davenport_95

I have been considering a nice-hobby-grade police car lately. I have done some on-line research and I am disappointed.
It seems like this idea is just much more troublesome than it is worth pursuing.

1. limited selection of RC-related products and
services (like complete RC body shops to build DREAM CARS for INDIVIDUALS and complete model building/customization shops) on the market to suit a wide variety of tastes and needs
(I like police cars with authentic body hardware and accessories with 4-door sedan bodies,
not much in this hobby for me personally except for cheap toys which often lack proportioned steering and throttle)
2. limited knowledge/how-to resources for newcomers
3. unless one knows somebody adept at this hobby, very tough to find professional paid help to assist in building a model
4. like surfing, the RC community seems clannish, not welcoming newcomers
5. this idea that light buckets and LED light kits are not widely available from
the factory by RC model manufacturers for many car models and model kits
at LEAST as an option
6. bodies by the vendors that often have to be trimmed by hand very unlike the nice stamped hard bodies that come in Monogram
or Revell static model kits with the wheel wells "already cut out" and molded in color


Until this hobby improves and becomes more accommodating to more people,
I will most likely stick with cheap toy cars from China.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Well this hobby in general has been around a long time for air and surface craft. Modelers and builders started it and if something they wanted didn't exist they made it themselves.........and they still do !
If you are a want it now type of person and don't have the skills to build/make something you want then you will have to be happy with what is available in the un-box and drive market. Otherwise get to work making or modifying something !

1QwkSport2.5r

This reminds me of another fellow recently complaining about $30 toy grade RC cars not having the radio frequency printed on the box or listed in the product description and not having proportional controls. The hobby is driven by demand these days, and the fact is there is little
demand for highly detailed models with specific features. I agree with flyinwalenda in that if one wants certain features on an RC car, you will have to get to work and start making stuff. Look at the scale rock crawler guys - they get down to the finest detail like scale gas cans and roof racks. The scale model boat guys the same - they make those detailed pieces themselves.

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

There's always going to be people who dont, can't or for whatever reason, learn new skills. Modeling is a skill, whether static or rc. You can buy all the parts to build a cop car, just need to do some drilling, cutting, painting, gluing and bolting together, basic model building skills. No hand fabrication or anything like that. But for some it's too much, that's why there's fully assembled die cast models and rtr rc cars to supply that demand.

Your cop car is easy. Pick a 1/10 touring car chassis. Then pick a body, lights and siren. Drop it all off at a local hobby shop and let them paint it and put it together. Most hobby shops do painting. If not there's custom rc body painters everywhere, they sell on eBay and elsewhere. Contact one and let them know what you're looking for. If rc was that unwelcoming you wouldn't have received this much help, but we are probably gonna poke fun at ya a little.

davenport_95

The trouble with my cop car is those headlights and taillights: the BUCKET thing. Why is Tamaiya too cheap to supply these things for customers who want them at least as an option?

The trouble is I want something special and exclusive: all my own: I want it to look neat and not sloppy in workmanship. I only need help in the areas I am tender in: custom body work and paint.

I was a professional mechanic by trade. I fixed engines and transmissions, but when it came to something cosmetic on the body exterior, I relied upon an automotive body and paint shop or a collision center.


The RC car hobby seems to lack complete 'auto RC body and paint custom shops' or COLLISION CENTER at least as far as my Googling efforts. A few places offered paint but no custom body work of other types that requires cutting, grinding, molding, fabrication, drilling, filing, precise body hole locating, body lighting, machining etc.

The other thing is the license plates to fit my body nicely whether custom made one off or bought aftermarket if anybody sells such things.

I already found a source for the light bar and siren kit in 1/10 scale. The problem is I need the holes to be located in the roof so the thing is perfectly centered and not cockeyed. Then there is the problem of drilling the holes in the body to fit the posts of whatever chassis I happen to have: Tamiya or somebody else. I can't have my body installed cockeyed either.

This hobby is much too expensive to end up with a car that looks Mickey Mouse like some little kid put it together.

Can my local hobby shop offer me any of the following if the price is worth their while?

