RabidModels.com

Rabid Models (Foaming at the Mouth) is a joint venture between Marc Stermer and Steve Lawrie. We are both Radio Control freaks who love the electric revolution that has taken place in the hobby. Marc lives in Burton, Ohio, while Steve hails from Denver, Colorado.

In particular, we have been drawn by the opportunities afforded by inexpensive foam airframes. As we have designed and built more and more planes, our friends have encouraged us to start selling them as kits, and so this is what we are doing...

All the models we have here were designed and flown by us - we fly them all the time! We are warbird fans (we love warbird airshows - check out our airshow galleries), and so we have created a fleet of mostly twin-engined WWII fighters and bombers. The smaller models are based around the GWS-50XC direct drive motors, and the larger planes are using either twin GWS drives, or brushless motors. The planes have scale outlines, and are instantly recognisable as models of real aircraft.

It seems like everyone has foamies. Why should you be interested in ours? Well, we've designed our models with airfoils - it takes a little more work, and there is certainly some craftsmanship involved with building our kits. We're not selling "ARF"s. But the airfoils mean that our planes really fly well, and of course they look great. They are also relatively lightweight - and the lighter a model is, the less power they'll need and that means smaller motors, smaller batteries, and lower expense. But what is it about these planes? First of all we've always admired the full-size WWII fighters and bombers that we're modeling. These airplanes were tools of war (and war is a terrible thing), but the Second World War was a conflict that defined a generation and gave us the legacy that fighting for freedom from tyanny can be worth the high cost. We have nothing but admiration for the brave airmen who flew and maintained these machines.

There were incredible technological advancements on both sides during the war years. Keep in mind that airplanes were only invented 40 years before WWII began. At the beginning of the war, fabric-covered biplanes flying at about 100mph were on the front lines. Within a few years, by 1946 propeller-powered airplanes were capable of flying up to the edge of the speed of sound. They were at their zenith - the absolute peak of performance for piston engines - and jets were arriving on the scene. Our models pay homage to these fantastic aircraft and their pilots. But that's not all. Rabid Models wants to be different - you'll notice that our models are of interesting, exciting, and unique aircraft. They are true to scale and so when you fly them, you will see exactly the same thing as if the full-size aircraft was flying by. We love them! Call us crazy - that only encourages us!

You can catch us flying at local electric flying meets, such as the JR Indoor festival in Columbus Ohio, and we have also gone to the EFEST in Illinois, the NEAT fair in NY state, and the 2008 Keystone Indoor Electric Fly (KIEF) in PA. CLICK HERE for an in-depth article covering the KIEF and lots of pictures of our models on page 4 (and everyone else's too).

We also usually have a booth each year at the fantastic Weak Signals Toledo RC Expo show (look for CA-Plus, our glue supplier) We most frequently fly our planes indoors at the Valley View Sports Dome and the Chagrin Falls Golf Dome. And - there is the secret RabidModels Flight Test Facility Area #52 located at Bill Tacic's farm in Ohio, where you can find the newest experimental creations being drilled into the ground at high speed (actually that only happened once!).

In 2006 Marc and Steve entered in the first-ever Cox Micro-Warbird Races held at the JR Festival in Columbus Ohio. Marc managed to place 2nd and Steve came in 5th. We tried again in 2007 but didn't make it.