:confused: i just read that release 4 was cancelled. from 1 stop diecast i think that was the mustangs is this true if it is whats next? bob

That just plain blows.

The beginning of the end?
Scott

I guess that cat's out of the bag. The Mustang release was cancelled around the same time as the VW release for the same reasons - licensing. The thing that annoys me is that the old Playing Mantis website just keeps kicking out these "Coming Soon" notices like it's on autopilot. Don't believe anything you see on that site. Nobody's home!

I'm still very upbeat about the Johnny Lightning slot cars. The Bowties and the Mopars kicked it on sales and that is about the best form of positive feedback we can send as buyers. There are still six more releases in the pipeline and let's just hope they all see the light of day.

X-Tractions:
# X-Traction R3 ( Back to the Future and original models) - June 2005
# X-Traction Mopar - November 2005
# X-Traction Pop Culture - March 2006

Thunderjet 500:
# TJ500 Mopar Madness - June 2005
# TJ500 Dukes of Hazzard - July 2005
# TJ500 Bowtie Brigade - November 2005


Will the release dates change? Probably, but so what as long as we eventually get them.

Yeah Afx, as long as we eventually get them. :cry: rr

Okay, General Motors & Chrysler had no problems. So what's Fords deal. When I was a kid my favorite slotcar was a Tjet Camaro. Now at age 49 I still own a Camaro. What I liked as a kid has stayed with me. Toy cars are the best adds money can buy. PERIOD!

Ford cannot keep up with the demand for the 2005 mustang(the best selling car in years), maybe they're afraid they won't be able to keep up with the high demand either!
GLBB

Ford cannot keep up with the demand for the 2005 mustang(the best selling car in years), maybe they're afraid they won't be able to keep up with the high demand either!
GLBB

Ought to be interesting to see what numbers Daimler/Chrysler comes up with for sales of that new Dodge Charger. I'm sure they won't have a backlog of anything except at the dealers lot. rr

Well, if Ford is widely sucessful in their retro design approach we should see the other manufacturers jump on board too. If there's one thing that the auto manufacturers know how to do, it's copying each others ideas.

I also lament Daimler-Chrysler's decision to go with the Charger design they picked after having shown us prototypes that looked much better. They must not do any market research whatsoever, or only do it in retirement communities.

Hello,

I'm sorry I just can't express my true feelings here.

This release was the heart-breaker for me.:drunk:

I wanted these as much as some of you wanted the Mopars and Bowties.
I am truely sick over all of this and I have grave doubts for future out-comings.
Oh, I'm sure we'll still get more slots--multiple colours of previous releases--that's all.

So instead, I'm getting a Deloreon with rockets hanging off the flanks--Oh joy :rolleyes:.

They assume I'm going to be satisfied with this, after two of the big three are made into slots for everyone else and they leave us out?




They can kiss my ASSUMPTION! :mad:




Cheers..

I wonder if there are deeper rooted issues here.........JL/RC2 already makes Ford Mustang product!

---------------------------
www.SlotCarJohnnies.com

Johnnies right......

There aren't a whole lot of Mustangs that JL doesn't do!!!!! Matter of fact,later this year,they will be releasing a dc of the new Mustang.

Interested to see how this all plays out.

Mike

VW has had a number of licensing agreements "fall" through so to speak.I being a big aircooled fan know this from articles published in some magazines .The bottom line is the big companies continually show their intelligence by killing free publicity.Its no different now than in the 50's and 60's any auto manufacturer should be flattered to have a model or diecast company or even a slotcar maker reproduce their product accurately.Just another fine example of what over paid uptight lawyers have brought upon this country,the world for that matter.The greedy get greedier and we the common man suffers for it.

Does anyone get the feeling that the end is near for the slot cars from RC2??
--fordcowboy

Does anyone get the feeling that the end is near for the slot cars from RC2??
--fordcowboy


I do. Guess I'd better stock up. Who knows, maybe 30 years from now my Grandkids will be on a BB talking about Xtracs and JLTOs and all the great times they had sliding them around the slots. Then maybe, someone like TL will get a special idea from his childhood and here we go again. Happened once. Who'd have thunk it? ;) :thumbsup: rr

*shudddder*

I wonder if there are deeper rooted issues here.........JL/RC2 already makes Ford Mustang product!

---------------------------
www.SlotCarJohnnies.com
I agree with SCJ, It can't be licensing. Let us take inventory of all the Ford Xtractions that have been released. 1. That means RC2 would have to produce 5 new molds. Then they could have 2 color schemes each and make their series of 12. Maybe RC2 doesn't want to spend the money and effort tooling new molds. Look at the previous Xtraction releases and you'll see most of the cars are from the Pullback series. Randy.

