Now people can't stop talking about the 1/12th Fantom 4wd re-re!!! :)

[XLR8]

I couldn't agree more - the car looks great! In fact, all the cars posted here so far look great.
Chris, yours reminds me that I definitely need a green car in my RC collection.
Would you mind sharing which paints you've used?

[treystoys]

Looking good Chris! I like the green on green!

[1300GT]

Thanks fellas,
I used Tamiya polycarbonate paint. PS-23 gun metal, PS-8 light green and PS-17 metallic green.

[sundevil67]

Determined not to get gouged on eBay, but already getting tired of waiting for Kyosho America to restock...

[treystoys]

Determined not to get gouged on eBay, but already getting tired of waiting for Kyosho America to restock...

I got an email from Kyosho America last week, they said they had a shipment due in by the end of December but it was oversold out already. Their suggestion was to get on A mains preorder list. I guess I lucked out when I paid retail plus shipping for mine right after Kyosho had them on eBay for 219 shipped and sold out in a few hours.

[sundevil67]

Wow - thanks for the info. I followed your advice. I'm not in a hurry to get it anymore after taking a closer look at how many unfinished R/C projects I actually have sitting in my closet...I just definitely don't want to miss out or wind up stuck paying too much on eBay (like I have been doing for OG Fantom stuff for years).

I got an email from Kyosho America last week, they said they had a shipment due in by the end of December but it was oversold out already. Their suggestion was to get on A mains preorder list. I guess I lucked out when I paid retail plus shipping for mine right after Kyosho had them on eBay for 219 shipped and sold out in a few hours.

[treystoys]

Yeah no problem at all. I have kept an eye out on the Kyosho rerelease stuff fairly closely. I honestly had no idea on what the pricing was going to be like on the Fantoms. Watching the them randomly pop up over the years for super high prices, I automatically assumed the rerelease was gonna be high too, not even thinking about how reasonable the other rere kits were. So when they popped up for 219 shipped I got excited thinking they’d be fairly easy to get. By the time I got off work that day they were sold out. I got on Kyosho Americas waiting list and emailed them about availability, then checked out A mains site, they offered a pre order, but could not give me even an estimate on eta, so I held off, the next day the kit I bought popped up on eBay for retail plus shipping so I just jumped on it. The email I got from Kyosho about preordering with A main was the response to my initial enquiry.

[GoMachV]

I’m on that Amain preorder list. With a coupon it was $205 so I’ll just wait it out

[Coelacanth]

Nice work on both cars, guys...I'm liking the green-on-green color scheme too, and I agree--everyone ought to have a green car on their shelf.

[duckhead]

I’m on that Amain preorder list. With a coupon it was $205 so I’ll just wait it out

Same

[1300GT]

Schumacher make long boss pinions in 48DP with a 1/8" bore ranging from 17t to 31t in steel or alloy. Just thought I'd share this info for owners who are using motors with a normal length shaft so you're not stuck with one gear ratio.

[sundevil67]

Other than the Fantom, I hadn't really tried to order Kyosho parts since the start of the pandemic until now, and I'm seeing how widespread the issue is. I just need a few odds & ends for my Plazma, and even the overseas shops I used to count on for this stuff seem to be out of everything. I really hate to get this stuff on eBay and pay 4X the cost of the actual parts in overseas shipping, but in this case I can't even find everything I need that way. I know it's a long-shot, but figured I'd ask - anyone in the US have a source to share with solid Kyosho inventory?

[rraeford]

Anyone know anything about the Kyosho supply chain? I know the pandemic isn’t over with. Just wondering if there’s any info floating around.

[sundevil67]

Apparently these guys have a couple over in the UK...but they want >$100 over list price + a fairly hefty shipping price. I couldn't do it; they have to get 'em in stock eventually. I've heard nothing from Kyosho America officially, nor is there any public announcement I've been able to find. You'd think corporate HQ would issue some kind of statement at this point. Kyosho fans in the US already have a tough time sourcing anything locally...this could make it even less likely to find Kyosho at your LHS when all of this is over.

[rraeford]

Thanks for the reply. According to the Associated website, many of their kits are out of stock. I think the lack of transport options may have an effect as well as the shut downs. I have had the Fantom back ordered since Amain put it in their site.