Radio control car craze hits Jakarta
Vishnu K. Mahmud, Contributor, Jakarta
Radio control cars have always been an interesting pastime for boys. Whole summers were dedicated to racing with friends, adding accessories and tinkering with the engine.
And, up to a few years ago, RC (as radio control is commonly known) cars were expensive, could only be used on certain tracks and were only sold in specialty shops. And they were mostly targeted for kids.
Not anymore.
Enter the Auldey "Race Tin" cars. Made in China, these toys are perhaps the best example of why the four Asian Tiger economies (Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and Singapore) are always wary of their Giant Panda neighbor to the north. Guangdong Auldey Toy Industry Ltd. (www.auldey.com) has produced millions of miniature radio control cars with an ultra competitive price. Many different car designs are available, from a Peugeot 206 to the Morris Mini. And they run wherever there is a flat surface.
The concept of the RC Race Tin car is rather simple. The car is enclosed in a small transparent tube with the remote control console built into the top cover. This allows the user (or driver) to quickly store and transport the vehicle. The controls have four buttons, each to control the car on a two dimensional axis (forward, back, left and right) -- a very straightforward yet intuitive solution.
What attracts many adults to this toy is the ability to modify the cars to the max. The basic vehicle has plastic wheels, primitive drive train and a relatively reliable engine. Users, however, can adjust their cars by adding specialized suspensions, rubber tires, efficient gearboxes, lights, super-powered engines and other accessories.
The Race Tin cars are scaled at roughly 1:32 to a normal car. However, with full modifications, these small vehicles can zip around at speeds of up to 38 kilometers per hour! Scaled upward to a real car, it would be the equivalent (if not faster) to a Formula 1 car.
Auldey cars are so popular in Thailand that magazines and Internet websites have popped up, offering the latest accessories as well as tips on upgrading the car. You can visit the Rod Krapong website (which means Canned Cars) at www.rodkrapong.com to see some photos and movies on various miniature cars in action.
A small but growing community is beginning to evolve in Indonesia. Budi Santoso, a graphic designer, started up the first Auldey mailing list with Yahoo Groups (id-auldey@yahoogroups.com) and is trying to organize some friendly races among mini RC owners. The reason for his passion for the Auldey is its affordability.
"Other RC cars are rather expensive and can't be modified. With Auldey, you can hack into it and make it do things that its designers never even thought of." Budi owns at least eight cars and has upgraded half of them. Seeing his cars race around the Senayan Stadium jogging path is quite a sight. "The Auldey is a car for the masses."
Albert Saerong, an information security specialist, concurs. He helps others modify their race cars. "It's fun to tinker with these small cars and see how fast they can really go," he says. "The real fun begins when we get together and have mini races."
There are a few drawbacks to the Auldey. The quality of the car is not the same as its Japanese counterpart Tamiya since Auldey uses magnets instead of servos to operate the vehicle and there is no speed control on the Race Tin cars. With only one speed, it can make maneuvering the car around obstacles rather difficult. In addition, there are limited frequencies to each car. Should you and a friend share the same radio frequency to your cars, you can't race each other.
But the Auldey can be upgraded to become the fastest toy car ever, beating every other miniature carmaker this writer has seen. The upgrades cost more than the car itself but the final product would make any Schumacher-wannabe proud.
The Auldey Race Tin cars start at about Rp 70,000. They are available in department stores, street kiosks and various malls. You can also find them online at Rod Krapong in Thailand or www.jabotabekshopping.com/racetin for local orders. For accessories, you can contact the speed demons at id-auldey@yahoogroups.com to help you out.