RC10 Classic popularity

[Saito]

I posed a question over at Tamiyaclub about whether or not AE would/could bring back the RC10 Classic. I noted that according to Shawn Ireland, some of the molds had been lost overseas when the factory using them went bankrupt. Supposedly, they still get request for the car. I was informed that the Classic was a sales flop and not very popular. Granted, these initial responses were from folks across the pond where the RC10's popularity wasn't as strong to begin with. The RC10 Classic re-release section of RC10talk was also noted for being pretty dead. I was aware the Worlds Car didn't move well, especially after the trans issues became evident, but I always thought the Classic sold fine. Perhaps, I'm completely in the wrong though. How would you all estimate the strength of the Classic's sales were here in the States?

[scr8p]

I think they only made like 3,000 Classic kits, and it didn't take long for people to snatch them all up. So I don't see how it could be considerd a flop.

The Worlds... that was just plauged with issues.

[RC10th]

Yeah, hard to call something a flop when you only make a limited number of something and it sells out, but you fail to make more when the demand is clearly still there.

[1300GT]

It's entirely possible that if the demand is high enough it could be reproduced. Though they'd probably want to sell more than the initial run of Classics to make it worthwhile.

[Saito]

Yeah, that was the initial gist of my question over at Tamiyaclub. If it was deemed profitable enough to do a limited run the first time by drawing up the parts on a computer and producing molds, why not do it a second time, even if the molds needed to be re-made? They still get request for the car. Used examples were heading north price-wise on Ebay before the pandemic. Vintage still seems pretty hot. Tamiya has released so much of their back catalog to the point they're just re-releasing the previous re-releases multiple times now. Losi has admitted that they get request for a JR-X2 re-release and the subject frequently comes up at meetings (though nothing solid is happening). I figure if you've got a product in demand in a market as tough as RC, why not go for it? Perhaps the Thunder Tiger overlords were scared off by the World Car's issues.

[adam lancia]

I think they only made like 3,000 Classic kits, and it didn't take long for people to snatch them all up. So I don't see how it could be considerd a flop.

The Worlds... that was just plauged with issues.

What happened with the Worlds re-re? I was hibernating with a fishing rod in my hand when that came out...

I would think with prices for vintage RC's in general that it would be a no-brainer, but maybe production might be tricky with the pandemic going on considering the location of the factories doing production...? Maybe?

[mikea96]

Yeah i wish they would have continued the world's re-re going longer and I was really hoping for a 10t release.

[shodog]

I read that only 2500 were produced making it by far the most rare release they ever did. I’m glad I bought two when they were available.

The worlds suffered top shaft issues among other things. The aluminum 8/32 screws that came in both the kits are crap and will snap with the slightest of torque. The worlds kits lingered in stores and were eventually heavily discounted.

[adam lancia]

The worlds suffered top shaft issues among other things. The aluminum 8/32 screws that came in both the kits are crap and will snap with the slightest of torque. The worlds kits lingered in stores and were eventually heavily discounted.

Wow, that's brutal. I guess the takeover has done more harm than good to the brand by the sounds of things. That's really too bad.