The radio control hobby can be very exciting and confusing if you are just starting out. The most important thing is choosing what is right for you. With there being so many different aspects of the radio control hobby it is hard to decide what is the right fit.

With there being radio control airplanes, power boats, sail boats, helicopters, motorcycles, cars and trucks and how they are powered electric or nitro.

In this article let us just look at ground vehicles. There are many different vehicles to look at just in this category. One of the first things you need to determine is where you are going operate your new rc vehicle at.

Are you going to bash around the backyard or go to a vacant lot, construction site, gravel pit or large parking lot or your local race track. When you decide just where you are going to run your new rc vehicle at, will determine if you want an on-road or off-road rc car or truck. Or maybe one that could do both off-road and on-road. Many off-road rc cars and trucks can be modified to run both on-road and off-road.

So, you have decided on where you are going to operate your rc vehicle at. Now there is more decisions to make, what scale rc vehicle is right for you. This is another area that has many different sizes to choose from all the way from the large 1/4th scale down to the micros at 1/36th scale.

One determining factors here could be cost the large scale models are high priced, where the small scale models are much more reasonably priced. Depending on the amount of cash you have to invest in this hobby may limit you to a certain scale.

While we are on the subject of money, like any hobby the rc hobby can be expensive. Besides the investment in a rc vehicle there are many other items that you will need to purchase to operate and maintain your rc vehicle.

With almost all rc vehicles being highly sophisticated pieces of equipment you are going to need tools that are specially designed for working on your new vehicle. Some of these tools are hex drives, nut drivers, screw drivers both Phillips and flat blade to just name a few.

Besides those tools other pieces of equipment are needed. Depending on the type of power plant you choose a battery charger, starter box, temperature gun or glow plug igniter to just name a few. Besides the tools and other equipment needed, you may want to setup an area for working on you rc vehicle, storing tools and equipment.

Another big part of this hobby is modifying or hoping up your rc vehicle to suit your personality. This can also be a large cash investment. With almost all makers of rc vehicles offering many hop-ups for their vehicles there are many other vendors that also make hop-up parts for many different rc vehicles.

Now let us look at how is your new rc vehicle going to be powered. The two most common power plants for rc vehicles are electric motors or nitro glow plug engines, the only exception are the large 1/4th and 1/5th scale models they most often run 2 cycle gas engines.

The big determining factor here is where you are going to run. An electric powered rc vehicle can run any where indoors or outdoors, while a nitro powered vehicle for the most part is limited to outdoors. There are a few indoor nitro tracks around the world. Is there an advantage to one or the other, besides where they can be run, NO.

With all the advances in both battery and electric motor technology over the last couple of years and the improvements made to nitro engines this is close to a toss up. It is up to the individual, some prefer electric while others like nitro. Run times, power and speed with either power plant are for the most part the same.

So, you have decided on the type of power plant, on or off-road and scale. Now all that is left is the type of rc vehicle. For on-road you need to choose between a sedan, touring, drift or pan car.

If off-road is for you than you have buggies, truggies, stadium truck or monster truck to choose from. The big option here is if you want 2wd or 4wd. This is another area for the most part is up to the individual some like and prefer 2wd, while others prefer 4wd.

If you are thinking about getting into this hobby,welcome. Take your time choosing your first rc vehicle. Stop by your local hobby shop, if you have one close, check out manufacturers web sites, rc forums and rc related web sites.

Ask questions, almost everyone involved in this hobby is more than welling to help anyone new to the hobby. Always remember this hobby is about having fun and making many new friends.