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LBRC
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dNaNo,

Post by LBRC »

As I write this the president of Kyosho, Aki Suzuki, along with representatives from Kyosho America (the US distributor and a separate corporate entity) are in Lincoln Nebraska home of Hobby Town USA hopefully finalizing a deal that could put the dNaNo racing system in at least a few of their stores across the country.

If in deed that’s why they are in Lincoln this could be big. If the roomers are true, and so far they’re starting to look that way, Hobby Town (or someone else if not them) will get the dNaNo first as early as Sept/Oct, the idea being to promote the in store racing aspect, with Kyosho America providing support. Then in 2009 it will be released for general US distribution through Kyosho America. Not only will current Kyosho America dealers be able to get and sell the dNaNo’s but as is currently the case in Japan for around $20,000 any bar, store, pool hall, arcade, yacht culb, etc. can buy the commercial dNaNo package, with it they get a track, the commercial timing and on-line system, Circuit-Cards and business software, and of course wholesale prices on dNaNo’s just like a Kyosho dealer, however part of the contract is that you must hold weekly races, and there are internet sales restrictions for non-Kyosho dealers.

Qick (for me) rant:
So far on US forums the kiddies have been looking at just the dNaNo cars and fleeBay prices and missing the whole point, wa-wa-wa all they do is complain. Are we collectively so ignorant in the US that our children, whether 6 or 60, think that the worlds most advanced RC car to date should cost no more than an Xmod simply because it’s smaller. Ok I’m done bitching and back on track. The hell I am; they can’t even distinguish between MSRP, projected retail, MAP and sale pricing, from the price they currently see on eBay where someone has to physically go to the manufacturers store in Japan (not the cheapest place to shop in the world) pay full Japan MSRP since it’s the Manufacturers display store, pay eBay/PayPal, and shipping, no shit that’s expensive. But, and I wish they could read my lips, if they would just let it reach retail stores and wait until the initial rush settles down before they started screaming and bitching they might be pleasantly surprised. But no they would rather tell the manufacturer to forget it, too expensive for Kmart shoppers, don’t sell it here if you do you’ll have to give it to us at a loss, and buy the way store owners don’t carry it we aren’t going to buy it form you, even if the initial test batch is selling out at full Japan MSRP. Ok now I’m done.

Back on topic:
Thing is that dNaNo is not just an incredibly hot car it’s a complete commercial racing package for stores, entertainment centers, etc. that comes with a nearly hands free business friendly timing system connected to the dNaNo My-Lap online server using Circuit Cards, they work like phone cards, to activate the system. Sure the track owner holds regular scheduled official races but it’s like a big arcade game and any group of friends or even a single individual can start a race at any time or just practice. You just swipe your Circuit Card identify your cars (swipe them too) select the type of race you want on the screen put your car on the track and the race is on. It’s actually pretty cool after a day of racing or just practicing you can go home and review all of your results on-line. It’s at the discretion of the track owner but like many of the old slot-car parlors they will likely have demo or rental cars too so that you don’t actually have to buy a car to race. Bottom line is that for the first time merchants have a haste free financial insensitive to keep a small RC track up in their place of business.

Ok so the tracks cool but the cars hot; to start with it’s small, fast, controllable, not prone to electronic interference, crystal free, has a 30+ minute run time per quick change replicable battery charge, can run up to 40 cars in a small room without a glitch, is actually race-able on a track out of the box but can still be hopped up to the max. Not to mention that Kyosho has pulled out all the stops when it comes to developing hop-ups, not just the standard ball diff, tires, and such but even a roll detecting gyro that works with the cars digital steering and ESC to stabilize high speed cornering.

Even that’s not the half of it what people are missing is just how adjustable and body friendly the chassis actually is using hub spacers and steering arms to determine front and rear wheel offset opening up a whole new world of wheel options for those of us who like to modify our cars. For example not only can I make a dNaNo fit perfectly inside a SuerSlick, 1/43 scale model body, or Lexan shell pulled from any of the hundreds of 1/43 scale die-cast cars. when I do I can use wheels with the correct diameter for that body too.

