What's up with Pioneer?

[BARC 1]

[slothead]

Jules - that is very good news regarding aftermarket tires. I have a bin full of silicone tires in various sizes and should have no problem outfitting a bunch of Legend cars. I may also get some Quick Slicks from Cloverleaf in various levels of firmness to experiment with. It might turn out mixing and matching left and right rear tire 'compounds' is a fun part of tuning.

Super congrats regarding the SRA idea. If you and Dave Kennedy are ever able to get together over lunch to discuss mutually positive potential agreements and standards for slot cars I'll pick up your beverage tab (just don't overdo it). Being able to race Pioneer and Scalextric Trans Am cars side-by-side has been great.

[Fathead59]

With what everyone has been saying here , it is too bad that the slot car companies can't do a COPO deal , as in , letting the slot car people ask the companies to build a slot car with colors and motor/gears and tire/wheel options . Then you can say that you have a one of a kind car that you ordered from the dealer . Just my two cents , will get off of my soap box now .

[slothead]

Fathead - that sounds to me like an aftermarket cottage industry, like Shelby American or Rouch provides for Ford products. Lets say I buy a Fly Classic from an online dealer, and they send it to a tuner who for a fee puts in all new running gear as I request. By the time it gets to me I have a Fly car I can trust will run when I put it on the track.

BUT, it might cost more than a Thunderslot or NSR and not be worth it.

[Fathead59]

Slothead , I do understand where you are coming from , I mean with all of the slot cars I have at this point , it is more of what can I do to them to make them quicker and handle better . But with what has been said in this forum and a few others also , it is all test and tune . I think that most , if not all , of the slot car people here take a brand new car and take it all apart to see what can be done to it . But if you can have the slot car company do that for you when you buy the car from them, ie different motor , gears , tires , that sort of thing , then I would think it could be done .

[JULES]

The 'COPO' arrangement for real cars, both historical and recent, has an English speaking and short supply chain.

The logistics involved in getting your Chinese/Spanish/Italian made OOPO (Overseas Office Production Order) delivered exactly as you requested would be almost impossible.

I think Alan Smith at 132 scale raceway nails together 1:24 scale BRM stuff at his place in WA. If you wanted to go up to that scale that would be the only choice right now.

Alternatively, if any of the current Pioneer/Scalextric models interest you, then you could apply some pressure to Harry at HRW to add a string to his bow and buy in a load of slot car bits and bodies and set up MOPO (Missouri Office Production Order).

Yeah, that's idea of the day right there.

Jules

[HomeRacingWorld]

Have actually done something close to this in the past.

I offered models tuned (Tire Razor Wheel/Tire Sanding, Choice of tires, Chassis/Body float mods, and Guide Mod).

Not many takers though. The added cost was a factor of course, but Mr. Fathead sort of explained why: Most guys in these forums just enjoy the DIY.

[War Eagle River]

And even if the COPO was to happen, you can bet your bippy, I’m tearing the car apart when I get anyway, just to make sure it’s to my racing standards!

[HomeRacingWorld]

:text-yeahthat:

[waaytoomuchintothis]

People are funny. Once a guy was on a business trip here and looked up a couple of us. He learned about ALPS printing decals at one guy's place, and came here to my place to see how we set up Carrera NASCAR for our racing. I showed him lowering the body, getting a good float, trimming the chassis edges, alcohol dipped his motor, sanded his tires and wheels, and honed his stock gears. Then when it was all cleaned up, lubricated and ready, he ran on my track and it was one of the best I ever did- a real flyer. He left and we never heard a peep from him again. I didn't charge him for an hour's work of course, but he seemed like he was unhappy that I did it and showed him how. People are definitely strange sometimes.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Mine arrived today. Just back from visiting Broomhilda. Photos coming soon.

And price. Well, I get it. I do. But thanks to Carrera only making two cars I wanted, this left me budget room for the Scalextric Tbirds and Montes and even more room for a couple of these.

I don't compare car to car on price. I don't want just ANY car. I want American cars. I want models that will fit into my series here. So I can skip all the "repops" the other brands are doing and spend a little more on these.

These are "repops" too, but been awhile since we have seen them and they are CLASSIC AMERICAN IRON. Something we are lucky to see these days.

To each their own. A Carrera DTM might be 25 bucks cheaper, but I have some and no one even knows what they are. This one? No mistaking :)

[slothead]

In restaurant talk don't the say "you don't sell the steak, you sell the sizzle"? Pioneer cars, due to the era of cars and models they market, and the liveries offered, have the 'sizzle' I'm willing to pay for. That's the niche they chose to live in, and have been successful there.

[JULES]

[frank9129]

You know, if there were more different cars and not the same old models I'd be willing to buy more cars.
Because of this I purchased a 3D printer. A scanner is next. Then I'll buy a bunch of die cast cars and make my own.
I just happen to be old and set in my likes and dislikes. Old cars turn me on. They have class.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

It must be ambiguously ironic to Jules to read that one, Frank. He goes to a lot of trouble to do the surface finishing, painting, tampo printing, and clearcoating of every single model he puts out. I would love for him to make me a price on his QC discards, but I don't think he has enough screwups to make it worth the bother!

Believe me, the many years of resin body work I have done, some excellent, some almost useless and requiring more work than the car is worth, and the 4 or 5 3D printed bodies I am still learning about while I work, the finish of Jules' cars is top notch. Even the cars whose decoration is not for me at all, is fine quality, as good as mine at my best, and sometimes better than I can do. And on another subject, I still use his RTR chassis for a lot of the cars I build.