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The Backyard – My Predictions for the Hobby in 2026
Greetings all, happy Friday and happy new year! It’s that time again — my annual look ahead at what I think the RC hobby has in store for the coming year. And, as tradition dictates, we’ll circle back on this list at the end of 2026 to see how I did… for better or worse. Looking back, 2025 felt very much like [...]
The Backyard – So… How’d I Do With My 2025 Predictions…
Happy Friday all! Welcome to The Backyard. A year ago, I kicked off 2025 by rolling the dice on some hobby predictions — not insider stuff, just guesses about where the hobby might be headed. Now that we’re near year’s end, it’s time to take stock and see how those predictions held up. Retro Racing Truly Arrives in Force? This one feels like [...]
The Backyard – The Case for Unfinished Builds
Greetings all- Happy Friday and Happy Holidays! With the holidays creeping up over the next couple of weeks, a lot of us are starting to shift gears a bit. Travel plans, family time, colder weather, and end-of-year chaos have a funny way of slowing things down — including time at the workbench. And if you’ve been in the R/C hobby long [...]
The Backyard – AI Slop is Ruining R/C Facebook Groups
Happy Tuesday all! Welcome to The Backyard. (Sorry for the delay, I couldn’t get something up on Friday due to some last minute running around I had to do!) There’s no doubt that AI has plenty of legitimate uses, and it’s clearly here to stay. I’m not here to argue either of those points, and I want to put that qualifier [...]
The Backyard — The Times They Are A-Changing (In Distribut…
Greetings all and Happy Friday! If you’ve been paying even casual attention to the business side of the hobby over the last couple years, you’ve probably noticed the ground shifting beneath our feet — and not because your buddy finally upgraded to 4S. I’m talking about distribution. The “who gets product from who” part of the hobby that most consumers never [...]
The Backyard - Black Friday Edition AKA I Don't Need It But …
Greetings all, and Happy Friday — and more importantly, Happy Black Friday! Every year, my local hobby shop rolls out an in-store–only Black Friday deal that’s just too good to ignore. I always tell myself I’m “just stopping by to look,” but the moment I walk in and see that glorious store-wide discount sign, it’s over. Next thing you know, I’m [...]
The Backyard: The Scottsdale That Rekindles the Retro Monste…
Greetings all and Happy Friday! If you’re a fan of old-school scale trucks — and let’s be honest, if you read this column you probably are — RC4WD just dropped something that hits every retro nerve in the best possible way. Their new TF2 “LWB” RTR W/ Chevrolet K10 Scottsdale Hard Body Set (Scale Dept. Edition) is a full-on love letter to [...]
The Backyard – Welcome to Build Season
Greetings all, and Happy Friday! Welcome to The Backyard. We’re sliding into that time of year when the temps drop, the trails get muddy or frozen, and a lot of us quietly migrate from the backyard to the workbench. This is the unofficial start of bench racing season — when the trucks get torn down, the parts bins get reorganized, and [...]
The Backyard – Buy Once, Cry Once: The Great Servo Debate
Greetings all, and Happy Friday! Servos might be one of the most hotly debated pieces of gear in all of R/C. Scroll through any group or forum and you’ll find people passionately defending their favorite brands — or proudly showing off a $20 import they swear punches above its weight. And honestly? I get it. We’ve seen a lot of off-brand servos [...]
The Backyard – Frankenstein’d Monsters!
Greetings all, and Happy Halloween! Welcome to a spooky edition of The Backyard! It’s the day of the year when witches, spooks and monsters take center stage — though, for R/C fans, we’ve been creating our own kinds of monsters all year long. And no, I don’t just mean the kind with giant tires and chrome roll bars (though those certainly [...]
- 10/31/2025
- 1:56 pm
- The Backyard
- By: Doug
The Backyard – Rally Fever
Greetings all, and Happy Friday! If you’ve been reading The Backyard for a while, you might remember my column — “I’m Shocked That R/C Rally Racing Isn’t More Popular.” Well, it looks like the hobby gods have answered, because Traxxas just dropped a new rally machine that’s about as good a reason as any to check-out the category — the Mini [...]
The Backyard – Vegas Goes Vintage
Greetings all and Happy Friday! Las Vegas isn’t just about neon lights and blackjack tables this week — it’s also home to one of the coolest RC events of the year. The Team Associated Vintage Championships are happening right now at The Orleans Hotel & Casino, bringing together racers, collectors, and die-hard fans to celebrate the machines that built the hobby. [...]
The Backyard – Reefs RC Enters the Vehicle Game
Greetings all and Happy Friday! The big Pro-Line By The Fire annual crawling event is happening this weekend in Apple Valley, CA, and as is tradition, it’s brought with it a wave of new product reveals from across the industry. One of the biggest announcements making waves on the rocks? The REEFS XP10 Plague Founder’s Edition. REEFS RC built its name on [...]
FMS 1:10 FCX10 Land Rover Range Rover Camel Trophy Edition R…
FMS is bringing the spirit of the Camel Trophy to 1/10 scale with their new FCX10 Range Rover — a release that promises equal parts nostalgia and trail prowess. How well does it deliver? From: FMS Direct Link: FMS 1:10 FCX10 Land Rover Camel Trophy Edition Range Rover Link to Companion YouTube Video Review: Click Here Review By: Doug Welker Pictures By: Doug Welker Specs- RTR or [...]
- 10/9/2025
- 4:02 pm
- Featured Posts
Reviews - By: Doug
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The Backyard – What Happens in Vegas… Fills Your Hobby S…
Hey all, Happy Friday! As if the last couple weeks weren’t crazy enough with all the product announcements, this past week in Las Vegas was the annual National Retail Hobby Store Association show, better known as NRHSA. It’s always a unique one on the calendar because it’s not just about the manufacturers showing off their latest toys, it’s also about the [...]
