Model-makers flocking to Quicks R/C in Surprise

Surprise hobby-shop owner Clayton Fabrizius compares his store to that of a full-service automotive center, but on a miniature level. He opened Quicks R/C at 15170 W. Bell Road, Suite 102, in May. The shop services everything from remote control military airplanes to three-foot-long, mini off-roading vehicles. The shop is becoming popular with long-time model-makers from the nearby retirement communities as well as young kids racing the vehicles for sport.

On painting

Fabrizius said vehicle paint jobs are one of the shop's most popular services. Employees use an airbrush to do custom designs in as many as ten colors. Most vehicles are painted in reverse, meaning the paint is applied to the inside of a clear plastic shell.

That way, Fabrizius said, "The paint job can never be scratched . . . sometimes these vehicles travel speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour."

Sponsorship stickers are often placed on the outside of the shell to finish the look.

On repairs

Many of the remote-control vehicles that come to Quicks are miniature versions of the real thing. Fabrizius said he deals with nitro engines, performs engine swaps and breaks in motors. He tinkers with vehicle suspension and does repairs on 4-wheel-drive, 2-wheel drive and two- and three-speed transmission vehicles.

On model making

The store does not sell stationary models, but Fabrizius said he hopes to add those product lines in the near future. The shop does carry body kits, tools and parts for do-it-yourself repair. Employees also put together body kits bought elsewhere.

One of the shop's most unique vehicles is a rebuildable, remote-control car that is 1/36th the size of a real car, or slightly bigger than a Matchbox car.

On non-land vehicles

Though the cars that come into Quicks are diverse, Fabrizius said it is the boats, airplanes and helicopters that can really get wild. Those vehicles are often the largest - sometimes up to 33 percent of the actual vehicle size. The vehicles are repaired, then tested at Peoria's Lake Pleasant or at airfields run by the Arizona Radio Control Society and Speedworld Raceway Park in Wittmann. Fabrizius said those airfields have miniature runways and observation decks.

Clayton Fabrizius masks a window on an eighth scale pro racing buggy body he was painting in his Quicks R/C Hobby Shop.