Kyosho now on the re-re bandwagon - Scorpion

[DennisM]

I might have mentioned this before - if You see it as an investment
Treat it like an investment, buy under market price - sell at or over market price and do it quickly.

Otherwise, treat it like a hobby and enjoy what You've got

[Coelacanth]

This Catalog rocks

That *is* cool...do you have bigger scans of that? I'd like to read that but the pics you uploaded are too small.

[KyoshoScorpionKid]

I do and I'll post them to my site in English, they are massive!

Oh if you go to Kyosho.com you'll see it show up as the 50th anniversary. Click on it and you'll be amazed!

RC

This Catalog rocks

That *is* cool...do you have bigger scans of that? I'd like to read that but the pics you uploaded are too small.

[Coelacanth]

That's a great read! I especially loved the timeline of Kyosho's milestones during their 50-year history. Too bad Kyosho did their best not to make it easily downloadable.

Here's a direct link, you'll need Flash Player installed for it to display:

http://saas3.startialab.com/acti_books/1045173943/7774/_SWF_Window.html

Other options for viewing it are here:

http://kyosho.com/eng/catalog/index.html

[EvolutionRevolution]

Other options for viewing it are here:

http://kyosho.com/eng/catalog/index.html

OK, so Flash is not great, but having a catalogue consisting entirely of pictures and text as an App is inane.

App Stores are the new AOL.

[Coelacanth]

I think it's weird that Kyosho is trying to make money by selling this.

[stulec52]

Anyone know a timeline yet for the Scorpion re-release?

My fingers are crossed they also make the SC parts available again.

[markbt73]

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All my Scorpions will be worthless ! DAMN! They should only do the Turbo Scorpion. I am sure they won't use the very brittle cast aluminum. OMG this changes everything!


WHAT'S NEXT THE OPTIMA!

DAMMIT KYOSHO!

RC

My thoughts exactly. I'm tired of collecting all sort of expensive cars and parts only to make them worth 1/4 what I paid because they rerelease them.

I know it kind of sucks for you guys, but that's exactly what I'm hoping will happen. I've always liked the Scorpion, but not enough to spend the kind of money they go for.

But I'm also not willing to spend the (probably) $300 that a re-re will cost. I don't need to build one from new, and I don't like pristine shelf queens. I just want a nice occasional runner with some patina and some non-original parts.

So what I'm hoping to see is that collectors keep their best cars, and sell off the "B" and "C" list cars, and parts cars, for cheap-ish, so I can put together my kind of car for an affordable price.

We all enjoy this hobby in our own ways, and for me, this is potentially excellent news.

[stulec52]

I know it kind of sucks for you guys, but that's exactly what I'm hoping will happen. I've always liked the Scorpion, but not enough to spend the kind of money they go for.

But I'm also not willing to spend the (probably) $300 that a re-re will cost. I don't need to build one from new, and I don't like pristine shelf queens. I just want a nice occasional runner with some patina and some non-original parts.

So what I'm hoping to see is that collectors keep their best cars, and sell off the "B" and "C" list cars, and parts cars, for cheap-ish, so I can put together my kind of car for an affordable price.

We all enjoy this hobby in our own ways, and for me, this is potentially excellent news.

I like the way you think.
This describes me, although I will also try to get a new re-issue car as well.
you know, just to have.....

I have a slow burner Scorpion project here already, so just even some parts to finish it off for a reasonable price would be awesome !

[Lowgear]

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All my Scorpions will be worthless ! DAMN! They should only do the Turbo Scorpion. I am sure they won't use the very brittle cast aluminum. OMG this changes everything!


WHAT'S NEXT THE OPTIMA!

DAMMIT KYOSHO!

RC

My thoughts exactly. I'm tired of collecting all sort of expensive cars and parts only to make them worth 1/4 what I paid because they rerelease them.

What gets me is that I didn't think this hobby had the popularity in this day and age to warrant companies thinking it was a sound financial decision to start re-releasing their old products again from decades ago.

I might have mentioned this before - if You see it as an investment
Treat it like an investment, buy under market price - sell at or over market price and do it quickly.

Otherwise, treat it like a hobby and enjoy what You've got

I don't think it's as simple as that but I get what you're trying to say. Yes, if you get something valuable for much less than the items worth, you can immediately flip it to make a profit. That's not what an investment is though. An investment is something you buy that you know will appreciate in value over time. You need to hold on to said item for that to happen. This is why R/C collectors get bent out of shape when a company reproduces their legacy products. The collector held on to the item for it to appreciate in value only to have the item reproduced again thus hurting the resale value.

When this first started happening people took solace and speculated that the re-releases wouldn't hurt the market for the originals but I think it definitely has. Before hand your average Joe who was just on a nostalgia kick had no choice but to pay whatever the market value was for the vintage item. Now with the re-releases they can buy a brand new semi-modernized version and actually be able to run it using modern electronics without worrying about it's value.

Another downside to these re-releases besides monetary gain are that they hurt people who are looking for complete vintage originals, as now you're going to have used models being sold which contain a mixture of original and re-released parts.

[Lonestar]

I think we've had this discussion again and again since Tamiya started re-reing their stuff 14yrs ago (XR-311).

As said, if you feel PO'ed by your shelfers losing "value" because of re-re's, then it means you liked them for their unspoken monetary value rather than for their intrinsic appeal... that vintage car wasn't the right one for you to start with. Or at least it was the right one, but you loved it for the wrong reasons.

[KyoshoScorpionKid]

Well as surprised as I was Kyosho's decision I look forward to the new scorpion, it will be faster, more reliable and probably better handling and Kyosho know's it's weaknesses. Thing always come around again, things that were old are new again. They see the interest the vintage market generates especially with aftermarket parts for the scorpion.

- improvement could be or should be: Bearings included, improved transmission, so you can put a nicer motor in it, nicer shocks, improved plastic a little more durable, ESC and more.

RC

[rccars4sal]

I stopped collecting for the purpose of a mint shelfer years ago. Its all about occasional runners for me now a days. Near mint on the shelf with modern rubber and brushless motors ready to rip up the street and or track at a moments notice. A box full of spares, and a couple parts cars soes me and the kids can keep them running for years to come. Bring on the scorpion,, and the optima javelin!!! Going to need 2 of each.

[Raman]

I'll buy one, because I'm a fan, but I am not loving re-releases because I love the hunt for cars and parts, almost as much as owning them.

X2

It remains to be seen how true they stay to the original.

X2

I've never owned a Scorpion so I don't know what the weaknesses of the car were, but hopefully they would be addressed. The shocks & shock collars, easily bendable front shock tower and gearbox would probably all be weak links. If I were to buy one, I'd hope it would survive a reasonable modern electronics system.

I also hope it won't be ridiculously expensive...which it might be, if Kyosho indeed had to re-make all the molds, as the rumor was that all the molds were destroyed for their classics.

The only week point is the rails

And the front caster adjusters. Tighten too hard and they break like peanut brittle

[Raman]

I'm looking up at the sky and I don't see pigs flying.. That's what I said would take for Kyosho to get into the re-re game. I'm glad I was wrong.

I always loved the Scorpion as a kid even though I bent the chassis rails once a week.

I'm pretty sure they will stay true to the original, it's really a simple car and doesn't have a lot of complicated parts.

Will be nice if they make some hop ups like a ball diff.

Spares are welcome, especially gears.. .. I may now have to shelf my modern tranny conversion.. Won't need to worry about blowing up the gear box lol.