Now that is disappointing!
Simon

 

Although I am a Hirobo Fan Boy, I am uncomfortable with this news. After a bad crash with my SDX which was almost a re kit, I was eyeing of a JR vibe 50 nex, and I still have been.

So what is going on?

First MA went down.

From this webpage http://www.ronlund.com/rcheli/HIR.html ,

I am hoping this is just a distributor problem.

Now JR stopped shipping with RCJAPAN

And ThunderTiger had a big cull of their product line.

Is there something I dont know about?

Have people being buying too many hobby king clones? As a result are the companies who make the real deal saying stuff it?

So instead of going to fly a reliable rc helicopter thats a pleasure to build and fly, you end up being confronted with a hobby king steaming pile of turd, oh boy oh boy, I can't wait, yippee.

 

People are buying "drones" by the bucket load and not helis, ask any retail store.

 

In JRs case I think you will find that the playing field will be made more even. As an example RC JAPAN has been selling JR products at a price that other distributers can never match, especially our Aussie distributor . It has always been the case that its far cheaper to import JR products from overseas as duties and taxes are excluded in the price .Adding the reduced postage from japan the item-items
are far cheaper than you could purchase the same items here in AU. The market here in AU is very small in comparison to overseas and if major manufactures continue to sell their products to for instance their locals competition will cease. Imagine if HK were to market high end RC helicopters and components, competition would eventually be lost as they are strictly volume sales orientated. A good example is the Goblin range of rc helicopters who the manufacturers "dictate a minimum recommended sale price." (why do you think there are so many retailers in AU that sell Goblins-that's because there are no distributors here in AU, Any retail shop here in AU is able to purchase direct from the manufacturer at the same price. None of our retailers here have the finance to bulk purchase hundreds of kits like they do overseas. this in turn stabilizes the price within AU ) The RC helicopter community here in AU is growing at a snails pace, just look at how many newbies are in this hobby by the new memberships in clubs over the last 5 years, yep its disappointing. My question is WHY? On a positive note: Here in AU we have axes to every make and model of RC helicopter and related products ever produced world wide because of the internet and if we continue to purchase all our products overseas through the internet slowly the retail here in AU will DIE.
Sorry to stray of the subject of the original post . Now you can all hang me!

 

People don't realise the consequences of local retailing dying.

Hobby King , make an order. Check up on order one week later, it said "unpaid", bank records said paid one week ago. Talk to hobby king, "oh we needed to verify card", yet money was taken over a week ago, and the same card was used previously. So finally order says paid, one week after hobby king says paid, do you think order is shipped?

Hobby King, 450 clone, $66 frame, lasted 2 flights, thats $33 per flight. (After I bought mine a guy at the field who is considered to know what he is doing told me his HK 450 exploded in the air on its first flight.)

Local hobby shop, walk in, "I want this, I want that, blah blah blah", within minutes your walking out the door with everything in your hands.

Local hobby shop, Embla 450, assume frame would be $200 without ESC, engine etc. Do 10 flights, which it will manage to last for without falling apart, thats $20 per flight. (Sorry for using the fanboy example, but apply it to any other decent helicopter brand).

So in conclusion, local hobby shops dont sell junk, and they look after you.

 

where possible I support local... for several reasons.. support, helping to keep local retailers going, and generally since the hobby is small, you tend to get to know the owners... and you always want to help out a mate...

I will buy overseas if I need a a part or something, and you cannot find it locally...

 

I don't feel using the hobby king heli to the Hirobo is really a fair measure.
You knowingly bought a cheap HK piece of shiz..smack it in and its going to break, this is why we buy from HK isn't it …because its throw away stuff ?
( Not to mention you crashed it, it didn't fail and cause the crash)

As to walking into the local store to get ALL your parts that has not happened to me in a VERY long time.
Just look at the local retailers websites….have lots of stuff advertised, now click on the items….you guessed it "out of stock". I can understand given the many different brands and products not one retailer will keep everything.
You just have to fly what your local store will keep parts in…then again they are also held to the gun by the wholesaler……

The facts stand as simple as this…..
The market is slim, with many choices and low margins.

The web makes it easy to shop and get the best prices.
No shop I know has a lot of knowledge, they have some basic knowledge for a beginner but once your past hovering and flying "blades" you need a club…the shop becomes useless for info.

Shopping online, or overseas IS what everyone does, sure I do it regularly.
Mainly because no one has parts, kits etc in stock…its all "2 weeks"

And we all want it now don't we ??

 

The tail failed half way through the flight. So you got that one completely wrong.

Furthermore the local shop where I go has lots of knowledge.

 

I would buy from the local shops if they carried the parts. I have a JR 550 that the local dealers don't support so I am forced to look overseas.

 

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I thought this was heligods .. not arc ... gezz guys

 

Yup, however, dale worthington deliberately decided to make a false statement.

So he is at fault.

 

I had a message saying RCJapan had resolved the issue with JR. They have JR heli kits showing.

 

Not trying to bash, with all due respect this is only my opinion--- @HungryHungryHippos It could have been a setup issue or defective part... Stuff like that happens. Theres a guy who flys at my field with a 450 clone whos been at it for a while with the same frame. Given he doesnt fly smack, most scale, but hes still putting stress on the frame as is the nature of the beast. This guy must have over 100+ flights on it. Doing smooth 3D and FC3 flight.

I order parts for my Blade helis from my LHS, but as @Dale Worthington mentioned, you cant really depend on getting parts for our "advanced" helis at my LHS. Saving money on taxes and having to wait for shipment anyway on "specialty parts" hits the nail on the head when it comes to deciding whether or not I will order from my LHS. Especially when they have no clue what you are talking about and you basically have to jump on the computer and order FOR them.

I support my LHS, but there are just certain things that I cannot rely on when it comes to them.

My honest opinion (and I am more than sure hobby store owners are aware of this) is that they make most of their money off beginners interested in entry level stuff.

I'm sure they'll be as fine as they can be with multirotors being the "in" thing right now.

For example, when I started off in the hobby 5 years ago (they've been operating long before that, too!) they had a nice selection of helis and cars, but no multirotors. I went in the other day to order a switch for my DX8 and hopped on over to the heli section -----there was not ONE heli. Wait... I take that back, there was an old TREX 100 that had a lot of dust on the packaging. Nothing but quads of all sizes. They had a whole glass showcase FULL of about 60+ Estes Proto Xs. Everybody and their mother wants one of those and they know it.

They know the market. They know what they were getting themselves into and how to adjust to keep them thriving.

Having a downed bird---- having to wait and venture out for parts in random spots sucks, but thats part of the hobby. I always order more spares than I need to when I get a new heli (sometimes even have a whole other kit for backup) because I know how much this market fluctuates and at any given moment someone can pull out and you'll be stuck with a pretty paperweight.

My .2

By the way, yes!!!! Great news they are stocking the parts again! Awesome!