Expensive... you bet.
Back when they still tried to make these things look like real cars, I was very active in the hobby. Then one day I was at the track, opened the partitioned suitcase I used to transport the cars, and just looking at them, I suddenly realized the toys in my suitcase cost more than the car I was driving, and the car was a top end model, only three months old. I closed the suitcase, went home, and never built another one.
I bet you enjoyed it while it lasted 
Most certainly.
One memorable occasion was when I built a 1/24 scale '57 corvette, with an experimental industrial motor. The car weighed well over a pound, and everyone laughed when they first saw it. The track manager didn't want to take my race entry fee, because he felt the car hadn't a chance to compete. I insisted, so he accepted, and I set up for the first heat race. When the power was turned on, my car was at the mid track bridge before the next closest car had made it to the first turn. Unfortunately, my race ended at that bridge, because the car went up the ramp so fast it went airborne, flew across the room, and crashed through the large store front window, landing out in the parking lot. It was more of a launch, than a race.
On the bright side, I didn't have to pay for the window. The owner said it was worth the window to have witnessed the event.
I also became a track celebrity after that single event; they talked about it for years. It didn't matter how many races I won or lost, all anyone remembered was that I was the guy that took out the damn window.