Does anyone get the feeling that the end is near for the slot cars from RC2??
--fordcowboy

I sent RC2 an e-mail (about a month ago) concerning the future of slotcars.
No response.
But I am not surprised.
Scott

There's nothing that says a release has to have 12 cars. The R6 TJet500s only had 6 cars and the chrome & gold Batmobile release only had 2 cars. For all we know the Mustang was a 2 car set, a 1964 and 2004. I hope they work out the issues and we find out.

Like I said, I'm very optimistic that we haven't seen the last of the JL slot cars. The 6 releases that they are still saying they will release will probably be strung out longer than originally advertised, but they should all still happen. I don't believe that there is a deep rooted problem with the slot cars, I just think that we're seeing the standard sort of hiccups that take place whenever a merger/acquisition takes place. The last couple of JL slot cars releases that came out after the RC2 buyout of PM were already far along in their production cycles before the RC2 deal came akong. The last couple of releases have direct RC2 involvement and some things have just not gone as originally planned by PM.

You would think that RC2's license portfolio that covers their vast array of diecast products would cover their slot cars as well. I have no idea if this is true.

Here's an interesting post from late last night on the diecast board.
http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=109242

This quote from the post echos my feelings that the slot cars are not somehow being singled out.
"RC2 has owned PM for about a year now , and the cars it had been working on before the sale are coming to an end ,leading to fewer new cars on the pegs . During the last few months the editor has talked with several collectors about the lack of new Johnny Lightning product, and every person expressed concern about the future of the JL brand."

All of what used to be JL is in disarray since the RC2 takeover. I hope this is just a temporary bump in the road to bigger and better things for the JL brand.

Hey, Too, Thanks for sharing that. :thumbsup

I forwarded that to JL/RC2...
And then I followed up with my monthly note asking about slotcar information...
Maybe someday I will receive a reply.
Scott

I forwarded that to JL/RC2...
And then I followed up with my monthly note asking about slotcar information...
Maybe someday I will receive a reply.
Scott

Scott,
You probably have a better chance at hitting the Lottery. :devil: rr

Scott, I'd be surprised if you receive a reply, and if you do it would likely be a form letter "thanking you for your support - blah blah blah." I'd imagine that the few former PM'ers that still remain are either bound by their contract to not say anything publically, or else they're always looking over their shoulders and imagining they hear footsteps and see the glint of the layoff axe heading towards their cubicle.

[QUOTE=AfxToo]Here's an interesting post from late last night on the diecast board.
http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=109242

I read this post. And read between the lines. It sounds like the people who are running RC2 are just buying out their competitors and letting what they bought die out. If they're efficient in anyway, there shouldn't be any bumps in the road. It's been about a year now since RC2 took over. Releases should be moving along smoothly. Too bad RC2 has to treat loyal customers like this. Randy. :(

It doesn't help when RC2 hasn't been "customer friendly" ie: no comunication.

It seems that RC2 has been very inept during the takeover of JL or they are just gutting JL.

Either way it isn't good for use consumers but I prefer the former.

G.P.

These sort of things just happen in business, it's a way of life.
Hey does anyone remember a little company called AMC?

These sort of things just happen in business, it's a way of life.
Hey does anyone remember a little company called AMC?


AMC was bought for the Jeep Line and has done Mopar very well on their return.

They also seemed to have laid the groundwork for the Chrysler Minivan.
Picture in your mind a Pacer, (Scary I Know But stay with me) now pull the front end out, lift the roof while slimming it and extend the back. You now have the first generation Mini Van.

Oh and by the way The Pacer beat the Gremlin on that show where they have to build up 2 old cars and then race for pink slips.
It was hilarious.

And for the record, no I am not an AMC head.(Not that is anything wrong with that:)

Thanks,
Keith

You took me too literally, I was refering to AMC being totally absorbed into Chrysler and losing their own identity and product line (save Jeep, which if I recall AMC acquired from Willys?). But speaking of AMC inspired designs, I can't help but recognize that the high priced Infinity FX35 appears to have been inspired by the AMC Eagle. That's not even as much of a stretch as the Pacer-to-minivan theory.

You took me too literally, I was refering to AMC being totally absorbed into Chysler and losing their own identity and product line (save Jeep, which if I recall AMC acquired from Willys?). But speaking of AMC inspired designs, I can't help but recognize that the high priced Infinity FX35 appears to have been inspired by the AMC Eagle. That's not even as much of a stretch as the Pacer-to-minivan theory.

