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emerson_shih wrote:

esaresky75 wrote:Had a thought tonight... 3D plastic printer. Decent units are $13,000 to $19,000 and are perfect for a small production run. Once the initial time is invested for the design and programming, the rest is virtually automated.

Yes! 3D printer is a great choice! Is the material strong enough?

I don't think so

emerson_shih wrote:I can not earn money in the wheel project. That is why I lost my interest to invest another one.

However, if I did not do this, I will never know the market is so small. But I'm still very happy to earn many friends here.

Many have said it before, it shouldn't be about the profit or money, it's not going to happen unless you are AE or Losi, etc. It's about keeping the enthusiast happy, the vintage hobby going and making friends in the process. Emerson, recall I "invested" in Lohas with the sale of the Red Ultima bodies to you. I lost (invested) money, but I gained a friend (I hope) in the process. You should just strive to break even, nothing more.

I think Emerson sold the wheels at about 1/2 price and I told him so. I believe his hope for a small profit is so he can invest in bigger and better projects and I have no problem with a profit helping to further his projects in this hobby. I know my comment about his price being low may not be popular but I think if you love the hobby you want to encourage an entrepreneur like Emerson to continue to invest in it.

m_vice wrote:

emerson_shih wrote:

esaresky75 wrote:Had a thought tonight... 3D plastic printer. Decent units are $13,000 to $19,000 and are perfect for a small production run. Once the initial time is invested for the design and programming, the rest is virtually automated.

Yes! 3D printer is a great choice! Is the material strong enough?

I don't think so

JQ Has used "cheap" method when he was making prototype parts for THE Car and was able to drive, jump and crash with them. Here are couple of links to his page:
http://jq-products.com/the-reports/the-story-intro/103-the-story-part-4
http://jq-products.smugmug.com/JQ-Products/2010-Testing/15065235_pKAPG#1125624288_Pb8Er
http://jq-products.smugmug.com/JQ-Products/THE-Car/THE-SpyShots/11418040_njJYb#957037022_RD4RU

Jirka

a01butal wrote:I think Emerson sold the wheels at about 1/2 price and I told him so. I believe his hope for a small profit is so he can invest in bigger and better projects and I have no problem with a profit helping to further his projects in this hobby. I know my comment about his price being low may not be popular but I think if you love the hobby you want to encourage an entrepreneur like Emerson to continue to invest in it.

I'll second this, totally. Emerson did a fine job with his wheels and I can also say (as I have bought two) that his Red Fox kit is top quality too. I'm only too happy to support entrepreneurs in this respect (Marwan is another who comes to mind) in the hope that they continue to produce exciting things in the future and if that means paying a little more in premium then so be it.

I asked Emerson many moons ago whether he would consider doing a repro of the MIP 4x4 kit (I'd love one of the early chain drive kits) but his expertise is more towards metals, I believe (Emerson, feel free to correct me here) - I'm not sure he has the full know-how re plastics. Also, I can fully understand that his motivation for further products has dropped considerably given the lack of profit and the considerable hassle he had on the wheel side of things. That said, I agree with Mr Lexan in that this vintage business is not a really sustainable money spinner. If any of these sort of projects are done, they should be done for the love of it with a view of breaking even......but that does require rather an altruistic approach from the producer which, I appreciate, not many will be willing to adopt....

Not my intention to put a dark cloud on this project at all as I would love to see these get reproduced but the expense would be considerable. The only way I can see this happening is if MIP get's involved. The killer is tooling for the plastic injection pieces. As a manufactures rep, I work with a custom plastic injection company and my best guess is that the entry fee could be about 7-10k on the molds. The actual parts would probably amount to about $10 in plastic and processing but you have to absorb the tooling to break even. It is possible that rapid proto-typed parts could withstand being used in a runner but it would not be an efficient way to produce more than a few kits. The most cost effective production method in my eyes would be to have all of the plastic parts machined out of derlin or other grade. Shoot for about 25 to 50 kits at the most but there really wouldn't be any money it by the time you have to machine everything. If you could sell a couple hundred kits you could go injection and possibly turn a profit but probably not at the kind of margin most companies are willing to risk in this economy.
I agree with CNA75, the project would have to be done for the love of it. Unfortunately with a high entry fee, this would be a tough one to get off the ground unless your already involved in the RC business.

The best thing we can hope for is that someone stumbles across a case of original kits in the basement of an old hobby shop.

