Mini JRX2 - what was the point?

[Saito2]

What was the point of Losi bringing out a mini 1/16th scale version of their awesome JRX2? Ok, the point was to move units and make profit. Delving a little deeper and looking at the rabid response Associated's high dollar recent RC10 rerelease has gotten, why did Losi go the "mini" route instead of genuine 1/10th scale? Is there any customer that would truly prefer the mini vs a real re-release? Personally, I doubt it. Marketing rhetoric about honoring the past, not devaluing originals etc.etc. aside, from a pure make-profit, business sense, why do it?

To make the mini, everything had to be remade from the ground up. Its quite possible that the same would need to be done if a 1/10th rerelease was created as well. Tamiya has certainly kept and re-used old molds but Kyosho started from scratch and I don't claim to know the status of Losi's tooling, especially after the fire (or even if that is relevant to the discussion). Suffice to say, I'm ok with considering it an even playing field from a cost perspective, no matter the cost or scale of the vehicle aside from the possible extra cost in using physically more material to make a larger vehicle.

Speaking from a business standpoint, does the hope of selling more units based on a lower price point and not giving the customer base exactly what they want make more sense than selling exactly what the customer wants at a high price point with potentially less units sold? In some ways Associated and Losi have taken opposite approaches to getting our money. Associated went for the high-dollar hype of limited numbers in their foreign manufactured replica of an American icon but, to their absolute credit, delivered exactly the product their base wanted. Losi played the long game with an affordable, foreign manufactured "mini" memory of an American icon that wasn't really what their base wanted but have kept it available to all for a couple years now. It would be interesting, in a business sense, to see which method proved to be the most lucrative in the end.

[F-150]

The only thing I have heard, is, Losi didn't want to "hurt" the collector value of the vintage jrx2's by making a reproduction, so they made a smaller version. 

I'd rather they had never made anything at all 

[SupraChrgd82]

Agreed.  I think the only way I could see appeal in the mini market is if the manufacturers banded together and re-re’d the classics collectively in the same scale.  I’d settle for a display of 1/16 Javelins, RC-10s, JR-X2s, etc.  Of course the preference would be a shelf filled with 1/10 cars.  Most certainly not a 1/24 RC-10, 1/16 JR-X2, 1/10 Optima, 1/18 Inferno…..Even a gathering of buddies for a friendly retro race yields a field of David & Goliath contenders.

[Kowalski86]

Tamiya has what I call "The Pontiac Aztec Effect", where everyone in a selected field will mock or downplay them, while simultaneously "borrowing" ideas from them.

In this particular case, I think that Horizon Hobby saw Tamiyas Tamtech line-up (mini buggies aesthetically based on vintage Tamiyas), so they made their own take with the JRX2. It also fits in with their Mini B/Mini T models, which are shrunken down takes on the 22s.

Another factor is the Traxxas Bandit, a 1/10 2wd buggy like the JRX2. Afaik its a slow seller, some LHS don't even bother to have one on display. Most people who walk into a LHS might want a Mini for their kid, but unless if they have a bit of nostalgia they aren't going to be interested in a 2wd buggy.

[matisse]

Honestly I would say that this might have been driven by the relative lack of a success of the Mini-B/T 2.0.

they have been pretty committed to the 1/18-1/16th scale over the years but it seems to be fading overall. 
 

the Re Re scene hasn’t made it to the smaller scales so maybe they thought this was worth a gamble.

i dont count the Mini-Z legendary line up as they are insanely expensive and would never have a big following imo

[Sogogi]

I miss old mini t /b and associated 18b/t/mt era. New ones (especially ae 14th scale stuff) are meh.

 

[Mokei Kagaku]

I have never been much fond of RC vehicles in smaller scales than 1/12, except for some special models like the Mammoth Dump Truck. I was into Tamtech for a couple of years in the late 80's and Mini-Z models impress me with the great authenticity and quality of the bodies, but running small scale models is something I don't enjoy at all. I appreciate that people who live in areas where space is very limited can see small scale models as an attractive alternative, but I still don't understand the small scale RC craze of recent years. During the last 20 years, the only small scale RC models I've bought, are the TTG buggies, but just as shelf queens.

[Kowalski86]

42 minutes ago, Mokei Kagaku said:

 but I still don't understand the small scale RC craze of recent years.

I'd understand it if they and their respective upgrades were cheap, but 8 times out of 10 parts/hop-ups are just as spendy as a 1/10 scale.

[Wheel_Nut]

I was expecting a 10th scale version JRX2 to be released a couple of years after the "mini".   They could potentially sell two model kits to each customer.

[Saito2]

1 hour ago, Mokei Kagaku said:

I have never been much fond of RC vehicles in smaller scales than 1/12, except for some special models like the Mammoth Dump Truck.

I am much the same. I had 1/14th Nikko vehicles when I started in RC but as I got older, I wanted bigger (1/12th-1/10th) vehicles too. Going back the other way just seems weird to me.  I also don't care how much effort was put into perfectly shrinking down an RC buggy because their handling and operating dynamics get all weird the smaller they get. I could conceivably see small crawlers being more immune to this phenomenon but I still don't care for them personally.

