ProBoat Recoil 26 was a great mid-sized brushless R/C boat that we had lots of success with.

What do the mCX2, the Mini Apprentice, Champ, Recoil 26, and Inductrix all have in common? They were discontinued in 2020.

Horizon’s slew of discontinued-yet-popular products dramatically reduced the number of quality options hobby shops have. There is nothing with which to fill these gaps, and while other products exist that may have some qualities of these bygone items, it’s a square-peg-round-hole situation.

We count on Horizon Hobby for many product lines, but that reliance has begun to have negative side effects, and with most of our other multi-brand distributors having unfavorable policies regarding returns and warranty claims, we have nothing left to fill the large void Horizon’s discontinued products have left, and that’s why Horizon’s slew of discontinued items is a big miss for 2020.

Miss #2: Everything is Backordered

While 2020 will turn out to be a good year for us, financially speaking, it could have been much better if we’d been able to get stock from our suppliers. We spent most of August with only one or two R/C trucks on the shelf. R/C boats were hard to come by. Paint, parts, R/C airplanes, and even balsa wood were in short supply at various times during the year.

This is a blameless problem, though, as the manufacturers of these products were struggling themselves. The shortage of supply wasn’t due to poor management or inept producers. It was simply impossible to keep up with the demand from hobby-hungry consumers with suddenly lot of time and (temporarily) generous unemployment checks coming in. People need hobbies to keep them busy and their minds occupied, but our industry wasn’t able to rise to the occasion on such short notice — no industry could.

So while it was frustrating for hobby shop and consumer alike, it was equally as frustrating to our suppliers. Everyone was working as hard as they could to simply lose as little ground as possible, and for all these reasons, the imbalance of supply and demand was a big miss for 2020.

Biggest Miss of 2020: Anti-Mask Rhetoric

I get it. No one likes to wear face masks. I don’t, our employees don’t, and consumers don’t. Nothing about this situation is fun or enjoyable. Yet in all 16 years I’ve worked in retail, the most stressful my job has ever been is having to enforce a mask policy that is intended to keep our staff and customers safe. I’ve been cursed at, I’ve had to ask people to leave our store, and the worst part is that I know I’ve had it easier than many retail workers around the country, because I haven’t been physically assaulted or worse.

I don’t really get the outrage, either. If I come over to your home, and you ask me to take my shoes off, it’s just general politeness that I follow your request; after all, it’s your house and you set the rules. The concept isn’t different for us. We require a mask that covers your mouth and nose be worn at all times in the store. We even practice what we preach; I’ve been wearing a mask for 8+ hours a day, 4-5 days a week since I came back to work in June. All we ask is that our customers show us the courtesy of following our rules when in our store. It shouldn’t be so controversial.

We’ll continue to enforce our mask policy until the medical professionals and the government declare it safe to relax. We’ll continue to follow best practices because we want to keep our store safe for staff and customers alike. The majority of our customers have been receptive to our policy, but it’s the outspoken and passionate few that can completely ruin someone’s day, and that’s why anti-mask rhetoric is by far the biggest miss of 2020.

HIT #1: The Traxxas Hoss Surprises

There are a lot of products that I’ve had to eat crow about. First was the Estes Proto X micro quadcopter. We sold a ton of them, but that never would have happened if I wasn’t talked into trying them out; I was convinced they would be garbage. Then there were the Traxxas iD LiPo batteries and chargers, which ended up cutting the number of bad LiPos we handled by around 80% — again, I needed to be cajoled into carrying them. The Hoss is just the latest in a line of products that I didn’t think would do well, yet turned out to be pretty good.

The Hoss came out at a time when little else was available, so we naturally ordered some even if just to have something on the shelf. Turns out the Hoss is a pretty good truck, and has sold quite well in the short time it’s been out. I was wrong about the Hoss — it’s a surprise hit for 2020.

Hit #2: Uptick in General Hobby Interest

I guess there’s nothing like a pandemic to rekindle interest in time-consuming hobbies. Plastic models and trains have seen big gains across the board this year as quarantine orders and lockdowns have kept people home.

It’s a shame it took a worldwide emergency for people to rediscover their love of model building and model trains, but hopefully, the silver lining of 2020 is a rejuvenation of these retro hobbies back into the mainstream.

2020 was the shot in the arm the hobby industry needed, and while it’s not how any of us would have chosen to improve sales, this increased interest certainly kept many hobby shops from throwing in the towel, and that is certainly a hit for 2020.

Biggest Hit of 2020: Surviving 2020

We went into last year’s Christmas season thinking it would be the last one Roger, Darlene, and I would be working here. We hoped to find a new owner, but even if we didn’t, we knew that 2019’s Christmas was the last one for us at Roger’s Hobby Center. It’s humorous to look back on now, but we were sure that was going to be true. Obviously, the universe had other plans for us.

It wasn’t a foregone conclusion that we’d survive the pandemic. January and February weren’t great months; only when the coronavirus began picking up steam here in the U.S. and people started panic buying hobby products before a potential lockdown did things start looking up, and then the lockdowns actually happened. We didn’t know what we were going to do; bills were going to keep coming whether or not we could open for business. For the first day or two, things looked bleak, but our partners really came through for us. Horizon Hobby offered a discount on outstanding invoices if paid right away, saving us a significant amount of money. Traxxas placed all of our outstanding invoices on hold until we could start bringing money in again. Our landlord generously worked with us on the rent, and we were lucky enough to get a PPP loan early on, along with a grant from the Saginaw Future Organization, which allowed us to provide for our employees after the closure was lifted.

Once we were able to open back up, our customers responded with overwhelming support. The month of May was entirely curbside-only, yet we still brought in more revenue than the previous May, and the trend continued for most of the months in 2020. Meanwhile, strict adherence to CDC-recommended best practices has kept us all COVID-19 free for the duration of the pandemic thus far, ensuring we haven’t had to close our doors due to the self-isolation of our staff.

This isn’t how I saw 2020 shaping up, and I’m sure no one reading this did either. Still, the fact we’re still here and I’m still writing this article means that your support has meant everything to us. You’ve kept us in business, even when it was easier and safer to order online. You kept showing up and making a difference. not just in our lives, but the lives of every single customer that has relied on us this year to keep their hands occupied and their time well-spent. So THANK YOU to every single one of our customers. We wouldn’t have survived 2020 without you.

I know it’s considered gauche to discuss Christmas before we’ve put away the pumpkins and candy, but unusual circumstances require unusual measures. In more ways than one, this year has been far beyond what any of us have experienced before, and it looks like that will carry into the Christmas season and beyond.

Shop Early!

All of the indicators show product supply being limited for Christmas more than usual. Many of you have noted that we aren’t yet fully stocked up again, and trust me, it’s not from lack of trying. Manufacturers in our industry have struggled to provide enough product to consumers hungry for something to occupy their time, and some companies, like Traxxas (rumor has it), are reportedly prioritizing hobby shops over online vendors, so you may have trouble finding products online. Then there are the shipping delays that can put your package out of reach past the holidays! Shopping with your local stores means you’re not competing with the entire country to get your item, and you’re more likely to get the perfect gift in time for the holidays. So your best shot for getting what you want for Christmas is to shop early with us. Here’s how we’re going to be handling it this year:

• If the item you’re looking for is out of stock at the manufacturer, we encourage you to reserve any back-ordered items through us to get your name on the list. Furthermore, we encourage those that can pay upfront to do so to secure their order.

• Orders will be filled in the following manner:

  • Paid in full orders, in chronological order

  • Unpaid orders, in chronological order

• Paid in Full orders will be held for customers indefinitely. Unpaid orders will be held for a week before being offered to the next customer in line.

• To avoid folks ordering more than they intend to purchase, we are implementing a special refund policy for Paid in Full orders that are canceled: a 10% cancellation fee will be deducted from the refund. This fee may be waived at our discretion.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to shop and order your items early; you are far, far more likely to get what you’re looking for that way. Traxxas has forewarned us that certain items, including very popular vehicles, are going to be hard to come by for at least the rest of the year, so shop early this year and give the gifts you want without settling for whatever’s available on Christmas Eve.

Covid-19 Polices Staying Put

Despite the governor’s executive orders being nullified by the Michigan Supreme Court, we have no intention of relaxing our Covid-19 policies until the medical community is largely agreed it is safe to do so. We will still require masks that cover both the mouth and nose at all times while banning masks with vents or valves. We will still limit the number of people in the store to five customers at a time, and our front door will continue to be locked during the day, both to help us maintain this limit and to protect our staff from those that get unruly when instructed to wear a mask.

We are still offering our curbside service to those that either don’t want to come in, can’t medically tolerate a mask, or refuse to wear a mask. If you fit into any of those categories, please feel free to take advantage of our curbside service by giving us a call when you arrive.

We understand that these policies are frustrating (believe me, it’s not fun to wear a mask for 8 hours a day), but they are necessary to keep our staff and customers safe, and we don’t anticipate relaxing these requirements any time soon.

No Black Friday Event

We will be open on Black Friday as usual. However, we do not have plans to participate in Black Friday sales or promotions this year. With everything going on, and the aforementioned limits on customers in the store, it doesn’t seem prudent or safe to encourage crowds of people to gather in or near our shop. At the same time, with availability scarce as it is, it doesn’t seem like a good idea to promise a sale and not being able to deliver on that promise due to a lack of inventory.

Ideally, folks will have already gotten their holiday gifts long before we’re carving turkey anyway!

Hopefully, this year’s holiday season will go as smoothly as possible, and we’ll be doing our best to ensure everyone gets what they are looking for. You can help us do that by shopping early and wearing a proper mask in the store, because the less time we have to be the mask police, the more time we can spend serving our customers and help everyone have the best Christmas morning possible!

As I am sure you are all aware, the now-pandemic COVID-19 virus is sweeping across the planet and the United States. There are, as of the date on this post, 25 confirmed cases in Michigan and many more suspected cases around the state. All schools in the state are closed for a few weeks, large events are being postponed and canceled, and many Michigan businesses are sending employees to work from home.

COVID-19 is effecting the hobby word as well. The popular Toledo Weak Signals R/C Expo has been canceled and many other events, like plastic model contests and train swap meets, have been canceled as well. As a retail business, though, Roger’s Hobby Center can’t have our employees work from home. We want to be here to help our community of hobbyists pass the time as joyfully as they can.

We are taking precautions to prevent the spread of this virus in our store, like instructing employees to wash their hands often, keeping surfaces and work areas cleaner, and limiting physical contact with customers — it’s nothing personal, but we won’t allow employees to shake hands for the duration of this crisis.

Finally, if you or someone in your household is sick, please stay home! Make arrangements with a friend or family member to stop in and get the hobby products you need. We are happy to take orders over the phone and have them ready for pickup, or even ship out items as necessary. Please help to keep our staff and your fellow hobbyists safe and stay home if you are ill.

