Need your help with new product suggestions

MORE MODELS!!!

Phil

Mufflers is a good one, and I would love to see the plastic models come back again. Both would probably cost a great deal to have made. I had a whole list of item suggestions that had some low cost cheap ones on there, I'll have to remember which CD, floppy disk, flash drive, hard drive or SD card it ended up on.


I know your topic isn't about this but I think you need to try to get some .049 powered models into stores like Michaels and Jo-Ann Fabrics. Maybe send the corporate offices a letter asking if they would be interested. Another idea would be to open a mall kiosk in the Mall of America for a short time (I'll run it for you LOL). There are other stores around here that I bet would be interested in selling these items if only they knew about them. One you could maybe send a "would you be interested in" letter to would be Air Traffic, they sell kites, toy helicopters and other toys. http://www.airtrafficonline.com/store/pc/home.asp. Stores such as Fleet Farm, Tractor Supply and any of those farm and fleet stores may be interested in selling these planes and engines. I know online sales is everything these days but I think a lot more money could be made getting more people interested by placing these things in actual stores. When ever I'm at a toy store, I always check to see if they have any Cox related items whether they be NOS stuff or stuff from you or Matt. So far, I have seen nothing.

How about some of these (if you don't already have them listed). They fit .020 and .049 mounting lugs perfectly!



They are Item Number 21004 and according to the Ace Hardware sticker on the box, I paid $6.29 for the full box.

Control line leadout wire with crimp tubes, assorted lengths of black oxide hex 2-56 machine screws/nuts, some of Valentine's aluminum spinners with 5-40 studs. I'll think more about it.

Jason_WI wrote:I think if you only add one thing this year it should be a muffler. Many if not most RC fields require a muffler to fly there. If modelers are able to use them at the field then that means more engines and parts sales. Seems like control line is making a little comeback as all the kids from the 50's and 60's are retiring and want their old toys back!

Not sure what the NRE costs would be and the minimum number you would have to order for the price breaks. Most of the NIP QRC style of mufflers go for $12 to $20 on ebay. I think if you can keep the cost down to sell them for $15 they would sell. It has to pencil out for you. Do a survey here and on RCG and RCU to get a feel for the demand.

The TD R/C 05 muffler adds too much weight and would probably cost more to make. Then you would need a fixing screw to hold it tight as it is able to rotate freely.

The last quotes we got were too high ($9/1,500pcs) because a $20 muffler will not sell. The two spring parts are the killer for tooling. We are presently looking into the Lancer style with no adjustable ring.

At $12.95 they should sell but have not found an outfit so far that can make them for sub $6.

Admin wrote:Mufflers is a good one, and I would love to see the plastic models come back again. Both would probably cost a great deal to have made. I had a whole list of item suggestions that had some low cost cheap ones on there, I'll have to remember which CD, floppy disk, flash drive, hard drive or SD card it ended up on.


I know your topic isn't about this but I think you need to try to get some .049 powered models into stores like Michaels and Jo-Ann Fabrics. Maybe send the corporate offices a letter asking if they would be interested. Another idea would be to open a mall kiosk in the Mall of America for a short time (I'll run it for you LOL). There are other stores around here that I bet would be interested in selling these items if only they knew about them. One you could maybe send a "would you be interested in" letter to would be Air Traffic, they sell kites, toy helicopters and other toys. http://www.airtrafficonline.com/store/pc/home.asp. Stores such as Fleet Farm, Tractor Supply and any of those farm and fleet stores may be interested in selling these planes and engines. I know online sales is everything these days but I think a lot more money could be made getting more people interested by placing these things in actual stores. When ever I'm at a toy store, I always check to see if they have any Cox related items whether they be NOS stuff or stuff from you or Matt. So far, I have seen nothing.

Not going to happen. Minimum investment to make 2,000 plastic RTF models is over 200k (the mould alone is over 80k for only one type). To get these planes into chain stores one would need a run of at least 20,000 and then you have to buy the shelf space and pay advertising to the stores. I doubt one could get into the game for less than 1 to 1.5 million. Simply making engines will cost about $15/each in 20,000 runs. Don't have that kind of money and if I did would invest it something that is not a shrinking niche market.

Admin wrote:How about some of these (if you don't already have them listed). They fit .020 and .049 mounting lugs perfectly!



