Asked RPM a question

[scr8p]

I sent rpm an e-mail about re-issuing some of their old parts and making them in the dyeable white nylon. this is the response I got:

"Dear Jason,
It may seem to be a popular thing to restore older RC10's, but i'm afraid it's not a PROFITABLE venture for aftermarket R/C companies to make those parts. Here's an example:

Our RC10 a-arms were re-released for all of you retro guys are selling at a rate of about 5 a month. Considering we make about $4.00 off of a pair of those a-arms and it costs us around $400 to set-up and run a small production run of those parts, you can see it takes us longer than a year just to recoup the cost of running those parts, never mind ever seeing a profit. It is because of that it is highly unlikely we will release any other retro parts any time soon. I apologize for the bad news.

Thanks"

Oh well, it was worth a shot. I was bored one night, and thought I'd ask them.

[joeyskates]

Scr8p what RPM parts were you thinking to have them make? RPM parts for the old rc10 weren't that popular and the only thing I could think of besides the arms that people look for are the gear covers.

[joeyskates]

Oh and don't forget, lets say a company like Associated re-issused something like the white nylon rear bulkhead that we all look for or the whole car for that matter... then the ones we have would drop in value significantly. Not to mention that it would take the "vinitage" out of vintage RC and would take half the fun out of it. Imagine if that MIP 4-10 legends conversion that you finally scored was easily available and now everyone had one?

Tamiya has recently re-issued cars but only the cheap ones like the hornet, grasshopper and the frog. These are basically entry level cars that cost them little to make and also not to mention, have practically no resale value so the re-issue makes financial sense to them since it's just a reintroduction of something cheap to the masses.

All this stuff really comes down to supply and demand.

[scr8p]

well, i don't look to buy something to re-sell it. i buy stuff because i want it. so, i don't really care about resale value. then, like you said, rpm parts weren't that popular, so what old rpm parts would it hurt the value of? i didn't give them a list, so to speak, of things they should come back out with. just general "rc10" parts.

another thing is, most re-issues, differ slightly from the original. i know my rpm front a-arms do, so i don't see it hurting the "vintage" part of anything. if your on the hunt for original parts, you'll buy them instead anyways.

[hardenedways]

That's interesting. I've been wondering about the possibility of re-releasing parts too. I just haven't gotten around to asking anyone.

Just think about how quick it is for Associated to stamp out a chassis. Aluminum sheet goes in, a few dies later and presto!! A brand new chassis. Who here wouldn't want to have those old presses and molds in their garage churning out parts?

"$400 to set-up and run a small production"... Is anyone else thinking what I am? There must be a bunch of retro-enthusiasts out there who would be willing to "chip in" to make these parts available to everyone again. Heck, I'd put up 50 bucks to start if it meant I could simply order a few white RPM gearcovers from Tower. Now if only 7 more of you did the same... Just think about all the time and money you already spend on eBay searching for stuff. Come on guys, lets pass the hat!! (No smiley here. I'm serious)

As far as de-valuing the true vintage parts... So what? These cars were meant to be driven. Stuff wears out and breaks and there's only so many NOS parts out there. I say, if all you care about is the value of stuff then find a new hobby. Maybe baseball cards or Precious Moments figurines or something useless like that. These cars were for kicking up dust, not collecting it. That's just my opinion anyway.

[bscotti]

another option, although a bit tougher, would be to purchase the molding tools from RPM and go to another injection moding company to shoot the parts for us. It's a bit of a stretch, but who knows ...

[joeyskates]

Guys don't get me wrong, I'm all for a re-issue of parts. What I meant by value wasn't $$$ but hobby value or whatever you want to call some of the "fun" factor you get out of this stuff. Like for example, me personally, I get a lot of pleasure just scoring some of this stuff since its rare and sometimes cannot be had at any price so if then all of a sudden it would be really easy to get parts like an MIP 4-10 conversion, at least for me it would take some of the fun out of it.

As far as supply and demand, it seems like that's all it is for companies like RPM and Associated in as much as they would probably like to do it but they aren't going to back something that doesn't make them money. This is kinda sad since I'm sure they would get something out of it in some way if not just brand recognition which could serve as "advertising" for their newer stuff. I figure at the very least, these companies could make us vintage buffs happy and even if the venture lost money, I'm sure they could write it off.

I don't rememeber where I read it but a letter like Scr8p's to RPM was sent by someone to Associated and they gave a similar response saying that some of the tooling had been broken or made into tools for other parts and that it wasn't financially viable. Further, although RPM, which I'll assume is a small company if $400 is a problem for them, Associated is a HUGE company with some big $$$ behind them and a $400 or even $4000 loss would be a piece of cake to write off but be absolutely priceless in the amount of pleasure they could give to some enthusiasts both old and new.

[MelvinsArmy]

I figure at the very least, these companies could make us vintage buffs happy and even if the venture lost money, I'm sure they could write it off.

I don't rememeber where I read it but a letter like Scr8p's to RPM was sent by someone to Associated and they gave a similar response saying that some of the tooling had been broken or made into tools for other parts and that it wasn't financially viable. Further, although RPM, which I'll assume is a small company if $400 is a problem for them, Associated is a HUGE company with some big $$$ behind them and a $400 or even $4000 loss would be a piece of cake to write off but be absolutely priceless in the amount of pleasure they could give to some enthusiasts both old and new.

I'm going to assume you've never owned or run a business. The entire reason for having a business is to MAKE money, not loose it. I don't know of a single for profit company interested in loosing money just so they could keep a small group of people happy. Nobody is going to lighten their own paycheck or risk moving their company into the red just so a small group of crazy vintage rc people can be slightly happier.

As far as remaking old parts, I'm indifferent. I don't really think it's necessary. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of RC10 parts out there, and prices are not insane for what's available. If you really are going to run the car, what's wrong with black arms? As soon as people discovered they could dye white nylon parts, almost everyone did it anyway. It's why white parts weren't around very long. This is the same thing with classic cars and vintage bicycles. You want to use it, you're going to risk damaging something. So what if you do? It just means there might be a little bit longer down time while you search for a part, instead of having the convenience of being able to buy brand new obsolete parts from an online store and having them in 4 days.