Re-re madness

[Mr.Nismo]

I have been watching and reading all these posts about re-releases etc for some weeks now, but i think (forgive me when i'm wrong)there are some people which are getting way to nervous about re-re stories etc. I look at the Porsche 959 for example.

I bought my first 959 in october 2004. This car had been a runner so almost all parts needed to be replaced. I found out that finding all parts needed was a badword of a job. I had to look at ebay 10 times a day to finally find someone who had a buy now price for the C-spreu.

I had to wait some time before a NIB body parts set came up and a NIP MSC was almost nowere to find (except for the Dutch Tamiya importer).

When i look at ebay and TC now, there are many, many Porsche's 959 for sale. Runners, Shellfqueens and NIB ones. All of the parts are also very easy to find (except for the R-spreu). A, B, C, D, F parts can be found easily.

When i see this upgoing trend in Porsche 959's you could get thinking that some people know that Tamiya will re-release the Porsche 959. Same goes for the Celica. I had been waiting for a NIB at a reasanoble price for almost a year now. I finally bought mine and suddenly there are 3 NIB's at ebay and 1 at TC. Strange?!

When i look at it as a marketeer there are some strange wave-like-movements when it comes to different cars/models/parts that hit the market now and then. These movements can be seen as "people know that that car will be re-released".

I've read that many "older" guys buy the "toys" they used to play with and that this is a growing market, but would you realy think that Tamiya will re-produce some models just for this market?

I understand that re-releasing the SRB's and HiLux will provide Tamiya an injection of sales, but Tamiya just can't live from re-releasing models. In my opinion the market for this re-re's is to little to make profit at a long term.

In my opinion Tamiya is missing the feeling of the "old days". I have raced for 5 years, starting with TA01's. Were there any real competitive competitors at the time? Now days there are at least 6 manufacturers wich are selling top of the bill race cars. All in titanium, aluminium, carbon etc etc. It seems that real RC car innovation (for the pro's) is almost at it's peak. All of these cars are almost perfect.

When bringing back some of the older cars wich had there weak spots and didn't drove that well, the feeling of these days relive. I think that is what Tamiya is after.

[Shodog]

The 959 is an overly complex car, if they ever did release it, it would probably reside on a modified mini chassis instead of the original chassis.

[Voltar]

It would also probably have a different body. The original 959 bodys were poor quality.

[fazig04]

quote:Originally posted by Mr.Nismo

I understand that re-releasing the SRB's and HiLux will provide Tamiya an injection of sales, but Tamiya just can't live from re-releasing models. In my opinion the market for this re-re's is to little to make profit at a long term.

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Respectfully, I think you might be missing the big picture from a business standpoint ...

Tamiya can invest in a temporary re-release all of the originals over a two year span in their original format, just as they were when the first came out, and then use these limited re-re series as a marketing platform, leveraging the newly generated PR to launch a whole new line of high-tech trucks, buggies and even road cars.

As you point out, Tamiya is not currently at the top of the RC game and hasn't been for a while, but it has a great tradition of innovation that is 20 yrs old - unless the company is going to roll over and die, why not use that history to their sales advantage by reviving interest into the next decade?

Don't discount the influence thirty-somethings will have over the buying habits of their young kids - that kind of brand loyalty even mixed with a little nostalgia, is generated in the automobile business year after year (something the Japanese know a few things about).

The ROI for a limited re-re series of original trucks, buggies and road racers is potentially huge and could garner Tamiya a large segment of the RC market if coupled with a subsequent brand new line of RC vehicles.

I think this re-re wave will include the first road racers, metal buggies and ladder-frame trucks as the there exists quite a varied audience and following for each model. I think you'll see some special limited edition features in the newest re-re's as well, such as wheel covers (like standard chrome in kits) and sport-tuned motors that fit into the old SRB gear casings (the 540 from the re-re frog already fits into all of the SRB casings).

There is nothing else in Tamiya's past lineups that can generate the same kind of renewed interest in the brand and give them such valuable time in the RC market spotlight - and why risk launching a new lineup of vehicles without priming the marketplace as much as possible?

[T.C~Tamiya]

quote:the 540 from the re-re frog already fits into all of the SRB casings

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The reissue Frog isn't out yet, and the modern metal ended Mabuchi is too fat to fit the SRB gearboxs.

[Scorcher Champ]

It's one of two things...

Either people are panicking over the possibility of re-issues bringing the price of their kits down or they know something we don't for sure.[][][]