Growing the hobby

[chappy]

Very well said Mike. I find like you that interest is there and maybe needs just to be stoked a bit.
If it is visible people will show interest , and if you can get 1 out of 100 into the hobby then it is worth it.
It is much better to have a club with organization to bring new folk up to speed. Sure they all want to have fun , but part of that is being competitive, not necessarily a winner , but at least in the mix.
They can accomplish that with help at clubs. I also agree that one should support their LHS especially when using it as their club.
Try buying a real car from a dealer out of town and then expect to be first in line for service at your local dealer, nope not going to happen.
As for the analog , digital, I say go with what makes you happy. Any kind of slot racing is better than none.
Bob

[Quick Slicks]

[Mayberryman]

[Ky.Slot Racer]

[oz10k]

One quick thought. In your email account at work, add "Ask me about model car racing!" to your signature file.

Ron

[BARC 1]

If you have a local hobby shop I whole hardily agree it needs to be supported. However the trend is to e commerce, so I am suggesting that any brick and motor store needs to have a web presence to be as much as it can be. Most shops understand this I think. I used to get all my slot car supplies from Fantasy world, but they are gone now. I just ordered some stuff for Slot Car corner a while back, and I am looking for a good place to get Carrera Digital stuff. My nearest hobby shop that carries Slot car stuff is 450km away, so if it wan't for internet suppliers I wouldn't even be in this hobby so lets not beat up on them too much.

The issue is the as e commerce grows there will be a shift to more factory direct type purchases. Why........... because everyone wants the most for their buck and if you eliminate the middle man margins then the cost to the consumers is less. The catch 22 in this is that most hobbies require some mentoring to get people up to speed, and the people who do that mentoring are typical the middlemen in this retail model.

I know it is worrisome to some, but if I were to be honest, I have learned more from you tube videos then from shop owners over the years. So I think the process is already evolving into something much different the traditional retail model. To some this is a bad thing to others it is a good thing. So if we are talking about growing this hobby we need to fully understand how people are going to be exposed to it. I am going to throw out an idea, that most people going forward will hear of this hobby online, not at the local hobby shop. The local hobby shop, other then in big centers has already disappeared.

My personal experience

I was exposed to slot cars through a local track at a young age( in the 60's) because that is the way it was done back then

I then got involved into model railroading . Again exposed to and supplied from a local retailer. (Mid 70's)

I stuck with this hobby until 2000 when I was surfing the web and came across some websites promoting routed wooded tracks. I built a track and messed around with that for about 6 years. All through online discussion and transactions

Next was RC tanks in 2006. Again exposed to and supplied through the Web.

Back into slots in 2015, I obviously was very much aware of the hobby, but I surfed and learned online about where it is at today, and intrigued by the slot car apps for tablets.

So in my case since the advent of the internet my exposure to new a new hobby and the money I am spending is very much influenced by what I read and find online. I suspect the new generation is the same. They will learn and find out about things through their electronic device and the need for a brick and motor store just isn't there any more

So to grow a hobby a basic thing has to happen. Those that know have to show those that don't. We all know the traditional brick and motor retail may be on its way out. So those that know have to find different ways of showing those that don't. I think forums, and youtube are picking up that task, and quite frankly doing a very good job of it. They are also in the environment where the youth is at. Online.

I have had webpages, for trains, tanks and slot cars, and as soon as I get my digital set up running I will again have an online presence to meet people and share what I have learned.

You can get a web page for free from Weebly, or I guess there is pinterest as well ( I know little about it but my wife is browsing there all the time)

So my suggestion is if you want to be part of the growth then get active online. In forums, with pictures, web pages. Be there to share what you know with those that don't. My belief is that is where most of the new blood will come from.

[Audi1]

First off, like others, I certainly agree that supporting our hobby specialists makes great sense, and I try to do that as much and as often as possible.

Second, noodling on this whole topic a little more and focusing on getting the younger generation into the hobby; since it was, by and large, the youth of the '60s that started the original boom in slot car racing, I started thinking this way........

Since most of today's youth are occupied with computer, tablet or smartphone virtuality, if one wanted to get them into a hobby where the reality is not virtual, but is, instead, real, then would you not first need to appeal to them through the media that they are currently using; since that's the best way to reach them? I'm thinking that if I'm Carrera, Ninco, Scalextric, etc.; a maker of toys that include cars, tracks and other slot car items, wouldn't it make sense for me to also be in a slot car virtual reality business?

By this, I mean, wouldn't it also make sense for me to be producing slot racing software games, based on my own products, that could set the stage for a conversion from virtual slot car racing on computers, tablets and smartphones to real slot car racing on tracks? I believe that if someone is having fun in a virtual reality mode, then they are also a prime candidate for having the same sort of fun in the real mode. For example, if the manufacturers produced one or more video games that paralleled their hardware offerings (slot car sets - cars, track, etc.), then the fun that the younger generation was having playing at virtual slot car racing, could, potentially, be translated, with some smart cybermarketing, into real time behind a slot car controller. It's a join-the-market / move-the-market approach. And, it might work.

And what's the downside to it? If you couldn't move the market (and I'm betting that you could; if your virtual reality, your cybermarketing and your slot car offerings were linked tightly enough in the minds of your audience), then at least you'd be in a new "slot car" business that was reaching and appealing to a large segment of your youth market.

Sort of reminiscent of the old Penn Central Railroad; the behemoth company that went out of business because they steadfastly believed that they were a train company, not a transportation company..............

Allan

[BARC 1]

As an example.

World of tanks has created a surge in interest in model tanks. RC tanks and tank in general are getting more attention because of this game.

An app where you build a track and the run cars on it can get people thinking about the idea, and perhaps lead to a real track being set up or built. IF I was Carrera, that is what I would be doing. They have the track app. Now they should add the ability to drive cars on it and sell it in an app store for a $2.00 with links to products embedded in the game.

[Josh's Dad]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned Facebook. There are a number of clubs, show, manufactures and even this forum thst has Facebook groups. Setting up a group on Favebook is relatively straight forward and easy. It is a great place to post videos and pictures of club races and pics of your builds. As long as group,is a public group, many of your posts In the group will also show up on your friends' news feed. Share your club's post in the larger Facebook slot car groups and you may find some new club members or a club you never knew about.

Yes, also support your local hobby stores that support and carry slot cars, parts and tools, especially the stores with tracks. I am fortunate that in my area we have two slot car shops that are focused on 1/32. The only time I purchase on the Internet is when my local shops don't have an item that I need.