Detailing Plastic Track - Great Article!

[ra7c7er]

[HomeRacingWorld]

What you do is cater to the local needs and wants of the people. If that is what they want, let them build and grow it their own way.

Racers are racers.

The "hobby" isn't just plastic track. So NO one is lost.

Maybe stock cars and parts they WANT instead of pushing what your store wants. THAT is the problem. Pay attention to your customers.

Are the guys hand laying rail "lost" in model railroading? The ones scratchbuilding parts and frames in static kits? What about the guys modding RC Crawlers? Gonna tell them no aftermarket parts?

[ra7c7er]

What I mean by lost is that the customer is already unhappy with the purchase because all they have read online is how it's wood or junk. You lose those people before they start because they get bad experience before they even click buy or step foot in a store.

The hobby isn't just plastic you are right but the hobby as a whole is massively plastic over wood. I'm not decrying wood tracks at all I believe it's ultimately the way to go and is the way I will go. BUT I will never tell anyone that any track isn't good enough. Just last month I helped a guy get his old Strombecker track going again instead of selling him a new track. I don't care what you have so long as you have fun with it. And use it to promote the hobby and not drag it down.

I wish someone would make a wood track system cheap enough for shops to carry. I know some of the pro builders have a option for pre-built panels and Scale Auto has a concept wood track system but it's only available in Europe and is direct order. I'd actually talked to Alan about it when I saw it in the catalog to see if we could offer it to our customers. The German Harrel RS track is MDF track pieces but I'm sure by the time it gets imported here it's going to be INSANELY priced per piece. From videos and reviews it looks amazing.

Ultimately the answer to your model railroading question is NO. Yes people are still doing it but it's a tiny percent of what it used to be. Years ago hand laying rail was commonplace. In today's world it isn't. One of the biggest companies that catered to the hand laying side of model railroading has within the last couple months has ceased operations (no longer manufacturing and just selling out of current stock). A company that has been around since the early 60s. Really sucks for the hobby industry as a whole because a lot of their products are sought after even outside of model railroading.

I don't know if comparing a legacy hobby to a modern RC niche hobby is a good example but if we want to talk about that. The crawling side of the industry has slipped from what it was just a few years ago even. Not really died but it's on the other side of the curve. The recent addition of "trail trucks" has crawler hobby changing a bit too. (i.e. trail trucks vs. traditional crawlers is the same as plastic track vs. wood same hobby two different ways to do it). Both have merit and both have faults. Which is fine but when one side or the other gets super vocal about it being "the only way" it hurts anyone wanting to get into the hobby. I prefer and own a traditional crawler RC4WD TF2 Marlin but I won't tell anyone a TRX-4, like what you have isn't any good. It's just a different vehicle that caters to different aspects. Personally a TRX-4 is pretty good. It's a ok crawler that is fast enough to be fun in grass or dirt. Which lets face is what most people buying them are doing anyway. My truck flat out sucks on flat because it's SLOW but it can crawl up a 60+ degree incline and articulate around obstacles more then double what a TRX-4 can do even with the long arm kit and my truck is leaf spring. It's just two sides of the same coin as is wood tracks and plastic.

Wood vs plastic
No mag vs. mag
Trail truck vs. Crawler
Ford vs. Chevy
etc. etc

It's all the same argument and in the end nobody wins. except in the case of Ford vs. Chevy which still nobody wins but is just funny.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Whoa..Ford vs Chevy? Why bother when MOPAR rules? :)

A lot of our hobbies are changing and getting smaller. Where you are located the RC crawlers might be on the downside...and maybe they are overall.

Here? Sure is a lot of folks just having fun with them.

Guy down the street from me hand lays his rails on his HO railroad and has since he stepped off the Ark apparently...and so are his buddies.

But of course, they are not the majority. But the hardcore enthusiast cannot be ignored. Just because a company folds up does not automatically mean it's the "hobby".

Carrera has been sold and who knows what will happen? Is it because the hobby is in dire straights?

No. It's because they don't hardly make a thing anyone in the US knows about. And just repeating what others have already done. They lost the American model edge. And the Euro edge as well. Remember we are not their top market.

My point is we HAVE a great selection of plastic track sets. From analog to digital. We HAVE social media that shows them the fun they deliver. We have TONS of cars. Maybe not the ones we all think we should have...but we have them.

Don't let these guys get you down. Let them go their own path. Ones before them did the same. Just try to cater to them and maybe, someone will get the spark of this hobby because of them.

[ra7c7er]

[mattb]

Not sure where the info comes from about this "war" between plastic and wood, but it doesn't come from here. You will find the home racers (especially this forum) respect it all and enjoy it all. All the guys here appreciate, help and respect all types of slot racing. Plastic...most all the guys here either started with home plastic setups or still have plastic setups. Guys that want to expand their skills and push the boundries build routed tracks, or 2 or 3. They might get into resin casting, 3D, tire making and other skills as they get deeper in the hobby, but if a nice plastic setup and rtr cars are what they enjoy, nobody on these forums criticizes it.

I think you have made up this controversy from comments you've heard from a couple customers in your store. What is your store? Great to hear of a full serve hobby shop still in business and that they sell slot sets. What type of sets do you sell? There are great options with plastic track and several very good companies providing them. Cost is not bad at all if a buyer turns to the internet market and shops ebay and other options. Carrera track can be bought for 1/3 to 1/2 of "set" prices.

[slothead]

Plastic track is plug-n-play while a wood track requires at least a minimum amount of courage to build. A routed track is a lot easier to do than most guys think, but still requires some tools and enough knowledge to not cut a finger off. Some spouses might not care for the noise or dust from routing, so a separate space is ideal.

Reality is (as I see it), plastic is where the hobby starts so it's vital to keeping the hobby going. I'm blessed with a barn that can accommodate 2 routed tracks and I can make as much noise and dust there as needed. I know this is a rarity. Kudos to those who've figured out unique solutions - tracks that lower from garage ceilings or hinge to walls and fold down for use.

Slotting is a great hobby - do it whatever way you can.