This is, by all accounts, going to be a very tough few months for all of us. We want to help you make the best of the situation, and we need your help to ensure we can do that. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Permalink

]]>A Statement Regarding COVID-19A Critical LookBrianSat, 18 Jan 2020 19:30:00 +0000https://www.rogershobbycenter.com/from-behind-the-counter/2020/1/18/a-critical-look-faas-new-policy-effectively-kills-recreational-rc-aviation5005ba51c4aa8b4d97619d5f:56edbb6f554f012f991d750a:5e18f5e35182fc24fb5bb622

On December 26th, the FAA sent out its new proposed rule regarding the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) by civilian pilots. This covers R/C airplanes, drones, and helicopters. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that, if enacted, this policy will result in a mass exodus of R/C pilots from the hobby, and while it will provide an initial (and much needed) boost to AMA-chartered clubs, it’s obvious that the FAA hopes to see even AMA clubs dwindle and die in the long run.

First, a run down of the proposed rule. Primarily, the goal is to get as many aircraft as possible equipped with some sort of “Remote ID” technology that will allow the aircraft’s position to be seen by others, including those on the ground and in the air. This will more easily allow situational awareness for both unmanned and manned aircraft alike. The FAA outlined three options to comply with this requirement:

1. Standard Remote ID: This is the primary method the FAA would prefer aircraft use. It would require the aircraft broadcast it’s identification and location information directly from the aircraft, while also sending that information to a Remote ID service provider through an internet connection, using equipment on the the aircraft itself.

2. Limited Remote ID: This option would require the aircraft to fly no more than 400 feet from the controller and within line of sight of the operator. In this scenario, the aircraft would transmit its information through the internet alone — no broadcasting required. This would also be done with equipment on the aircraft.

3. FAA-Recognized Identification Areas: This is the provision that R/C pilots would have to abide by. It requires no special equipment on the aircraft, and no identification or location information needs to be broadcast, internet or otherwise. It limits flights to “community-based organization” sites that would be registered with the FAA.

The rule would also ban the production of any model aircraft that did not include the Remote ID technology, with only the exception of “amateur-built UAS, UAS of the United States government, and unmanned aircraft that weigh less than 0.55 pounds.” So companies like Horizon Hobby, for example, could no longer produce the popular E-Flite Timber without including all the technology necessary to comply with these rules.

Technology, which by the way, doesn’t exist yet. Oh, and something else that doesn’t exist? The Remote ID Service Providers they reference in the first and second options. The FAA admits these core pillars have yet to be developed, but still wishes to require compliance with these rules within three years of the proposed rule being adopted. I don’t know how all research and development works, but it seems a little fast to require all manufacturers stop selling non-Remote ID-equipped products just two years after the rule goes into effect.

You might look at this and think it will be good for AMA-chartered clubs, and yeah, at first it probably will be. Without being able to fly in your backyard, if you want to continue on with the hobby, you’ll need to join a club — assuming their field is actually recognized by the FAA, since there is no guarantee they will recognize every current field or flying site. In fact, they state explicitly, “The FAA assumes that all Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) flying sites will submit requests to become FAA-recognized identification areas, and that 90 percent of the requests will be approved.” According to the AMA’s website, it currently charters nearly 2,400 clubs. That’s 240 currently active flying fields that the FAA is prepared to shut down after the proposal is adopted.

Continue on in the document and the truly sinister intent of the FAA appears. “The FAA is proposing to accept applications for FAA-recognized identification areas within 12 calendar months of the effective date of a final rule. At the end of that 12-month period, no new applications for FAA-recognized identification areas would be accepted. After that date, the number of FAA-recognized identification areas could therefore only remain the same or decrease. Over time, the FAA anticipates that most UAS without remote identification will reach the end of their useful lives or be phased out. As these numbers dwindle, and as compliance with remote identification requirements becomes cheaper and easier, the number of UAS that need to operate only at FAA-recognized identification areas would likely drop significantly (link).”

So the FAA is fighting a war of attrition against model aircraft clubs. They are gambling on the hobby going away entirely, more or less. And guess what? They probably are correct, because complying with the new law is onerous enough that most current (and I’d wager the vast majority of potential) R/C pilots will drop the hobby. If simply registering one’s self with the government was "an undue burden”, then what will they think of the new proposal?

Speaking of registration, under the new proposal a pilot wouldn’t have to register just themselves as a pilot, but each and every aircraft the rule would apply to. This includes make, model, and even serial number. For custom-built aircraft, the builder’s name and a made-up model would suffice. Additionally, there would be a fee for each aircraft registered, and for most hobbyist pilots, those costs could add up quickly, though the FAA “would explore ways to minimize the registration fee when multiple aircraft are registered at the same time.” Still, every aircraft purchased after that initial registration would likely cost the full amount.

Also glossed over is the new requirement that you “subscribe” to a Remote ID service provider. How much will that add to the cost of operating a model aircraft? The FAA estimates it could be as much as $5.00 per month. In one of the example scenarios, they mention using one’s internet-connected smartphone to send the information to the Remote ID provider, but how much data will that use up? What about people who don’t have smartphones or internet connections?

Just how much is this new policy going to nickel-and-dime already cash-strapped hobbyists? Can they even afford to continue with — or begin — the hobby?

See, I think that’s the point. This is as much about reducing the amount of aircraft in the sky as it is about keeping everyone safe. The FAA knows that once the technology matures for mass commercial use of drones, there’s more money in big corporations owning the sky than little hobby enthusiasts. So without just coming out and saying it, the FAA is trying to kill of the recreational model aircraft hobby.

I know what you’re thinking. “Well, how are they going to enforce it? I’m just going to keep flying, I don’t care what the government says.” To be sure, it’s going to be difficult to enforce, and by the way the proposal reads, the FAA seems to think the vast majority of users will just obey the law. Still, as more and more aircraft comply with requirements one and two above, traditional model aircraft will stand out because they won’t be shown on the publicly-available website that would show current UAS operations in a given area. While finding the operator wouldn’t be a cakewalk, it would be considerably easier to do if you could know for sure at a glance if the aircraft was operating legally. As enforcement gets easier, you’re more likely to get caught and fined.

Sadly, as club fields disappear over time, there won’t be anywhere for most amateur builders to fly, and they will stop building. Companies created around the concept of building R/C aircraft, like SIG, will die due to lack of sales. Some manufacturers will focus on aircraft under the minimum weight of 0.55lbs and do alright. Some might even thrive. But overall, with far fewer people enjoying the hobby, most aircraft-centric manufacturers and retailers will cease to exist, and with them, a pastime enjoyed for generations.

Luckily — or unluckily, depending on which way you see it — this won’t have much effect on us. R/C aircraft sales are already down to historic depths, and this year was the first year that plastic models overtook R/C aircraft in both gross revenue and gross margin. The R/C aviation hobby died for us years ago, and is, sadly, continuing to wither away. We’d held out hope for a revival in the coming years, but now that light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be a train heading our way.

If there is a silver lining, it’s that this is just a proposal. The FAA has to allow for public comment on this proposal, and you can have your voice heard. The various links in this article take you to the proposal’s page, where you can find out how to leave a comment for the FAA, but don’t stop there. Write your member of Congress and Senators. Write to the President. Make as much noise to the right people as you can. It might not be enough, but then again, sometimes miracles happen.

Since 2012, we’ve been publishing a Top Ten list every year, looking at the most profitable products we carry here at Roger’s Hobby Center. It’s a list many in the industry read, especially manufacturers. Our contacts at places like Horizon Hobby, Great Planes, and Traxxas have, over the years, called us to discuss the list once published, asking about specific products and trends. It’s always a fun list to put together and discuss.

With the close of the decade, I thought it would be fun to look back at the last ten years and find the Top Ten Products of the Decade. We had to delve back into the records, and find data on sales from the years before we published the list, and even some of the data from the early years of the list had been lost. Through a long process of going through stacks of paper records, we’re able to bring to you the Top Ten Products of the Decade, based on gross margin profit.

This is always my favorite article to put together at the end of the year. I love seeing which products made the cut this year — and which ones dropped off the list entirely. I hope it’s as much fun to read through as it is to put together. As always, this list is compiled by comparing our gross profit for each item in the store. Highest number earns the highest spot. it’s worth noting that because this is a cumulative total for the entire year, recent releases like the Maxx probably won’t have had enough time to make the list. This isn’t a list of our favorite products, nor a list of the top products to release in 2019. These are simply the best performing products in our store for 2019. Now, without further ado, here is the Top Ten for 2019.

Notables

There are a lot products that didn’t make the cut this year. Some of them deserve an honorable mention. Others deserve to be discussed because they weren’t on the list. Let’s talk about them!

A Brighter Future

One thing we do behind the scenes here is tabulate up just how much, in total, the top ten products made this year. While it’s far from the full picture of our entire store, it’s possible to see a pattern emerge in the trends. This year’s top ten products absolutely demolished last year’s list in terms of profit, which means sales were up (prices didn’t change much, if at all, between the two years) and represents a five year high watermark in terms of profitability. That kind of information helps us to make informed choices about what products we want to stock, and also provides a welcome, sunnier picture of the future of our store!

Aircraft

Once again, not a single aircraft made it onto the top twenty-five. As R/C aircraft sales are now lower than plastic model sale on a per-month basis, it’s no wonder there wasn’t a single standout product. With the last time anything aircraft related landed in the Top Ten being the Dromida Vista FPV’s 8th place finish in 2016, the future looks dim indeed for the R/C aircraft hobby, and even more so with the FAA looking to require real-time ID technology on all aircraft in the near future.

Traxxas Velineon Systems

Last year, the Velineon Brushless combo ranked 14th on our list — not good enough to place, but not bad. This year, it’s nowhere to be seen on the top twenty-five. Meanwhile, sales on vehicles already equipped with brushless motors and ESCs increased, and I think the latter explains the former. If people are already buying the trucks with the Velineon system equipped, there’s no need to purchase the combo. Ultimately, this is probably a good thing, as it means more people are seeing the value in brushless equipment up front.

No Non-Traxxas Products

This is the first year we have had only a single brand name on the list: Traxxas. Even last year, we had a couple of products from other vendors, but 2019, as it turns out, was the year Traxxas erased all other brands from the top ten. Other brands made the top 25, to be sure, but Traxxas reigns supreme on our top ten list. If you look back at the previous top ten lists, this is clearly due to the recession of aircraft as a primary category for us. We’ve always carried Traxxas, but without customers demanding airplanes, drones, and helicopters, which we source from Horizon Hobby and others, those products and the products that support them just don’t sell as well as they used to.

And just like that, another year is in the books. What’s going to sell well in the new year? What new products might make the list at the end of 2020? We’ll have to wait and see.

We just unboxed the new Traxxas Maxx and, boy, do we have some first impressions.

NOTE: We have not actually run the truck. Our display model is just that: for display. So our first time out with the truck will likely be after we sell through our pre-orders. These first impressions are from simply examining the truck.

As always, Traxxas outfitted the truck with a slick paint job, and the matching orange aluminum shocks look great. I love the little details, like the tiny plastic hoops built into the chassis and shock towers — designed expressly for zip-ties to secure the optional lightbar’s wiring. Those kind of little touches and attention to detail are rare in the industry, and it’s great to see it here. The truck looks mean and highly-bashable.

My first impression, though, was “This is smaller than I thought it would be”. The Maxx seems closer to the Stampede 4x4 in size than, say, the late E-Maxx platform. I shouldn’t have been surprised, as it only runs a 4S LiPo battery, but even so, the truck seems smaller in person than it appeared in Traxxas’ video comparing it to its larger cousin, the X-Maxx. If you’re looking for the Maxx to be a replacement for the E-Maxx, temper your expectations.

