HobbiCo / Great Planes / Tower Hobbies

[TheLetterJ]

Phew! At least I managed to find a couple small parts in stock to blow my e-cash on before their shelves are completely empty!

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by BDR

This is what happens when a company starts believing it's own hype

The world is littered with the corpses of past successful companies that have stopped innovating, and just sat on their collective arses and said "we done it this way for the last 30 years" , it's called progress.

Tower dies, stiff shit, some one will become the next big thing, then a little while later, another mob will come through and the cycles repeats.

As for Axial and the others, well they need a boot up the arse, another scx10 with a new body is not innovation, it is lazy business, the latest 'innovation'.......Honcho body on a scx10 II chassis for **** sake

IF Tower goes, Axial and the others will be sold off, let's just hope it aint to a investment banker group, and they can finally get back to shaking up the hobby again

I don't see how you say HobbiCo believed their own hype. They are and still are an excellent company to buy from and deal with. They have the best prices and the best customer service.

to saying no big deal if Tower is dead. It's a shame when companies like this, that are good companies that have been around since I was a kid, die. Their catalogs were part of my childhood and I've purchased many, many things from them over the years.

[txbart]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I don't see how you say HobbiCo believed their own hype. They are and still are an excellent company to buy from and deal with. They have the best prices and the best customer service.

to saying no big deal if Tower is dead. It's a shame when companies like this, that are good companies that have been around since I was a kid, die. Their catalogs were part of my childhood and I've purchased many, many things from them over the years.

It’s the catalogs that I question. They send me those flyers every few months & the thick catalog once a year. I just throw them in the trash because they usually have nothing exciting that I haven’t seen on the internet yet. The Axial Bomber leak was kinda fun, the SCX10 ii leaks from a few months ago are ok. But over all, physical catalogs are a pointless & expensive throwback to a bygone era.

How is Hobbico & Tower getting into the heads of new Hobbists in THIS era? How many new people are picking up physical magazines to find all of this cool shit, & the places to buy them?

Maybe my browser doesn’t bother showing me ads for Tower since I check in to see what’s new & in stock every couple of days, so I don’t know if they are doing any advertising.

[durok]

While I was always looking to Tower in my pre-crawler R/C days, I didn't get much more than the Bomber kit and a Futaba 3PV a year and a half ago and then stopped - they simply had nothing more that interested me or that I needed.

RPP has practically all I want, my only gripe with them is their shipping fees - so I wait until I have huge orders or there's a big sale that offsets the additional cost.

AsiaTees has a ton of hot new products that I'd love to order, but I'm tapped out and need to basically stop buying and just build & run for a while..... I've bought a few small purchase from them in the past, however.

Amain is OK - their selection can be strangely limited, but also sometimes they have exclusive items near impossible to get elsewhere.

I still do small one or two item purchases on Amazon all the time, mostly using R/C vendors scattered across the U.S. like St Louis RC, Hobby Etc, CKRC Hobbies, Hobby Supply, Supreme Hobbies, RC Mall...

Gotta say, though - St. Louis RC got a lot of my money - I got my Ascender and many smaller purchases from them. Those guys email me to check if I got their shipments, how I liked the product, etc... I highly recommend them.

I also buy direct from the "little guy", Holmes Hobbies, ProModeler, JEC Racing, SuperShafty, DMG, Carter Fab, AMF, BPC, Desert Rat RC Design, JC Auto Design... and so on.

Tower was definitely an institution, and I feel sad for their employees - too bad their management screwed the pooch. If I was to come into some money and fully rejoin the R/C world (not just scaler/crawler/rock racers) I could see visiting them again.

I'd love to get a Arrma Senton 6S or Traxxas Slash 4x4 and run 2.8s and the new Proline Monster Fusion body... But - RPP has them both now... And Tamiya on-roads I can get many places at great prices.

We shall see what 2018 brings, I suppose.

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I don't see how you say HobbiCo believed their own hype.