3 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

Tamiya has what I call "The Pontiac Aztec Effect", where everyone in a selected field will mock or downplay them, while simultaneously "borrowing" ideas from them.

I don't know which I appreciate more, the fact someone remembers the Aztec (or Pontiac, sadly, for that matter) or the well crafted metaphor based on it.

6 minutes ago, Wheel_Nut said:

I was expecting a 10th scale version JRX2 to be released a couple of years after the "mini".   They could potentially sell two model kits to each customer.

I thought this might be in the cards too with Losi gauging interest with the mini version. It wasn't as blatant as a "normal" RC10 that was sure to follow the Clear version, but I considered it possible.

I know there's rhetoric about not wanting to hurt collector value of originals and that might sound nice, but I question why any for-profit company would care about items on the used market.

[Wheel_Nut]

36 minutes ago, Saito2 said:

I know there's rhetoric about not wanting to hurt collector value of originals and that might sound nice, but I question why any for-profit company would care about items on the used market.

There is a solution for that.   They just need to stamp the chassis plate "40th anniversary release".  Then it will be ok for collector's original vintage models.   It will be just like the RC10.

[Kowalski86]

1 hour ago, Saito2 said:

I could conceivably see small crawlers being more immune to this phenomenon but I still don't care for them personally.

I don't know which I appreciate more, the fact someone remembers the Aztec (or Pontiac, sadly, for that matter) or the well crafted metaphor based on it.

Crawlers are easy to drive when they're shrunken down, but their capability and ease of repair go down a bit. I'll always see them as fancy Stompers.

Thank you for the compliment, there's a lot of Aztec in modern automobile design despite them being "uncool".

[RyantheRed]

I wonder why no one has done a 1/10 scale RC of the Aztec 🤔. Its all about sales... I love my original JRX-2 but dude, its a flat piece of plastic with some holes drilled in it. I could go out to my garage right now and build my self a re-release clear/cc version of that car from a left over polycarbonate window pane i have in about 10 minutes 😂. I dont think people would pay $300 for a re-release of that super simple car when they shop the other options on the market. Too many RCs so few $300.  I love the idea of the losi mini t. I never bought one, but ive had one in my "save for later" bucket ever since they came out. Again, so many RCs out there. It's more competitive now than its probably ever been for these manufacturers but Losi still makes some really good stuff. Check their full scale line up...they make way better stuff now than that clunky 2wd buggy with a brushed motor mounted behind the rear axle.

[Frog Jumper]

14 hours ago, Mokei Kagaku said:

I have never been much fond of RC vehicles in smaller scales than 1/12, except for some special models like the Mammoth Dump Truck. I was into Tamtech for a couple of years in the late 80's and Mini-Z models impress me with the great authenticity and quality of the bodies, but running small scale models is something I don't enjoy at all. I appreciate that people who live in areas where space is very limited can see small scale models as an attractive alternative, but I still don't understand the small scale RC craze of recent years. During the last 20 years, the only small scale RC models I've bought, are the TTG buggies, but just as shelf queens.

I didnt get it either, but i went and watched some mini-z racing a couple months ago and it was really cool.  The best part is you get all the good aspects of racing but its half the size.  Their entire set-up - track, pit area, sales area, concessions, lounge - was all inside a couple of back rooms in a local church.  I think those small cars would be a great way to set up events in places that don’t usually hold events like rc racing.

[GTodd]

No point, it was a cop out. Just like Tamiya now.  AE, Schumacher , kyosho (who is killing it) and even Yokomo are killing it. Let's go Losi!

[Killajb]

I'm a fan of the Tam Tech Gear and see a lot of performance potential in them and other smaller scale platforms.  I also have a Losi Mini-B 2.0 and race it locally as well.  I still have to admit that Losi missed a massive opportunity by not re-releasing a 1/10 scale JrX platform.  I think if Losi came out with a re-re JrX2 to compete with the 40th anniversary RC10, it would re-ignite a vintage race series that may inspire Schumacher as well.  Kyosho already has the vintage Ultima kit out there too.  Its a shame really.

[scoobybooster]

By the way_- when was the release of the original JRX-2? Must have been around 1986 or something. Maybe Losi has some hidden plans for a 50th anni Re-Re of the 1/10?

[Saito2]

2 hours ago, scoobybooster said:

By the way_- when was the release of the original JRX-2?

Late '88 IIRC. I didn't really see JRX2's in local shops until '89 though. I vaguely recall seeing Losi spare parts for the car before actually seeing the kit itself up on the wall.

The JRX2 seemed, maybe somewhat oddly, "more professional" or perhaps developed than the RC10, if that makes sense. The RC10 took a lot of filing and fitting to get the parts to work nicely together, especially the 6-gear transmission. From the chatter around the hobby shop back then, the Losi car seemed to go together better plus it had all the "hot" parts already in the kit.