While the Maxx is based on the X-Maxx’s design, it does not appear to share any actual parts in common with its namesake. Everything is new and unique — meaning a new line of parts to carry for hobby shops. Additionally, those that enjoy using other brands of electronics, like servos for example, will be disappointed to learn the Maxx’ servo is an entirely proprietary design, and it’s going to be difficult to use anything else in the Maxx — if not impossible without some custom machining. Edit: I was contacted by Traxxas and informed that part number TRA7749 will allow the use of standard servos on both the X-Maxx, which I knew, and the Maxx, which I did not know!

The tires, while on 1/10th scale standard 2.8” rims, are larger than even the 2.8” Pro-Line Trenchers; while the Pro-Line tires would work fine with the truck (once switched out with the 17mm hex hubs), it’s disappointing Traxxas chose to invent yet another tire size instead of sticking with industry-standard measurements. If you want tires that match the diameter of the Maxx’s, the stock ones are, to my knowledge, the only option at the moment.

Make no mistake — I’m excited for the Maxx’s product launch. It’s the first brand-new truck from Traxxas since last year’s Rustler 4x4, and I think it will find its place in the market without a problem. I suspect the Stampede 4x4 VXL sales will diminish over time as the Maxx becomes the de facto 1/10th scale standard monster truck, but that’s no great loss. The Maxx looks and feels like another solid entry in the Traxxas lineup, but it’s not really a ground-breaking truck. A few of its quirks keep me from being entirely astonished, but it will bring a whole new level of fun to the backyard when it comes out mid-October.

Click on images to expand.

TRA89076-4 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Based around the popular X-Maxx chassis & design

• Features Traxxas' TSM® - better handling through technology!

• Heavy-duty suspension arms resist breaking even in cold weather

• Traxxas VXL-4S Brushless System w/ built-in telemetry features*

• Heavy-Duty 17mm Hex Hubs with 2.8” wheels

• 2.4GHz Traxxas TQi Radio system provides no-hassle R/C fun

• Torque-biasing center drive and shock absorbing cush drive

• High ground clearance means grass is no problem!

• 55+ MPH out of the box, capable of 60+ MPH

Required to Complete

• 3S or 4S LiPo Battery w/ Traxxas iD Connector

• Ez-Peak Live or Ez-Peak Live Dual charger

• 4x AA Batteries

*Requires the optional TQi Wireless Module — sold separately.

A couple of years ago, I wrote an article examining a new policy from Traxxas: a complete lock-down of their high-current connectors. I warned of a coming crisis and feared how the hobby industry would react. There are many ways in which that article and I were wrong, and we’re going to talk about just how wrong I was and why my perceived future never came to pass.

The Initial Fear

When Traxxas told me they were no longer going to sell their connectors to dealers and other battery-makers, I was aghast. The industry I had grown up in for the past thirteen years was one of interoperability; a battery from Team Associated would, ostensibly, work in a Team Losi buggy equipped with a Futaba servo driven by a Hitec radio system. It was an industry that operated on the basis of standards that, so long as they were adhered to, allowed hobbyists to focus on getting the best parts and accessories, regardless of the manufacturer. It also allowed hobby shops to carry a slimmer selection of items that worked across the board.

Traxxas’ announcement threw a huge wrench in that intricate system of interoperability, forcing shops into carrying two categories of batteries — one for Traxxas products, and one for everything else. Operating costs would go up, and even worse, with a near monopoly on their connectors, I was certain Traxxas would raise prices on hobby shops and consumers alike. After all, that’s how monopolies work, right?

So why didn’t all of that happen?

Traxxas Rose Above

First and foremost, Traxxas didn’t act like a monopoly. Prices on their LiPo batteries came down instead of going up. Supply was rarely, if ever limited, and Traxxas stepped up as a business partner, offering the same great customer service for LiPo battery replacement as they did for everything else. At the same time, the batteries we usually carried, Horizon’s Dynamite Reaction line, went up in price to the point where Traxxas’ offerings were cheaper than our traditional surface batteries. Finally, Traxxas standardized their LiPos’ capacities inline with other manufacturers, streamlining our ability to transition.

We ended up switching over almost completely to Traxxas’ iD battery system, partly because it was easier and partly because we stopped carrying most other brands for R/C surface vehicles. With all the trouble we’d had selling items from Losi and Axial (the last two non-Traxxas car brands to regularly grace our shelves), it didn’t make sense to continue to support vehicles that didn’t sell with batteries that didn’t sell either.

The Other Shoe: Hobbico’s Implosion

What I couldn’t have foreseen in mid-2017 was just how bad it would get for Hobbico. It wasn’t until later in the year we understood how bad things had gotten, and by early-April of 2018, Hobbico was gone and most of the company was purchased by their primary competitor, Horizon Hobby.

Horizon’s position as the sole big-time distributor in the hobby industry emboldened their leadership, and in the following months, they began a process to rid themselves of their new primary antagonist — Traxxas. The rivalry between the two companies continues to this day, as they are competing for the only thriving segment of the R/C world: cars and trucks. My concerns about a siloing effect from Traxxas’ connector policy were justified; Horizon’s Spektrum now has their own version of Traxxas’ iD technology, and in some ways, it’s more impressive (the self-storage feature is something special). I’d like to see some of these innovations replicated on within Traxxas’ iD system, but unless Horizon can pair their new SMART system with a reboot of their surface vehicles, they aren’t going to repeat Traxxas’ success.

Looking Ahead

In 2017, I was worried about Traxxas being a bad business partner and pulling the rug out from under us. Those concerns ended up being misplaced; from my perspective, Traxxas has been nothing but a help to our business in the past couple years. There will always be policies I disagree with — no matter how in sync our two companies are — but overall, Traxxas’ choice, instead of being a devastating blow to our business, turned out to be a boon for us and our customers. LiPo battery returns are down by an estimated 70% - 80% compared with Dynamite’s Reaction line, our revenue and margins have been largely unaffected, and making the sale is simpler on account of needing less adapters and dongles. As Traxxas continues to produce successful product release after successful product release, the future for Traxxas, its hobby shops, and the Traxxas user community looks bright.

In the fifteen-ish years I’ve been working here at Roger’s, I’ve worked with dozens of people. Like most retail businesses, our workforce is largely composed of young kids working their way through high school or college, and once graduated, they move on to bigger and better things.

Last week saw us saying goodbye to David Baldwin as he took a job in-line with his firefighting passion, and next week, Jayden will also be exiting for an internship at Nexteer. Both of these guys have been with us for a few years now, and it’s sad to see them go — but of course, they have to make their own path in life, and we wish them well on their future journey.

As one might imagine, this leaves us with a few gaps in our workforce, and as a result, we are hiring. Qualified candidates should be available during the day and weekends, be prepared to interact with the general public all day, and have prior radio-controlled car knowledge; experience in our other hobby categories is nice, but R/C car/truck knowledge and experience is critical as that is our primary category these days. See our Job Opportunities page for more information.

If you meet these requirements, stop in and pick up an application or submit a résumé; we don’t offer online applications or résumé submissions as we prefer to handle things face-to-face.

Our best well-wishes to David and Jayden as they move forward in their lives!

In today’s fast-paced world, there’s no shortage of online retailers ready and willing to sell you the exact same products we carry here at Roger’s Hobby Center. They might have slightly lower prices, free shipping options, and could even be more convenient. So that begs the question: why are we here? What do we have to offer over the modern competition? Why, exactly, do we think you’d be better off buying from us?

It’s simple. Hobbies are hard to get into, and we can offer you guidance and support you can’t get online -- or from many of our local competitors, for that matter. There are many things to learn, jargon to parse, and the proper safe practices to master. No one from Amazon is going to help you figure out why your charger isn’t working. An online vendor certainly isn’t going to help you pick out the right paint for your new plastic model, and when you need help with getting your train layout wired up, some random hobby website won’t take the time to draw up the diagrams with you.

Our thirty-five years (and counting) of solid hobby service may not be the only way to experience the hobby industry for the first time, but we’d argue it’s the best way, because throughout your time bashing around your R/C truck, crafting your historically accurate model train layout, flying your favorite R/C airplane, or building a plastic model of your very first car, we’re here to guide and support you every step of the way – and we can do it face to face, in living color! No online retailer can come close to that level of service.

Our commitment to helping people with hobbies doesn’t end when you walk out the door, either — even if you’ve never stepped foot in our store, we strive to be of service. Whether through our extensive collection of support and troubleshooting guides, phone calls from across the country, or emails from around the world, we try to help everyone that comes to us for help. For example, our Guide to Understanding LiPo Batteries was visited more than three hundred thousand times in 2018, from countries across the globe. We’re here for everyone.

Then there’s the issue of buying something online and mistakenly ending up with a piece of junk. With the endless supply of cheap radio-controlled products out there, it’s like trekking through a minefield just to end up purchasing something that won’t break the moment you take it out of the box and has good aftermarket support. When you’re purchasing from us, you can be sure we’ve done the research and made sure the products we sell live up to our exceptional standards – and the same goes for the companies our products come from.  We know that even the best quality control will sometimes allow a defective product to fall through the cracks, but we also know that whenever that happens, we can and will get our customers taken care of, thanks to the excellent company we keep.

While we stay competitive on price, we also pride ourselves on going the extra mile on service. So even though we can’t promise you’ll never find a better price, we’re confident we provide more value per dollar spent than any of our competitors.

Look, we know you work hard for your money. Everyone's working more, making less, and trying to stretch their buck. We will always fight to make doing business with us worth your time and money. If you stop in and don't leave completely satisfied with our commitment to providing the best service, we appreciate that you gave us a shot and it’s on us for falling short. We know we can't please everyone, but that's never stopped us from trying. So, stop on in and say hello; we look forward to serving you!

But don’t just take our word for it. Read some of the things people are saying about us online:

2018 was, by any metric I could use, a disappointing year at best. Instead of dwelling on the past, however, let’s put on our rose-colored glasses and look into the future — a bright and prosperous future for the hobby industry as a whole, and our store in particular. What does this utopian future look like? Let’s talk about that.

Traxxas Fills Out Their Product Line

When you look at Traxxas’ product catalog, there doesn’t seem to be any real gaps in coverage, and that impression is correct; Traxxas doesn’t have any major vehicle types or genres they aren’t producing vehicles in. Sure, they don’t have an 8th scale buggy, and they don’t offer a rock racer or solid-axle monster truck, but those are small niche products that Traxxas usually doesn’t indulge in (the Funny Car notwithstanding). In fact, one would be hard pressed to think of a place Traxxas could pivot to… until one looks at their anemic R/C boat options.

