"BANDIT MAN" - A R/C RACERS JOURNEY TO A HOBBY SHOP OWNER
The journey began in 1982 with the purchase of my first R/C car, a Associated RC10 kit. After spending over a week to get it assembled, painting the body, it was time to get the steering & speed controller servos installed. With that task completed, I installed AA batteries in the radio, turned it on, installed a 6 cell battery pack in the car & as I connected the battery pack, I watched in amazement as my new R/C car went wide open and flew off my work bench. The realization that I must not have things adjusted correctly quickly set in. It was also the moment that I realized at there had to be a better speed control than the resistor/wiper one that came with the kit. Novak was the answer!
After getting over the shock of seeing my new car flying off the work bench, I was able to get everything correctly adjusted and it was time for the fun to began. It only took a few minuted of running the car in the parking lot across the street to realized that I was hooked! From that simple beginning, my journey in R/C racing took many directions which allowed me to race & meet many new friends in places across the US.
It was during those early years of being involved in the hobby that I became a fan of NASCAR driver Harry Gant and the #33 Skoal Bandit race car. From then on, almost every R/C body I painted for my cars were "skoal" green & white and number 33. Many times when I arrived at a R/C track that I had previously frequented, I could hear a familiar comment from some of the local racers, "here comes that Bandit Man". The Bandit name stuck with me and for 30 years it has been the name of my hobby shop, Bandit's Hobbies Limited now located in Hartsville, SC. Even one of my best friends today still calls me "Bandit"!
In the years after getting my first of many Associated RC10's, I was fortunate enough to live, work & enjoy my hobby in many different locations. A few of those locations that bring back lots of memories of good times & great friendships were: Greenville, SC, Selma, AL, Orlando, FL, Richmond, VA, Quakertown, PA, Pennsburg, PA, Pottstown, PA, Easton, PA, Lansdale, PA, Valley Forge, PA, Pulaski, NY, Oswego, NY, Syracuse, NY, Skaneateles, NY, Charlotte, NC, Aberdeen, NC, Irving, TX, Lafayette, IN, Indianapolis, IN, Memphis, TN, Norman, OK, Jackson, MS & Darlington, SC.
Until my transfer to Pennsylvania in the spring of 1984, my R/C experience had been limited to bashing around in a parking lot alone or sometimes with a couple of buddies. My first taste of real competition R/C racing came about during that first summer after I discovered a small dirt oval in Pennsburg, PA. There were a great group of guys there and they were all very helpful in getting me headed in the right direction. The summer & fall of 1984 was a blast, but with the cold Pennsylvania winter approaching, I began to seek out indoor places to race. The fist track that I found was at a Hobby Shop in Pottstown, PA. I entered their 16 week winter pan car series which was held on their indoor carpet track. Race Place in Quakertown, PA also held several indoor carpet races that year and I was there for all of them.
By 1985, my "fleet" of R/C cars had grown to the point that trying to carry them all in the trunk of my car was all but impossible, especially considering the fact that every car had it's on transmitter, I had two (2) Plano Phantom Pro Tool Boxes, plus batteries & chargers and lots of spare parts. Then I came across a small trailer that was for sale & that was the ticket to haul all my "stuff" with me when I went to race. Today, seeing trailers at R/C events is quite common, but back in 1985-1989, the only trailer I ever saw at a R/C track was mine. I don't think I started something, but it doesn't hurt to think maybe I did.
During my time there in Pennsylvania, I made it up to Easton , Pa to Trains & Lanes and spent many hours on their indoor carpet oval track. In January 1986, I has fortunate enough to participate in the R/C event held at the Valley Forge Convention Center, as part of the Miller Beer World of Motorsports Exhibition.
While living in Pennsburg, PA, the idea of owning a hobby shop kept entering my mind as something that might be fun to have once I decided to retire from construction, but at that point in time, I wasn't sure when that might be. I had made friends with the owner of Stahl's Hobby there in Pennsburg and he & I had many after store hour discussions on the pros & cons of owning a hobby shop. Where the idea would go at that point wasn't clear, but it was definitely stuck in the back of my mind going forward.
I met and became friends with many, many R/C racers over the years, met many R/C track and Hobby Shop owners that I have stayed in touch with over all these years even after opening my own Hobby Shop in 1990. I have raced on dirt ovals & dirt off road tracks, asphalt oval & road course tracks, carpet ovals and what I consider the most fun of all race tracks, R/C Club Racing in a city parking lot on a Sunday afternoon.
In April of 1988, my work took me to Oswego, New York and soon after getting my family settled in, I discovered Oswego Hobby and the owner, Dave Patty. Soon after I met a R/C racer named John Cianfarano who knew quite a few other racers and within a short time the Oswego R/C Club was formed and we were having Sunday afternoon R/C races in a city parking lot in downtown Oswego. Our parking lot races became a hit, not only with the racers whose number steadily increased, but our activities were drawing many spectators to the parking lot to watch. In addition to our parking lot racing, our club put on several visible events during the Labor Day weekends in association with International Classic Race Festival at the Oswego Speedway.
My work in Oswego kept me there for almost 2-1/2 years which gave me the opportunity to get in lots of indoor carpet oval racing on those cold, snowy New York weekends. I spent many snowy Saturday night at R/C Competition Corner & at Walt's Hobbies, both in the Syracuse, NY area and on warm sunny Sunday afternoons at Salmon River Hobbies in Pulaski, NY. They had a very large flat asphalt oval track in one of the city parks and I was a frequent competitor there during the summers of 1988-1990.
