Haven't seen this posted anywhere yet.......so for those who care, here you go! <Said with a Russian accent> I find this very interesting!





Press Release: June 17th, 2005
Subject: Thomas Lowe



"May 31, 2005 was my last day with RC2. The good news is that I have started a new company called Round 2. "



-----------------------------------------
www.SlotCarJohnies.com (http://www.slotcarjohnies.com/)

:confused:

What the hell??? :confused:

I could have sworn that when Tom sold JL that he had an agreement/ contract to stay on board with RC2/Ertl to oversee the JL lines for two years.

This news IMHO does not bode well for the much loved JL lines.....ESPECIALLY the slot cars that we ALL love so much. As I recall Tom was one of the major pushers for the slots...and had said that he would continue to push the slots while with RC2/Ertl. With him gone this news can only mean the day we have feared may very well be on the horizon :cry:

Interesting...
I also thought that a "no competition" clause was normal ops in deals like this also.
Of course we do not know what "Round 2" might be either...
And I just can't see Tom posting here to fill us in either..
Scott

...With him gone this news can only mean the day we have feared may very well be on the horizon :cry:
I wouldn't worry too much about the slot car line going away soon. That's pretty much all I can say at the moment...:)

Dan

I wouldn't worry too much about the slot car line going away soon. That's pretty much all I can say at the moment...:)

Dan

hmmmm.... could he be taking the slots with him, and calling them Round 2???

:freak:

--rick

hmmmm.... could he be taking the slots with him, and calling them Round 2???

:freak:

--rick
I highly doubt it. I'm sure he has a no compete agreement against all the product lines that he sold to RC2...

Darn, I would throw away my 11 year retail home depot career aside to work a business with Tom, A shame he's so far away or I would be banging his door down.

Darn, I would throw away my 11 year retail home depot career aside to work a business with Tom, A shame he's so far away or I would be banging his door down.
No sour grapes here, but I doubt that the employees from his most recent venture would share your enthusiasm...

Dan

That little software company that Bill and Paul formed on the left coast has created over 10,000 millionaires in the last 20 years. Yeah, toy cars and software aren't the same, but there's something to be said for sharing the wealth........

I wouldn't worry too much about the slot car line going away soon. That's pretty much all I can say at the moment...:)

Dan


Well man, I wish I had the same crystal ball that you do........ :(

No sour grapes here, but I doubt that the employees from his most recent venture would share your enthusiasm...

Dan

Good point...

Didn't suprise me. Has to be tough working for someone who's killing off the things you brought to the market. :cry: rr

<eom>

Well Dan, I hope you keep on pushing as I too am looking forward to more cars. But RC2/JL needs to take a look at what they have. They need to do other varieties of cars besides 70's muscle. The Can-Am, GT's, and Euro sports cars are eagerly awaited by the slot crowd, too. Would be cool if these kind of cars along with some semi trucks can be sprinkled in when the later series are produced.

Dan, great write-up! I didn't realize the production numbers got so out of synch with the demand. In retrospect it makes sense why certain releases seemed to get "dumped" into the market, mostly ending up on E-Bay at fire sale prices. That had the effect of tempering demand. When you see a product being promoted as "limited production" and then see it selling for 1/3rd of the MSRP two months later, the enthusiasm for the next release kind of tails off.

I've also heard that PM/RC2 created a whole lot of discontent in their dealer network by selling off a lot of stock to "anyone at the back door with a big pocketful of cash" at prices that allowed the product to be sold for less than what other dealers were getting it for at cost. When that stuff started hitting E-Bay buyer's expectations of "fair market value" dipped considerably. I recall more than one dealer vehemently opposing what BBS posters (myself included) were speculating on what the actual production costs of the cars were based on what they were selling for on the market. They were right that cars and cases were being sold on E-Bay for less than their dealer cost. Some dealers quit carrying JL cars forever after that fiasco. But I also see why PM/RC2 did it, they just wanted to get the stuff out of their warehouses. It did tarnish the PM/RC2 reputation and has skewed buyer expectations.

The next couple of releases are going to be a tough test for RC2. They are trying to make mid-course corrections by limiting production. I've also heard that they are restricting their dealer network. I find the latter hard to imagine. At the same time they aren't shipping an overwhelmingly compelling set of cars in the next JLTO and XT releases. It will be interesting to see how the push to limit production and hold the line on prices sits with current buyers who are used to 50-60% price drop offs on the E-Bay market. If nothing else, I hope they learned the Batmobile lesson and limit the gimmicky BTTF Delorean to a single release and then break the mold. I still see JLTO Batmobiles in all colors gathering dust on hobby store shelves. I think everyone wanted one, in black, but after that the demand was considerably weaker.

I'm still pulling for RC2 to be successful with the slot cars and I've ordered both of the upcoming releases.

