Mini RC cars & Micro Racers
Mini rc cars have exploded in popularity over the last few years, thanks to radio control components becoming both smaller and cheaper to mass-produce.
The first scaled down rc cars hit the shops several years ago but even those were big and basic compared to the mini cars of today; the first one I bought was a Mini Cooper and was about 6 inches long - I remember being amazed at how small that was!
But now they can be half that size again, too small even to put a normal AA battery inside. In fact, I've seen such cars being sold in street vending machines alongside bubblegum!
Micro Racers
'Micro racers', as these tiny rc cars are known, provide heaps of fun and are small enough to race round your kitchen countertop or office desk.
They typically feature an on-board battery that takes about 45 seconds to charge from the transmitter, yet somehow gives a run time of around 5 minutes, even longer in some cases.
The controller is normally a very simple 2-button transmitter that gives a range of around 50 feet, which doesn't sound a lot but at this distance your micro racer is too small to see anyway!
Shop for mini rc cars and micro racers.
A typical example of this kind of micro-racer mini rc car is shown below:
The control of micro racers is not proportional (although I'm sure it soon will be!). That means that it's a simple stop/go and left/right action - you can't increase or decrease the speed of the car and you can't steer just a bit, it's all or nothing. But who cares!
Die-cast mini rc cars
A different breed of mini rc cars are the die-cast models. Basically, these are radio control 'Hot Wheels' which, lets face it, is just the very thing that you wished for when you were a kid! They're a bit more expensive but not too much, and are well worth paying the extra bit of money for.
These metal-bodied mini cars have more powerful motors and incredibly can run for up to 15 minutes. And they look fantastic too...
Try eBay for mini rc cars and micro racers.