Traxxas has the small Blast, a brushed-motor-powered 24” speed boat, then they jump up to the Spartan, a 36” brushless speed-demon capable of reaching speeds of 50+ MPH, and the similarly-spec’d DCB M41 catamaran. There is nothing in between the beginner-friendly Blast and the hyper-powered Spartan, and that seems like a gap Traxxas could fill — and they need to, because if Traxxas wants to make a play to be an exclusive brand for hobby shops, they need to have a complete product line, and there are plenty of people out there than aren’t interested in the high price points required to break into the Spartan, which totals over $650 once you tack on the batteries and charger required to operate it. A 26” to 29” brushless-powered Deep-V with 2S-3S operation would be a perfect choice to fill that space, offering hobby shops more avenues to push Traxxas batteries and chargers without being obscenely expensive.

Similarly, Traxxas currently offers their 4S LiPo batteries and Ez-Peak Live chargers, yet the only vehicle they field capable of using these batteries is the X-Maxx. There is certainly room for a boat larger than the Spartan or M41 that runs on two 4S LiPos. If Horizon Hobby can have success with their larger boats, there’s no reason to think Traxxas can’t either.

I don’t have any ideas for what Traxxas should do with their R/C car line (well, maybe a 1/24 scale TRX-4?), but I think expanding their boat catalog a little more would make them a more attractive ProBoat-alternative for hobby shops and consumers alike.

Distributor Mega-Merger

After Hobbico’s bankruptcy and liquidation, there was left standing only one major hobby distributor: Horizon Hobby. Horizon’s minimum order — that is, the minimum amount we have to spend to make an order shippable — is $100, and since Horizon carries many of the items we need for our store, we have no trouble meeting that minimum. However, because Horizon doesn’t carry everything we need, we are forced to deal with other, smaller distributors as well, and this is where we have a problem. Each distributor has their own minimum order threshold, and sometimes it’s difficult to make an order shippable in a timely fashion. Additionally, there’s the issue of shipping costs that increase significantly if we have to order from a multitude of companies.

One elegant solution to this issue would be a mega-merger of three unique distributors into a Horizon-sized distributor. Specifically, I’d like to see Stevens International, Walther’s Trains, and Hobby Recreation Products (HRP for short) merge together. Stevens would provide the plastic models and rockets, Walther’s would obviously bring their massive train inventory to the table, and HRP would cover the radio control segment of the market, leaving little gaps in inventory coverage and providing hobby shops with another one-stop-shopping destination. This would both challenge Horizon’s dominant position in the market, and help dealers meet their minimum orders and lower shipping costs. While I’d say generally more independent companies leads to more competition, there’s little-to-no overlap between these three distributors, and bringing them together solves so many problems facing small hobby shops today. Go ahead and file this one under “Never Gonna Happen”, but I’d still like to think it could.

Major Changes at Horizon Hobby

It’s no secret 2018 wasn’t a great year for our relationship with Horizon Hobby. As I stated before (many, many, many times), I feel like Horizon is claiming to be the best friend of the small hobby shop while simultaneously enacting policies that, whether by design or not, end up harming small hobby shops. Given the unfortunate news of former Horizon Hobby CEO Joe Ambrose’s passing, there will be new leadership at Horizon in 2019. Here are a few things I’d like to see them do.

Let 2019 Be a Rebuilding Year

Yeah, Horizon had a messy 2018, and their messaging around their now-overflowing product line became, well, muddled. It seems like Horizon doesn’t care whether you buy an ARRMA or an ECX vehicle, as long as you buy something. That line of thinking, however, can leave customers confused. Why offer so many lines? Surely it must be more expensive than paring down the selection, right?

So I think Horizon should scrap it all. Axial, ECX, ARRMA, Losi, Vaterra, Revolution, Dromida… all of it. Maybe TLR can stick around, since they are so different than everything else, but nothing else surface stays. Cherry pick the best vehicles out of each line (for instances, keep the SCX10II, the Kraton, the Tenacity line, etc) and rebrand them under a single name: Horizon R/C. Equip everything with your new Spektrum SMART battery system. Price them competitively, but don’t worry about being cheaper than Traxxas, just price them where they need to be for you to start producing a galactic crap-ton of aftermarket accessories and hop-ups.

This tactic will certainly have some short term, immediate pain, and likely spark a backlash from each brand’s “loyal” following, but that will die down in a matter of months as they find other things to be upset about. In the long run, though, stores that like the simple messaging and streamlined product offerings of Traxxas might just migrate over to Horizon, especially ones in the Midwest, for whom it takes longer to get Traxxas products than it does Horizon’s. Want some of our Traxxas money flowing back to Horizon? Build me a surface line I can support and that can sustain my business — which would be an improvement over your current business model.

Make Horizon Great Again

I remember when Horizon was super-easy to get along with, and basically if I needed something, my sales reps would do anything they could to make it happen. That has not been my experience with Horizon for more than a year. Most of my conversations with Horizon now (when they happen at all) are in regards to things they can’t or won’t do for us. “Mix-and-Match pricing is disappearing, sorry”. “Oh, that contract pricing you were getting? Yeah, that’s not working for us anymore”. Programs we liked and used, like the Employee Purchase Program? Gone. Generous terms on holiday orders? Nowhere to be found.

Horizon used to be the best company to work with in the hobby industry, and it’s well past time it return to its former glory. Let us have the sales rep we get along with. Bring back policies we liked. Focus on us, and not only your bottom line. Treat us like you’d like to be treated if you were on the other side of the situation. All I want is the Horizon of five years ago back — and that shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish.

Those are some of the things I’d like to see happen in 2019. Most, if not all, of them are unlikely to come to pass, but that shouldn’t stop us from constantly pondering on how the hobby industry could be improved. We’re always thinking about, and trying, new things we can do to make the hobby experience of our customers the best experience it can possibly be, and big distributors and manufacturers should be — and likely are — doing the same. It’s easy to get complacent, and hard to change, but only through change can we grow and adapt into the industry our customers need us to be.

What do you want to see out of 2019? Let us know on our Facebook page! Just look for the post about this article and sound off!

Traxxas has emerged as one of the most influential companies of the hobby industry in the modern era. They tower above all other individual R/C surface manufacturers, and even Horizon Hobby, with its multiple brands and worldwide status, seems to be trailing Traxxas in product innovation and dominance in the world of R/C cars and trucks. With Traxxas’ sizeable influence on the overall hobby market, let’s look at some things Traxxas could do that will further shake up the industry. Whether these hypothetical actions are good or bad is a matter of perspective, but there’s no doubt, if enacted, they would cause quite the stir.

Connector Lock-Down

The current situation with Traxxas’ connectors is simple: only Traxxas can manufacture and equip their iD plugs onto their batteries. No third-party company has access to, nor has successfully reverse-engineered (to the best of my knowledge), Traxxas’ iD tech. If you want to buy a Traxxas electric vehicle, and you don’t want to buy Traxxas’ batteries, you only have a few options:

1. You can purchase a knock-off adapter from Traxxas’ connector to something else, like a Deans or EC3.

2. You can purchase Venom LiPos with their UNI 2.0 plugs.

3. You can remove the Traxxas connector and solder on something else.

4. You can run a different speed control.

That’s it. Those are your four options. Surprisingly, Traxxas has not initiated patent litigation with any of the knock-off producers, even though Traxxas has a proven track record as a fairly litigious company when it comes to their patents. In light of this, I’ve sat around and asked myself: why? Why isn’t Traxxas immediately going after all these patent violators, especially after ceasing sales of their legacy connectors? I have an answer, and these actions, if taken will further silo Traxxas off from the rest of the hobby world.

It’s simple, really. All Traxxas has to do to render the first three options moot is update their speed controls such that they require the iD chip to function.

It’s brilliant. In one fell swoop, Traxxas can eliminate most of the competition and actually improve on user safety, because this won’t just be a way to stop all the knock-off products — Traxxas will use this opportunity to have the speed controls use the iD chip to set the Low-Voltage Detection; on for LiPos, and off for NiMH batteries. Obviously this will greatly improve user’s safety and protect their batteries, but simply put, Traxxas couldn’t get away with cutting off all other batteries without something to point at and say “Look! It’s all in the name of safety!”, as they did when they brought out iD, as they did when they refused to license the iD technology, and as they did when they first cut off the connector supply.

On the other hand, since we switched over to Traxxas’ iD batteries and chargers, we’ve seen a tremendous drop in the number of LiPo batteries our customers are having trouble with, and the quantity of batteries we’ve swapped under warranty has plummeted. Further automating the process of using a LiPo battery, by having the Low-Voltage Detection activated whenever a LiPo battery is plugged into the speed control, would surely cause an even further drop in LiPo issues among users.

Does Traxxas need to do this to maintain their spot at the top? Not at all — but mark my words, they will.

Online No More

I was once concerned Traxxas would abandon their traditional hobby store network and begin selling to the big box stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart, in large part due to aforementioned iD technology. The easier the hobby gets, the theory goes, the less consumers need the help and support of knowledgeable experts like us. In some cases this did happen; Traxxas is sold at Best Buy in Canada. However, Traxxas recently restructured its dealer discount tiers, and in doing so, made it clear: Traxxas is doubling down on the home-grown hobby shop, and in particular, brick-and-mortar hobby stores.

Early in 2018, Traxxas announced a couple new Rally cars. Truthfully, I’m not really interested in the cars themselves, as rally cars haven’t sold well for us historically. What does peak my interest, though, is a line in the announcement email: “These models are offered exclusively through Traxxas Full-Service Dealers and Traxxas.com”.

Doesn’t sound like a big deal until you realize that to be a “Traxxas Full-Service Dealer”, you need to do 70% or more of your total sales in-store, meaning online retailers that don’t have a physical presence, or other retailers like A-Main Hobbies, who do the majority of their sales online, won’t have the opportunity to carry this product, leaving it for the traditional hobby shop around the country to carry it. While it’s true that Traxxas.com will also sell the car, Traxxas does their damnedest to send consumers to the closest hobby shop whenever possible.

Could this be the beginning of Traxxas’ version of Horizon’s ECX as a hobby shop exclusive? Of all the companies that claim to be in the brick-and-mortar hobby shops’ corner, Traxxas walks the walk more than anyone, and this could be a sign they are testing the waters with an even more aggressive way to send business to their dealer network.

All I know is that if I were an online-only Traxxas retailer, I’d start getting a little worried right about now.

Achievement Hunting

We all like to get a little recognition for accomplishing things. Whether it was getting a gold star on you elementary school homework, accepting a trophy for that bowling tournament you placed third in, or performing a particular action in a video game, in one way or another, we’re all achievement hunters. Traxxas already has a smartphone app that takes the telemetry data from any vehicle with the sensors equipped and displays it on the screen. What if it did more than just show you your top speed and battery voltage?

Traxxas could leverage their technological infrastructure to create a social-media connected achievement system. With their current suite of sensors, they could have achievements for fastest Slash or fastest X-Maxx. Maybe with the GPS unit installed they could have an achievement for more campsites driven in, or most well-travelled TRX-4. If Traxxas added more sensors, like a barometer, they could introduce a highest jump category for each truck. There could even be achievements for certain upgrades, like doing a Power-Up to their Velineon brushless system, or adding aluminum hop-ups to make the truck more durable.

Expanding it outward, imagine a series of leaderboards: one for the entire globe, one for each country, and one custom leaderboard for your group of friends. Every time you nab a new achievement or grab first place on the leaderboard, the Traxxas app could send out a message on Facebook or Twitter promoting your accomplishment. Traxxas even has the best name for the new service: Traxxas Underground.

