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New Redcat International Scout

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Just watched a nice review of this new trail truck.  For $299 you get a lot for your money.  Aluminum shocks, portal axles, metal yokes on the driveshafts, metal diff covers, suspension links,etc.  It really makes me wonder why Tamiya is still set on selling a CC-01 for only a few bucks less than a RTR truck like this?  I hate to rag on Tamiya, but the scale truck scene is huge right now and it doesn't seem to be slowing down at all, yet Tamiya hasn't stepped into the game with anything serious.  The CC-01 was great for it's time, but it's an antiquated design with lots of slop built in.  I just don't understand their business model sometimes??

 

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I have given up trying to understand current day Tamiya. They do what they do. It makes no sense to me either. The discussion could fall down the rabbit hole of : why didn't Tamiya capitalize on the short course truck thing? or the E-maxx-type thing (admittedly, they took a stab at the T-maxx), who does Tamiya market to? Do they care anything about markets outside Japan or not? and on and on. I totally and completely agree, this scale truck trend is big and really, right up Tamiya's alley when it comes to scale detail and I find it baffling they don't step up. We get a bunch of TT02B and DT03 stuff to fill the needs of modern day bashers. We get quirky and fun things like 6x6s and "comical" buggies. Everything else (speaking from an off road perspective) is a re-release. So, I just let it go. Tamiya does what Tamiya does.

They're MO always repeats. They innovate and then allow stagnation. 2wd off road, 4wd off road, racing trucks, scale trucks, crawlers and even short course (TA-02T had the idea of it first, albeit smaller). I guess if they are still making money off those old designs, that's all that matters. Its tough when you want to enjoy these emerging segments of the hobby and stay true to the Tamiya brand, but if one has to go elsewhere, it's Tamiya's loss (even if they don't care).

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This thing looks promising.  I've never owned a Redcat and generally don't like their product offering, but that's a lot of features in a $300 RTR truck.  Might have to pick one of these up.

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Looks very TRX4 clone ish. I guess that make Traxxas the market leader now if everyone is copying them rather than the SCX10

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If they sold it in kit form, without radio gear, I'd snap one up. They'd be even more competitive price wise then and probably draw an even larger share of the crawler/scaler market. I think most people into this type of truck are the building and tinkering type.

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31 minutes ago, Bromley said:

If they sold it in kit form, without radio gear, I'd snap one up. They'd be even more competitive price wise then and probably draw an even larger share of the crawler/scaler market. I think most people into this type of truck are the building and tinkering type.

I am not so sure. I think the mass market is for RTR use twice and leave in a cupboard. The secondary market is the hop up with every extra, use twice and leave in the cupboard. The final niche is the hardcore user with a YouTube channel that the first two markets wanted to emulate.

I would get a kit version as well. My kit TRX-4 is not great value but I wanted to build it, I have not built it yet because I have been driving my RTR TRX-4. Guess I am an enigma.

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My point is you can get something that will run circles around a CC-01 all day long, for less then 50 bucks more.  When you factor in the CC-01 doesn't even come with bearings the price difference after you upgrade is even closer.  I like the new CC-01 Landrover kit, but I couldn't justify the cost, especially after upgrading all the weak points on it.  I guess that's why I bought a TRX4 Defender yesterday.  Sorry Tamiya, but get in the scale truck game already!

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I think a lot of Tamiya stuff is for the box polishers and shelfers. Build it box art and then never drive it. They need a basher crawler for this market that we can beat and upgrade to our hearts content 

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Yeah them not getting into this market is like them shooting themselves in the foot. With Tamiya's attention to detail there could be a huge market, and i know crawling is HUGE in japan for that very reason among others but they will sit idle and ignore the market. I love Tamiya but i agree they don't make a ton of sense 

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My 2-cents on this subject... I agree with the OP - Tamiya are (or at least were) in a prime position to nail the 'scale' crawler market, as they have any number of highly detailed hard bodies available in their back catalogue - so they just need a higher-performing scale chassis to go with them (ideally one with an adjustable wheelbase so the same base chassis could be used with a variety of bodies as desired)...

However, while we're all members of this forum because we love/d what Tamiya have done in the past, at the same time why do we expect Tamiya to do this, when there are already dozens of vehicles [kits and RTR] out there to satisfy the scale crawler market - some brands already very well established [such as Axial] with a huge 3rd party supply of upgrades - so all Tamiya could ever doing is enter an already very crowded market place, and opening themselves up to the inevitable comparisons with the already established brands and models in this niche? That's not exactly a prudent business/marketing decision.

It's like when people on motorcycle forums say: why doesn't Honda make a bike like Ducati/KTM/BMW do... because Ducati, KTM and BMW already do that, and do it well.

Personally (as I trust you've seen from my showroom and build threads), I've got no problem building a hybrid with what I consider are the 'best' parts for the job - if that means a metal scale chassis (and running gear) from one manufacturer, and topping it off with what Tamiya do best (scale hard bodies), then I've got something that I wanted, and also enjoyed the process of sourcing and building.

Jenny x

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30 minutes ago, WillyChang said:

Nobody likes the CR01 huh... :unsure:

 Before buying my CC01 Defender I did look at the CR01.  I like the look of the Rock Socker, but I wanted a more scale looking vehicle. The CR01 is probably a much more capable chassis out of the box than a CC01, but the look of the thing bugs me. Also it is significantly more expensive than a CC01 kit. In the UK at least you can pick up a CC01 Land Freeder (god awful name) for £150 while  a CR01 Rock Socker will set you back £270.

In the context of this thread it makes the Scout look like even better value.

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2 hours ago, WillyChang said:

Nobody likes the CR01 huh... :unsure:

It is just not quite to scale to be scale.

Tamiya have axels in the CR-01. Add Portals from the funny 6x6 thing and the frame rails from a F350. Any number of bodies and there is the development done for them. 

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Why tamiya haven't released the unimog 425 cr-01 yet is baffling!

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