Why so dead?

[MrNanoTrax]

Originally Posted by lornecherry

Interesting thread.

you are SO on point. you did miss another aspect (outside of collector's syndrome, adult arcade style possiblities, unique data storage characteristics & online capabilities): each car handles like its full size predecessor due to the intimate detail they've put into each model. it isn't meant to be modified... collecting them is like having an arsenal of different weapons you can take to an indoor, air-conditioned, comfortable environment with the sole purpose of vanquishing the competition. i can't believe the number of cats crying about the cost when i've raced 1/10th buggy and 1/8th buggy and if i spent HALF the money i spent on just ONE of those two, i could probably own 10 fully hopped up dNaNos! :lol:

in the american market, it will be difficult to catch on because -while r/c is popular nationwide- getting all those interested in dNaNo into one place is difficult and organizing a club of enough people interested to support it locally is probably equally as hard.

[nitrojunkie]

I would imagine that due to the popularity of RC in the US it would be just the opposite and more would be interested;due to the I can now race year round if I want to crowd.I don't agree with the it wasn't meant to be hopped up thought if that was the case they would have not offered the OEM hop up parts.I believe it was meant to be raced due to the way it has been constructed.It is a really robust product or at least mine has been.

[quarterpound]

Originally Posted by nitrojunkie

I would imagine that due to the popularity of RC in the US it would be just the opposite and more would be interested;due to the I can now race year round if I want to crowd.I don't agree with the it wasn't meant to be hopped up thought if that was the case they would have not offered the OEM hop up parts.I believe it was meant to be raced due to the way it has been constructed.It is a really robust product or at least mine has been.

This is an interesting thread. Firstly, I'd like to note that I apparently stripped my stock differential, or some other way caused it to stop consistently spinning, in the first three days of ownership, but, I agree, it's awesome, and pretty damn durable, as I've smacked it around quite a lot (first ever R/C). No worries, I wanted to try a ball diff anyway...

As an American I think dNano has great potential as a niche hobby. I certainly hope I'm wrong and the kids snap them up like Transformers, but I doubt it. As cool as racing is and as undoubtedly popular as it is, I think that to reach overwhelming momentum in the US would take either an intensely lucky marketing campaign, or a way to have more fun without friends. dNano is the perfect city racing platform -- I head to the track and can always find at least two or three people to chill with, talk about parts with, and to laugh at my racing/learn from. But for children in the suburbs, the scene is much different. They can't drive to the racing track, and although an RCP or Real track is a cheap investment to us, it's not so easy on parents. Most of use posting are adults or young adults, and I think our perceptions are a little skewed by this.

These cars are convenient and durable -- pop them into a briefcase or other bag and you're ready to race whenever (NOTE TO KYOSHO: MAKE MINIATURE TXz - even if they're gimped they'll be huge sellers). But if you would throw one into a kid's backpack or god forbid, a pocket... well, you must have a $150-bill tree in the backyard. Plus, kids want to race anywhere. On the back porch, on the kitchen floor, over the roots of the trees in the backyard -- the kind of stuff Mini-Z buggies can handle so well, completely gums up dNanos.

So of course I'm not busting on dNano -- I love what I'm getting for my money. I do wish that Kyosho weren't so traditional about its business model. They'd get more of my money from licensing fees on other companies' bodies then they'll ever get from me buying more bodies from them. I just don't really like Le Mans and GTR bodies that much. So instead, all my money is going to Heller, some guys on ebay, and Tamiya (for modelling/painting supplies). I do wish I didn't have to wait for my local dNano shop to restock so I could buy hopups. I do wish that I could buy from dozens of US shops online. For the reasons listed above I doubt dNano will ever be as big as 1/18 in the US. But it's perfect for me!

[Kassi]

Yeah only reason why Kyosho has sold only a handfull of dNanos is that 99% of the enthusiasts say they are too expensive .. for their size.
Which is one of the most stupid things I've heard.
Now Kyosho released the all new mr-03 Mini-Z which has those cool new features too what made me buy dNano in the first place :S

[fraz]

Originally Posted by Kassi

Yeah only reason why Kyosho has sold only a handfull of dNanos is that 99% of the enthusiasts say they are too expensive .. for their size.
Which is one of the most stupid things I've heard.
Now Kyosho released the all new mr-03 Mini-Z which has those cool new features too what made me buy dNano in the first place :S

As an "OG" Mini-Z racer I have to say Kassi just NAILED IT!


And I am officially "calling out" Nitrojunkie and every other member here. An online community is what you make of it. Instead of asking "Why so dead?" you should ask "What can I do to make this better?" If you would like some examples, just look at some of my recent posts. Not saying I am the poster boy (interesting pun play on words) but I have been taking "extra effort" to share my findings and expertise to help build this community. Everybody can help out like this if we all just pitch in. So not just calling out Nitrojunkie, but every lurker out there to post up pics, videos**, findings, tracks, new parts coming out, etc.