The pictures I have posted below were taken during my time in Oswego, NY. In the last year, I have been able to make contact with Dave Patty (Oswego Hobby) and John Cianfarano. I wish I could remember who all of the club racers were from back them. Of those pictured below, there are only three (3) that I can put a name with the face; one is Joe Johnson, another is my son Brad and lastly, John Cianfarano. If anyone who visits this page is able to put some names with the faces, I would appreciate you contacting me at [email protected].
OSWEGO R/C CLUB - OSWEGO NEW YORK
SALMON RIVER HOBBIES R/C TRACK - PULASKI, NEW YORK
JUNE 1990 - LAKE WHIPPORWILL R/C SPEEDWAY - ORLANDO, FL
BANDIT R/C RACING - VINTAGE RIDES
A few pictures of some of my most memorable R/C Cars from the past. Definitely vintage by today's standards, but in no way were slow. Back then there were No Lipo Batteries, No Brushless Motor/ESC Systems and No 2.4 Hrz Radio Systems. Can anyone remember the days of having to "impound" your radio?
1990 - 1991 Pee Dee R/C Club - Darlington, South Carolina
BANDIT'S RACEWAY PARK - August 28, 1994
A Legacy of Hobbies – Racing and Trains
Bryan Howle has spent a lifetime following his passions, from racing remote-controlled cars to owning a thriving hobby shop that ships worldwide. Born in Darlington, SC on June 29, 1941, just months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Bryan grew up with a curiosity for mechanics and speed that would define his career and hobbies.
His love for remote-controlled cars blossomed in the early 1980’s and by 1982 he was deeply involved in the hobby. As a Project Manager with Daniel Construction Company, Bryan worked all across the country, but in late 1990, he returned to Darlington for several months between projects and began racing remote control cars on Sunday afternoons behind the old Belk department store on the Public Square. Within a few weeks, the number of R/C racers showing up behind Belk’s had grown along with struggles to source parts locally, which sparked an idea.
In response, Bryan opened Bandit’s Hobbies Limited, a modest hobby shop in a 350-square-foot space on Russell Street, near the present-day Dedicated Community Bank. He quickly outgrew what he called “a hole in the wall” and relocated to a larger 2400 SF storefront on South Main Street. While juggling the demands of his store and a career with Daniel Construction, his dedication to his hobbies never wavered. Despite a grueling schedule that often kept him away from home, he continued his tradition of Tuesday night R/C racing with local R/C racers which included NASCAR driver Ron Barfield.
The turning point for the business came when the Florence Hobby Store closed. Seizing the opportunity, he purchased their entire inventory and expanded into miniature railroads, a move that cemented his reputation as a cornerstone of the model railroad community. As a result, Bandit’s Model Trains was created to support the model railroad business.
Bryan has not been alone in the journey that has now lasted over 35 years, his wife Rose has been an integral part of Bandit’s Hobbies from the very beginning. For the first 15 years, Rose ran the store by herself since Bryan was still working full time and only home on every other weekend. She deserves most of the credit for the direction that Bandit’s Hobbies has taken over the years.
Rose enjoyed trains and especially liked constructing store layouts to promote model railroading. Then there was one very special customer and family friend, the late Dr. James McInnis, who was most helpful to Rose in plotting our direction and efforts in model railroading.
With Bryan's retirement In May of 2005 and returning to the store full time, Rose left the store for the South Carolina Governor’s School in Hartsville, SC. While not at the store full time any more, she is still my partner and assists me with store issues, directions and decisions. Looking back over the last 35 years, Rose was the key to the success of our business and our ability to be here today.
In June 2005, Bryan purchased a 4,000 SF building & property on Auction Avenue, which allowed Bandit’s Hobbies to relocate and expand not only the store retail space, but to build two outside R/C tracks to continue growth in that area. A dirt off-road track and a 375' asphalt paved tri-oval were constructed. Under the banner of "Bandit's Raceway Park", weekly R/C races were held.
A walk-in customer made an unexpected offer to buy the Auction Avenue property in July 2014. Bryan accepted the offer, but kept his business alive by relocating to 1524 W. Billy Farrow Highway, between Darlington and Hartsville, SC. Today, Bandit’s Hobbies thrives not only as a “brick and mortar” hobby shop, but as an online retailer, with 80-90% of its sales conducted through three websites, whose reach has extended to all 50 states and 32 foreign countries, including Puerto Rico and Guam.
The relocation allowed Bandit’s Hobbies to resurrect Carolina Racing Collectibles, a business that was shuttered in 2004. Today Carolina Racing Collectibles (CRC) operates as a 100% online business and specializes in racing collectibles items from the Winston era of NASCAR
Bandit’s Hobbies added a festive touch to their business profile by opening Bandit’s Model Train Haus in November 2024. The Train Haus will showcase Both Lionel and MTH Train Sets, but also a collection of working miniature electric trains, plus an operating O scale layout. Among the highlights of the collection is a Lionel Trump 4545 Locomotive, a limited-edition piece with only 450 units produced, a 1938 Lionel Blue Comet Trains set and many other pieces of rolling stock and locomotives.
Going forward, the Train Haus will be open weekdays from 9AM until 6PM and on Saturdays 9AM until noon. A free Lionel gift will be given with every new Lionel Trains set purchase.
From racing R/C cars on the Public Square to running a global business, Bryan Howle’s journey is a testament to passion and perseverance, and is a reflection of a lifetime of doing what he loves—and sharing that joy with others. At 83 years of age, that passion burns as bright as ever!
The legacy of Bandit’s Hobbies would not be complete unless we pay tribute to several former customers and friends that are no longer with us. For reasons unknown to us, their lives were cut short, but their memory will always be with us. To Trey Dodson, Jim McInnis, Timmy Lloyd, Timmy O’Neal and Basin Sims, may you all “Rest In Peace”.