It all started when we both bought an RC car again after many years. At the time, we received a promotional email from a large shop that, amongst other things, also sold RC crawlers. Whilst browsing through the website, the 1:10 scale Traxxas Defender caught my husband’s eye. With the words, ‘I really like that one’, the decision was made to get back into the hobby. We then searched online for a shop nearby and off we went to Bochum.
They had a deal that included a battery, a red Defender from Traxxas. We already had a LiPo charger from our airsoft kit. So the initial costs were kept within reasonable limits.
Unfortunately, it didn’t stop at just that one Defender; two weeks later, a second Defender moved in with us. This one was classic green and also came with the battery. And so began the RC crawler adventure. One car and two people is actually a bit silly – one person is always just watching, and you end up arguing over who gets to drive.
A sudden fault with the servo on the green Defender led me to meet Kai Uwe Nickel from RC-HP / ALT Foams, and a deep, close friendship began. A Ford Bronco joined the two Defenders. At first, we’d found a small track just round the corner, but that soon got boring and we started looking for bigger terrain.
Our neighbour then bought a blue Defender too, and another Defender driver from Essen joined us. The idea of the ‘Hanghühner’ was born, and we christened ourselves the ‘Hanghuhn Crawlers’. At the end of 2019, I set up a website so we’d have a place for the photos taken on our outings.
Over the years, people joined the group, whilst others left for various reasons. At times, there were about 20 of us who would roam the woods at weekends in various combinations.
In January 2025, I suffered a severe stroke that threw my life completely off course and also changed the way I approached our very long walks. In the autumn of 2025, the Hanghuhn Crawlers disbanded and we went our separate ways. I deleted the website and recorded a few memories here on these pages.