Hobbico, Inc. was a manufacturer and distributor of hobby products including

radio control Radio control (often abbreviated to RC) is the use of control signals transmitted by radio to remotely control a device. Examples of simple radio control systems are garage door openers and keyless entry systems for vehicles, in which a small ...

airplanes, boats, cars, helicopters and multirotors/drones. Other products include

plastic model :''In art and architecture, plastic model may also be any three-dimensional physical model, regardless of material.'' :''In mechanical engineering, a plastic model is a mathematical model of a material which incorporates plasticity.'' image:South-G ...

kits, model rockets,

model trains Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

, slot cars, crafts,

jigsaw puzzles A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaiced pieces, each of which typically has a portion of a picture. When assembled, the puzzle pieces produce a complete picture. In th ...

and games. The company had approximately 850 employees worldwide. On January 10, 2018, Hobbico filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced the company is for sale. On April 13,

Horizon Hobby Horizon Hobby, LLC. is an American international hobby product distributor, headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, United States. It currently manufactures various hobby-grade radio-controlled (RC) models, as well as Athearn model trains and die ...

acquired control of most Hobbico RC brands & IP (excepting Great Planes Manufacturing). Estes Industries acquired the Estes-Cox business unit and a German VC group acquired Revell Germany whole and the Revell-Monogram brands, IP & molds. Its headquarters is located in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

. The company distributed over 150 brands of hobby products including about 30 proprietary product brands. Proprietary brands include: Axial, ARRMA, Dromida,

Team Durango A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...

, dBoots,

Revell Revell GmbH is an American-origin manufacturer of plastic scale models, currently based in Bünde. The original Revell company merged with Monogram in 1986, becoming "Revell-Monogram". The business operated until 2007, when American Revell was ...

Monogram A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series o ...

, Top Flite, Great Planes, AquaCraft Models, FlightPower, Heli-Max, SuperTigre, O'Donnell Fuel, Duratrax,

RealFlight RealFlight RC Simulator is a radio-controlled airplane and helicopter simulation software series developed bKnife Edge Softwareand now published bHorizon Hobby The software allows for the flying of numerous RC aircraft, helicopters and drones so ...

MonoKote MonoKote is commercially available lightweight plastic shrink wrap film available in various colors. It has a heat-activated adhesive on one side and is used to cover the surfaces of a model aircraft. The material is cut to size and applied to the a ...

, Carl Goldberg Products, ElectriFly, Coverite, Dynaflite, Flyzone, MuchMore Racing, LiFeSource, Tactic, VS Tank,

Estes Industries Estes Industries is a model rocket company that was started in Denver, Colorado, USA. The company was the first to mass-produce model rocket engines with consistent and reliable performance. It is popular among hobbyists of experimental amateur ...

, Proto-X, TrakPower and others. It was the exclusive distributor for Futaba radio control products in North and South America, for

O.S. Engines O.S. Engines is a Japanese model engine manufacturer. The company was founded in 1936 by machinist Shigeo Ogawa ("Ogawa Shigeo" in the Japanese surname-first tradition) for the production of model steam engines. The name of the firm could have eit ...

in North America and HPI Racing,

Italeri Italeri S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of plastic scale models of airplanes, military vehicles, helicopters, ships, trucks, and cars. The company was founded in 1962 by Giuliano Malservisi and Gian Pietro Parmeggiani to produce accurate scal ...

Novak Electronics Novak Electronics, Inc. of Irvine, California, United States was a manufacturer RC electronics. Founded by RC enthusiast and electronics engineer Bob Novak and originally a manufacturer of servos, Novak is primarily known for its line of elect ...

and Nine Eagles in North and South America.

Company history

* In 1971 Tower Hobbies was founded by Bruce Holecek. * In 1972 Great Planes Model Distributors was founded by Don Anderson. * Hobbico was started in 1985 when Tower Hobbies was combined with Great Planes Model Distributors to form Hobbico, Inc. * In November 2005 the company became a 100% employee-owned ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). * In May 2007 Hobbico acquired Revell-Monogram, famous maker of

plastic model kits. * In January 2010 Hobbico acquired model rocket maker

. * In September 2010 Hobbico was appointed exclusive distributor for

Thunder Tiger Thunder Tiger Corporation () is a Taiwan manufacturer of radio controlled models including airplanes, helicopters, cars, boats, accessories and engines. Thunder Tiger is the maker of MT4-G3, Raptor e720, Ghost+ drone, award-winning R/C submar ...

in North and South America. * In January 2012 Hobbico acquired the brands Axial, Durango, Arrma and dBoots tires. * As of January 2015 Hobbico no longer distributes Thunder Tiger products. * In 2012, Hobbico acquired Revell Germany located in Bunde, Germany, and launched Hobbico Europe. *On January 10, 2018, it was announced that Hobbico had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. *On 30 June 2018, it was announced that Hobbico had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and went into liquidation.

References

{{Radio-controlled models

External links

Official web site
Model manufacturers of the United States Jigsaw puzzle manufacturers Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Toy companies established in 1971 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2018