Innovator at work: Andy Jacobson

Radio Control Car Action, Jan 2000 by Gonzalez, George M

What do Masami Hirosaka, David Spashett, Mike Swauger and Joe[ Johnson have in common? They've all won world championships with the help of an Andy's R/C Products racing body. Andy's custom-painted bodies are extremely popular with club-level racers because the bodies took like those used by the top factory drivers, and they cost less than you would spend if you bought the body and painted it yourself. The Andy's Stratus body also won "Favorite Body" in RC Car Action's "Readers' Choice" awards; it's one of the hottest setting bodies of all time.

As it happens, Andy Jacobson is our guest "Innovator" this month, and that means you'll get a rare, behind-the-scenes took at Andy's R/C Products and find out about one of the RC industry's most popular mold makers.

Radio Control Car Action. Let's start off with some background. When was Andy's R/C first established, and what were some of your first products?

Andy Jacobson: I've been an RC fan for over 20 years. My first experience with RC cars was at the McCoy I/a-scale On-Road Championships at the John Thorpe Raceway [future home of the Ranch Pit Stop in Pomona, CA] back in 1978. At that point, I decided that I had to have one of those cool RC cars. Because of my background in painting and pinstriping full-size cars, I quickly developed a flair for painting RC car bodies. Soon all my friends at the track wanted me to paint their cars' bodies too, so my hobby quickly grew into a business. While I was racing, I looked at the RC bodies that were available and started thinking about how to increase their performance and which other bodies might be fun to race. In 1987, Andy's R/C Products was established, and my first body was a Mercedes for dirt oval racing, It won the IG West Coast Dirt Oval Championships the first time out in competition. What a confidence builder!

RCCA: What led you to get involved in the RC business?

AJ: I enjoyed the idea of designing and painting RC bodies, but I didn't realize the potential until some time in the early 1980s, when Gil Losi Sr. gave me the opportunity to paint bodies every Wednesday night at the Ranch Pit Shop. On race days, I would take orders to custom-paint bodies, and then my customers would pick up their bodies at the end of the race. This was very convenient for the racers, and it allowed me to make enough money to purchase a vacuum-forming machine and rent a small shop where I could design and paint RC car bodies under the Andy's R/C Products banner.

RCCA: Where was your first shop?

AJ: In San Dimas, CA. I had one vacuum-forming machine and two employees-including myself We worked many long hours to compete with the larger manufacturers and remain independent so we could make the bodies that I wanted to make.

RCCA. Where is your shop now, and how many people do you employ?

AJ: Our new shop is in Ontario, CA, not far from the original location. I now have six great employees.

RCCA: How did you develop your sculpting and mold-making skills?

AJ: When I was six or seven years old, my dad would bring home plastic car models for me to build. Plastic model building and detailing is actually one of my hobbies, and I still compete in static model national championships. Of course, I just couldn't paint and glue the car together; no, I had to reshape the body and manufacture parts that weren't included in the kit so the models would resemble the cats I saw racing at Ascot and the 6o5 Speedway, where I went with my dad on weekends. Later on, I learned more technical information about mold making when I worked at Hooker Headers.

RCCA: Where does your inspiration come from? How do you decide which bodies to mold next? Are your ideas or concepts at all related to full-scale racing?

AJ: Oh, definitely; I'm a racecar enthusiast. I love NASCAR, Touring, Fi, CART, Drag and Sprint Car racing. Basically, I'm a fan of any vehicle that has four wheels and is raced in competition. I also rely on some of the top RC racers in the world, such as Mike Swauger, Ron Rossetti, Joe[ Johnson and Masami Hirosaka, for input on future projects. Their information is extremely vital to the growth of my company and the direction that Andy's R/C Products takes.

RCCA: How do you keep up with the great demand for custom painted Andy's R/C bodies?

AJ: The past two years have been the most exciting-and the most demanding. We've been running nonstop since Team Trinity/Team Losi driver David Spashett won the touring car IWC and the IFMAR Worlds with our Stratus and Saubers bodies. It's a great feeling! Custom-painted bodies have always been in great demand, which explains why so many other manufacturers are entering my area of specialty. I'm literally painting as fast as my airbrush will go to keep up with the demand, and I'm working on new tooling at the same time. As you can imagine, Andy's custompainted bodies are available only in limited quantities. If I wanted to make a fast buck, I could mass-produce my bodies, but the quality would ultimately go down, My autograph goes on each and every custom-painted body that leaves our factory. This lets customers know that they have purchased a high-quality body with a high-quality paint job.