MIP 4X4 kit for the RC10 - GAUGING INTEREST ONLY

[victor_cathedral]

tamiya re-released a buncha stuff that isnt competitive or useful by todays standards, basically to fill a spot in market for people that used to have them. that doesnt really seem worthwhile either. if mip can dig up the tooling and molds for this, i would think it would be very possible.

[lexus-5]

Hey I got view 8000 on this thread !!! Ye-Haw !!

[Synergy]

Dreamers, your all dreaming. This will never happen why do you think you can't get an update from the member that started this BS. Always excuses if he ever does show up. I've got nothing against him personally but you don't really think MIP is going to make a kit for such a limited market just doesn't make financial sense.
my .02

I'm with you.

[tiger1]

this will not happen, too many excuses, nothing personal

[Lowgear]

If you don't know how to dream, you're dead.

[aip47-2008]

Dreamers, your all dreaming. This will never happen why do you think you can't get an update from the member that started this BS. Always excuses if he ever does show up. I've got nothing against him personally but you don't really think MIP is going to make a kit for such a limited market just doesn't make financial sense.
my .02

I'm with you.

Yes dreams are great But seriously folks. x2

[Romulus-10]

Hello Everyone,

I met with Eustace about two weeks ago after I won that MIP 4wd car off ebay. I wanted to take it to the man and pick his brain. He grew up in the RC world along side my neighbor who's club Gene Husting helped start, and was more then happy to let me stop by MIP. I hate to say this, but a couple of years ago through people on this site and all over the world showing interest, he did his homework and had a poll asking who would want one of these conversion kits., and the truth of the matter is it wasn't enough and it did not make good business sense. He told me there are many new and exciting things he has been working on for the past 5 years, but this is not going to happen. He did say , he won't say never, but he didn't see it happening. And as for having a stock pile old parts, "I wish " nothing there as well. Hope i didn't burst to many bubbles.

Romulus

[victor_cathedral]

i only assumed it could happen if they still had the equipment stored away somewhere to cast some new parts. if all that is gone, it would cost way too much to re-tool just to run a few units.

[Romulus-10]

I think he mentioned the number 10,000 units and that was still not worth doing it. It's a bummer, but I can't wait to see what he meant by wait and see what we have been working one, he said it's something big...Da da da daaaa

[esaresky75]

I think he mentioned the number 10,000 units and that was still not worth doing it. It's a bummer, but I can't wait to see what he meant by wait and see what we have been working one, he said it's something big...Da da da daaaa

I wonder how many units were originally made. With the limited exposure the hobby had 20 years ago, I feel less than 10,000 units were made. As for the molds, yes, molds can cost $25,000 and up for each part - 20 years ago. With todays CNC machines so advance and the design software that goes with it. The cost of making a mold has dropped significantly. I was an part-time apprentice in a machine shop 10 years ago and started to learn MasterCam but then my business picked-up and stopped working at the machine shop.

[shirochanwrx]

I think he mentioned the number 10,000 units and that was still not worth doing it. It's a bummer, but I can't wait to see what he meant by wait and see what we have been working one, he said it's something big...Da da da daaaa

?!

10,000 units?

I can't make sense of that math ... at $200/each, which is what a lot of people would pay, that would mean that they would need $2 million gross to make this work?! Even at $100/each, that would be a cool million. While I understand that the numbers might not work out from a business perspective, there is no way that someone would need to sell 10,000 units to break even on this thing. That number is just crazy.

How can something like a $25k mold, which is an extremely high price for a relatively low temp low tolerance molded item like a nylon r/c part, be a potential barrier to going forward if they are thinking of this kind of volume?

Now, if you can only sell 1000 units, which is a much more reasonable (but still difficult) number to achieve, I can see why this notion is dead in the water.

On a separate note, I can't imagine that there is anything else that he could possibly be working on that would bring as much excitement to a vintage-dedicated RC10 message board as the 4WD conversion kit would. Are you kidding? I would be like saying to a convention of Elvis fans that you *thought* that you had found Elvis alive and well and he was *going* to come to the convention to perform, but you were mistaken ... but wait! You have an "even bigger surprise" for them in store. Like what?

So ... what could he possibly be working on that would be more exciting than a re-release of the conversion kit? Am I missing something here?

[esaresky75]

So ... what could he possibly be working on that would be more exciting than a re-release of the conversion kit? Am I missing something here?

A 4-wheel Steering kit for the RC10T! ....I'M KIDDING!!

[fredswain]

I seriously doubt that 10,000 units were ever made originally. I've only seen one in person ever and that was at the height of it's popularity. It was pretty rare then. I'd believe that 100 were originally made but certainly nothing even close to 10,000.

You don't need to mold the pieces. You could just machine them from solid delrin which is available from McMaster. I own a 3 axis cnc and it is quite doable for someone who has the time and desire to do it and it is the last part that I think is the real problem. He no longer has the desire to do it and only will if it will basically make him rich. I'd rather let it go down in history as a novelty that it is. No one is going to pay $500 for a kit that makes a 25 year old 2WD car handle like a 30 year old 4WD car. Especially one that has all repro parts that only resemble the originals.

[Romulus-10]

I think what he meant was as a business owner in the competetive rc world. There is something he has been working on for years, and is very excited about. Maybe something really good for his company. So the decision to move forward and not go back and re-make something he made over 20 years ago makes good business sense. It doesn't look good to store buyers, or to other businesses in the industry. As much as I love the vintage stuff, you do not walk into many hobby shops , and ask to see what they have in a vintage RC-10 kit. You wouldn't set up at a RC trade show to sell a kit that goes with a car that they stopped making years ago. It would look like your grasping for straws. I think what ever it is he is working on is very important and the right direction for his company. And lastly I think his company is not as successful as a Tamiya, that can release a vintage line, and not care if they sell or not. It would take to much time from his other projects, and be a risk.

[CNA75]

Hello Everyone,

I met with Eustace about two weeks ago after I won that MIP 4wd car off ebay. I wanted to take it to the man and pick his brain. He grew up in the RC world along side my neighbor who's club Gene Husting helped start, and was more then happy to let me stop by MIP. I hate to say this, but a couple of years ago through people on this site and all over the world showing interest, he did his homework and had a poll asking who would want one of these conversion kits., and the truth of the matter is it wasn't enough and it did not make good business sense. He told me there are many new and exciting things he has been working on for the past 5 years, but this is not going to happen. He did say , he won't say never, but he didn't see it happening. And as for having a stock pile old parts, "I wish " nothing there as well. Hope i didn't burst to many bubbles.

Romulus

Thanks for posting this response up. Finally, it means that this idea (and our false hopes) can be put to bed. Whatever Eustace has in the offing, it won't be a re-hash of the MIP 4x4 kit that's for sure.