<eom>

Some discussion of the slots end of this over on the diecast board:

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=115336

--rick

Maybe Tom will only do slot cars. It would be cool if Mattel sold him their slot car product line to bolster the lineup.

Maybe Tom will only do slot cars. It would be cool if Mattel sold him their slot car product line to bolster the lineup.
SOMEONE should buy Tyco, Mattel has certainly no interest in expanding or maintaining the line...

Maybe Tom will only do slot cars. It would be cool if Mattel sold him their slot car product line to bolster the lineup.

Oh. My. God.

Tyco and Aurora, arch enemies, UNDER THE SAME ROOF! The feud that has raged since the dawn of slot cars... check this picture:

http://www.slotcarthrillart.com/thrill06.htm

Seriously, though, that would be way cool. Probably hoping for WAY too much, but way cool anyway.

--rick

Maybe Tom will only do slot cars. It would be cool if Mattel sold him their slot car product line to bolster the lineup.

Man, if that ain't creepy.......I was talking to Captain Fred on the phone around 7PM and I suggested the same thing to CF.....

That'd be sweet if it happenned. :)

Looks like they got a little testy over on the diecast board. There's some interesting reading though. Either way, there is some hope for the future of the slot car line. I wouldn't even think about speculating on anything at this point. I'll just wait in the wings with my controller in my hand.

Hey Captain,

don't forget your CheckBook :)

Roger Corrie

i think that with a track to purchase along with the t jets and xtractions and maybe trying to get them in a big name department store i hate to say it but maybe wally world and i hate wally world with a passion but if they did that i could see slots makeing a major comeback

I agree with Lenny's post that the pre-RC2 cars were over-produced BUT please let's not forget that Tom Lowe's JL Slot cars gave this "dying" hobby new life. Admit it... Didn't we get excited when we first saw the JL pull back cars for $2.99 at ToysRUs? It was strange seeing pink and lime green cars BUT I collected all of them! I support any company that makes HO slot cars.

I agree with Lenny's post that the pre-RC2 cars were over-produced BUT please let's not forget that Tom Lowe's JL Slot cars gave this "dying" hobby new life. Admit it... Didn't we get excited when we first saw the JL pull back cars for $2.99 at ToysRUs? It was strange seeing pink and lime green cars BUT I collected all of them! I support any company that makes HO slot cars.


Howdy and welcome to Hobbytalk! :wave:

You are exactly correct.......Tom's JL slots DID so much to revive the HO slot car hobby.If it wasn't for me seeing the JL pullbacks's while my wife and I worked for KB toys I probably wouldn't have really bothered to show much interest in HO slots.

The Internet has done more to revive the HO hobby/sport than anything else.

There have been other vendors (MM, HOD, MEV, RRR) involved in TJet body production. Magnet car racing has remained relatively strong for decades, with the Tyco 440 carrying the load through the 80s and Tomy SG+ giving it a shot in the arm in the early 90s. The current Big 3 race car vendors (BSRT, Slottech, Wizzard) are helping to keep the sport alive today and move it into the future.

I think slot cars will stay about as popular as they are now for at least the next 10-20 years. It's important to get young people involved and interested in the hobby. Finely detailed, good quality, well running products only help the cause.

Finely detailed, good quality, well running products only help the cause.


That's what it's all about!!

.... It's important to get young people involved and interested in the hobby.
Doing my part. Got a pair of eight year old girls that love racing in any shape, form, or color.

Does Tom Lowe post on the boards? Hopefully he does, sees the support, and continues where RC2/JL left off.

Out on a limb here, but ....Probably what most JL slot fans DON"T agree with me on is having to do with the death of "Pull-Backs". I for one would have been just as happy if the line hadn't evolved into being actual complete slot cars. Just as long as they at least kept making new bodies through the pull-back line, I would have kept buying them (happily). Price was right, details /scale was good, they were fun to collect, ...I was a happy camper. I feel it was just gravy for all concerned that they actually decided to put a chassis underneath. My hope at this point in time is that the lineage continues in either format. It was/is all good. My only personal "want" is that the Tjet line stay closer to Tjet-scale. I think that line of distinction was beginning to fade with the JL's. Model Motoring, MEV, and others have done it successfully, so I believe it's indeed quite do-able. Is it practical from a manufaturing standpoint? I have no idea. I just love to mix and match and some bodies just turned out to be "puffed up". If X-Traction is pursued as well, let that be the product that takes on the larger scale. Kind of like what happened with Aurora Tjet vs AFX. Maybe that is too much to expect, but that's my "druther". In any event, I too wish ALL these guys luck and hope their plans flourish. At this point any progress is better than no progress. tjd

In my opinion, the HO hobby would be a lot worse off without the JL slot cars. There's nothing that I hated more than the zero sum game situation that existed when the only show in town was NOS Aurora chassis. There is a limited supply of these and the price keeps going up and up. Pure supply vs. demand economics. I don't want to be at the mercy of the NOS Aurora chassis cartel and the body-only suppliers did nothing to alleviate the situation. Even MM recognized that the days of inexpensive Hong Kong leftovers was coming to an end and produced their own chassis.