Good Obsevation on that Infinity. That whole new Genre of "Sportwagons" seems to have been revived by Subaru Outback and Forrester.
After all A Minivan used to be classified as a Wagon and probably still could be considered one, but I love Mine.
Going to the Flea Market and not having to worry about how I am going to get something big home is priceless.

Another one is Chevy Suburban / Ford Exploder is rehashed Jeep Wagoneers of the 60's & 70's.


Thanks,
Keith

Hi Gang
Disclaimer, This is what I heard straight out of a RC2 Rep. So, dont shoot the messanger, Thanks.

When I spoke to a RC2 rep during Speedweeks here in Daytona, he said (as best I remember, loosely quoting) "The JL slot line was something we HAD to take, we didnt want it, we never wanted it, we just wanted the diecast line, but we got stuck with the slots, too. The Farm and NASCAR diecast lines are our mainlines, and were a diecast company, not a slot car-R/C car company. When the product already manufactured sells out, thats it. We dont do warrantys on anything" My wife and 2 other friends of mine were standing there, and heard every word he said. I was hoping this was just the usual RC2 Sales Rep BS, but now a few months later, it seems this rep knew what was gonna happen after all. Personally, I would not put ANY hope in any new releases, unless you can walk up and touch'em. Maybe someone should buy the slot division from RC2, (they would probably love to "dump it" on someone else) someone who actually gives a damn about the slots, like TL did.

Just my $1.02 worth (adjusted for inflation)
Larry

Larry, I copied your quote fron the RC2 rep and sent it to RC2 Customer relations to ask if it was true...
Will I get a straight answer?
Hmmm...
Scott

You took me too literally, I was refering to AMC being totally absorbed into Chysler and losing their own identity and product line (save Jeep, which if I recall AMC acquired from Willys?). But speaking of AMC inspired designs, I can't help but recognize that the high priced Infinity FX35 appears to have been inspired by the AMC Eagle. That's not even as much of a stretch as the Pacer-to-minivan theory.

Did Chrysler buy AMC or just the Jeep/Eagle name? I was thinking that Renault had bought AMC as a whole and maybe just acquired Jeep/Eagle along with it. I don't really know the whole story.

I can't help but speculate on this. I have an idea about what JL's future will be under RC2. I guess I'll see if I'm right. I'm sure they'll want to take advantage of JL's loyal diecast following. It would be insane not to. I'm pretty surprised that they dropped the ball on the JLCC. Then again, maybe they thought that giving the dealers first crack at the clearance stuff would be the better choice over dealing with the individual consumers themselves, which probably requires another department that they could otherwise function without......OR maybe they're looking at how to combine it with the Ertl club. Wouldn't we all like to be a fly on the wall at RC2?

I don't hold out much hope for the JL slotcar line, especially after reading the above post. I know it's all only rumors and speculation at this point, but it makes sense considering what we've seen from RC2's actions and what Lype says he heard from the rep. I hope some third party is intersted in HO slot cars and maybe would try to get with RC2 & continue to make them, but there is the JL name recognition thing and RC2 might not want to deal with the headaches that would come with producing slot cars, along with the marketing challenges. It's a whole different ball game than diecast.

Many of the large retail chains don't seem to want to deal with it either. I know first hand about the problems of trying to sell HO slotcars at a store like TRU. Wallmart probably has similar issues. HO slot cars are more of an adult niche. They are more closely related to the train hobby. Most kids want instant gratification. They wanna pop in a video game and play. They don't seem to want to have to learn the details of setting up and maintaining something as complex as a HO train or slotcar set. From what I've seen, many parents don't wanna take the time to teach the kids about the details of maintaining those kinds of hobbies. We are likely the exceptions. Many people don't even know what a slot car is.

HO cars require maintenance and sometimes (like with the JLs) require tweaking right out of the box. A large percentage of the HO sets get returned after Christmas. The rest, if they work OK for a while, will eventually need maintenance so they end up thrown in a closet and collect dust until they end up in a garage sale. The idea of a train under the tree or an electric race car set seems appealing, but then they get them home and find out that there is more to it than just setting it up and watching it go. The only sets that they sell a ton of, that don't seem to come back as much are the 1/43 scale sets that you can get for $9.99. Those are cheap and less complex than the HO stuff. The only down side is that they need batteries. If it quits working after a while, it was only $10.

