Axial availability

[1967Typhoon]

Man I heard some stuff about this last night from a close friend.

If what he told me is true (and it all sounded believable), them having manufacturing issues overseas would be a TREMENDOUS understatement. I'm not gonna share what I heard though, so please don't ask.

[Frank211]

Y'all know hobbico bought them???

[1967Typhoon]

Originally Posted by Frank211

Y'all know hobbico bought them???

That's old news from 2012. It has nothing to do with this at all.

[smog]

Originally Posted by 1967Typhoon

Man I heard some stuff about this last night from a close friend.

If what he told me is true (and it all sounded believable), them having manufacturing issues overseas would be a TREMENDOUS understatement. I'm not gonna share what I heard though, so please don't ask.

Oh please omniscient one...

[Frank211]

Originally Posted by 1967Typhoon

That's old news from 2012. It has nothing to do with this at all.

With all the paper work between them , wouldn't that be why no axial at the moment ....my bad if it had nothing to do with availability from axial.... I learn something new everyday

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by 1967Typhoon

Man I heard some stuff about this last night from a close friend.

If what he told me is true (and it all sounded believable), them having manufacturing issues overseas would be a TREMENDOUS understatement. I'm not gonna share what I heard though, so please don't ask.

[1967Typhoon]

Alright. Whatever, nerds. Hope you don't need parts this summer or kits until the fall. And I hope you stocked up on older parts, because they are gone forever.

[smog]

Originally Posted by 1967Typhoon

Alright. Whatever, nerds. Hope you don't need parts this summer or kits until the fall. And I hope you stocked up on older parts, because they are gone forever.

That's it?

[Ascender'nMN84]

"And boom goes the dynamite..."

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[1967Typhoon]

That's all I will say. Who knows if Axial will tell the full story. I got the info from someone in the industry. I'm sure you don't believe me, and I'm sure you think I'm just trying to be cool or whatever, but I CAN tell you guys that it's bad, and parts and kits are going to be out of stock for much much much longer than the Late May time frame listed on Amain and Tower. If you thought waiting to get an SCX10.2 kit was bad last summer, that will be like a walk in the park compared to this.

[TheLetterJ]

When I bought (another) Wraith earlier this year, parts availability played a BIG role in my decision between Kyosho, Axial, and to a lesser extent, Arrma. I knew that I could build an Axial entirely out of aftermarket parts so the lack of OEM stuff really didn't matter much. If Axial closed their doors forever, it would not have changed my decision. It's kind of like my old square bodied Chevy, they've been discontinued for longer than 1/2 the people on this forum have been alive, but you could build a new one with parts from your local Vatozone.

[Ditchrat]

This isn't that difficult of a situation to understand. Hobbico bought a brand not a manufacturing facility. When you farm out production you are at the mercy of your business partnerships.

So 2012 hobbico buys axial, 5 years down the line supply issues. I would guess and only guess that the production contract that went along with the sale of the brand has come to it's end. Now hobbico has no molds, no facility and no way to resupply.

[1967Typhoon]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Now hobbico has no molds, no facility and no way to resupply.

This is the part I didn't want to reveal.

But it's out now, so whatever.

Axial lost all of their molds. Gone. Forever. If you know ANYTHING about manufacturing, you know how tragic that is. They have to re-make all of their molds. That is very expensive and very time consuming. Not to mention they are going to have to evaluate which older products are worth producing again. Bye bye Honcho cages. By dingo fender flares. See you later, 5-bucket light bars. Tons of old stuff that gets recycled by the newer generations might be gone forever. It's sad. It really is. It's like Axial has to do a complete reset. I also heard DECEMBER as a likely time frame for having kits back in stock. I'm sure we might see a small batch in Late May, but then it will be back to drought.

[smog]

Originally Posted by 1967Typhoon

That's all I will say. Who knows if Axial will tell the full story. I got the info from someone in the industry. I'm sure you don't believe me, and I'm sure you think I'm just trying to be cool or whatever, but I CAN tell you guys that it's bad, and parts and kits are going to be out of stock for much much much longer than the Late May time frame listed on Amain and Tower. If you thought waiting to get an SCX10.2 kit was bad last summer, that will be like a walk in the park compared to this.

I am just yanking your chain man. Why not just spill what you heard? Sure it's a bummer if true, but from what I have seen on this site guys will only get more creative if so. Besides, there is a new Traxxas scaler coming out

Edit: I guess you just did

[JatoTheRipper]

The no molds thing has been thrown around often. It's never been confirmed that I have seen.

Even when companies source products out to vendors they put it in their contract that they own the molds if they're smart. They pay for the molds so that they own them.

Axial has been making dumb decisions since its inception so they might have got burned here, but I doubt it. It's also possible that China isn't playing fair and just is holding Axial's molds hostage thinking that they can significantly raise their prices because Axial doesn't have alternatives.

[Ditchrat]

Those molds are not gone and will shortly show up in a variety of places as clones

So lets just say that this is the case. How much longer can Axial survive without selling any products?

[Ascender'nMN84]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Those molds are not gone and will shortly show up in a variety of places as clones

So lets just say that this is the case. How much longer can Axial survive without selling any products?

Why do you think they are pushing Axialfest so hard this year? Drum up Dollars one way or another. They're allowing aftermarket parts (framerails for example) now to draw in more people.

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[1967Typhoon]

Well, for the sake of the company I really hope the confiscated molds / production facility closure info is just rumor and not indeed fact. That would be absolutely devastating. Especially with Redcat, Traxxas, and HPI releasing new rigs this summer.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Those molds are not gone and will shortly show up in a variety of places as clones

So lets just say that this is the case. How much longer can Axial survive without selling any products?

It's not a stretch to say that if Axial's old manufacturer still has the molds. There's a reason almost every RC4WD part is sold by different companies...

You'd think Axial could survive a long time without stock because of their large parent company. But with the rumors of HobbiCo's financial difficulties I'm not so sure. It's in their best interest to keep Axial alive though because that company is popular right now and I'm sure they have contributed more than their share to the company's profits.

Originally Posted by Ascender'nMN84

Why do you think they are pushing Axialfest so hard this year? Drum up Dollars one way or another. They're allowing aftermarket parts (framerails for example) now to draw in more people.

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I think Axial was hurting financially even before the absence of stock.

[ROWDY RACING]

Breaking 6 month old news.