Why is quality of mini/micro almost unchanged for many years?

[Phmaximus]

I see all these new 1/24 coming out and they really arent very impressive. The best I've seen yet seems to be the Geko24 but there seems to be only one place to buy it in the world and its rather pricey for 1/24. I havent done an Orlandoo yet but it seems like very little thought is going into these newer 1/24, they seem Walmart grade quality.

Its because, the markert is dead... not many people are interested in micro and mini crawlers compared to other parts or this hobby

The only true scale is the Gecko but as you can imagine they are not easy to manufacture been tiny CNC machines parts so yeah, you do end up paying more when compared to a plastic kit

but I completely disagree about the quality of micros, if u look at some of the WL-Toys, Orlandoo Hunters, Gecko's and Sinohobby's they are light years ahead of anything Losi did back in the day. in fact the micro and mini line was a bit of a failure for losi

Here is an example Losi its not really in the same league

 

[Phmaximus]

Here is some of my orlandoo's... ill only post 6 lol

 

[Brake Weight]

Ive come to the conclusion i want to try an Orlandoo but now sure who is thecheapest place to buy from.

https://www.banggood.com/collection...llid=31450&sc_lid=128478051&sc_uid=QYnvWfQWQL

 

[Phmaximus]

IDk you tell me?????

The OP was asking Why is quality of mini/micro almost unchanged for many years?

Looking at the pictures I posted can you see a difference???? sorry, but its not a "mine's bigger" conversation its just a simple set of pictures visually showing the differences, WHY??? simplicity.... I thought a picture tells a thousand words but obviously not, if there is any confusion sing out, im happy to explain it in more detail on why i think the new generation is far superior than previous years

 

[Intashu]

The bottom line is price. if they made it higher quality or more scale, the price would go up, significantly reducing the number of people who would buy them. and a company's bottom line is needing to make MONEY on the stuff they sell!

there is not a HUGE market for small crawlers. and the largest limiting factor for quality is making them affordable for the market they are in.

the Geko is great, but it also costs a whole lot more than other crawlers to get running in this scale.

I own a Losi MRC I converted to a 1/24 scale jeep (wish I could turn it back now, but I have modified basically everything to make it work.)
that was decent quality.

some of these new crawlers I've seen are cheaper than I paid for mine. Not THAT many people will sit down with these toys, break them down and build them up to be an amazing little machine.

this is why I think a lot of parts and modifications are bought from china vendors, they can make them out of metal for cheaper than you can find just about anywhere else.

the WPL and other 1/16 scale trucks are a good example of this issue, they're REALLY CHEAP. but, they're so cheap it's affordable to the masses to buy and mess with, and replace parts.

the Geko24 seems like one of the more metal and scale you can find. the RC4WD truck is another good strong durable small scale truck.

if you want a truly SCALE truck in the 1/24 or smaller... Buy some brass and get to work making something unique!

 

[Brake Weight]

I’m a grower, not a show-er.





Gearbeast has the RGT for sub $75usd. Wish they’d had this before I got my ECX.

Truck
https://www.gearbest.com/r-c-cars/pp_009933566630.html

Rover
https://www.gearbest.com/r-c-cars/pp_009232077029.html

 

[ed1]

bought the rover,with 3 batts[new]for £62[$77].ordering a 2nd for spares as well.
also agree that the only decent micros are the rc4wd gelende ii[1/18th] and the geko24,but as its been pointed out,they are expensive!
there is also soon to be released carisma brat/pup.as well as the hobby+ 1/24th from a-tees.

 

[Mestapho]

The geko24 does look nice and site has nice upgrades for it and the Orlandoo. Adjustable frame for Orlandoo might be of interest. But if you’re talking price with the geko out of the box you’re getting all metal parts. Upgraded axles are 60-75 alone making it the decision for me or anyone who might plan on getting a micro and scraping the original stuff in favor of upgrades. Provided the geko performs.


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[Raketemensch]

I guess this thread has been dead for a bit, but it's been very helpful to me.

As much as I'd love an Orlandoo, as an older dude with huge hands and poor close-up vision, the idea of building with all those tiny parts seems like torture. Thirteen year old me would've loved it. Old me would buy an RTR in a heartbeat, but the labor cost of building such a thing would be monstrous, I totally get that.

The Ambush has been discontinued, sadly.

I ran a Losi micro crawler for years and loved it, but can't seem to find it anywhere in the house, and so I set out to find a replacement for it -- harder than I thought. It's looking like the Gelande II is my best bet, but I'm still digging around.

 

[Raketemensch]

Just as an update to that last post, and an update to the topic overall, I researched:

Gelande II
Redcat Sumo
RGT
Various Orlandoos
ECX Barrage
WPL C24
Carisma MSA-1E
Basher Rocksta

In the end I went with the Rocksta, and love it. It can do everything my old Losi could, and more. Four wheel steering is the bomb, and crab mode is SO useful in a lot of situations, far more than I expected.

We still have a lot of options in 2018, and they’re pretty sweet. This Rocksta came with metal gears out of the box, which wasn’t even a kit option when I got started with micros.

It’s a little bigger than the Losi, but that works out well with the indoor courses that I build, mostly out of pillows.

Now to add fpv...

 

[MrSquiggles]

Where did you find the rocksta? Everywhere i find them they are out of stock or on back order. I just hope to high heaven they haven't been discontinued.

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[donaldsneffe]

Where did you find the rocksta? Everywhere i find them they are out of stock or on back order. I just hope to high heaven they haven't been discontinued.

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Hi,
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/basher-rocksta-1-24-4ws-mini-rock-crawler-rtr-metal-gear.html?wrh_pdp=7

Available in EU and UK warehouse, but out of stock in Internat. Warehouse (cannot see US warehouses).

Would be a pity, if the Rocksta is discontinued.

Why the Ambush has been discontinued?

Walter

 

[JatoTheRipper]

The smaller you go with parts the harder it is to cast/machine/mold them nicely without tight tolerances and big money.

Why the Ambush has been discontinued?

Walter

Probably because Proline never keeps any of their vehicles around long. It's become a joke, honestly. After a year or two you're out of luck with getting a new vehicle and/or parts.

Plus, micros don't sell long before they are discontinued. I think the Losis had longers lives than any other hobby-grade micro I can remember.

 

[tfast500]

It's sad that they don't make more standards or hopups for these micros I think there would be a bigger market for them if they kept them affordable.

Would be cool to have crawler courses that you can just buy and piece together in sections to make your own layouts.

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[spoo76]

If you read all the replies here you'll see what the common problem is.
Everyone wants the best possible crawler, better than what's available, as cheap or cheaper than the others, with tons of aftermarket FIRST to keep it popular as soon as it's released.
As popular as micros are now, that's still a very small portion of the scene and people don't want to pay a lot for something small even though it costs almost the same as a 1/10 to produce quality.
Also the hobby has changed and everyone wants everything to bolt on. This Hobby was built on fabbing parts when parts and RTRs didn't even exist.

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[tfast500]

If you read all the replies here you'll see what the common problem is.
Everyone wants the best possible crawler, better than what's available, as cheap or cheaper than the others, with tons of aftermarket FIRST to keep it popular as soon as it's released.
As popular as micros are now, that's still a very small portion of the scene and people don't want to pay a lot for something small even though it costs almost the same as a 1/10 to produce quality.
Also the hobby has changed and everyone wants everything to bolt on. This Hobby was built on fabbing parts when parts and RTRs didn't even exist.

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That makes sense I love the idea of custom fabbing making things unique and your own... If everyone could buy the exact same parts that wouldnt be too fun either. But the more options the better! I like seeing talented people doing new things and finding parts that weren't designed to work on some of these models to work with them. For the less skilled though and a Newb like myself some bolt ons and parts availability will always be a faster and more convienient option to help the hobby grow.

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[spoo76]

Definitely nothing wrong with bolt ons. I sure like them especially with my current work schedule. And I understand not everyone has special tools ( I don't)
But a surprising number of people in this Hobby don't even have the basics.
IMO a Dremel and soldering iron are essential tools in RC, and very useful in other areas of life.

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