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Kyosho entering the slot market

21K views 106 replies 34 participants last post by  AUSSIE_SLOT_KING  
#1 ·
I don't remember reading it on the forum, so forgive if I didn't notice.

I came across some news which say that Kyosho will enter the slot market this year. They will start with 1/43 cars and will be sold under the Dslot43 brand. They intend to launch 23 different models in 2011 ! They will enter the 1/32 market later on. Sounds like a new major is joining our hobby.
 
#3 ·
Kyosho RC cars have been good for years... but HPI tried to enter the 1/32 foray with the Nissan GTR last year... not exactly a success... 1/43 is a strange choice as a starting point... time will tell
 
#4 ·
Yeah, but 1:43 requires less detail, just look at the quality of Scalextric 1:32 scale cars compared to the micro Scalextric ones.
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#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
QUOTE (Profoxcg @ 2 Jan 2011, 19:30) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>These guys are running slow.
These ones aren't though.
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#12 · (Edited by Moderator)
QUOTE (hankscorpio @ 2 Jan 2011, 20:13) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Kyosho RC cars have been good for years... but HPI tried to enter the 1/32 foray with the Nissan GTR last year... not exactly a success... 1/43 is a strange choice as a starting point... time will tell
Makes Perfect sense; they already have close to 30 bodies in !/43 (maybe more?) & taking those to slot car from R/c is probably like falling off a log! Also there is no real competition in 1/43, especially in Asia & 1/43 has slowly been gaining popularity in the US & europe for many years. First with Carrera's GO! and especially with Technitoys Compact! The only thing that's been holding it back is model selection & a reluctance of the manufaturers to give us a top quality car!

QUOTE (SSD slotguy @ 2 Jan 2011, 20:40) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Yeah, but 1:43 requires less detail, just look at the quality of Scalextric 1:32 scale cars compared to the micro Scalextric ones.
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It does not really require less detail, while it may be true that some detail is lost as the scale goes down, the D-nano cars are more detailed then any other 1/43 car currently available and as stated previously more detail then many 1/32 scale cars of only a few years ago!

QUOTE (Spa67 @ 2 Jan 2011, 23:27) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Don't know about market success, but if you have the tooling for light weight 1/43 bodies it doesn't make much sense not to produce slot cars.

However, I don't see a lot of demand for high-detail models in the 1/43 arena, I hope slow sales don't scare them out of 1/32.
There is a demand, but it's difficult to really quantify how much! Who would have guessed that High detail 1/32 slot cars would have been so popular when Fly released their first Viper!? Most people would have said "Ah, nobody's going to Spend $42+ on a slot car", but here we are & people are spending much more then that!!
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There are boat loads of Collectors of Diecasts out there & the High dollar/ sought after Die casts are 1/43 scale!

I will buy every one of very model they make myself & I feel confident that they will sell briskly!

My prognostication is that if this really happens it will be a game changer not only for 1/43, but the whole hobby!!
The big question is whether the big boys are up to the challenge & a little competition!

There has been a voice from 1/43 scale enthusiasts for Carrera & Technitoys to step up their game & take 1/43 more seriously before somebody else did, but it seems they were reluctant to do so! They may be wishing they had listened very soon!
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#13 ·
1/43 digital car may open my eyes... it is a good space/detail balance for slot cars more racing in the same space

I guess there is just something about 1/32... The size and weight and physics seem much more in balance than with 1/64th maybe thats just because its how big the cars were when i was a kid and its now 2nd nature...

Slot car racing for me is about the "feel" of the car, feeling the wight under accelleration or braking or just hanging on the edge of sliding out on the curves... Will koyosho get that balance right in 1/43... Micro scalextric feels wrong to me the cars grip like limpets... SCX compact isn't much better IMHO not tried the carrera stuff but it seems much more child orientated than their 1/32.

Its about more than the detail in the moulding for me...
 
#17 ·
Kyosho entering the market could be a real breath of fresh air to the hobby.

They still have a huge presence in the LMS and we can expect good spares back-up. 1/43 is not a bad idea, I like 1/32 but never seem to end the struggle to find the space to do what I would really like with it. I'll be awaiting news of availability with interest, Kyosho will most likely offer spare plain shells, tons of tune-up bits, plenty of inovation, the whole thing sounds too good to be true. I took a long look at dnano, just a little too expensive for me to give it a go, but the shells as slot cars, bring them on! I've a feeling the decision to enter the slot car market may come from their experience with dnano, at that scale steering responses need to be very quick to drive round even a very wide track, something that slot cars solved a long time ago.
 
#18 ·
The problem with fast 1/43 R/C cars is that there is no appreciable space savings when it comes to tracks compared to say the 1/28th scale Mini-Z cars & I used to run 1/12th scale cars in not much more space then they are using in those video's for 1/43. Kyosho may be finding that the D-nano stuff is not moving as well as they had hoped for this reason & repurposing their assets to Slot cars where the outcome is more or less known seems very wise! Likewise they can use the same distributor network. I fear the biggest hurdle in this scenario is overcoming the mindset in the hobby industry that 1/43 slotcars are cheap, but then it being Kyosho , their reputation will really help there!
 
#19 ·
Masmojo, but isn't it true that one can set the max speed of the dnano at a low setting, say achieving scale speed. Then one could do layouts of the same size as 1/32 slot cars. Maybe a bit bigger but not as big as I see on youtube. The dnano I see on the web going at high speed look to my view a bit ridiculous with people banging against the edges. I wonder if one can using lower speeds and a less grip surface have a fun rally experience.
 
#20 ·
QUOTE (rallyP @ 3 Jan 2011, 08:40) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Profoxcg, how much fun can one have with the dnano on a track track the size of 16'x4' with the speed on low? and any advice on purchasing material would be appreciated what works and what does not. I have seen people using foam but at slow speeds can one use wood? Thanks.

QUOTE (rallyP @ 3 Jan 2011, 10:32) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Masmojo, but isn't it true that one can set the max speed of the dnano at a low setting, say achieving scale speed. Then one could do layouts of the same size as 1/32 slot cars. Maybe a bit bigger but not as big as I see on youtube. The dnano I see on the web going at high speed look to my view a bit ridiculous with people banging against the edges. I wonder if one can using lower speeds and a less grip surface have a fun rally experience.

Those guys just cannot dirve
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The dnano is all over the place. Those care ( dnano ) use a tiny brusless motors, you can gear it to be sligltly slower but not to scale. Also they have a probraming interface but I cannot recall if you can turn down speed the way you mention. You can run them on any smooth surface but it would have to be pretty smooth as they very low to the ground and do not have a height adjustment.
 
#24 ·
I know nothing of the R/C industry in general, or specifically the relationships between the big players in Japan, but it seems too much of a coincidence that there have been slot-related news items from both Tamiya & Kyosho recently.

Could one be a reaction to news of the other?
 
#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
I wish they were going to be in 1:32, then I would buy the one with half a body, looks like that one could be painful if it hit you though, and not very realistic at that.
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#26 · (Edited by Moderator)
Tamiya too? Didn't catch that news, could be a very intersting couple of years ahead in the slot market.

I would suspect that both will want to crack the American market, perhaps a new revival of the hobby is on the cards? Both are use to producing highly technical high quality minature mechanics, both produce stunning injection mouldings.. wow, I feel like the hobby could be about to have a major growth spurt!

I wonder how much is a reaction to the RC market at the moment. I'm a keen RC flyer, but in the past 12 months the costs has prohibited much spending on that front, which has increased though my spending on slots as the unit costs per item are so much lower making the hobby a lot more affordable.