Axial is a good example of this, and there is no need to rehash all of it since its in multiple threads already. However look at the scx10 ii honcho. Somehow axial puts out the lowest priced and lowest value scx10 ii and believe that it is going to be attractive to people. Why? because of some nostalgia with the honcho body? The specs on that model are disappointing, almost like they are back peddling to toy grade just to get to a price point.

What I really don't get is the economy is booming, unemployment is low and people are getting raises and bonuses. It seems like this is the time to advertise and sell product.

Everyone I talk to about my hobby thinks that it is cool as shyte. The all say they have never seen anything like it, then all go to youtube to watch videos.

Exposure to rc scale crawling is non existent outside of a LHS(if you even have one).

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by txbart

It’s the catalogs that I question. They send me those flyers every few months & the thick catalog once a year. I just throw them in the trash because they usually have nothing exciting that I haven’t seen on the internet yet. The Axial Bomber leak was kinda fun, the SCX10 ii leaks from a few months ago are ok. But over all, physical catalogs are a pointless & expensive throwback to a bygone era.

How is Hobbico & Tower getting into the heads of new Hobbists in THIS era? How many new people are picking up physical magazines to find all of this cool shit, & the places to buy them?

Maybe my browser doesn’t bother showing me ads for Tower since I check in to see what’s new & in stock every couple of days, so I don’t know if they are doing any advertising.

I agree about the catalogs. Complete waste of money and mine go right in the trash as well. Catalogs are outdated as soon as they're printed. Pricing, sales, etc change daily.

Originally Posted by durok

While I was always looking to Tower in my pre-crawler R/C days, I didn't get much more than the Bomber kit and a Futaba 3PV a year and a half ago and then stopped - they simply had nothing more that interested me or that I needed.

RPP has practically all I want, my only gripe with them is their shipping fees - so I wait until I have huge orders or there's a big sale that offsets the additional cost.

AsiaTees has a ton of hot new products that I'd love to order, but I'm tapped out and need to basically stop buying and just build & run for a while..... I've bought a few small purchase from them in the past, however.

Amain is OK - their selection can be strangely limited, but also sometimes they have exclusive items near impossible to get elsewhere.

I still do small one or two item purchases on Amazon all the time, mostly using R/C vendors scattered across the U.S. like St Louis RC, Hobby Etc, CKRC Hobbies, Hobby Supply, Supreme Hobbies, RC Mall...

Gotta say, though - St. Louis RC got a lot of my money - I got my Ascender and many smaller purchases from them. Those guys email me to check if I got their shipments, how I liked the product, etc... I highly recommend them.

I also buy direct from the "little guy", Holmes Hobbies, ProModeler, JEC Racing, SuperShafty, DMG, Carter Fab, AMF, BPC, Desert Rat RC Design, JC Auto Design... and so on.

Tower was definitely an institution, and I feel sad for their employees - too bad their management screwed the pooch. If I was to come into some money and fully rejoin the R/C world (not just scaler/crawler/rock racers) I could see visiting them again.

I'd love to get a Arrma Senton 6S or Traxxas Slash 4x4 and run 2.8s and the new Proline Monster Fusion body... But - RPP has them both now... And Tamiya on-roads I can get many places at great prices.

We shall see what 2018 brings, I suppose.

Tower has pretty much everything any other company has except Horizon stuff. And Tower will beat their price, their shipping price, and their shipping speed.

RPP will give you a 10% off coupon and then charge you 9.5% shipping costs.

AMain's free shipping takes 2 weeks to get to me which is ****ing crazy.

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Axial is a good example of this, and there is no need to rehash all of it since its in multiple threads already. However look at the scx10 ii honcho. Somehow axial puts out the lowest priced and lowest value scx10 ii and believe that it is going to be attractive to people. Why? because of some nostalgia with the honcho body? The specs on that model are disappointing, almost like they are back peddling to toy grade just to get to a price point.

What I really don't get is the economy is booming, unemployment is low and people are getting raises and bonuses. It seems like this is the time to advertise and sell product.

Everyone I talk to about my hobby thinks that it is cool as shyte. The all say they have never seen anything like it, then all go to youtube to watch videos.