What better way could there be to make even more money on trucks, parts, and hop-ups than to this? There’s always been a “keeping up with the Joneses” aspect to the hobby among friends, but tapping into the social media obsession we all have these days could supercharge the competition, leading to more sales for Traxxas and hobby shops alike. So Traxxas, when you implement this and make a whole bunch of money, send me a check, alright? ;-)

Everyone loves lists, right? I'm pretty sure there are entire websites (cough cough Buzzfeed cough cough) built on that concept. Well, we love lists too, and so it's time to go over our Top Ten Products of 2018!

Like every year, the list is devised using margin (profit) dollars, so the list isn't all car parts, glue, and paint — and while the words accompanying the products are opinion, how they placed isn't something we change for editorial purposes or bias, so let’s dive into our top money-makers this year and see what our customers have been demanding throughout the year.

Spoiler: to the surprise of no one at all, this year’s list features Traxxas quite heavily, but there are a few items on the list we didn’t see coming.

#10: Traxxas 5000mAh 3S 25C iD LiPo Battery

TRA2872X by Traxxas

Key Features

• Traxxas iD Connector works seamlessly with Traxxas chargers

• 1-Year Warranty

• Oversized discharge tabs for minimal resistance

• Flexible 12AWG wires

• Semi-rigid design

• Exclusively designed for a factory fit in Traxxas models

Position Last Year: N/A

What a year for batteries! With three of them making the list, and even more placing in the Top 25 (see below), 2018 was truly the year of the LiPo. While these Traxxas-branded batteries only place 10th, it’s still an impressive feat, as we only started carrying them halfway through the year. With an uphill climb against the incumbent Dynamite Reaction LiPos, these batteries proved that when running a Traxxas truck, a Traxxas battery is the prefered choice.

A good price point, the easy-to-use iD technology, and solid performance lands this Traxxas LiPo in 10th place.

#9: Traxxas Stampede (2WD)

TRA36054-1 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Steel gear transmission is brushless-power ready

• 2.4Ghz Radio, 8.4v NiMH Battery included

• ~45 Minute DC Charger included

• High-torque steering servo provides superior turning ability

• Revo-spec Torque-Control slipper clutch system

• High ground clearance means grass is no problem!

• Upgradable to brushless motor technology

• 30+ MPH out of the box

Required to Complete

• 4x AA Batteries for transmitter

Position Last Year: 9th

With a late surge thanks to the Christmas season, the Stampede 2WD forces its way onto the list, capturing the same spot it held a year ago. This is thanks to its appealing price point, high ground clearance, and monster truck aesthetic. The Stampede has been a fan favorite for decades, and it continues to enjoy good sales even today.

With a bevy of upgrades and hop-ups, the Stampede is a great way for anyone, young or old, to break into the radio controlled hobby. It’s fun, durable, and performs some awesome wheelies. Charge up your battery and go for a fun drive with the Traxxas Stampede, which finishes the year in 9th position.

#8: Kinexsis KX80 Charger

Position Last Year: 7th

The Kinexsis KX80 takes everything you need in a charger and delivers it for a great price point. It's more flexible than the Traxxas EZ-Peak Plus, since it can charge more than two kinds of batteries, and it's more powerful too, delivering twice the wattage of its Texas-based competition. Still, that wasn't enough to overcome the popularity of the EZ-Peak, and the KX80 fell a spot.

While this will likely be the last year the KX80 appears on the list (a new, cheaper charger from Dynamite has stolen it’s spot on our shelves), chargers like the KX80 are a staple in our store. Whether you fly planes, run cars (non-Traxxas, of course), or float boats, the KX80 can be the charger for you.

#7: Reaction 5000mAh 2S 20C LiPo Battery

Position Last Year: 2nd

A holdover from success of years past. The Dynamite Reaction line was the bedrock of our R/C surface department — back when they had access to Traxxas connectors. Now that Traxxas has their connectors on lockdown, it’s inevitable these batteries will fade from the list, and eventually, maybe even our shelves.

Still, the EC3-equipped LiPos have held fairly strong, largely due to the adapters we were able to find, allowing us to continue to sell these for use in Traxxas vehicles. When Dynamite raised the prices on them at the same time Traxxas brought down the price of their batteries, though, that spelled doom for the Reaction line.

#6: Revolution Forge MT 1:12

Position Last Year: N/A

Last year, the Forge MT got an honorable mention for making it to 18th place. This year, it improved by quite a bit, which just goes to show how well this mini-monster sells — and why not? It comes with a lithium battery and charger, while similarly-priced trucks only come with NiMHs, and comes with a larger than average motor for its price point. The Forge may not be the best way to get into the hobby (a 1/10th scale Traxxas vehicle is still the hands-down best), but in the bang-for-your-buck department, the Forge won’t disappoint.

A great price-point, Horizon Hobby support, and reasonable durability certainly helped to get the Revolution Forge MT into the 6th spot this year.

#5: Traxxas E-Revo VXL

TRA86086-4 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Features Traxxas' TSM® - better handling through technology!
• Big, X-Maxx-style differentials
• Steel driveshafts
• Traxxas VXL-6S Brushless System
• Heavy-Duty 17mm Hex Hubs
• 2.4GHz Traxxas TQi Radio system provides no-hassle R/C fun
• Linkage-based suspension for maximum travel
• High ground clearance means grass is no problem!
• 40+ MPH out of the box, capable of 70+ MPH

Required to Complete

• 2x 2S or 3S LiPo Batteries w/ Traxxas Connectors
• Suitable charger
• 4x AA Batteries

Position Last Year: 5th (Previous Model)

Traxxas' E-Revo has been in our top ten list for the last three years running, so it's no surprise Traxxas took a stab at making it even better, and, oh boy, did they! The new E-Revo isn't a complete redesign, but tiny improvements were made all over the truck to make it more durable, more sleek, and more bashable. The differentials were swapped out with X-Maxx-spec diffs. New steel driveshafts replace the old plastic ones, and a new, simpler transmission now includes a center differential and replaces the slipper clutch with the new cush-drive system also seen on the X-Maxx.

The E-Revo could have placed even better this year, but it was a victim of its own success — it was so popular that inventory was quite limited all year, and sales slumped because of that. However, now that supply has stabilized, look for the E-Revo to climb the list next year!

#4: Traxxas 2S 5000mAh 25C LiPo Battery

TRA2842X by Traxxas

Key Features

• Traxxas iD Connector works seamlessly with Traxxas chargers

• 1-Year Warranty

• Oversized discharge tabs for minimal resistance

• Flexible 12AWG wires

• Semi-rigid design

• Exclusively designed for a factory fit in Traxxas models

Position Last Year: N/A

It’s no surprise to see a Traxxas-branded battery make the list this year — with the lack of a quality alternative equipped with Traxxas’ patented connectors, it was a foregone conclusion a battery like this would place. We just didn’t expect it to place so high.

We changed over to Traxxas packs once we were unable to get any of the Dynamite Reaction LiPos we had been carrying — at least, unable to get them with Traxxas connectors. As you’ve seen, two Reaction packs made the list, but the ease of the iD system, the guaranteed fit in Traxxas models, and the lack of a suitable alternative makes the Traxxas LiPos a hit this year… and Traxxas lowering the price of their batteries certainly didn’t hurt sales!

#3: Traxxas Ez-Peak Plus Charger

Part Number: TRA2970

Key Features

• Recognizes Traxxas iD batteries and configures settings automatically

• Program and optimize charger settings with an easy to use interface

• LED Charge progress indicator

• Optimized for faster LiPo balance charging

• One button LiPo storage charge protects your battery investment

• Advanced high-resolution peak detection delivers a perfect charge

• Built-in cooling fan

• Advanced Mode for full manual control of charger settings

• Legacy support for all Traxxas High-Current Connectors

• Built-in balance ports for conventional LiPo batteries

• Charges 5-8-cell NiMH batteries, 2S-3S LiPo batteries

Required to Complete

• Compatible LiPo Battery

Position Last Year: 4th

It's tempting to place success of the Traxxas EZ-Peak Plus solely on the shoulders of Traxxas' innovative iD battery technology, but it's not that simple — we only started carrying Traxxas’ LiPos this year. So the popularity of this charger comes down to it's great price point and ease of use, even for non-iD batteries.

Though the Kinexsis KX-80 still placed this year, it’s time on our list is coming to an end, and that’s mainly due to Traxxas coming on strong. None are as good as Traxxas at making something highly technical easy to use, and therefore it's no surprise to see the EZ-Peak Plus gain a spot this year. Based on how well it did this year, I suspect it might climb even higher in 2019!

#2: Traxxas Slash 4x4 VXL

TRA68086-4 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Features Traxxas' TSM® - better handling through technology!
• Traxxas Velineon Brushless power and efficiency out of the box
• 2.4GHz Traxxas TQi Radio system provides no-hassle R/C fun
• Modular chassis design makes it easy to wrench on
• The ultimate in durability and design
• 40+ MPH out of the box, capable of 60+ MPH
• Requires 7-Cell NiMH or 2S/3S LiPo Battery
• Requires charger for battery of choice
• Requires 4 AA Batteries

Position Last Year: 3rd

A mainstay on our Top Ten Lists every year since we started, the Slash 4x4 is a great truck for anyone, regardless of experience level. It's tough, agile, easy to work on, and upgrades are plentiful. There's just no questioning the popularity of the four-wheel-drive version of the Slash. Challengers are out there, but so far, none can contend with the Slash 4x4.

Though it received a new addition to the family this year with the release of the brushed Slash 4x4, I think the brushless version will continue to outsell as well as outrun its less-expensive sibling. Fact is, it's hard to imagine a Top Ten list without this venerable truck somewhere within. This year it climbed to second. Can it take the top spot next year?

#1: Traxxas Slash (2WD)

TRA58034-1 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Steel gear transmission is brushless-power ready

• 2.4Ghz Radio, 8.4v NiMH Battery included

• ~45 Minute DC Charger included

• High-torque steering servo provides superior turning ability

• Revo-spec Torque-Control slipper clutch system

• Higher ground clearance means grass is no problem!

• Upgradable to brushless motor technology

• 30+ MPH out of the box

Required to Complete

• 4x AA Batteries for transmitter

Position Last Year: 1st

To absolutely no one’s surprise, the Slash 2WD, the reigning champion on our list, claims the top spot for the third year in a row. It has placed every single year it's been on the market, and sales continue to be strong. While other manufacturers try to gimmick their way to success, the Slash sits quietly, largely unchanged since its original launch, destroying the competition. Traxxas has long understood the need to maintain a stable platform for their business to grow, and nothing underscores that more than the success the Slash 2WD has had since its release in 2008.

The Slash absolutely, undeniably deserves this spot on the list, both for its strong sales, but also as an everlasting reminder to all the R/C manufacturers out there: this is how you build a truck.

There you have it. Now that our Top Ten list is in the bag, let’s talk about the products that didn’t make the list this year — ones that deserve an honorable mention, some that stand-out as flops, and some that are simply notable because of their absence.