-trim lexan bodies
-paint bodies
-do custom decal or painted-on livery body work
-install custom LEDS in custom-fabricated buckets if necessary if no lights or buckets happened to be supplied with the body
as in the case with many Tamiya "racing" bodies?
-install my light bar on the roof neatly or at least drill the holes in precise locations
-fabricate and install license plates
-possibly, fabricate a special police bumper for me

I will have to contact some of them and ask them about what they can do for the customer and how "pretty a song" (money????) I would have to sing.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

The old saying in full scale racing also applies to the RC hobby. "Speed comes at a price". Also "Those who break ... fix". If not, then as already mentioned one can get almost anything done, made, performed, fixed, etc... for a cost.

mattster1971

You can build just about anything you want and I feel sure you can find someone to do it for you if you aren't skilled or just don't want to bother. Half the fun of this hobby IMO is to wrench on your vehicles. I think most of us derive pleasure from time spent perfecting and fixing our vehicles. I saw your other post asking about a cookie cutter ready to run type of police vehicle, there isn't much call for that. Certainly can be made but not sure I have seen anyone who makes one out of the box. Personally I wouldn't want a cop car, those I would want to crush with my foot. They are there when you don't need them never when you do.

cbaker65

I gave some advice!
An like these Guy's said ,theres plenty of awesome folks out there to do the work for you.
What your asking of is a one off custom car in which manufactures isn't going to produce for one person....LOL
Theres not a demand in that category!

However ,thank God that theres a whole lot of hobbiest out there that has some awesome skills!....

You know where to find them ,so get some custom stuff done an quit he hawing around!...

davenport_95

I am writing a letter to a big LHS in Sacramento, CA right now. Their website says they are pretty knowledgeable of the RC hobby and that they have "crashed it, burned it and sunk it" before themselves. Whether they or somebody they know in my area can roll me a sweet cop car one off is yet to be seen.

The Saylors

Wanting something unique and original out of the box is an oxymoron. If its RTR then it is mass produced in which case there isn't anything unique about it because there are 20,000 of them. Roll up them sleeves and do some tinkering. Even if your first vehicle looks like a turd when your done at least you will have learned something for the next car. After 2 or 3 cars i'll bet you manage to produce something cool! I wouldn't advise you saying that this hobby is clannish or uninviting, as you can see there are a lot of nice people in this hobby willing to help out strangers even when they start off less than nice. There will always be jerks but lets make them the exception to the general rule! I have met a lot more weirdos then *****s in this hobby lol

davenport_95

I am actually NOW asking the LHS is they can MODIFY something that starts its life out of the box a certain way to suit my tastes. I am not about to cut my own fingers off trying to craft something special with my own hands. I am willing to sacrifice a few C notes to make it happen however. I am now well aware that out of the box hobby-grade cop cars are extremely rare on Planet Earth (or at least rare on Google and Yahoo!). If I were to want a fire chief's red car, a telephone lineman's truck or an ambulance, the same would apply, I suspect.

I don't like the Vattera Camaro or Ford Mustang CHP car. Those body styles make me nauseous.

Not all of us are gunsmiths but we can pay an expert a handsome sum to engrave that otherwise plain factory shotgun for us.

For a certain sum of money, somebody in this world must be willing to help me achieve my dream car.

Money talks and the RC world should hear it clearly too.

Give me a CHOICE, please. My eye muscles are just aching from seeing all kinds of stuff like this below scattered all over the pages of the World Wide Web for days now. PUKE! BARF! RALPH! GROSS! GAG ME WITH A TRANSMITTER ANTENNA!

Dear RC Gods, please grant the industry some IMAGINATION!

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

Told you we'd probably make fun of you a little. But seriously you're only talking about a custom painted Lexan body. Any decent painter can do what's needed on the body of your choice. The light buckets are a little tougher to custom make but mostly just time consuming. Personally I'd just go the foam block backed with aluminum foil route. Maybe tint the body with paint in the head and tail lights so it's harder to see the foil and led's which should probably be done even with buckets. You can add surface mount led's under the body in the grill area or where ever you want. Just need to tell the painter where they're going and the size of them so they can mask the body properly where the led is going. Then you can glue them in or have the painter do it. If you're going to have them do it then get the led's, plan out where you want them, wire them up, label where they go and give them to the painter for installation.

Probably the hardest part is the push bar if you don't like the Vaterra one. There's plenty of ways to make one of that's the case. Btw there's no bodywork to do on a Lexan body besides cutting away parts of it. Can't add, fill or anything like that. And Lexan is way better than the rigid plastic type as they'll just break in an impact, Lexan is pretty durable. Having a custom body made from scratch in any material would be way too expensive.

castlebravo

You need to go over to the RC Tank forums and see what they are doing over there.....they are the MASTERS of modifying and creating custom models that cant be purchased.......but I guarantee......they are going to laugh at you if you cry to them like you are doing here......


CB

davenport_95

Oh, I LOVE the Vattera push bar, but not the REST of the Camaro body.

Now that I think of it, I can probably roll a decent-looking and functional push bar at home using my Dremel tool and perhaps some balsa sticks, small bolts or a piece of sheet metal and a can of paint.

davenport_95

It's that mere thought of cutting away on lexan that makes me gun shy and rather nervous.