Of course just in case you don’t want to modify/make your own body Kyosho has been pumping out their Autoscale bodies at an impressive rate and have already stated that unpainted dNaNo white body sets will be coming too.

Have to get back to work but I wall be adding photos to this post, shortly.
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Post by payaso »

Outstanding news.... I've really been waiting for something of this caliber for quite some time now.

I still have all my micros and minis, but have switched to 1/10 nitro offroad for the most part. This is going to bring me right back.

They do carry a hefty price tag, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to racing nitro..

IMO, the Mini Z cars/trucks are the best BANG for the buck in the world of R/C, but these could be the new #1 in my book..... :-)

Thanks for the info LBRC and good to see you around these parts again.






silla :D
payaso...... :)

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Post by SuperFly »

payaso wrote:Outstanding news.... I've really been waiting for something of this caliber for quite some time now.

I still have all my micros and minis, but have switched to 1/10 nitro offroad for the most part. This is going to bring me right back.

They do carry a hefty price tag, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to racing nitro..

IMO, the Mini Z cars/trucks are the best BANG for the buck in the world of R/C, but these could be the new #1 in my book..... :-)

Thanks for the info LBRC and good to see you around these parts again.






silla :D
What he said.


It was rFactor and online/virtual racing that pulled me away from mini-zs about 10 months ago, but these look sweet. Have to admit I won't be an early adopter, but I will get me some of these when the dust settles.
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Post by LBRC »

Comparing the nearly identical Japan Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price tags it looks like the actual dNaNo price should settle right about dead even with a 2.4GHz Mini-Z here in the states.
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Not bad at all when you compare the two cars side by side. Yes the Z has more plastic but that’s cheep, there’s more to the dNaNo CB and it’s hard to describe the look and feel of a dNaNo you have to hold one in your had to appreciate the precision, detail, and overall quality that went into making the little 40 gram marvel.
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They are surprisingly tough considering there size and ultra light weight, but make no mistake the dNaNo is a high-tech LiPo powered adult toy even more so than many full scale high end electric RC cars, not something intended for children, nor some fumble fingered adults I know, those screws are seriously small. For the kids you can still buy an Epoch for fifty bucks.

For most people especially anyone who does not have access to a Mini-Z size track I’d even suggest waiting for a track near you to open up, they are a little too fast for the average kitchen floor.

Most tinkers and modelers will also want to wait until the various fitting parts are available at reasonable prices here in the states too.
Last edited by LBRC on Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:34 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Post by SuperFly »

LBRC wrote: For most people especially anyone who does not have access to a Mini-Z size track I’d even suggest waiting for a track near you to open up, they are a little too fast for the average kitchen floor.

Most tinkers and modelers will also want to wait until the various fitting parts are available at reasonable prices here in the states too.

Both points are exactly what I figured. I have a big RCP track that will be perfect. I also figure by waiting a little while, others can sort out which parts work the best, and they will be stocked by several mail-order joints. Lord knows I've done enough of that figuring with bits and mini-zs, I'll let someone else do it this time around. Hell, I may even be able to get a used one by the time I'm ready.
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Post by LBRC »

The dNaNo can be raced with reasonable enjoyment on a 18.5” lane 9’x12’ RCP Mini-96 or equivalent track, but it really shines on something around the size of a 33” lane 13’x 16’ 2xWide-L RCP track which fun factor wise feels something like driving a Mini-Z on an event sized 20’ x 40’ track.

If the in-store racing catches on even 1/10th as much as slot cars, the actual market share competition*, I figure that like slots there should be a good constant turnover of used cars and parts to pick from, especially considering that every part on a dNaNo can be replaced.

*Note; it seems to me that the dNaNo is more of a radio control option for slot-car junkies than current RC car nuts. In fact you could easily make a removable carpet cover for a pro slot track that would be perfect for racing dNaNo’s on. Something else to note is that due to the uber light weight the dNaNo handles multi level tracks very well indeed.
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Post by payaso »

Well, I'm excited to say the least.. One of the reasons for switching up scales was because it's nearly impossible to find any tracks/fellow people to run/race with in the micro scene.

