Photo essay: At RC Cities in Dubai, guests can build their own mini town and run it

Emirati entrepreneur Ishaq Ali Albastaki draws up plans to franchise his concept

First time visitors to RC Cities in Dubai, Zhanbol Nurmukhanbet, his wife Marzhan and their infant son Omar from Kazakhstan give it a try. Antonie Robertson / The National

When Emirati entrepreneur Ishaq Ali Albastaki first came up with the idea for RC Cities, his miniature gaming venue and coffee shop, his business proposal was rejected by many of the top malls in Dubai.

“They wouldn't let me bring all the sand I wanted,” he says, laughing. “Even when I told them the sand was sanitised, they were not convinced.”

Undeterred, Albastaki, 50, continued to scout for locations and finally settled on a location in Meydan. RC Cities, short for remote control cities, opened in July. Here, guests of all ages can let their imagination run wild with hundreds of true-to-life miniature models of all kinds of construction vehicles, from bulldozers to excavators, as well as popular 4x4s models, all remote-controlled.

Construction City at RC Cities. Antonie Robertson / The National

Sand is an important element for the first two “cities” opened at launch at RC Cities – Construction City and Crawler City. At Construction City, guests can dig, scoop and carry sand and build their own cities as they control the miniature vehicles from a distance. Meanwhile, at Crawler City, they can take their favourite four-wheel drives dune bashing or just race with their friends in the mini desert landscape built exactly for that.

Ahmed AlHashemi works on his technically correct Land Rover Defender RC model as his friends watch. Antonie Robertson / The National

There's more coming, Albastaki tells The National. “We will soon have a Maritime City, a Formula One City and many more.” Visitors can currently choose from 50 construction machinery and around 100 four-wheel drives, and they are both equally popular.”

Renting the remote control vehicles for 30 minutes costs Dh35 for the miniature four-wheel drives or Dh50 for construction machinery. “This is just the introductory price for people to get familiar with our concept. I’m currently running at a loss to attract people initially,” Al Bastaki says, adding that he spent nearly Dh600,000 on the miniature models.

Rashed Marwan AlMuthanna drives one of the trucks as other customers watch. Antonie Robertson / The National

Guests can also bring their own remote control of RC vehicles, he says, but there are limitations on size and speed to fit into the play area.

Albastaki came up with the idea for RC Cities about five years ago when, during his travels, he noticed RC fans renting spaces so they could get together and play. Albastaki is a collector of all kinds of RC vehicles, an obsession which began seven years ago. His initial idea was a permanent space where fans of all ages could come and play and meet like-minded people, while also enjoying food and drinks.

Paolo Teuber, 10, and his brother Leandro Teuber, 7, from Germany playing at RC Cities. Antonie Robertson / The National

The RC community is growing globally, even in the UAE. In August, model car racers from all over the country took part in a competition to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Tamiya Mini 4WD World Challenge in Shizouka, Japan, in November.

Albastaki believes RC Cities is the first concept of its kind in which visitors do not need to bring their own models and he is already drawing up franchise plans to take it far and wide. While they are fun and educational for younger visitors, RC vehicles are serious business, Albastaki says.

Technicians maintain some of the RC diggers at RC Cities. Antonie Robertson / The National

“It’s not like video games,” he says. “Here, you can learn, develop and get creative. There's a lot of physics involved and plenty of engineering skills.”

Albastaki also plans to introduce 3D printing so that visitors can come in and construct bridges, roads and houses.

He is motivated by the number of visitors RC Cities has welcomed so far. “At the weekend, I can see 20 to 40 people waiting for their turn,” he says. “And I've met people from around the world who have come in just to see my shop. So it's very encouraging.”

Visitors to RC Cities can pick from 50 construction machines and about 100 four-wheel drives. Antonie Robertson / The National