I don't need a high impact body because I only drive conservatively anyway. I am not going to wreck no hobby-grade car
considering the price of them puppies!! I am no racer or speed demon. The cop car is to be mostly for show to impress neighbors and friends on my block with flashing lights and siren wails. I drive slow like an old lady anyway. I need a 4-door touring/saloon street body
to make a proper K9 patrol car. Police don't normally put a working dog in the back seat of a two-door car. The two-door sporty jobs in law enforcement are high-speed pursuit cars.

A good police 4-door body in 1/10 might be something like:

-Ford Crown Vic, the modern classic American cruiser (I have never seen one that exists in 1/10)
-BMW 3 series, M3 or 5 series 4-door touring car
-Mercedes 280 or 300 4-door (classic late 60's/early 70's)
-Toyota 4-door
-Dodge 4-door
-Lincoln 4-door
-Plymouth 4-door
-Peugeot 4-door
-Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud or Silver Shadow 4-door
-Volvo DL 4-door, 1970's

I don't like Chevrolet.

I have a perfect driving record on my full-size car.

The Saylors

I was nervous when i had to cut bigger wheel wells on my slash. Measure a bunch of times and use body shears, please please please use proper shears, you will hate yourself if you dont lol. Those tank guys ARE crazy! saw one this morning that was 3d printing parts at home. I was floored when a bunch of guys chimed in talking about their 3d printers too! Makes me feel like a old guy lol These darn kids and their make out party's.

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

Yeah Lexan is super simple to cut. Buy the Lexan scissors, cut wheel opening leaving about 1/8" more material than needed. This is to avoid scissor marks on the good part of the body. Then put a sanding drum in the dremel tool and finish the wheel opening all the way. Btw I don't follow the manufacturers advice about trimming after paint, I trim before paint to the paint doesn't get messed up while cutting and drilling. As long as the plastic film stays on the outside of the body you don't have to worry about overspray.

The hard part is the painting of Lexan when multiple colors or detail masking is involved. You basically have to mask too much of an area and use a knife to cut way the excess tape. Liquid mask makes it a little easier but it's still an art form.

Figures you like ford instead of Chevy. Never seen a crown Vic body but have seen the 1990's 9C1 Caprice. Only Dodge is the Intrepid and that's more of a race style body. There's a few BMW's the rest of your list has never been seen.

CESSNA 421

My Feedback: (17)

Be grateful you are not an R/C model plane flyer with all the unnecessary restrictions that have been placed or will be placed on our hobby due to the irresponsible morons flying drones. Not to mention the lack of intervention on the AMAs part while something could have been done.

The Saylors

Ya that's a whole other can o' worms. I'm sure someone will, unfortunately, kill a or maim a kid with one of the XO-1's and we will be in the same boat. Speaking of boats, it will happen with them too, with all the people drowning trying to retrieve lost toys and remembering, once they are half way across a lake, that they suck at swimming.

Love To build

My Feedback: (30)

Here's a website http://www.rcpolicelightbars.com/1-10-S-Cars.html.

The Saylors

That light set looks really cool but that website is really horrible looking lol. My wife designs sites and i had her come over to see it and she about died. Lights look really vibrant! It would be cool to get flasher box with all the different flash types.

nitrosportsandrunner

considering what a clear, unpainted body costs...I too wish they came pre-trimmed. I HATE cutting bodies. Ive made bad cuts, scratched the paint before...and when I didn't I spent far more time doing the job than I cared to. Painting isn't that bad, but trimming them is a huge pain. seems just lazy that they don't pre-cut them.

the RC makers only make what they feel is in demand (reason why I cant find a torsion chassis for my micro crawler) and so there are few companies or people making items for niche markets.

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

Just as a reminder guys, lets keep this civil here.

1QwkSport2.5r

I think we are.

Hemikiller

My Feedback: (125)

There's a reason why hardly anyone one makes a 4-door body - no market. Kinda like why the 4 door Chevelles were scavenged for parts for their 2 door brethren. If you can't find what you need in the market, you'll need to either settle for what's available, make it yourself or pony up to have it made. I'm sure there are plenty of guys out there that would be glad to fire you up a custom body mold and vacu-form up a couple lexan bodies for the right price.

You'll also find, once you get into the hobby, that most people have a "show" body, and one or more that that actually run the car with. RC cars take a beating, intentional or otherwise. I did lots of customizing when I was deep into the Tamiya craze in the late 80's. All those cool lights and doo-dads just pop off or break the moment you have a run in with a solid object. Flip that car over and your $100 light bar is now smeared across the pavement in little pieces. The hobby is far more about function than form.