As if the interwebz weren’t already jammed with things trying to distract you, here is a video of 1/10^th scale Land Rovers tearing it up out on tiny trails with their friend, a miniature 90s Land Cruiser.

Scaling, as the hobby is colloquially known, involves constructing mini off-road trucks to painstaking detail. There’s even a sanctioning body of sorts that manages the rules, scoring and penalties, and vehicle classes. Classes range from relatively stock-appearing models to purpose-built units with suspension lifts and tube chassis.

Unsurprisingly, cost varies significantly based on the quality of the build.  They are powered by small electric motors and the nicer ones feature functional two-speed transfer cases. Other common accessories include functional lighting, suspension lifts, and recovery winches in case it gets stuck. When a scale rig does get stuck, it is favorable to only use the on-board tools as well as other scale rigs for the extraction, just as with full-sized trucks.

As a general rule, the more detailed and equipped your rig is, the more scale (style) points it will receive at tech inspection. Event scoring is also contingent upon how quickly and expertly your rig completes the course. The challenge involved is finding the balance between authentic visual details, to grab the most points at tech, and functionality, to grab the most points on the course.

Several regional clubs exist around North America with a few overseas to support this rapidly growing hobby. Enthusiast involvement ranges from casually running rigs directly out of the box to folks who invest hundreds of hours creating shockingly accurate models.

Sadly, Supreme Suspensions is yet to offer suspension lifts at the 1/10th scale. I have passed the concept on to our R&D team and am currently awaiting feedback.