I think a lot of this has to do with how you view the hobby. In my opinion the hobby should be alive and the cars should be used in their role as the low cost toys that they were meant to be. The JL cars fit exactly in that role today. The Aurora cars fit into that same role their heydey. Even the price of the JL cars, adjusted for inflation, is almost exactly the same as the Aurora cars.

As far as scale goes, no two HO slot cars bodies are the same exact scale. They weren't when Aurora was doing them and they aren't today. If someone has a particular fondness for a particular range of renderings then they can limit their collection to the ones that fall into their own "acceptance criteria." I for one appreciate a more faithful rendering over a crude one, and if the designer stretches the dimensions a little to achieve a better overall result I am in favor of it. There are plenty of Aurora bodies that look very strange and bear little resemblance to the real car they are trying to model.

Again, these are just my opinions. I am not a purist collector. I mostly buy new cars. Believe it or not I still play with these silly little cars, old ones and new ones, small ones and not so small ones, tail waggers and rail suckers. I don't have that genetic condition that makes one desire a "rare and one of a kind" anything. I have no desire to be buried with my slot cars or have them squirrelled away in my little cave. But I truly appreciate eveyones opinion and I think that we all collectively agree that what we all want is a healthy collection of slot car products and suppliers. If the JL slot cars go away, and nobody is saying they will, the HO slot car world would be a sadder place and take another step towards being a forgotten hobby buried in history.

My only personal "want" is that the Tjet line stay closer to Tjet-scale. I think that line of distinction was beginning to fade with the JL's. Model Motoring, MEV, and others have done it successfully, so I believe it's indeed quite do-able. Is it practical from a manufaturing standpoint? I have no idea. I just love to mix and match and some bodies just turned out to be "puffed up".

I've always agreed with this. The old Aurora "formula" (even though there was no official formula, it just seemed to work out like this in general) was that pony cars and sports cars were short wheelbase, muscle cars and big boats were long wheelbase. In my mind, and in Aurora's old lineup, Mustangs and Camaros and AMXs and Corvettes are SWB, and El Caminos and GTOs and Torinos and Galaxies are LWB. Now, I really like the JL Camaro and Mustang and Nova and Barracuda, but they look a little odd sitting next to an Aurora Galaxie, for example. Yeah, I know there were exceptions, notably that the Aurora Beetle and Cobra should NEVER have been LWB, but that's the way it worked out. I like that MEV's Corvair and MM's '69 Camaro are SWB, and I think JL did the right thing making the '67 Corvette SWB... I hope that in the future they continue to make size distinctions like that.

--rick

Hello-

I feel very fortunate to have JL, and others like MM, RRR, and MEV to continue to try and sustain our hobby’s health.
I loved the Pull-backs, and bought every one—including doubles and triples of certain ones.
As the JL slot history has been well covered, I will just add that I will keep buying any and all slots I’m fond of-including a few from the planned future releases.
As long as “someone” keeps makin’ em’—I’ll keep buying.

I really hope that never ceases. :)


A great thread and informative read-Thank you!


Cheers.....

I resemble what AFX too said. I also like the tail waggers, as well as the rail suckers. I collected most of the pullbacks as spares to spiff up some of my old beaters. I would probably still buy those too if they still made them, especially if they made some of the Bowtie bodies. (I still don't have any of that series yet)
I haven't been thrilled with the overall quality of the JL chassis, but I have some that run really sweet too. Some new slot cars are better than no new slot cars.
My duds have become spare parts and they'll also be the first ones that I use for experimentation or customizing. I'm not as particular about scale, like I was about diecast, as long as they more or less match in size to the ones that are already out. I just like running them. I hope they keep making them in one form or another. I don't care who's name is stamped on them. The more they make, the better. They can dump the chase car idea too. I have kinda gotten caught up in it, but I really hate the whole chase car/scalper game. I feel like it's become a cancer in the diecast hobby. I hope they make plenty of them, so that when I wreck or wear mine out, I can easily replace or repair them.

I loved slotcars long before I got into diecast. I'm in the process of getting out of diecast. I plan to continue with the slotcars. I'm always looking for more people to race with too. I would love to see the hobby continue to grow. :thumbsup:

My 2 cents..........I don't care about scale much, but I won't be mounting a tyco blazer to a tjet chassis.
About chase cars. My theory doesn't work in the "collector" world, but, years ago when I was a kid collecting Star Wars figures (the first series, not all the stuff coming out these days) If you wanted the "rare/oddball" figure, you had to send proof of purchase of 4 or 5 other store bought figures to get the special bounty hunter figure.
Like I said it wouldn't work in this day and age, because that "rare" figure was free.

