About GamePeople

R/C Club Simon's Story

Column: Radio Controlled Gamer Blog
Previous | Next
Game Reviews
Home | Family Video Game Guides | Specialist | The Radio Controlled Gamer Column

Subscribe to the Radio Controlled Gamer column:
RSS or Newsletter.


Why not try our Blog, Radio or TV shows. Click for samples...


R/C Club Simon's Story Blog

R/C Club Simon's Story

Buy/Support:
Support Rupert, click to buy via us...


I'd not driven a radio-controlled car since I was 12 years old (that's 23 years ago I've just realised), but last Sunday's inaugural 'Dads R/C Club' took me back to my pre-teenage year as if it were yesterday.

The 1/14th scale BMW M3 Carisma I was using looked as good out of the box as it had on the photos I'd seen. The 4WD set-up, low riding chasis and detailed decal on the body shell looked the business. Even better, the car was up and running in minutes.

What impressed me even more was the variable steering setting on the controller, allowing even the novice to get to grips with 'art' of drift cornering. You can set a dial that determines how easily the car will hand its tail out. Dial down for fewer spills, or right up to wrestle the little beat around each apex.

Technology obviously hasn't stood still in the R/C world either. Most obviously these cars were really fast. I'm sure my reactions have dimmed in the intervening years since I last played with one, but on the straight, they literally motored! In fact, in the space of our hall we struggle to get up to full speed before braking for the next corner.

This venue was a wooden basketball court sized hall. Races were meant to be 'low competitive', ten lap run-ins, just to get started... yeah right. In no time the responsive controller and grippy tyres had brought out the best, or worst, in all of us. Great fun.

It wasn't long before we started tinkering with the set-up to get the competitive edge on each other. Stuff you wouldn't dare do on a real car but could manage with ease with the included tools and spares that came with the car. Some of the tweaks were enforced - James' wish-bone suspension couldn't handle a direct hit into the wall - while others were speculative, adjusting the wheel tracking to get the best out of the cornering. I don't know if it made any difference and frankly, I don't care. What I do know is that four mature(ish) Dads from Devon, spent an evening at the races and turned the clock back. I felt a bit like a kid again, and you know what? I loved it.

By the end of the evening we were all keen to rush of to CML Distribution to order spares and step up parts - there was even talk of under-lighting one of the cars. As well ad adjusting the cars we also knew we needed to work on our track. Top of the list is to get hold of some flexible rope to make marking the course easier as well as encouraging the cars back on track when they stray.

Blog Series: Previous | Next

Written by Rupert Stelling

You can support Rupert by buying R/C Club Simon's Story



Subscribe to this column:
RSS | Newsletter

Share this review:

Rupert Stelling writes the Radio Controlled Gamer column.

"Having grown up racing Tamiya radio and remote controlled cars and trucks I was keen to get my kids started on the same hobby. Here, I share my R/C reviews and guides to getting started in this electric and petrol powered world."


© GamePeople 2006-13 | Contact | Huh?

Grown up gaming?

Family Video Game Age Ratings | Home | About | Radio shows | Columnists | Competitions | Contact

RSS | Email | Twitter | Facebook

With so many different perspectives it can be hard to know where to start - a little like walking into a crowded pub. Sorry about that.

But so far we've not found a way to streamline our review output - there's basically too much of it. So, rather than dilute things for newcomers we have decided to live with the hubbub while helping new readers find the columnists they will enjoy.

What sort of gamer are you?

Our columnists each focus on a particular perspective and fall into one of the following types of gamers: