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XLR8 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 12:39 pm Man! That's very disappointing news - I hope you're able to find another job soon.
I think employment stats will improve over the coming months as businesses continue to adapt to the new normal.
As one door closes, another door opens. Don't lose hope.

Thanks for the words of encouragement mate... The one positive note is that the timing is better this time....unlike when I was at a dot-com startup when the bubble burst, or an investment bank with ties in Lower Manhattan after 9/11 shortly thereafter, or my favorite, when I was working for a record label when Napster came along. I'm the guy who bought property right before real estate crashed in 2008, sold off all my Apple stock right before the iPod... just a history of fantastic timing! I hope I won't have to sell more of my R/C collection, though much of it (like my original Fantom) is worth far less these days because of all the re-releases.

Anyway, I hope the difficulty stocking these is not just due to the supply chain failures & that Kyosho is really seeing more interest in these things than expected. I'd love to see how it performs on carpet... maybe I'll take it with me when I'm in Vegas early next year & see how it does at 702 Raceway, which is unfortunately the closest carpet track to me in Phoenix.

I am hunting around for a repro version of any of the bodies produced for any version of the Fantom or Plazma (KS-2, Kreamer Porsche, Porsche 956, Alfa Romeo T33, BW Spider, etc.)…I thought MArwan had 'em, but apparently not. Anyone know of a source? I may be able to get the new one that comes with the re-release (have a request pending with a vendor to confirm stock), but am wondering if there are some other options out there that I haven't been able to find. Thanks!

Team Bluegroove have the Plazma KS-2 and Alfa Romeo bodies on their site.

Jackpot! Thank you! I know I'd stumbled upon them at some point in the past, but couldn't pull it out of my brain. Now I'm getting greedy & wondering if that Lambo or Lotus body would be a fit

1300GT wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:56 am Team Bluegroove have the Plazma KS-2 and Alfa Romeo bodies on their site.

Is it possible?

Looks like it's going to be kit number 30637B. Kyosho Fantom EXT CRC II.

What are differences between this and other rere fantom other than the shock?

I bought a 1st gen rere, waiting o a couple other projects before I build it with my son. This one seems like it could be a great runner.. I don't remember this version with rear suspension from the 80's. But it looks great! I'm surprised there's no belt drive option like the Optima rere.

TheDiamondOne wrote: ↑Tue Apr 26, 2022 5:58 am What are differences between this and other rere fantom other than the shock?

This one is based on the second generation Fantom. The chassis flexes at the rear, hence the shock whereas the first gen Fantom chassis flexes at the front at the servo saver.
The major differences between this one and the first Fantom are,
The chassis,
Radio plate,
Shock,
Motor pod,
Servo location, (directly connected on this one, no bellcrank)
Very small front coil springs that sit above the steering knuckles,
The short front right drive shaft will have a ball machined where it fits into the one-way bearing.

That's the main differences that I can think of.
A lot of parts should be interchangeable,
Diff/gears,
Wheels,
Front axle/steering knuckles,
Chain/one-way bearings and sprocket,
Rear axle/wheel hubs.

Another tuning option for Fantoms.
https://rc.kyosho.com/en/0-5t-4-ep-efw012.html

Wow never saw this one till now, what a cool car to repro!

Is the first version discontinued for good, or just sold out?? Can't believe how tower hobbies can't get any stock of kyosho??

moto-steve wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 5:54 pm Is the first version discontinued for good, or just sold out?? Can't believe how tower hobbies can't get any stock of kyosho??

I sure hope not... The decision to reproduce the Fantom, one of my all time favorites, was a huge and pleasant surprise... would hate to see it discontinued so fast & have replacement/aftermarket parts disappear & wind up having to pay $85 for a gear. That's what shelved my originals. Now I finally have a place to drive it other than crappy tennis courts, where an errant pebble won't take down my spur gear, I'd really be disappointed if they decided to discontinue it already. I wish Kyosho would instead hurry up and re-release the Ultima Pro & the Integra Vanning!

moto-steve wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 5:54 pm Is the first version discontinued for good, or just sold out?? Can't believe how tower hobbies can't get any stock of kyosho??

I don't really know the answer, but it is often repeated on the RCKicks FB group that Kyosho has not officially cancelled any of the re-re kits. They just release a batch and then move on to something else for a while, then release another batch. There is fanfare over the initial batch, but subsequent batches just sort of show up in the market.

If we accept that as true, my guess is that Kyosho is managing minimum order quantites for both internally produced and externally sourced parts. They probably wait for a specific number of back orders to justify a production run (internal parts) and to meet the MOQ (external parts).

In the case of the Fantom, the new release probably pushed the original waaaaay onto the back burner.