I really hope that someone else steps up to fill the void that Mattel and (I think) JL will leave in the HO slotcar hobby. Of course, we still have Tomy, but those aren't like the JLTOs or the Auroras. I also have read that the slots are doing well in Germany. I imagine they'll always be around in some form or another. I don't have much hope that they'll gain much ground in the mainstream retail stores here. I'm grateful for the internet and the online hobby shops. I really hope I end up being proven wrong.

I've heard very similar things through the grapevine as Larry, but did hear that they would finish out 3 more runs of TJets and 3 more runs of XTs and then reconsider the whole deal. That's assuming everything goes smoothly. If there's an issue with a license or production then who knows.

It's no consolation, but what we all see as RC2 driving JL slotcars into the ground is symptomatic of a much larger problem with RC2's takeover of JL. Take a peek in your local KayBee Toys, Toys R Us, Targets, and Wal-Marts. Oops, I forgot, KayBee Toys, Toys R Us both filed for bankruptcy and are closing stores. The other two have been cutting back significantly on JL diecast products.

The whole dang JL product line is in danger of disappearing, not just the slotcars.

Take a look around. The only slotcar and parts vendors that are maintaining any new R&D effort and continuous production are the specialty shops like Wizzard, Slottech, BSRT, RRR, Model Motoring, JWs Speed Parts, JBs, Galinko, etc. Yeah, these are mostly small fish that live in a fairly small pond. RC2 is a big fish that lives or dies by its ability to swim in the big ponds of mega retailers like Wal-Mart. Slot cars aren't big pond products. Even Tomy is really a fairly small fish. Tomy basically pulled out of all North American sales of slotcars and if weren't for RaceMasters being the sole factory distributor of Tomy products in North America we wouldn't even have Tomy.

With that said, if RC2 dumps the slot cars one hope for them is that one of the healthier smaller players picks them up for a next to nothing and continues on with the production. The easiest thing would be to primarily support new variations of the existing bodies. This may be an opportunity for MM to divorce itself from the ThunderPlus chassis fiasco. I think RC2 would just about give the molds away. If they were willing to just about give away those excess F&F R2 cars for 50 cents each then how much value do they place in their current investment in slot cars? Not much.

For all we know RC2 will see the light and realize that they are sitting on a worthwhile product that can make them a lot of money. Then we'll all feel silly for burying them too soon. Here's hoping we are wrong.

I wonder if Tom Lowe would consider buying the slot line? I know he backs them, or is it just not worth it........has to be, all the tooling is there.
Why couldn't rc2 just set up a website and sell slots from there? theres obviously some profit in it, otherwise it wouldn't have been run the few years its run already.

Why couldn't rc2 just set up a website and sell slots from there?
I totally agree. If they recognized that slot cars are a niche (small pond) market and sold them accordingly then they would have a much better chance of surviving. That's how the majority of BSRT, Slottech, and Wizzard products are sold, besides selling through the few remaining hobby shops. JL should also produce and sell real service parts, like arms, magnets, bare chassis, gearplates, wheels, etc., as well as extra bodies. Producing extra parts and extra bodies, even unpainted bodies, and selling them separately would drive down the per unit costs and make better use of their manufacturing partner.

JL's slot cars are being sold just like they sell their diecast cars. That's wrong. If you make slot cars then you must sell a full range of service parts too. The JL "pit kits" are nearly worthless because they mostly contain parts that you've already yanked off your JL cars and replaced with better ones from other vendors. I've never bought a single JL pit kit.

I wonder if Tom Lowe would consider buying the slot line? I know he backs them, or is it just not worth it........has to be, all the tooling is there.
Why couldn't rc2 just set up a website and sell slots from there? theres obviously some profit in it, otherwise it wouldn't have been run the few years its run already.

To the first question there is probably a "no competition clause" as part of the sale of JL. This is just a guess on my part.. And TL is currently working for RC2...
To the second question RC2 is a toy manufacturing company.
Not a distribution or retail sales company. To sell things direct would be a bold and innovative move. But that may also conflict with sales agreements that RC2 has with distributors.....
This is also just a guess on my part...
Scott

Well, if Ford is widely sucessful in their retro design approach we should see the other manufacturers jump on board too. If there's one thing that the auto manufacturers know how to do, it's copying each others ideas.

I also lament Daimler-Chrysler's decision to go with the Charger design they picked after having shown us prototypes that looked much better. They must not do any market research whatsoever, or only do it in retirement communities.

Simply put: The NEW Charger is a DOG... Woof Woof..UGLY frickin' car, with four doors...It is Like Chrysler wanted to kill the whole Idea of having any other performance car other that the brick Viper.

I'm holding on to mine.