Notables

TRA37054-1 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Steel gear transmission is brushless-power ready

• 2.4Ghz Radio, 8.4v NiMH Battery included

• ~45 Minute DC Charger included

• High-torque steering servo provides superior turning ability

• Revo-spec Torque-Control slipper clutch system

• Low center-of-gravity provides great handling on pavement or dirt

• Upgradable to brushless motor technology

• 30+ MPH out of the box

Required to Complete

• 4x AA Batteries for transmitter

Position Last Year: 10th

The Rustler may have finished 10th in both 2016 and 2017, but it failed to make the list at all this year. It ended up a paltry 25th as a result of softer sales. As the least popular of our entry-level R/C trucks, it’s not surprising the Rustler dropped as much as it did, but it’s still a bummer to see it fall completely out of the top ten.

Maybe it can crawl back up the ranks next year. We’ll see.

TRA77086-4 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Features Traxxas' TSM® - better handling through technology!
• VXL-8S Speed Control & Velineon 1600XL Motor for maximum torque
• New pin-less body mounting system
• 2.4GHz Traxxas TQi Radio system provides no-hassle R/C fun
• Huge steel differential gears & fan-cooled slipper clutch
• High ground clearance means grass is no problem!
• 50+ MPH out of the box
• Requires (2) 3S/4S LiPo batteries, charger, and 4 AA Batteries

Position Last Year: 6th

The X-Maxx almost made the list, but sales have slumped for the big behemoth this year. All signs are pointing to a sales decline for the pricey Traxxas truck as more consumers keep their spending on hobbies a little lower than past years. Will the X-Maxx make the list next year, or has it priced itself out of contention? We’ll have to wait and see, but for now, the X-Maxx broke its two-year streak and ended up in 11th place.

TRA68054-1 by Traxxas

Key Features

• 2.4GHz Traxxas TQi Radio system provides no-hassle R/C fun

• 8.4v 3000mAh NiMH Battery included

• ~45 Minute 4-Amp DC Charger included

• Upgradable to brushless motor technology

• Modular chassis design makes it easy to wrench on

• The ultimate in durability and design

• 30+ MPH out of the box

Required to Complete

• 4x AA Batteries for transmitter

Position Last Year: N/A

Though it only debuted late August or early September, the brushed Slash 4x4 made a big splash in our sales and finished an impressive 16th in the standings, which difficult to do even for products we’ve carried all year. I suspect with a full year of sales, it very well could earn a spot in the top ten at the end of 2019.

TRA82024-4 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Portal axles offer more ground clearance than other crawlers

• Rigid, steel frame

• Steel gear transmission

• All-steel suspension links

• Locked front and rear differentials

• Waterproof electronics allow you to go anywhere

• Adjustable battery tray

• Lightweight pickup truck body

• 12.3” Wheelbase

Required to Complete

• 7-Cell NiMH or 2S-3S LiPo battery

• Charger for battery of choice

• 4 AA Batteries

TRA82046-4 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Portal axles offer more ground clearance than other crawlers

• Rigid, steel frame

• High/Low shiftable transmission

• All-steel suspension links

• Lockable front and rear differentials

• Waterproof electronics allow you to go anywhere

• Adjustable battery tray

• Scale details packed into Ford Bronco Ranger XLT body

• 12.3” Wheelbase

Required to Complete

• 7-Cell NiMH or 2S-3S LiPo battery

• Charger for battery of choice

• 4 AA Batteries

TRA82056-4 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Portal axles offer more ground clearance than other crawlers

• Rigid, steel frame

• High/Low shiftable transmission

• All-steel suspension links

• Lockable front and rear differentials

• Waterproof electronics allow you to go anywhere

• Adjustable battery tray

• Scale details packed into Land Rover Defender body

• 12.8” Wheelbase

Required to Complete

• 7-Cell NiMH or 2S-3S LiPo battery

• Charger for battery of choice

• 4 AA Batteries

While the TRX-4 Ford Bronco did make it into the top twenty-five, none of the other models squeezed in. We’ve had trouble selling rock crawlers overall, but now that Traxxas makes so many accessories for their trucks, we might just be able to bring in enough of them to appease the rock crawling clientele. Worth noting, though, that if all of the Traxxas rock crawlers were counted as a single product, that product would have finished in the fifth spot. So maybe rock crawlers aren’t doing as poorly as it looks at first glance!

TRA37076-4 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Features Traxxas' TSM® - better handling through technology!
• TQi Link 2.4Ghz Radio included
• High-torque steering servo provides superior turning ability
• Revo-spec Torque-Control slipper clutch system
• Low center-of-gravity provides great handling on pavement or dirt
• 40+ MPH out of the box, capable of 70+ MPH

Required to Run

• 7-Cell NiMH or 2S-3S LiPo battery
• Charger for battery of choice
• 4 AA Batteries

TRA36076-4 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Features Traxxas' TSM® - better handling through technology!
• 2.4Ghz Radio Included
• High-torque steering servo provides superior turning ability
• Revo-spec Torque-Control slipper clutch system
• High ground clearance means grass is no problem!
• Upgradable to LiPos for even more power and run time!
• 35+ MPH out of the box, capable of 65+ MPH

Requires to Complete

• 4 AA Batteries
• 8.4v NiMH or 2S-3S LiPo Battery
• Charger for battery

TRA58076-4 by Traxxas

Key Features

• Features Traxxas' TSM® - better handling through technology!

• 2.4Ghz Radio Included

• High-torque steering servo provides superior turning ability

• Revo-spec Torque-Control slipper clutch system

• Higher ground clearance means grass is no problem!

• Upgradable to LiPos for even more power and run time!

• 40+ MPH out of the box, capable of 70+ MPH

Required to Complete

• 4x AA Batteries for transmitter

• 7-Cell NiMH or 2S/3S LiPo Battery

• Charger for battery of choice

The rising popularity of the brushless VXL lineup is another notable this year. All of the brushless 2WD trucks placed as well or better than they did the previous year. Maybe it’s the new looks, maybe it’s the growing awareness that brushless power is awesome, or maybe it’s a fluke. Whatever the case, the 2WD VXL trucks did pretty well in 2018, but not well enough to make the list. Maybe next year?

No Aircraft

None of the top 25 products this year came from outside of our R/C car category. No drones, helicopters, or airplanes placed in the top fifty. This is due the tremendous downturn we’ve seen in R/C aviation interest, and, sadly, is likely to continue into 2019. I talked about this at length in A Critical Look: Not With a Bang, But a Whimper, so check that out if you want to learn more.

And that’s a wrap on 2018 — we hope to see everyone in the new year!

While 2018 saw our sales decline for the third straight year, it wasn’t as wall-to-wall bad as last year was — meaning we actually have some good things to say about 2018! So sit back, relax, and check out our top hits and misses of 2018.

Miss #1

iX12 is Cool, but Its Sales Aren’t

This seems to happen every time Horizon puts out a brand new radio system — the hype gets built up and sales never rise to the occasion. Personally, this time it’s an even bigger bummer, because this is something that I personally called for way, way back in 2012, or at least something very similar. However, when the iX12 actually came out, no one around here noticed or cared. We played with it, thought it was pretty cool, but like most “gimmicked” radios out there, the iX12 doesn’t really bring anything game changing to the table. Yes, it has some cool features like the editable voice alerts, it does some really smart things (like putting the “bind” button on the main screen), but it ultimately doesn’t fundamentally change how someone interacts with their radio.

When I wrote that prediction article back in 2012, I wanted something intuitive, something with a large touchscreen, access to YouTube on the go, and something inexpensive because price was a major factor. The iX12 hits on most of those features, but it completely misses the mark on price. Even the most recent variations — the four new colors — are just putting lipstick on a pig. We’re clearancing out the only iX12 transmitter we’d ordered since its release, and that makes the iX12 a high-profile miss in 2018.

Miss #2

Tariffs Hit the Hobby Industry

There’s no escaping politics in this day and age, no matter how hard you try. We keep our store as politically neutral as we can, because hobbies span the political gamut and no one should feel like they can’t have fun because of their stance on the issues of the day. However, politics has a way of seeping into places it doesn’t belong, and this year, the current administration’s tariffs have put most consumer products coming out of China in the crosshairs — including products we sell.

Many hobby companies, including Horizon Hobby, Graupner, and Venom, announced price increases in the latter half of the year and tied them directly to the tariffs. Others quietly raised prices without citing a reason, trying to tread the line between reaction to adverse business conditions and drawing the ire of either political party. Prices could, and likely will, rise up to 25% by mid-January, which could send the hobby industry into something of a recession.

While we agree with the premise that China’s actions have been detrimental — even in the hobby industry — this could be a situation where the cure is worse than the disease. Only time will tell, but the impact the tariffs are having here at home are a big miss for 2018.

Biggest Miss of 2018

Horizon Purchases Hobbico’s Assets

Last year around this time, we were worried Hobbico would be declaring bankruptcy — and that happened in early January. By early April, what was, at one time, the largest hobby company on the planet became a memory, bought for a mere $18M by their biggest competitor: Horizon Hobby. Shortly thereafter, I asked my rep at Horizon what assurances he could offer that Horizon wouldn’t act like a monopoly. His reply? “None.”

Comforting, no?

Since then, we’ve seen Horizon become more and more aggressive with its own dealer network. They dropped Traxxas as a distributed brand to focus us on their own proprietary surface brands. They pulled our rep out from under us. Horizon even inflated their yearly holiday program order terms, which usually requires a $1K minimum order, but this year have huge minimum purchases of $2.5K for general hobby and $5K for radio control — obviously a plan to “encourage” more of their dealers to purchase their proprietary products. As a small independent store that doesn’t carry Horizon’s surface brands, there’s no way we could meet those minimums, and therefore were forced to forego the longer holiday terms of the program.

Horizon, under CEO Joe Ambrose’s leadership, has become deaf (or just apathetic) to the rising complaints of their dealers. I’ve spoken to dealers around the country and Canada, and many have the same complaints we do. The company that was once my favorite player in the industry has become frustrating and sometimes infuriating to deal with. I guess that’s what happens when the only thing leadership cares about is making more money every quarter, the customer be damned — which is how it feels on our end.

Horizon was already on this road before it gobbled up Hobbico, but the acquisition threw fuel on the fire, and therefore Horizon’s bully tactics lands it on this list as the biggest miss of 2018.

Hit #1

Traxxas Reboots the E-Revo

For the past few years, the original brushless E-Revo has been a solid seller. When Traxxas relaunched the truck earlier this year, though, we had no idea how in-demand this truck would be throughout the year — the E-Revo VXL proved to be a challenge to obtain for our customers. While sales overall were hurt by the lack of product, the E-Revo still managed to make our Top Ten list for the year, and the longest one sat on the shelf is probably two weeks — we couldn’t keep this truck in stock for any longer than that. Supply seems to have evened out just before Christmas, but 2018 was the year of the E-Revo.

Maybe next year the Rustler 4x4 VXL, which released with only a couple months left in the year, will compete for this spot on our top hits list. But 2018 was the E-Revo’s year, and it makes the spot for that reason.

Hit #2

Heartland Hobby to the Rescue

When Horizon Hobby bought what was left of Hobbico, there was hope some of Great Planes’ more favorable policies, like selling Testors paint by the bottle, would carry over to Horizon, but when they didn’t, the search began for another vendor more willing to accommodate our needs. Enter Heartland Hobby.