I loved slotcars long before I got into diecast. I'm in the process of getting out of diecast. I plan to continue with the slotcars. I'm always looking for more people to race with too. I would love to see the hobby continue to grow. :thumbsup:


This is exactly where i'm at and have been for almost a year now.

Capn', whick DC where you collecting? Me it was HW's.

I guess I can't honestly dd more than what's already been said. I agree with AFXToo's opinions and view :thumbsup:


I mostly enjoy racing Tjets......and I am kind of a stickler on scale/appearance..... BUT, I've also converted a few AFX bodies to Tjets.....so that the wider wheels would tuck inside the wider body for a drag racing look.

Saw the beginning of this thread before I went to Streator, Illinois last Monday. Tonight is my first peek since then. Very interesting thread. Hit the link to the discussion on the Diecast thread. People got mad over there. The moderator stepped in and closed the thread. Anyway it seems like RC2 bought out Tom Lowe's contract. Last year at the Fest he said he had 2 1/2 years left on his contract with RC2. Oh well we'll just have to wait and see what happens next. :cool:

That's a not uncommon scenario when a larger company buys out a smaller one. The entrepreneur(s) who made the small company successful often did so without a lot of the bureaucracy that seems to pervade larger companies. When the big company steps in they often see the former leader(s) as a threat to their authority and a loose cannon. They need to assert themselves. On the other side, a big buyout by a well heeled suitor leaves the recipient with a lot of "monetary flexibility" - or more crudely stated, a "massive amount of FU money." It takes little prodding by the buyers, or foot dragging by My Moneybags to get things heated up in the boardroom and for a mutual aggreement to be reached for the old master to leave quietly, with his money fully intact. This is not neccessarily a bad thing either. It often takes a whole different set of skills to launch a successful endevour than it does to sustain one over the long haul.

Alot of great info and honest opinions here guys-very cool.
I'm like TX in the respect of body scale. Dont care too much about it but wider bods with a taller sides makes a better lookin racecar-stock cars too-not just drag cars.Dragula made us some screw posted afx camaro bods as I mentioned in modeling, and its a great handling t-jet that looks right with the 1 5/16" axles and tire sets ya use in modified chassis cars. Think Im gonna screwpost some too! As racers we need the traditional scales too as we race skinny tire cars, and the JLs have been a godsend to keep us in the "sheet metal" we need. The parts supply is much better due to JL because ya find a warped chassis, that makes excellent parts to stick in a tjet or magnetraction. Not much goes unused even with a "dud"

Enjoyable reading guys- Circle Track DAC

This is exactly where i'm at and have been for almost a year now.

Capn', whick DC where you collecting? Me it was HW's.

Mostly the 1:64 JL & Ertl TV/movie and holiday themed cars, JLCC club cars, as well as some of the nicer HWs series, such as Editor's Choice and a few 100%s and commemoratives. I was also picking up odd pieces at garage sales & resale shops. Actually, I started collecting a little of everything. I also have some Matchbox (a few Lesneys and some later promotional stuff) and a few other odd brands. I also had the intention of casting some resin slotcar bodies, so I picked up some misc. diecast that I thought might be easy to start with for that. It started getting out of hand.

Now I've decided that I have had too many irons in the fire. No more model building either. I just don't have enough time to do it all and I don't have room to keep it all. I'll keep a few diecast as wall decorations, but I won't be buying any more (unless I find a Barris Batmobile :)).

Hello everyone!

I just received word from my RC2 REP that Thomas Lowe has started his new company called "Round 2" and that ALL the slot car business will be going to him... As part of his exit strategy he is buying the slot car business from RC2...
What this means is that RC2 will no longer be offering slot cars and all future business will be handled by Tom at his new company.....

I just received this noticed from my rep at 5:00 PM EST


Not sure what this means for the two slot car releases that are due in this week!!!!

I will let you all know more as soon as I get the info.

Good news!?!?!?!

Maybe Tom and Round 2 can get the licensing to do VW's, Mustangs, and other cars to add to our boxes.

Good news!?!?!?!

I'd certainly say it is :thumbsup:

WOW!...That is incredible news. Tom, good luck! Thanks to you and all the others who keep this hobby alive & well. Hopefully Mattel will let the TYCO line live on elsewhere.

This is interesting, I wonder if Lenny will have to deal with Mr. Lowe now to get his Studabakers and Mopars that he was working on with RC2? Well, best of luck to all. I have an awsome idea for a future release of a Tuff Ones series. :cool:

This is interesting, I wonder if Lenny will have to deal with Mr. Lowe now...

Yup...

...to get his Studabakers and Mopars that he was working on with RC2?

I'm just as concerned with getting the Speed Racer set that was started by RC2 for me almost 2 months ago...

Dan