Exposure to rc scale crawling is non existent outside of a LHS(if you even have one).

Very good point about Axial. Yes, they believe their own hype. So I guess certain branches of HobbiCo do believe their own hype.


I placed a pre-order at Tower this morning. It's due in February so let's see how that one plays out...

[Greatscott]

Originally Posted by BDR

This is what happens when a company starts believing it's own hype

The world is littered with the corpses of past successful companies that have stopped innovating, and just sat on their collective arses and said "we done it this way for the last 30 years" , it's called progress.

Tower dies, stiff shit, some one will become the next big thing, then a little while later, another mob will come through and the cycles repeats.

As for Axial and the others, well they need a boot up the arse, another scx10 with a new body is not innovation, it is lazy business, the latest 'innovation'.......Honcho body on a scx10 II chassis for **** sake

IF Tower goes, Axial and the others will be sold off, let's just hope it aint to a investment banker group, and they can finally get back to shaking up the hobby again

Dunno, Axial may just go down with the ship on this one. There are too many companies now making crawlers/scalers, if Axial as a division is in trouble, they will stay that way.

Look at the bright side, Axialfest might turn back into the West Coast Nationals....

[Col_Sanders]

I toss the Tower catalogs now too. As a kid, I used to LOVE looking through them but now I can see all the same info online. I think they would be better off doing similar to 4 Wheel Parts, where they send out a small magazine with a few articles but it also has a lot of adds for products they sell and it lists their specials and such.

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Axial is a good example of this, and there is no need to rehash all of it since its in multiple threads already. However look at the scx10 ii honcho. Somehow axial puts out the lowest priced and lowest value scx10 ii and believe that it is going to be attractive to people. Why? because of some nostalgia with the honcho body? The specs on that model are disappointing, almost like they are back peddling to toy grade just to get to a price point.

What I really don't get is the economy is booming, unemployment is low and people are getting raises and bonuses. It seems like this is the time to advertise and sell product.

Everyone I talk to about my hobby thinks that it is cool as shyte. The all say they have never seen anything like it, then all go to youtube to watch videos.

Exposure to rc scale crawling is non existent outside of a LHS(if you even have one).

Traxxas jumping into the crawler game should bring new blood to this section of the hobby. They take an 18 wheeler full of trucks, a track, etc (and some hot chicks) to a ton of events throughout the year. Pretty much anything car/truck related. I think they need to release some more American style vehicles like the upcoming Bronco to get a little more attention.

As for Axial, while I was disappointed with the Honcho, there are a ton of people (myself included) that replace most parts on the truck anyway and only use the frame and drivetrain...since the Honcho is about $80 cheaper than the XJ RTR, I guess its a good base. IMO it still should have hit the $299 price, but I'm guessing the Deadbolt will have that honor if it ever comes out.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

mystery solved

They are broke

Yup legal ponzi scheme.

Originally Posted by txbart

It’s the catalogs that I question. They send me those flyers every few months & the thick catalog once a year. I just throw them in the trash because they usually have nothing exciting that I haven’t seen on the internet yet. The Axial Bomber leak was kinda fun, the SCX10 ii leaks from a few months ago are ok. But over all, physical catalogs are a pointless & expensive throwback to a bygone era.

I say the same thing about the phone book I get on my porch twice a year. In the trash it gos right away.

Originally Posted by Greatscott

Dunno, Axial may just go down with the ship on this one. There are too many companies now making crawlers/scalers, if Axial as a division is in trouble, they will stay that way.

Look at the bright side, Axialfest might turn back into the West Coast Nationals....

Sounds about right, sadly nothing is worth anything unless theirs a patent on it apparently. Who knows is Axial owns any of those but they certainly have been copied enough that no one really needs them. If they did dump them then the only thing worth something is the name.

But in a corporate world of bankruptcy laws and to big to fails ..... They'll still be around for some time.

[JatoTheRipper]

Employee owned companies are legit. There are many successful ones out there. I don't think that was the issue at all.