It's just so much more fun at a track when surrounded by 20-50 other like minds interested in the same thing. I have 2 hobby clowns within an hour, so maybe they'll have it runnin. It'll be perfect for the rainy cold days of winter here and I shouldn't have to "lure" people to my house for racing.... :lol:

Already scopin out the yellow Lambo Murci to match my Mini Z.








silla :D
payaso...... :)

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Post by Smoke&Mirrors »

payaso wrote:Well, I'm excited to say the least.. One of the reasons for switching up scales was because it's nearly impossible to find any tracks/fellow people to run/race with in the micro scene.

It's just so much more fun at a track when surrounded by 20-50 other like minds interested in the same thing. I have 2 hobby clowns within an hour, so maybe they'll have it runnin. It'll be perfect for the rainy cold days of winter here and I shouldn't have to "lure" people to my house for racing.... :lol:

Already scopin out the yellow Lambo Murci to match my Mini Z.


silla :D
Yeah no kidding. For me it was either going down the street to the 6 year olds who got some clones at the grocery store or casually bringing it up while I had my bud over here.
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Post by SHAUN »

Wow, don't you guys love LBRC's post? There always so full of info!

I love the look of the dNaNo, and the idea.

I really hope some of this racing starts up around my area.

Thank you for the great post LBRC.
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Post by LBRC »

I’m all for socializing activities.
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Yea, too far to the nearest full scale track, lol I live on an island, 40 miles to the nearest hobby shop 60 to an off road track and around 100 to a race center with a road course at over 4 dollars a gallon.

Never by a house your wife loves, and definitely don't get one without a garage, otherwise even if you do have the track you end up racing in a tent.
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I figure that even if the dNaNo concept isn’t 100% successful at least it’s a start to show what’s possible. Micro RC racing small enough for a decent home practice track and ideal for almost any modest sized hobby shop or arcade center that’s at the top of the tech scale instead of directly off the toy shelf, for a price that is still a fraction of competitive larger scale racing.

2.4GHz receiver with ICS computer programmable digital steering and speed control, lithium battery, and built in transponder that fits in the palm of your hand.
Last edited by LBRC on Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by crazydave »

Those look cool! I hope the nearby Hobbytown USA picks up on them, I'd have racing in walking distance.
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Post by sidewinder »

The closest Hobbytown for me is about 50 miles but if they put in a track and had weekly racing I'd have to consider joining in. :-o
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Post by LBRC »

60 for me but it wouldn't keep me from attending regularly scheduled races. Hope they go for it and set up tracks in at least some of their 100+ stores across the country?

Hm, if it does eventually catch on I wonder what the chances of convincing one of the local sports bars to install a track would be?

dNaNo home lap timer suppose to be out this fall
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not to be confused with the commercial system that connects to dNaNo On-line and a stores cash register via the Circuit Card scanner and software. Each dNaNo comes with a unique RFID tag already affixed to the chassis bottom, but for other cars like the Mini-Z you will also be able to buy tags separately. Target price is under $400 not cheep but still competitive with existing lap timing systems. And again that’s MSRP so it could eventually be quite a bit lower. Go volume sales.
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Post by Smoke&Mirrors »

I'm in luck, there's one 22.1 miles away and Google says it will take me 23 minutes to get there. A mile a minute - not bad :cool: . I'm really a n00b to Dnano's so do you guys have an idea of US MSRP?
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Post by crazydave »

Well I'm happy, because this news got me browsing over at Mini-ZRacer, and I discovered that not only is there a group of Mini Z racers in Phoenix, but one of them posted a link to a new 1/10th scale carpet track, that is about an hour and a half bus trip away. A little long, but tolerable. The next closest is 2 and a half hours away, and I'd have to walk a mile. So I'm going to check that out to tide me over, but I'm really hoping that the my HTUSA gets involved with the dNano, that would be almost too convenient. I'm going to talk to them about it. Even if they don't I want to get one when they become readily available here, and the prices drop. I think I'm already partial towards that Porsche 962
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