[scoobybooster]

46 minutes ago, Saito2 said:

The JRX2 seemed, maybe somewhat oddly, "more professional" or perhaps developed than the RC10, if that makes sense. The RC10 took a lot of filing and fitting to get the parts to work nicely together, especially the 6-gear transmission. From the chatter around the hobby shop back then, the Losi car seemed to go together better plus it had all the "hot" parts already in the kit.

I think Asso has also done great pioneering work with the RC10 and shown the way. Later competitors such as Losi were certainly able to benefit from this and had a much easier time.

[Saito2]

9 hours ago, scoobybooster said:

Later competitors such as Losi were certainly able to benefit from this and had a much easier time.

Actually, you might say its the other way around. Gil Losi Jr did some design work for Associated. The "L" in RC12L stands for Losi. Gil Jr also helped design the original RC10. Everybody talks about Roger Curtis being a genius (he is) but I don't think Gil Jr quite gets the credit he's due.

The story goes, in exchange for Gil's help on the RC10 design, Associated would give their retail store 3000 of the first RC10s. Associated went back on their word (still supposedly granting them more RC10s to sell than anyone else but not the 3000 promised) and in response, the Losi group developed and came out with their own car, the JRX2. If the story is true, than its a great example of Associated creating their own greatest competitor much like Ferrari did by insulting Lamborghini. 

I personally think Associated was so incredibly busy stamping out RC10s, that the thought of refining the quality wasn't on their mind. Why bother when you're selling every one you can possibly make and then some?

[Kowalski86]

18 hours ago, Saito2 said:

I personally think Associated was so incredibly busy stamping out RC10s, that the thought of refining the quality wasn't on their mind. Why bother when you're selling every one you can possibly make and then some?

That definitely applies to some of the companies that are still in the RC business today...

I've eyed a JRX2 mini here and there on display ar my LHS, I dug the retro styling but I feel like its a little spendy, it costs a little more than a Mini B while not having an aluminum chassis or the aftermarket.

If they just remade the 1/10 and sold it for less than $200, I'd give it a look. Just sell it as a kit and let me pick the electronics.

[F-150]

I want a big JRX-2, but really really hard to find as NIB or used....  Like I never see them for sale. Unlike the RC-10 where used ones are all over for sale. It's strange that JRX-2 are hard to find 

I want one because back in the day watching the RC-10 thrash the competition at our track, one day this yellow and purple car showed up....all of us were like Whats that all about then? is that!. Anyways that JRX-2 totally smoked all the RC10 that night.  What an awesome car.

BTW we raced dirt oval at our track back then, not a course with jumps. They used to run dirt car type bodies on the rc10 back then....like a dirt stock car.

These little JRX2 are pretty neat, but I dunno about the price... Meh.... It would I'd be a neat car to mess around with tho..

[markbt73]

A while back I checked out a new (to me) brick-and-mortar hobby shop. It was, of course, all RTRs except for a Kyosho Tomahawk kit. But they did have a bunch of display models out to pick up and fiddle with, including a mini JRX2. It was by far the most intriguing thing on display there, and I looked long and hard at it before leaving empty-handed. I'm still not entirely sure I won't end up with one.

Do I wish it was 1/10 scale? Of course. Do I wish it was a kit, regardless of size? Even more so. But does it look and act the part? Yep. It's almost worth it just to squish that five-link suspension up and down.

[RichieRich]

The point was to separate you from your money. 

There are several trucks and buggies that I missed out on back in the day. Thankfully, the re-releases have helped me add them to my collection. The two left that I really want would be the Losi JRX2 and Yokomo YZ834b. If either company were to re-release these, I would be first in line with cash in hand. 

[Snappy1]

I am really lucky, about 10 years ago a really nice, complete as raced JRX-2 came up on Australian E bay, I looked at it for a while then pulled the trigger, I loved the look of the 5 link rear end and after driving it I was completely hooked on early Losi. I didn’t realise at the time but it was a very early release, early battery hold down, no name motor plate etc.

I have since been purchasing all the JRX-2’s, Pro’s, SE’s and Junior 2’s I could find at reasonable prices, I must have at least 9 now.

I just love the interchangeable options between the early models and the crazy hop ups around at the time.

Probably ten years ago I got the racing bug and went along to the  Castle Hill vintage rc festival, I entered a bog stock JRX-Pro in the two wheel drive class, I had never driven on a track, attempted jumps or raced before, anyway after 7 heats and a final I came 7th out of 40 cars, it wasn’t my driving, it the the Losi, it didn’t miss a beat, nothing broke and it just kept going when many other better prepared cars broke down…..it literally made the final due to being able to continue, not due to lap times.

I don’t have any NIB vintage cars, mine are all runners but one of my silly but prized possessions is a NIP JRX-2 5 link conversion set, to go from H arms to 5 link,   I was going to open it up and put it on a Junior 2 chassis but I managed to dig out a 5 link setup without opening the packet, 

I never jumped on the small scale version, it just didn’t seem right.