OK, so there was my official "cheerleader post" and no I won't wear the skirt I do so because I manage online forums professionally for over 12 years so I have a really good idea of what it takes to have a great online community and I love this dNano platform.

**Mods, let's get embedded Youtube videos happening. It is a free feature for vBulletin and a tiny config is all you need. Then we could use tags like [youtube]YoutubeID [/youtube] and it embeds the vid inline in the message. While we're at it, new smilies wouldn't hurt

[Marcro]

Want to see a dead forum, check out TinyFlight.com. I haven't seen anybody post there in month's. I've posted a few of my helicopters and that's about it. That is one dead forum. I think this one is live and kicking pretty well and it's probably mostly cause the Dnano is the hottest craze right now.

[arch2b]

Originally Posted by Marcro

Want to see a dead forum, check out TinyFlight.com. I haven't seen anybody post there in month's. I've posted a few of my helicopters and that's about it. That is one dead forum. I think this one is live and kicking pretty well and it's probably mostly cause the Dnano is the hottest craze right now.

i guess you didn't get the gist of fraz's comments.

[nitrojunkie]

Originally Posted by fraz

As an "OG" Mini-Z racer I have to say Kassi just NAILED IT!


And I am officially "calling out" Nitrojunkie and every other member here. An online community is what you make of it. Instead of asking "Why so dead?" you should ask "What can I do to make this better?" If you would like some examples, just look at some of my recent posts. Not saying I am the poster boy (interesting pun play on words) but I have been taking "extra effort" to share my findings and expertise to help build this community. Everybody can help out like this if we all just pitch in. So not just calling out Nitrojunkie, but every lurker out there to post up pics, videos**, findings, tracks, new parts coming out, etc.

OK, so there was my official "cheerleader post" and no I won't wear the skirt I do so because I manage online forums professionally for over 12 years so I have a really good idea of what it takes to have a great online community and I love this dNano platform.

**Mods, let's get embedded Youtube videos happening. It is a free feature for vBulletin and a tiny config is all you need. Then we could use tags like [youtube]YoutubeID [/youtube] and it embeds the vid inline in the message. While we're at it, new smilies wouldn't hurt

Hey I'm trying to help out as much as I can with tips and stuff.As I figure things out or am told things or see stuff first hand I try to pass it along.I don't mind being called out.I have yet to miss a Tuesday night at the Mooresville track since having bought my car and I am working on getting a second car and radio so I can have one to loan if the opportunity arises.

[fraz]

Originally Posted by nitrojunkie

Hey I'm trying to help out as much as I can with tips and stuff.As I figure things out or am told things or see stuff first hand I try to pass it along.I don't mind being called out.I have yet to miss a Tuesday night at the Mooresville track since having bought my car and I am working on getting a second car and radio so I can have one to loan if the opportunity arises.

Totally didn't intend to imply you weren't pitchin' in... more or less a call to action for all

[carnaige]

What do you guys think about the Kyosho tracks?
I know it needs a better layout, and one more panel.
Would it be better if it was in local hobby shops, in stead of being in Hobby town USA shops. Just want to know. Might want to contact Kyosho direct, and let them know what has been going on. We as Dnano crasy people, want this to work.
Not only for us racers but for the new guy/girl. It could be just as big as the Mini-z thing, if not bigger.

[Marcro]

Originally Posted by arch2b

i guess you didn't get the gist of fraz's comments.

I probably didn't read all of it!

[nitrojunkie]

I've talked to Kyosho USA they seem to know about as much as their website shows.The people that initiated the HT deal are no longer with the company for what ever reason.The guy I talked to didn't know much himself as far as how long the deal is for when is the big push or release comming etc.As for the HT USA tracks I think they are fine the way they are for now.Some stores don't have the room for a bigger track.The one thing that I suggest is track upkeep a simple vacuuming will go a long way just dont use any motorized type vacuum head on it it will do more damage than good.You just want to remove the loose fibers not knock more loose.

[nalves]

Oh, yes, it's almost dead ;-)

Where are you people?

Nuno

[XStream]

I got my first dnano just a few weeks ago, and I've done some extensive research on all the different forums that currently exist. I've noticed that its quite difficult to find some real "basic" information. This is most likely due to the fact that most dnano owners are experienced mini-z racers.

I thought (especially after reading this thread) that it would be a good idea to built one forum-and-shop-independent wiki that would cover the different basic aspects of the dnano (parts, cleaning, hopups). This could be a good source for beginners and something that could be referred to in the different discussions on the forums.

Would you guys be prepared to share your expertise on something like this?

[nalves]

Originally Posted by anti mini man

p.s.- to NALVES, do you know there is a track for minis and 1/10 touring in queens on myrtle ave?

well, i know that they are bulting a new indoor track (i'm following the threat in the rc tech forum) btw queens and brooklyn and that there's a mini-z in northen queens...but, i'll wait for the new indoor 1/10 track. I've race that scale in the past 2 years...

Nuno