While Heartland has a heavy focus on model train supplies, they also offer some of the lines we’ve had trouble getting. K&S Metals, for instance, was dropped by Horizon, but Heartland not only has it in stock, but offers it individually with no case quantity for most items. Testors, as I mentioned, is also available by the bottle, which has allowed us to restock our acrylic rack again.

Heartland has been (mostly) a pleasure to deal with, and while Horizon’s apathy toward us and other small dealers like us is disappointing, Horizon’s actions helped us to find another partner in our general hobby endeavors.

Biggest Hit of 2018

Traxxas Makes Their Batteries Affordable

When Traxxas discontinued their connectors, I was fired up about how bad this was for the industry. I still believe their greedy gambit to lock their customers into only using Traxxas products will be seen as the beginning of the end of an open hobby market. That said, the effects of Traxxas’ decision weren’t felt until around Christmas of 2017, at which point we began selling adapters to allow consumers to continue purchasing non-Traxxas batteries. That all changed earlier this year, when Traxxas revamped their battery lineup. This did three things: first it introduced more industry-standard capacities into the Traxxas LiPo landscape; second, it allowed Traxxas and its dealers to be competitive with battery prices, and finally, it allowed dealers to actually make some money selling Traxxas LiPos.

Around the same time, the Dynamite Reaction LiPos we had been selling became more expensive. With our usual batteries going up in price, and Traxxas’ LiPos coming down, converting our store over to mainly selling Traxxas LiPos finally made sense. Since we introduced Traxxas’ LiPos to our customers, we’ve seen far fewer batteries come back with problems while sales remained strong. In other words, it was a win-win.

Because of their dominance in the market, Traxxas could have just forced everyone to buy the more expensive batteries, and eventually would have still been rid of the aftermarket adapters and batteries, but Traxxas didn’t take the low road. I’m still mad at the situation as a whole, but kudos to Traxxas for taking the high road and keeping their pricing (and dealer margins) competitive. Now if we can just figure out how to fit the same battery into every vehicle…

At the beginning of a new year, I like to look ahead at all the stories I think could be the ones to watch for the hobby industry. It’s a way to focus on the big picture and not let the small, day-to-day stuff obscure the more important long-term issues. Last January, I took a look at four stories I was interested in following for 2018, and now it’s time to look back at that article and see how the year progressed on each subject, and identify other stories that I missed.

Hobbico’s Demise

The obvious place to start is the biggest story of 2018 for our industry: the slow-motion train wreck that was Hobbico’s fall, bankruptcy, and finally, demise. Though the story began much earlier, back in 2016 by my account, the situation came to a head when on January 10th, Hobbico filled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This began a process that largely ended on April 6th, when it was announced that Horizon Hobby cast the winning — and only — bid for the majority of Hobbico’s assets, including all of their radio control assets as well as the building Hobbico occupied in Champaign, Illinois. This is where, one would think, the story would end.

But this just isn’t that kind of story.

With the slow-motion Hobbico train wreck behind them, Horizon settled on a course of action that brought a lot of instability into the hobby industry. All of the well-liked policies Great Planes (Hobbico’s hobby shop distribution arm) had disappeared. Instead of cherry-picking only the best parts of Hobbico’s products and brands, Horizon decided to just keep them all. Instead of compete with the likes of Traxxas by, you know, producing and supporting high-quality products, Horizon opted to use their new-found status as the largest hobby distributor to “gently suggest” their hobby network forgo Traxxas’ superior surface products… by dropping Traxxas products altogether.

I will go over this again in our 2018 Hits & Misses article, so I won’t continue here, but suffice to say that Hobbico’s downfall paved the way for Horizon’s rise. 2019 will surely be interesting if only to see where we end up after a year of Horizon’s reign.

Traxxas Direct-to-Dealer

It’s the end of 2018, and there are still a few national distributors left selling Traxxas — something I would have lost money betting on. In fact, the biggest news about Traxxas distribution, as I mentioned above, came when Horizon Hobby decided to stop carrying Traxxas, instead of Traxxas deciding to stop selling to Horizon — another thing I would have lost money betting on. Despite an increase in Traxxas-Direct exclusives (like the new E-Revo VXL and Ford Bronco TRX-4, to name a couple), Traxxas continues to be sold through third-party distributors. That doesn’t mean Traxxas isn’t plotting a post-distribution world, though.

Traxxas now offers its dealers the option of carrying Traxxas products exclusively for a discount on demo models, first-delivery options, and more. The details are largely not important for the sake of this article, but suffice to say Traxxas is certainly encouraging their dealer base to support them and only them. It is, however, a choice and not a requirement, so for now, this is just Traxxas being competitive and not domineering.

Furthermore, in contrast to my earlier suspicions, we have in fact seen a decrease in Traxxas’ battery prices, and the downside of their elimination of case quantities is countered by them dropping vehicles’ pricing to the previous case quantity price. Basically, Traxxas, either intentionally or accidentally, reacted to the negative image around their connector debacle and started making moves to placate some of their critics.

While I’d like to see a redesign of Traxxas’ archaic looking-and-feeling dealer website, and I’d be over the moon for a warehouse closer than Texas, I haven’t many complaints about how Traxxas has conducted themselves this year. I still think they will be a solo act sooner rather than later, but it didn’t happen this year.

Amazon

It didn’t get any easier to compete with Amazon this year, and in fact we’ve seen a significant drop in the amount of special orders we’ve gotten. The majority of our customer base is seemingly only interested in purchasing from us if we have the item in stock. If we are out, or simply don’t stock that product, we lose the sale.

We are a small store, and while we always carried parts and products that were lucrative enough to justify keeping on hand, we still relied heavily on special orders to make ends meet. The loss of the special order segment of our business will be tough to take, but we’ve been adjusting as best we can and it finally feels like we’re stabilizing again, but I’m not sure we’ve seen the end of Amazon’s influence on our business.

Quick Hits

• R/C Aircraft Sales Lag: We’ve seen R/C aircraft demand plummet. Check out our article A Critical Look: Not With a Bang, But a Whimper for more on this.

• RedCat R/C: Redcat didn’t appear to make any real gains in our market this year. We’re still keeping an eye on them, but it seems whatever momentum they had at the beginning of the year evaporated.

• Toledo Show: The Toledo Show this year was one of the most disappointing ones yet. Read our post-mortem, and also check out how I think the show could be better.

• Tariffs Raise Prices: The hobby industry has been impacted by the U.S. tariff on Chinese imports. Check out our Critical Look piece on this topic.

In a few weeks time, I’ll write a piece about what I think 2019 will bring, so if you think there’s a segment of the market poised for a huge surge in popularity, or maybe a trainwreck waiting to happen, sound off on our Facebook page, where a link to this article will be posted. Comment on that post anything we should be paying attention to in 2019, and it may show up in a future article.

Back in the distant past of the mid-2000s, our R/C aircraft department was the money-maker. It more than doubled the R/C car department, and was, by far, the department we counted on to allow us to stay in business. Over the last few years, however, R/C cars have been steadily gaining on R/C aircraft, swapping dominance between 2013 and 2014. Since then, R/C aircraft have been falling behind at faster and faster rates in a process that doesn’t seem to have an end point.

I wrote about this early last year, and as you can see based on the graph to the right, the trajectory of the R/C aircraft department continued it’s net decline. The big question is why? What is causing the general collapse of the once-golden goose department? What is making the R/C aircraft department fall like a rock and the R/C car department continue to stay strong?

I’ve covered some reasons I think the trend continues, but none of them feel exactly right to me any longer. In the previously mentioned article, I circled two main causes for our R/C aircraft department’s decline: a lack of new builders, and the dearth of cheap hobby products available through online retailers, both foreign and domestic. These explanations do make some sense, but now I don’t think this can really be the whole truth, because each of these factors also affect the R/C car market — which seems render my reasonings invalid.

Just like you used to have to build R/C airplanes, R/C cars used to only come in kit form as well. My old Tamiya Lunch Box required assembly before it could be used, and the venerable RC10 gold-pan kits were the gold standard (haha, I made a pun) for R/C racing back in the day, and those needed to be built too. So just like R/C airplanes, the barrier to entry for R/C cars has been dramatically lowered, yet they maintain strong sales. As for my second argument, cheap online hobby sites aren’t a problem only for aviation — there’s no shortage of inexpensive radio-controlled cars and trucks out there, yet they haven’t overrun the domestic mainstays like Traxxas, ECX, Losi, etc.

So what gives?

I think it makes sense to look at the structure of how people interact with these hobbies — how are people spending their time in each segment of the radio-control world? When you dive in there, it becomes obvious, I think, why R/C cars continue to have staying power, and R/C aircraft are in a nosedive.

R/C Aircraft

A typical user purchases an airplane — let’s say it’s an E-Flite Apprentice S RTF. She goes home, plugs in the charger and battery, and while it’s charging, she goes to work putting the airplane together. The entire process takes a little longer than an hour, and pretty soon she’s ready to fly.

She goes out to her local soccer field and puts the Apprentice in the air. The SAFE technology does its thing, and she’s able to safely land the airplane on her first attempt. She flies it a few more times, and once she’s confident, she tries the intermediate difficulty level. This time, though, she doesn’t manage to land it correctly, and it needs to be fixed. This is the point where I assume most beginners just stop, but let’s say she goes to the hobby shop and buys the supplies and fixes it. Let’s even say she conquers intermediate level, and then expert level.

Now she’s presented with a choice. She can continue flying the Apprentice, but she’s already flown it as aggressively as it can be flown, and it’s getting a little boring. So she goes to the hobby shop to see about spicing up her flights a bit and finds if she wants a different experience, she needs to buy a whole new airplane. If she doesn’t like flying the Apprentice anymore, there’s nothing she can do with it to make it any better. It is what it is. Frustrated, she gives up on flying altogether.

R/C Cars

A typical user purchases an R/C truck — let’s say it’s a Traxxas Slash 2WD, a standard entry-level vehicle. She goes home and plugs in the charger and battery, waiting the standard forty-five minutes for it to get fully charged. She goes out in the yard and has a blast running it around the grass, driveway, and even a little in the street. She’s careful with it, and manages to complete the first run without hitting anything too hard.

A few runs later, though, and she smashes it into the mailbox post and breaks the front suspension arm, so she comes into the hobby shop and purchases a replacement, but not just a stock replacement — the hobby shop guy recommended an RPM replacement arm, and it was available in her favorite color: green. Being a beginner, she has no idea how to put it on, so the hobby shop employee guides her through the installation. Finally, her truck is fixed, and she’s ready to go play again.

After a while, she’s getting bored with the relatively slow truck, and her battery doesn’t seem to be lasting as long. She goes to the hobby shop to see what her options are, and finds out she can upgrade her truck to a brushless motor and a LiPo battery. Faster speeds and longer run times sound good to her, so she buys the upgrades, and tosses in a few green anodized aluminum parts because she likes the way they look on her truck. Once again, the hobby shop employee helps guide her through the installation, and then she’s ready to go home and tear up her yard with her new, faster truck.