And Axial, as boring as they have become, will survive. They're still one of the biggest names in crawling and at worst they would be bought by an investment firm.

[durok]

Originally Posted by durok

While I was always looking to Tower in my pre-crawler R/C days, I didn't get much more than the Bomber kit and a Futaba 3PV a year and a half ago and then stopped - they simply had nothing more that interested me or that I needed.

RPP has practically all I want, my only gripe with them is their shipping fees - so I wait until I have huge orders or there's a big sale that offsets the additional cost.

AsiaTees has a ton of hot new products that I'd love to order, but I'm tapped out and need to basically stop buying and just build & run for a while..... I've bought a few small purchase from them in the past, however..

(snipped for brevity)

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Tower has pretty much everything any other company has except Horizon stuff. And Tower will beat their price, their shipping price, and their shipping speed.

RPP will give you a 10% off coupon and then charge you 9.5% shipping costs.

Gotta disagree about this - Tower doesn't have much at all for crawler upgrades - I've regularly checked this list (for example):

"Axial 1/10 RR10 Bomber 4WD Kit Parts List" (contains stock/optional/aftermarket parts)

https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=AXIC9053&P=PE

If you have ever noticed, I regularly post about Tower sales as I am a member - and like to pass on deals to others... would be perfectly happy to order from them and make use of my member coupons & eCash rewards.

But, once you have the kit or RTR, they have very little to offer except maybe tires and wheels from a small list of possibilities.

I also made it pretty clear that I order from RPP only when I can get enough of a price reduction to offset shipping, or get a large enough order to qualify for it free.

You're like a bull terrier when you have an issue with a company...

RPP has a veritable shit-ton of products for enthusiasts here, more than any other vendor.

I get annoyed just as any reasonable person would when it comes time to tally my total order, only to find that I'm $2 from free shipping and having to add something silly to get over the line...

But, they've certainly given me back a site to browse daily, see new releases, check specs, and ship my stuff FAST.

If the product is available cheaper somewhere else I get it from that vendor.

It's probably for the best that I am forced to do periodic large purchases from them - they make me justify the outlay to myself - whereas being able to order the small stuff bit-by-bit elsewhere is gonna make me go broke!

(it's easy to not notice what your total expenditure is per R/C that way)

[The Violator]

Off topic slightly has anyone seen the VP thing happening on Instagram? Real unhappy Owner/Employee/? offering all their cad drawings and what I assume is cnc stuff for free if they do not pay him.

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by The Violator

Off topic slightly has anyone seen the VP thing happening on Instagram? Real unhappy Owner/Employee/? offering all their cad drawings and what I assume is cnc stuff for free if they do not pay him.

Vanquish products or vice president of hobbico

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by The Violator

Off topic slightly has anyone seen the VP thing happening on Instagram? Real unhappy Owner/Employee/? offering all their cad drawings and what I assume is cnc stuff for free if they do not pay him.

Which Instagram account?

Please screenshot it before it's taken down!

[wings_of_fire]

Originally Posted by The Violator

Off topic slightly has anyone seen the VP thing happening on Instagram? Real unhappy Owner/Employee/? offering all their cad drawings and what I assume is cnc stuff for free if they do not pay him.

The chinese companies will gladly take those drawings.

[mikemcE]

They already have them


Hang up and Drive

[The Violator]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Which Instagram account?

Please screenshot it before it's taken down!

https://www.instagram.com/vanquish_products/

[WHITE-TRASH]

Originally Posted by The Violator

https://www.instagram.com/vanquish_products/

And the plot thickens.

[wings_of_fire]

Originally Posted by mikemcE

They already have them


Hang up and Drive

Probably in copied form, but not original drawings and definitely not all.

Internal settlement should not be done in a way that helps competitors.

If he releases those drawings, the company will suffer but so will their customers. The only people profiting will be copy cats.

Edit: Just realised its Tom from VP. The guy that has decades of technical knowledge and experience.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by The Violator

https://www.instagram.com/vanquish_products/

Haha! This is classic. Unfortunately, I believe little when I only know one side of a story.