But you do raise a really interesting thought- delrin is really easily machined, cost effective and durable- the pulleys and belts are easy enough to come by- and the the front box parts are simple to remake as well-

mrlexan wrote: Emerson, recall I "invested" in Lohas with the sale of the Red Ultima bodies to you. I lost (invested) money, but I gained a friend (I hope) in the process. You should just strive to break even, nothing more.

Oh, my brother, I'm so sorry about I can not bringing you more business for the laxen body. I do appoligize if it makes you losing the money.
And I agree with you, I do not expect to earn money in RC business. Break even is good enough, since I have another full time job, I don't rely the income from LOHAS. I just need a rest. Once I earn enough money, I will sure creat new project soon.

CNA75 wrote: I'll second this, totally. Emerson did a fine job with his wheels and I can also say (as I have bought two) that his Red Fox kit is top quality too. I'm only too happy to support entrepreneurs in this respect (Marwan is another who comes to mind) in the hope that they continue to produce exciting things in the future and if that means paying a little more in premium then so be it.

I asked Emerson many moons ago whether he would consider doing a repro of the MIP 4x4 kit (I'd love one of the early chain drive kits) but his expertise is more towards metals, I believe (Emerson, feel free to correct me here) - I'm not sure he has the full know-how re plastics. Also, I can fully understand that his motivation for further products has dropped considerably given the lack of profit and the considerable hassle he had on the wheel side of things. That said, I agree with Mr Lexan in that this vintage business is not a really sustainable money spinner. If any of these sort of projects are done, they should be done for the love of it with a view of breaking even......but that does require rather an altruistic approach from the producer which, I appreciate, not many will be willing to adopt....

Dear Charles, I really appreciate you great support and understanding. You are right. I'm more skillful in metal bending and manually CNC. The plastic injection part is not my major. Since I own a small metal bending factory, I can not creat a project which feeds nothing to my factory.

Charlie don't surf wrote:But you do raise a really interesting thought- delrin is really easily machined, cost effective and durable- the pulleys and belts are easy enough to come by- and the the front box parts are simple to remake as well-

This got my attention!! I've seen a few belt companies but where are the pulleys available? I'm working on an MIP 4-10 now and would like a new front belt pulley.

Thanks,

Jeff

xxxmain wrote:

Charlie don't surf wrote:But you do raise a really interesting thought- delrin is really easily machined, cost effective and durable- the pulleys and belts are easy enough to come by- and the the front box parts are simple to remake as well-

This got my attention!! I've seen a few belt companies but where are the pulleys available? I'm working on an MIP 4-10 now and would like a new front belt pulley.

Thanks,

Jeff

There are a lot of companies that sell belts, chains, and pullys...
https://sdp-si.com/index.asp
You can try some of those robotics stores too. They seem to have a lot of RC related stuff. I was thinking myself of trying to make a Hyperdrive stlye belt drive car.

This thread seems to have stalled, so here is my attempt at a revival. I sure would love to have one of these also. I remember wanting one, but never pulling the trigger. I have a source for some parts, but not a full kit to do a build like all of us would. "IF" MIP still has the mold tooling, the other bits would be a machining process. Seems simple in context.

If we really want something like this to happen, IMO it will require more than just a handful of kits. Most likely 500 minimum to make is worth while for MIP. That being said, I plan to contact MIP tomorrow with my request for a re-release. I suggest everyone that is interested does the same.

David.K wrote:This thread seems to have stalled, so here is my attempt at a revival. I sure would love to have one of these also. I remember wanting one, but never pulling the trigger. I have a source for some parts, but not a full kit to do a build like all of us would. "IF" MIP still has the mold tooling, the other bits would be a machining process. Seems simple in context.

If we really want something like this to happen, IMO it will require more than just a handful of kits. Most likely 500 minimum to make is worth while for MIP. That being said, I plan to contact MIP tomorrow with my request for a re-release. I suggest everyone that is interested does the same.

IIRC, one of the pages of this post stated MIP no longer has the molds anymore. I still feel the 3D printer is the way to go and would be plenty strong.

I'll be taking a look at these, macined Delrin, Aluminum, & such. I'll have a vendpor forum in a couple days, do stop by & comment! Chris Rogue Element Components

I would love to get a couple of kits for cars I have.. I had one of these and it was AWESOME!! Best of both worlds.