It is my belief, based on observation and experience, this is why R/C aircraft are not doing well in today’s climate. There is a lack of flexibility inherent to the hobby that just doesn’t jive with today’s sensibilities. R/C cars and trucks offer so much more to the end user in the ability to not just improve the vehicle, but to make it yours. This might not make sense to some, but a look at another immensely popular past time can shed a light on how important this is.

Fortnite, a popular video game, is a free-to-play game with over 125 million users. Being a game that essentially costs nothing to play, you’d think the game wouldn’t be a huge money-maker, but well… as of June 26th, it had amassed an eye-popping “$1.2 billion in revenue, all of which comes from nonessential in-app purchases, for stuff like clothing and dance moves.” Which is to say, that money was entirely spent on cosmetics, or how your character looks in the game.

Why is it any surprise, then, that R/C cars continue to sell strongly and R/C aircraft are struggling along? R/C cars offer hop-ups, customization options, and overall more ways for consumers to interact with them, nevermind how they aren’t nearly as space and weather dependent as R/C aircraft.

Another key point of differentiation, the R/C cars scenario offers us more opportunities to interact with the customer in a positive way. One of the services we offer is guidance on how to fix an R/C car, and so long as the consumer is the one actually doing the work, we don’t charge for this — we see it as a way to both increase the consumer’s knowledge about the hobby and demonstrate how our primary focus isn’t on simply selling products, but on being good stewards of a fun and rewarding hobby. R/C aircraft rarely afford us the same opportunity to engage with the customer in that way, and as a result, customer retention in aircraft lags behind.

Sadly, I don’t think there’s a solid solution to this problem. Simply adding random cosmetic upgrades for airplanes and drones isn’t going to do anything. Perhaps offering some sort of upgrade package, like a low-wing option for a high-wing trainer, would work in the long run, but that would almost certainly require designing new airplanes from the ground up. Similar airplanes have existed, like the FlyZone Switch, and they didn’t sell all that well, though they may have been a little ahead of their time. Fundamentally, though, aircraft aren’t really able to be as flexible, cosmetically and performance-wise, as cars and trucks, and that lack of flexibility seems to be the true reason R/C aircraft aren’t selling.

When Traxxas dropped Great Planes as a distributor in mid-2017, I assumed it was a power-play; the opening salvo in a battle to cut ties with all distribution and secure a larger part of the overall price of their products for themselves. Instead, it later appeared to be more related to the slow-motion collapse of Hobbico and reflected the latter’s inability to keep up with payments for products, and Traxxas simply cut them off.

Horizon’s Dealer Announcement

“Beginning in 2019, Horizon Hobby will no longer be distributing Traxxas products. We intend to carry Traxxas until our inventory is depleted, which we expect to be at the end of 2018. Our goal is to support you as needed through the holiday season.

We know your customers want choices. With our proprietary and distributed brands of surface products, Horizon offers a broad selection of the best products. Top surface brands such as ARRMA® and Axial® have been added to those brands you’ve come to trust from Horizon, including Losi®, Pro Boat®, Vaterra®, and ECX®.

You can count of Horizon to continue providing you with great, innovative products backed by outstanding service. We are committed to giving you choices and making it easy for you to do business with us.”

This past Friday, Horizon Hobby informed retailers they will no longer be offering Traxxas products, starting the beginning of 2019. With little further information, we are left to make assumptions on our own as to the reason(s) behind this move, nevermind who ultimately made the decision. Was this Traxxas improving their profit margins by cutting off their last major distribution partner, or was this Horizon ratcheting up the tension between the two companies, between whom there appears to be little love lost?

I suspect, without corroboration, this to be a choice made by Horizon — an effort to further force their surface products on their dealer network and attempt to stem the Traxxas tide. Cutting Traxxas out of their repertoire, however, won’t fix the intrinsic problems within Horizon; their surface offerings are a gigantic cluster&%@$, with multiple brands for each category.

It was just announced that Vaterra would, somehow, survive the acquisition of Axial, but would be relegated to low-cost (and likely, therefore, lower quality) scale vehicles. ECX survived by going to a hobby-shop-only model, angering fans of the brand who don’t live near a hobby shop. Instead of combining brands, picking only the best offerings of each and simplifying their surface category, Horizon is opting to offer a whopping eight surface brands: Team Losi Racing, Losi, ARRMA, Vaterra, Axial, ECX, Dromida, and Revolution, with the last three being distributed only to hobby shops. There’s too much overlap, too much chaos.

Horizon had an opportunity to reboot their tragic mess when they picked up the Hobbico brands. They could have done away with all of their brands, instead restructuring it all as “Horizon” and cutting out all the cruft. Stripping away the redundant vehicles and slimming down their line could have allowed the opportunity to better support the vehicles they kept making, perhaps offering various hop-ups and aftermarket products — much like the manufacturer they just dropped does for their own vehicles.

This move won’t harm Traxxas; given Traxxas’ enthusiastic drive to recruit hobby shops to deal directly with them, it’s unlikely this will truly impact most retailers — which could be a reason Horizon is doing this now. This could also be a response to Traxxas’ new dealer pricing structure, which incentivises carrying exclusively Traxxas surface products. Whatever the case, Horizon’s surface brands are in no way a substitute for the clean and organized state of Traxxas’ products.

I’ve had my fair share of Traxxas disappointments, to put it mildly. I’ve also been very supportive of Horizon in the past. I’ve also praised Traxxas and criticized Horizon when it was called for, and now, perhaps more than ever, it’s called for. We’ve been buying direct from Traxxas since they cut off Hobbico more than a year ago, so this won’t really harm us. We will have to discontinue selling Traxxas Top Fuel in gallons (quarts should be readily available), but that’s not a big deal in our largely post-nitro market; demand has dropped over the last few years. No, this is just another indication that Horizon, once the pillar of friendly business and a true partner of ours, has decided to make it harder to do business with them. It’s a business relationship dying by a thousand cuts, one at a time: refusing to sell Testors paint individually, ditto glow plugs, dropping K&S Metals, dropping Traxxas… each decision making it just that much harder for us to give them money.

We’re currently in talks with another hobby distributor who sells general hobby merchandise. We have no plans to stop buying from Horizon — far from it. If the past year has shown us anything, however, it’s that we can’t afford to rely on any one company for everything, because any seemingly small change that one company makes can have a tremendous impact on us, and the only way to lessen the blow is to have alternatives. Horizon is but one arrow in our quiver, and thanks to their own actions, it’s becoming less and less utilized as time marches forever forward.

Author’s Note: This article was updated to reflect the new availability of Traxxas’ Top Fuel in quarts.

When the White House announced it would levy tariffs on imports from other countries, it was only a matter of time before the hobby industry was caught in the crossfire. With the Chinese “trade war” ongoing with no end in sight, those tariffs have finally caught up with us, affecting radio systems and related equipment.

Horizon Hobby issued a statement to its dealer network Wednesday, saying “As you may already be aware, on July 7th the Office of United States Trade Representatives began imposing additional tariff charges, ranging from 10-25%, on a comprehensive list of products being imported from China. Certain Horizon Hobby products have been affected by this since that date.” They go on to say “On October 1st, 2018, we will be raising prices on select Horizon Hobby products including transmitters, servos, motors, receivers, and other items… Price changes will vary by product to ensure only the necessary price adjustment, with respect to the varying tariff impact on each item.”

Horizon is far from the only company feeling the effects. Graupner USA also sent out a statement on the tariffs, informing us of a “8% to 15%” price increase on all electronic products. There are likely more companies that have not made official or public statements.

This comes at a time when the industry typically slows down, largely due to children getting back to school, the change in the seasons, and consumers beginning to save up for Christmas purchases. It is not clear exactly how these price increases will impact sales, but for our small store, this news is likely to suppress sales even further.

Additionally, the White House has threatened even more tariffs, covering nearly everything else coming in from China not already taxed. This would cripple the hobby industry. Consumers already complain about how expensive items have gotten in the last few years, and a new round of taxes will exacerbate the issue. The only remedy is to get Congress to act and constrain the White House, though this seems unlikely so close to the midterm elections.

In the end, hobby shops and their customers are left picking up the tab for a policy implementation that, while aimed at boosting the U.S. economy and protecting American jobs — which, make no mistake, are admirable goals — seems only to be making it harder for American retailers, especially small niche stores like ours, to operate. Hopefully the White House sees small businesses across the country hurting and adjusts their tactics to truly help American interests across the board.

In the meantime, expect prices to jump on various electronics in the store. I hope this is a temporary problem — with Christmas coming, it would truly be a pity for consumers’ dollars to buy less than they did only a few months ago.

When we took our annual bus trip down to the Toledo Weak Signals Expo this year, I was pretty critical of the show overall, and said I would detail my thoughts on how the show's organizers could best revamp the experience and return the show to its days of former glory. What follows are those thoughts.

Expand the Scope

For decades, the Toledo Show has focused on model airplanes, helicopter, and more recently, drones. This makes sense, given the club that organizes the show is, in fact, a model airplane club. For the first sixty-ish years the show has been around, that formula worked just fine. The recent downturn in the model aircraft industry, however, has left the show gasping for air, not only due to lack of attendance, but also lack of exhibitors — in fact, the shrinking number of exhibitors is the primary problem facing the show.

Expanding the scope of the show will be key in rejuvenating both problems. While the Weak Signals club allows all types of radio controlled vehicle manufacturers to attend, they haven't been actively recruiting companies like Traxxas to make the trip to Toledo. Securing booth space for Traxxas would encourage Horizon Hobby to bring their own surface products, not to mention the brands acquired from their recent acquisition of Hobbico. Other surface companies, like Team Associated may follow suit as well.

Fewer Foreign Vendors

It's hard to get away from the foreign influence pervasive in our hobby, but a show in the heart of the Midwest shouldn't have American companies and vendors outnumbered by the foreign ones. Replacing as many as possible with American companies, possibly the aforementioned R/C surface companies, would focus the show as a celebration of American hobby products — something sure to win the praise of all the American companies supported by the domestic hobby industry.

Pump Up the Excitement

A video we took at iHobby in 2010 of an R/C car track on the show floor.

One of my favorite things about the old (and now dead) iHobby Expo was the level of spectacle. Everywhere you turned, there was something to see and do. From a twenty-foot long slot car track to multiple R/C car tracks, the old iHobby was ten levels of exciting (check out the video [right] we took at the iHobby in 2010). Toledo will never be as bombastic as iHobby was in its heyday, but getting exhibitors to set up, or at least sponsor, some rock crawling courses and R/C car tracks, drone racing areas, or other such activity areas would engage the crowd for much longer, and when people stick around, the sales increase. From concessions to people trying it and then buying it, the venue and vendors alike will love letting consumers actually get their hands on a hobby-grade R/C product.

Turning the Toledo Show into an R/C extravaganza for every R/C discipleship would bring in more crowds, more money, and ultimately make the show relevant again. None of these things are going to be done in a year, or even two years, but if the Weak Signals club wants to continue the show for another sixty-four years, they must be proactive about seeking out new and exciting exhibitors, giving people more to do than walk the aisles, and getting the word out about the show to reach a new audience. I hope they can revive the show — it's a staple in the hobby world and it would be a stunning shame to see it vanish.