Troopermanaic

My Feedback: (7)

Well what you see here is just a rough draft of what I am going to be selling in the near future. It's 1/4th scale crawler kit and it will be about $50-$80. I am going to add a skid plate and battery mounting plate to it and somewhere to easily mount the electronics, for now its just the bare bones.

I wanted to hear how people feel about the design of the chassis, I think it looks great but id rather get an unbiased opinion. The chassis isn't 100% correctly measured so the final product might seem slightly different.

Later on I might add axles and other equipment to the kit but unfortunately I am broker then broke so I gotta start off with this. I know they sell 1/4th scale parts online so making this crawler complete shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

Heres a picture



Front


Top


Bottom


Side


ISO

rast4man

My Feedback: (10)

Although that looks fantastic, if you have the capabilities to make parts for such a large scale, why not make them for 1/8th and 1/10th scales and actually be able to turn a profit since those parts are more in demand IMO.

Troopermanaic

My Feedback: (7)

I guess I can make multi sizes. The material is hard to get.

Kitsune

My Feedback: (7)

That's a valid point, but on the flip-side of that coin, what's going to set his product apart from the rest in an already well supported segment of the market? It's a good looking design, but not substantially different from what's already out there. Your original idea of making it 1/4 scale at least makes it stand out in terms of size. Where's your source for 1/4 scale axles? The only thing close to that size I've seen is at RC4WD. If I were you, I'd be sure to inform any potential customers exactly where parts to finish the truck can be found.

Also, I'm curious as to what kind of machinery you have to make these with? I'm looking to get into RC parts fabrication myself, and am glad to meet someone with similar ambitions.

Troopermanaic

My Feedback: (7)

I am going to be making 2 versions of it, A CNC metal version and a plastic injected version. The plastic injected version might cost less then $20. ALSO I might add a body to this for a small extra charge. I have a vacuum former so its a possibility I might add hard plastic bodies with this kit. At 1/4th scale for less then $100

Funny thing is that I made my own CNC machine, plastic injector, and vacuum former. Spent less then $300 for all 3 machines.

Kitsune

My Feedback: (7)

That's incredible! Sounds like you've got a great lineup of capabilities then. I'd love to see some picture of your machines. Been wanting to make something for vacuum forming and especially injection molding.

HJJFFFAA

How did you make your own CNC machine?

MTboy

I'm interested in this too.. Have pics??

proanti1

My Feedback: (2)

Corner the market on 5th and 6th scale bodies. You will probably make more. There is no reason for a $300 lexan FG body.

nitrosportsandrunner

i like the idea of plastic frame kits.
while metal is much nicer, not all of us can afford to build with the best. but a plastic frame that costs less makes a great basis for some of us to build our own crawlers. i built a crawler out of a wheely king. it was ok at 1st, but i eventually got a new frame. not that the plastic one was a problem because it was plastic, but because its dimentions were poor.
i would buy a plastic 1/10 crawler frame for $20 in a heartbeat!!!
i have aways wanted a plastic rollcage that would fit on a stock rustler vxl(under the body) and mount to the shock towers. wouldnt have to look fancy, just give some extra strenght to the body in a roll-over crash.

piddlefoot

Looks good, but how do you compete against the giants, like traxxas , hpi, kyosho, tamia etc etc etc ?
You will have to sell them as custom jobs, expensive, people will look in other places.
RC machines are so so so cheap compared to 15 or more years ago, china has stopped manya new  companies, like yourself, through sheer mass production and extreem low pricing.Hard to beat, even the established giant companies are struggling to hold pateincies from these thieves.
l feel for you, it would always be better to have more companies than less, but befor you invest thousands of dollars, take a good look at the comp and realise what your really up against.

Kitsune

My Feedback: (7)

You have to remember, though, he has an advantage over the big companies in that he's doing this on the side (I assume anyway) and his time, equipment, etc. doesn't need to pay for itself. He can afford to build and sell designs as a way to see what works and generates interest. The big companies can't afford to do it that way because of the tremendous amount more money it takes to bring a product full cycle from concept to consumer's hands.

Troopermanaic

My Feedback: (7)

Heres a good site to "learn do it your self" stuff. This is where I learned to build all my machines except the injector moulder.

http://www.instructables.com/