It’s no surprise that the pandemic led to American families taking up new hobbies to stay busy while remaining socially-isolated.
Local hobby shop owners are experts when it comes to hobbies that are here to stay. Radio-controlled cars, trucks, drones, helicopters, and boats deliver exciting, high-performance action in cutting-edge designs that continue to capture the imagination long after other things have lost their luster.
Putting the Power in Your Hands
Radio-controlled vehicles speed up the fun factor in your family’s free-time.
“There are certain things you can take everywhere. We have a really good trail system around here and you can go to the lakes with the boats. There’s just a lot you can do with them,” said Chris Taylor.
His dad, Ken Taylor, opened Racing City Hobbies, selling radio-controlled vehicles, models and parts, 31 years ago. Father and son bonded over the activity, learning how to work on them and travelling together to races.
When Ken died three years ago, Chris took over the store, refreshing the stock and expanding its indoor track.
“It’s a really good raceway- it’s really fun and you see a lot of good action,” said Chris.
The 70 x 36 ft raceway has a 135ft run line. It’s open for racing during the store’s regular business hours. A racing league meets there from September through April. Entries to race were approximately 50 per day, pre-pandemic, a number that has dropped to approximately half of that since (as people instead opted to stay home, building courses and jumps in their own backyards).
Make it Your Own
In addition to their versatility, radio-controlled nitro and electric power vehicles, which come fully-assembled, are also almost infinitely modifiable.
“There’s a lot you can do with customization, a lot of hands-on building and taking things apart with this hobby,” said Chris.
While buying online becomes a bigger and bigger business daily, it doesn’t hold up to Racing City Hobbies’ knowledge and ability to get you what you want faster.
“We’ve been in business for a long time and we have a great reputation, so we’re a high priority for manufacturers when it comes to getting new things and parts,” he said.
There’s also a huge community, online manuals, and YouTube videos to give you even more tips and ideas.
“A lot easier to work on them than people might think. It’s really just nuts and bolts stuff – it’s really simple,” said Chris.
Leave ‘em in Your Tracks
Selling the latest radio-controlled vehicles, rockets, models and trains, Adirondack Train and Hobby in Saratoga Springs has been in business continually since 1990.
Seeing the joy that these hobbies bring to adults who are just discovering them, and to the ones that are sharing something they’ve already become passionate about with their own kids, these local shops are the place to go to leave the stress in its dust.
For more information, visit Racing City Hobbies at www.shoprch.com, Adirondack Train and Hobby at www.adirondackhobby.com, or find them both on Facebook.
