Scale Thoughts – Are you a scale driver? or a basher who drives a scaler?

There is no doubt that the scaler world of RC brings in all types of hobbyist from every corner of the hobby. From the Traxxas fanboy who is looking for something a little different to the plastic scale modeler who has always wanted to drive their creations. And with all of this diversity in the segment you witness lots of driving styles. Now I’m not talking about rock racing here, I’m talking about hitting the trail with your buddies or your club and driving as much scale terrain as you can in a Sunday afternoon. Are you the type of driver who creeps along at a scale realistic speed as a full size driver would when he depends on his rig to get him home afterwards (or at least back to camp), or do you drive like a possessed demon who twists axles like there is no tomorrow wheel hopping your way over every obstacle?

For me I enjoy driving my 1.9 rig slowly, picking a line with the same kind of care as you would driving a full size rig, and making that line look easy while careless drivers behind you bellyflop or roll over. Anyone who says that weekend trail rides aren’t competitive needs to take a closer look. There is always a sense of competition there weather it’s structured or not. You can take a sense of pride in your driving when you are able to traverse a climb that the rest of your group struggles with. (and you can really gloat by having to turn back and winch them out of trouble!) It’s all in good fun, but people will begin to notice who the good drivers are, and they usually aren’t the guys who do nothing but grab huge amounts throttle all the time. It’s hard for you to really watch your rig if you are flailing over every thing in your path. But if you slow down and really pay attention to how your chassis reacts to the terrain, identify things you want to tune out and the things you want to make your rig do better and you’ll soon be on the way to being a better driver.

There is also a lot to be said in scale driving that you can enjoy your rig a little more.

Why have a scale realistic looking truck if you’re going to zoom all over the place and not take time to slow down and admire your hard work.

Scale driving essentially provides a moving backdrop for you to see your scaler in action. Watch those swampers really dig in and flex on the bead. Check out the scale tire tracks you are leaving in your wake. Watch the suspension flex as you thread the needle through that tough rock formation. This is all stuff you miss if you’re just mashing the throttle to get over everything. It’s sort of like getting an expensive steak and then wolfing it down without tasting it. Take your time and enjoy the ride!

Now I know a lot of people will argue about rock racing because of its popularity right now and that the rigs tend to be somewhat scale realistic, but that really isn’t what i’m talking about. Rock Racing brings its own sets of thrills and enjoyment, as well as it actually is a race since the object is to finish ahead of everyone else or finish at all. I really don’t even place it in the same category as scaling. Anyone out there who stops to admire his new Vanquish wheels is going to get dusted.

The real beauty of scaling is that you can scratch all kind of itches with it. Some enjoy the bench time fabricating  custom parts to make their rigs completely unique, and some just enjoy the therapy of turning screws and watching a kit come together. For others it’s all about getting out to a comp to shred their rig that was built specifically for that event, just to rebuild it again for the next. The point is you can enjoy this hobby in many different ways but don’t forget to stop and appreciate your creations. You spend a lot of time making your rig look scale realistic, take it a step further and make your driving as scale as the rig itself. It certainly helps for shooting video, but we will save that topic for another time.

Thanks for stopping by gang. Be sure and check back to Scale and Trail RC for scale RC goodness.

Catch you next time!

-Evol

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About Evol 47 Articles
I entered the hobby in the golden age of RC when race cars and bashers were the same thing. I have over 29 years of experience and have participated in almost every segment of RC there is. For the last 6 years I have immersed myself in the media side of RC in the efforts of converting my passion for RC into my job. From video editing and photography to writing about drift cars and scalers, RC continues to be my passion and probably will be for the foreseeable future.