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I wonder what the cost of one of these units would be, I am very interested. I wonder how this surface compares to the one being used at the Hobby Town locations.
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Let me address the pricing and marketing of such a product, (as I see it). As my full-time job is an NPD consultant (new product development) and I've taught marketing at the univeristy level, a lot of thought was given to that aspect, as I built this system. Suffice to say that I'm wary of even entering the small scale R/C market in the first place, especially up here in Canada, where every Mini-Z track or Mini-Z hobbyshop in my province is now closed. (If R/C helicopters needed tracks, then
that would be an attracitve growth market).
At best, this is probably a break-even project -- my justification being not business, but rather that I very much enjoy the creative and engineering aspects of track design. And although the cottage-type industry is antithetical to what I know, there's an otherwise unattainable smile when you create something by hand that other people enjoy -- even if its a time and money sink. (that line is well-rehearsed, as I continually try to convince my wife of the logic).
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Firstly, I have no intentions of postioning this product against RCP ...the market is
much too small for that, and reaching CM (critical mass) would be very difficult with the end result probably hurting everyone in this small market. Besides, John is nice guy
-- we are much more likely to cooperate than compete and I can assure you that we are searching for some common ground that will make sense to market.
Rather, and considering the costs, this track system will probably be postioned up-market with respect to pricing. The professional entertainment/party market is where this type of track system will be most successful. I am already working with a few entertainment suppliers to add lighting, sound, scale buildings, etc. And I also hope to bring over some high-end slot car hobbyists -- once they've experienced a properly prepared d'nano on this track they
will switch.
On the other side of the market, the DIY (do-it-yourself) aspect that the Porta-Trax system has the potential to offer, should attract new hobbyists to this scale, and that is good for all market players and Kyosho. I can't set or even guess pricing, but I will say that the track in the pictures above cost about $180 - $200 in raw materials. Hopefully, I can design less cost into the rail and infield systems, as that stuff is expensive for the industrial grades used.
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Finally, exposing this track to thousands of 12-17 year olds through the school leagues will also increase the overall market.
In marketing, there are two ways to enter a market -- by competing against existing products or by growing the overall market -- our strategy is based primarily on the later. I can't disclose any more of the marketing or distribution plan at this point, but try to invision this track system as opening up new markets for the d'nano, or perhaps the HPI 1/32, should Kyosho falters in their NA strategy.
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OK, enough with the market position soliloquy; let me address your other questions:
Traction is a mid-level coefficient; probably a little less than RCP and in-line with generic EVA tiles. You can invoke throttle-induced oversteer (track-speak for a controlled slide) but tail-out, snap oversteer is rare, even with stock rears. (Trust me when I say that I did not even begin to design the track aspect until I was 100% sure of the realism and usability of the running surface.) You do need to upgrade the front tires to about 20-35 degrees, as the stock Kyosho tires feel like they've been injected with a high dose of Viagra.
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The track in the pictures is indeed laying flat on the floor; only the portion nearest the camera is banked to test high speed handling and turn-in. I do not want to disclose our leg system at this time, but yes, you will be able to quickly raise the track off the floor.
Hybrid Mode
