Categories
Geek Information Interesting Kuwait R/C Toys

A visit to Pro-Hobbies

Tonight I passed by a shop called Pro-Hobbies in Dajeej. I needed some paint for my Tamiya crawler and the Tamiya dealer had run out so they recommended I pass by Pro-Hobbies instead. It was my first time there and the place turned out to be really cool. While Tamiya specializes in on and off road electric cars and buggies, Pro-Hobbies specializes in helicopters and nitro powered race buggies.

While there I also got to check out the KHR-1 Robot. I had seen this robot before on YouTube playing football so it was very exciting to see the robot live. They aren’t selling them yet, they just got one to try it out and see if there is a market for it. The robot costs around KD400 which isn’t cheap but the way it moves is just incredible. It’s fully programmable and is driven by 19 servos (motors) which explains the hefty price tag considering a single servo usually costs around KD12. I took a video of the robot which you can see below. It was running out of batteries and the floor was slippery but you can still see how cool it is.


[YouTube]

If you want to pass by the store they’re located in the mall behind Showtime in Dajeej. Here is a link to the [Map]. They have a website but it’s still under construction. [Link]

31 replies on “A visit to Pro-Hobbies”

Mark have you considered graduating to air-brushing ? It gives better control when you want to paint small panels or parts. As for me I’m still in the spray can phase 🙁

Mathai: i was never good at air brushing when I was in university so doubt will be any better now

itsallgood: yeah they r building a huge on road track where you will be able to race your cars. They have a smaller one in the basement at the moment

Too bad. I see train model shops all over Europe. I also remember seeing one in City Centre Dubai next to virgin. But that was many years ago and it was closed.

I guess there is not enough interest for model trains in the region.

Did they have any model kits for tall ships (sailing Ships), checked out the ones at the Tamiya Store, it was all plastic. I remember before ‘1990’ i used to buy them at Salmiya and at Muthanna, they were quite reasonable and wooden.

Lost the entire collection, and never seen any kit here after that till now

I have two sailing (America’s Cup) hulls in my possession, picked them from the dead storage of an R/C shop in Lebanon when i was a regular visitor.

I wanted to get them a keel and sail kit but couldn’t find any easily accessible, so they are gathering dust in the attic. they are made of fiber glass (will confirm details if anyone shows interest), very well balanced, as they are empty now they float completely upright. adding the keel, battery, mast and servos would have to be done by the book to maintain balance of course.

the only issue is that the hulls don’t have any markings, so i don’t know the model number in order to get the appropriate kit, i guess whoever would want to take advantage of them should know his way around R/C sail boats. no sure also about their size, but tip to transom they are possibly a smidgen over 65cm, maybe a bit more.

if anyone is interested let me know, i would love if someone who knows his way around them takes advantage of at least one of them….

The owner, Nawaf Al-Abdulrazak, is among the few who can actually guide you on troubleshooting problems with most rc gadgets. And the coolest thing is the guy will not try to sell you stuff that is not required unlike others! his technical know how is impresive and if you have ever competed in rc races, chances are you have already met him and have most likely never beaten him. He does have skills

That Robot is a bunch of Servos brilliant engineering and design, but can’t see the point other than to scare the cat..

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *