Kraton KRATON EXtreme Bash Roller

[suchtragedy]

The stock Kraton wheels are crap so lower the EXB price $50 and let people buy their own wheels.

I'm not marketing expert but I think the term "roller" should mean it comes with wheels/tires.

Arrma is not doing this to help the consumer out with lower cost. They are doing this because there is a shortage in RC electronics in Asia. Spektrum is having major issues getting components to ship RTR vehicles.

That statement has no foundation whatsoever, imo. Given the history of arrma as a company with now up to V4 releases of its vehicles in the short span of time it's been a company with each version being improved over the last, all this points to a company that's mission is to deliver a better product than the last and it listens to it's community on what they want and don't, and to do so at a fair value. I cannot fathom that Arrmas main motivation for the EXB release is to overcome a supply shortage on electronics components. No, the EXB has probably been in the works for way longer than just the last few months since the start of the supply shortages. Think about the design, testing, manufacturing and retooling that needed to occur before releasing new parts/vehicles. You don't do that in just a short few months as a pivot because of a market shortage of electronics.

I believe the EXB is a huge value if it proves to be as we will built as it seems to be. And I'll admit that I've never owned a kit let alone a Tekno kit, but I think that there are people who like kits and they should buy kits, but the majority of people out there prefer a roller or RTR. I personally wouldn't have bought it if it didn't have wheels even if cheaper, to me that would be annoying to deal with and I think most people would feel the same.

 

[Sludog]

Where can you find four better wheels for 50$?

I would rather take the $50 saving off the EXB price and put it towards some pricey belted tires. My last kraton tires came unglued pretty quickly and tore a bit at the rims.

 

[jondilly1974]

Arrma is not doing this to help the consumer out with lower cost. They are doing this because there is a shortage in RC electronics in Asia. Spektrum is having major issues getting components to ship RTR vehicles.

Is your insinuation that Arrma had the foresight a year ago to know that there would be a pandemic this year that caused a product shortage that compelled them to release a roller?

OR...

Do you think they are fast enough on their feet to take to market a whole new model from concept to finished product on the shelf in a few months time?

 

[Rcproponent]

Do you think they are fast enough on their feet to take to market a whole new model from concept to finished product on the shelf in a few months time?

Now THAT would be impressive.

 

[jondilly1974]

Now THAT would be impressive.

I could make a case that either one is brilliant. They either have a crystal ball or are super fast to react and have the North Pole elves on the job 24/7

 

[Sludog]

Is your insinuation that Arrma had the foresight a year ago to know that there would be a pandemic this year that caused a product shortage that compelled them to release a roller?

OR...

Do you think they are fast enough on their feet to take to market a whole new model from concept to finished product on the shelf in a few months time?

probably a little of both. Do you think it took them a year to come up with this idea?
It's not like Covid snuck up on the world. China and Asia in general were shutting down production last October because the virus hit hard there first. Apple was worried about the getting new iPhones to the customers last August because of the factory closures.
Don't forget in the beginning the world thought this was an Asian crisis and nobody was prepared or though it would make it to Europe of the states.
Is there a solid ship date on these kits yet? I think after the first batch is gone it could be a while to come back in depending where they get the parts from.

 

[BashingBrian]

I agree about the Tekno quality. All aluminum parts are 7075 T6, the plastics are great, the metal used for the drive train is high quality.

??? drive shafts..!! my MT410 currently sits with 4 bent shafts..?

I for one can't wait to get my hands on an EXB and have plans to put silly power in it ? my only issue is UK LHS is saying 22nd August release date..!!

 

[Sludog]

I'm not marketing expert but I think the term "roller" should mean it comes with wheels/tires.



That statement has no foundation whatsoever, imo. Given the history of arrma as a company with now up to V4 releases of its vehicles in the short span of time it's been a company with each version being improved over the last, all this points to a company that's mission is to deliver a better product than the last and it listens to it's community on what they want and don't, and to do so at a fair value. I cannot fathom that Arrmas main motivation for the EXB release is to overcome a supply shortage on electronics components. No, the EXB has probably been in the works for way longer than just the last few months since the start of the supply shortages. Think about the design, testing, manufacturing and retooling that needed to occur before releasing new parts/vehicles. You don't do that in just a short few months as a pivot because of a market shortage of electronics.

I believe the EXB is a huge value if it proves to be as we will built as it seems to be. And I'll admit that I've never owned a kit let alone a Tekno kit, but I think that there are people who like kits and they should buy kits, but the majority of people out there prefer a roller or RTR. I personally wouldn't have bought it if it didn't have wheels even if cheaper, to me that would be annoying to deal with and I think most people would feel the same.

And thats what we're here for, opinions.

Until these are in the hands of real Arrma fans and no the "let me try this out for a week" buyers we will know if the value and quality is there. If the EXB holds up to a proper bashing then I'm on board.
My first RTR vehicle was an Arrma and I've loved them ever since.

Horizon Hobby for the people.

 

[suchtragedy]

After thinking about it more maybe the EXB started out as the base for a V5 release with it addressing all the previous weaknesses and due to the pandemic and shortages it could have been a strategy change to move ahead as a roller in order to just get something new into the market. It wouldn't require changing anything except how to go about marketing it and it would be smart to test the waters with your flagship car before committing your entire fleet to a different direction.

So looking at it that way, I can see how maybe it was turned around in a few months. If V5 RTR comes out and it's the same as the EXB but with electronics then maybe the roller was indeed supposed to be a RTR to begin with. But anyways I think the roller is going to be a huge hit and hope they move forward with more models in this category.

 

[Sludog]

??? drive shafts..!! my MT410 currently sits with 4 bent shafts..?

I for one can't wait to get my hands on an EXB and have plans to put silly power in it ? my only issue is UK LHS is saying 22nd August release date..!!

Did you check the chassis to see if its bent? That way too many bent drive shafts.

 

[jym73]

Arrma is not doing this to help the consumer out with lower cost. They are doing this because there is a shortage in RC electronics in Asia. Spektrum is having major issues getting components to ship RTR vehicles.

I heard about this rumor about hobbywing esc from asia, they are out of stock, they won't be available for months, blablabla.... But strangely i got different hobbywing escs from china without any issues in two weeks...quicrun 10BL120, MAX10 combo, quicrun WP 8BL150 came without any issues, and those people were talking about the 10BL120 which was out of stock and only available in september...rumor...

Arrma just listen what ask their customers. People asked for a big scale truck, they did it. I was saying that arrma didn't offer optional parts in 7075, me and many other, they just did it. People asked for kit or roller, they just did it. Arrma is able to see the huge aftermaket parts they missed by not selling those parts, they just did it. For me it is as simple than that. And strangely, they upgraded almost all the parts that everybody change on the RTR to make them more strong for hard bashing. What bumper i should put, i broke my a-arms, i bent my shock tower and chassis, asnwers : put rpm bumper, POS bumper, Tbone bumper, buy rpm a-arms, buy 7075 shock tower, chassis braces and chassis plate, and also the gears inside the diff. that some manage to break, they changed all of these to be close to what almost everybody change.

 

[SixStar]

I just bought a K6S off a guy who I'm pretty sure is using the cash to get one of these. I'm strongly considering getting one and keeping my existing Kraton as a backup or loaner for bashing with my buddies who don't have anything Arrma Tough.

 

[jym73]

I would rather take the $50 saving off the EXB price and put it towards some pricey belted tires. My last kraton tires came unglued pretty quickly and tore a bit at the rims.

I happy with the stock Arrma wheels...Tires unglued, CA glue...that's really not an issue. I buy them (because yes, i have many Arrmas and only one Tekno, with many others cars from many other brands) instead of Tekno because i don't have to add more that the expensive initial price for wheels, body, paint + shipping cost. I only want to bash, luxurious cars are interesting, but out of my budget for bashing. If i would want to do race, so yes, i wouldn't buy Arrma, i would run on 4s and i would buy cars who are made for racing, made to be lightweight, strong enough on 4s, with many adjustability, but doing race can be really more expensive than bashing, racing electronics are way more expensive than what we need for bashing, you need more tires, more differents tires. I'm also very happy with my Hobao MT II i got for 500€ RTR brand new, way bigger than a MT410 and pretty solid. Oh, this and that aren't perfect, but what a fun big truck for that price, even with the not perfect RTR wheels. But it isn't a kraton, and i like the Kraton also.

I'm the kind of guy who know that if you heavily upgrade an Arrma RTR, then you can reach the price of an Xray XT8, wich would be way more better from the beginning. My Kraton V2 only have a rear aluminum chassis brace and an upper carbon upper deck and i'm happy with that. So, when i see the EXB, i buy it directly, it already has all the upgrades i don't want to buy seperately at a way more down price than if i would wanted to upgrade my V2 or any RTR with those parts. As i already have many motors and escs which wait for some chassis, a roller is perfect, i won't have to put any $$ more for wheels, body shell and paint + the time to spend for cutting the body and paint it.

 

[jondilly1974]

probably a little of both. Do you think it took them a year to come up with this idea?
It's not like Covid snuck up on the world. China and Asia in general were shutting down production last October because the virus hit hard there first. Apple was worried about the getting new iPhones to the customers last August because of the factory closures.
Don't forget in the beginning the world thought this was an Asian crisis and nobody was prepared or though it would make it to Europe of the states.
Is there a solid ship date on these kits yet? I think after the first batch is gone it could be a while to come back in depending where they get the parts from.

Uhhh Covid was unknown until early December 2019. They think it started in patient zero the last week of November.

As far as how long it takes to design, develop, market, and produce a product, I bet it is at least a year from concept to shipping products. I would be amazed if under non-pandemic times a company could get a product of this level out the door in under a year. During a pandemic, I would assume they were set back months at minimum. Best guess would be four months delay.

 

[Sludog]

Uhhh Covid was unknown until early December 2019. They think it started in patient zero the last week of November.

As far as how long it takes to design, develop, market, and produce a product, I bet it is at least a year from concept to shipping products. I would be amazed if under non-pandemic times a company could get a product of this level out the door in under a year. During a pandemic, I would assume they were set back months at minimum. Best guess would be four months delay.

Lets not get too carried away here. This isn't a ground breaking vehicle. Its a V5 version of the Kraton with nice upgrades and do it yourself electronics. My guess is that this was the supposed to be a new RTR Kraton due for release in the fall and the parts shortages had them change the marketing plan and move to a roller.

 

[chrisexv6]

Lets not get too carried away here. This isn't a ground breaking vehicle. Its a V5 version of the Kraton with nice upgrades and do it yourself electronics. My guess is that this was the supposed to be a new RTR Kraton due for release in the fall and the parts shortages had them change the marketing plan and move to a roller.

This.

My guess is they had all these upgrade parts ready to go....maybe not even as a V5 but to offer for sale as separate parts to upgrade a previous version.

Now toss in shortages, shipping delays, etc.....take the parts and put them together and you have a roller to sell. Its a great plan, and if they built up enough stock of the parts they can crank out plenty of them. Then when the shortages go away they can sell loads of the individual parts.

This is honestly making me think of getting out of nitro and getting myself the EBR. My son has a heavily modded V3 that we both love, so Im kinda jealous

 

[Sludog]

This.

My guess is they had all these upgrade parts ready to go....maybe not even as a V5 but to offer for sale as separate parts to upgrade a previous version.

Now toss in shortages, shipping delays, etc.....take the parts and put them together and you have a roller to sell. Its a great plan, and if they built up enough stock of the parts they can crank out plenty of them. Then when the shortages go away they can sell loads of the individual parts.

This is honestly making me think of getting out of nitro and getting myself the EBR. My son has a heavily modded V3 that we both love, so Im kinda jealous

I had a few buddies that run nitro. They said they had a hell of a time finding nitro fuel during the pandemic. Got to the point that they were hoping state lines to find fuel. Was this ever an issue for you?

 

[jondilly1974]

Lets not get too carried away here. This isn't a ground breaking vehicle. Its a V5 version of the Kraton with nice upgrades and do it yourself electronics. My guess is that this was the supposed to be a new RTR Kraton due for release in the fall and the parts shortages had them change the marketing plan and move to a roller.

Except the founder talks about doing a roller last March in an interview. ??‍

 

[chrisexv6]

I had a few buddies that run nitro. They said they had a hell of a time finding nitro fuel during the pandemic. Got to the point that they were hoping state lines to find fuel. Was this ever an issue for you?

The past few years I've been ordering bones brew online. Great stuff, custom blended by someone in Ohio. We usually go thru about a gallon a season so it's not too expensive even with shipping.

 

[crimsonfancy]

After thinking about it more maybe the EXB started out as the base for a V5 release with it addressing all the previous weaknesses and due to the pandemic and shortages it could have been a strategy change to move ahead as a roller in order to just get something new into the market. It wouldn't require changing anything except how to go about marketing it and it would be smart to test the waters with your flagship car before committing your entire fleet to a different direction.

So looking at it that way, I can see how maybe it was turned around in a few months. If V5 RTR comes out and it's the same as the EXB but with electronics then maybe the roller was indeed supposed to be a RTR to begin with. But anyways I think the roller is going to be a huge hit and hope they move forward with more models in this category.

Could be but price point is key and RTR gets new guys into the hobby. I think your initial assumption is correct in realizing things don't happen as quick as many think. Five day work weeks, many out of the office with health directives. In some areas, tester teams risked negative attention if they were caught out bashing?
Dearden mentioned two years research often for new or even the next version of a vehicle. While a new one is released, I bet they're already working on the next version one. Maybe they hold back design until the right time too or could've been specifically working on EXB parts two versions ago. Hell, it takes longer than the virus has been around for makers to release a new racing quad frame design from what I've seen and that's quite a bit less involved. Meanwhile deal-making with factories, getting them the designs, attorneys and prototypes, etc. I assume Arrma doesn't have their own factories and is always making deals to secure new producers of their designs. Much of this business probably has to happen "in-person."
No way they did it to skirt electrics supply imo.

I'm not marketing expert but I think the term "roller" should mean it comes with wheels/tires.

"Slider" is what I've seen it called sans wheels and tires.