They are Item Number 21004 and according to the Ace Hardware sticker on the box, I paid $6.29 for the full box.

We have been selling #3's for years for tanked 049 engines and have just ordered more. However, #2 might make sense for 020 engines and I'll put it on the list.

RknRusty wrote:Control line leadout wire with crimp tubes, assorted lengths of black oxide hex 2-56 machine screws/nuts, some of Valentine's aluminum spinners with 5-40 studs. I'll think more about it.

On the list, thanks. What are the 2-56 screws for?

I ordered the spinners from Valentine but gave up when, 3 months later, he had still not made them. I could get them made by one of our suppliers and sell them for 1/2 Valentine list price but I don't really want to tread on his toes. Let me think about that one, perhaps with a bit differet design.

How much of a relationship do you have with Blackhawk models? Is it possible to have their ENTIRE product catalog through your website, even if most (or all) of it is drop-ship from Blackhawk? Their website looks awesome but I can't find many models to actually order.

On your Facebook having TD's available new was mentioned, and in sizes larger than .049. How possible is this? (Put differently, do you have all the necessary plans and rights for manufacturing?) How likely is this possibility in the next year or ever?

2-56 machine screws and T-nuts for engine mounting would be nice. Those T-nuts are near impossible to find.

Phil

Tooling costs are a killer. I assume this was die punch tooling for the spring steel parts?

On the RTF planes get them 3D printed! No tooling costs.

I like blackhawk models however, if you want to sell kits then Brodak's 1/2A lineup would appeal to a wider audience. Just my opinion though.

Well, yea. Having the Goldberg kits, and other 1/2a kits would be quite sweet too. I mentioned Blackhawk because I know a relationship already exists and Cox International already markets a couple of their kits.

Phil

There area already services available for 3d printing such as Shapeways.com they just need to have the kit as an appropriate file, in dimensions they can work with. No clue the costs or legal mumbo-jumbo.

Phil

Hi,

I don't know how much die cast muffler will cost if it still within the price range, ( make 2 half and clamp it on the cylinder type )maybe you can make a small groove at inner part that will grip a normal throttle ring in it, then this can be a muffler by its own, or add in a throttle ring and become a throttle muffler. And later on, maybe it can be fixed in a basic large tank engine and become Dragonfly 2. :-) but this only possible if the tooling cost is low enough.

Cox International wrote:On the list, thanks. What are the 2-56 screws for?

That's the size for mounting engines to beam mount planes with machine screws and nuts. Tee Dees require 2-56 screws. Also for mounting engines to the aluminum test stand. #2 washers and lock washers are needed too, as well as the locking nuts with plastic grips in them(I forget what they are called).

3/4" or 1" screws for 1/2A beam mounts and 1/2" screws for the test stand are the most needed sizes.

Hi Rusty,


Yes, we need that " Nylon inserted lock nut " for mounting engines.

RknRusty wrote:

Cox International wrote:On the list, thanks. What are the 2-56 screws for?

That's the size for mounting engines to beam mount planes with machine screws and nuts. Tee Dees require 2-56 screws. Also for mounting engines to the aluminum test stand. #2 washers and lock washers are needed too, as well as the locking nuts with plastic grips in them(I forget what they are called).

3/4" or 1" screws for 1/2A beam mounts and 1/2" screws for the test stand are the most needed sizes.

On your site I always check in to the models hoping someone re-kitted voodoo or Satan or similar 1/2a combat ships with built up or foam wings.

Perhaps be an outlet for Core-House Lil Hacker or similar....several eastern European sources require us to buy minimum of 10 aircraft...I only want one to experiment with

Seriously consider the Tee Dee / Medallion manufacturing

I need .051 pistons and cylinders....over the last year here on CEF it seems I am not the only one that desires to USE my modest collection of Cox engines

Carry the nelson plugs and adapters please

Your own brand (like Xenalube) of spider wire or Kevlar flying lines and adjustable handles

I vote for mufflers too...please... flying sites for open exhaust C/L are nearly non existent

I think Xena Brand aluminum spinners competing with Valentine is a good move. Many of us love Valentine stuff, but are very frustrated with the sporadic availability of any of the cool parts

You already poo pooed metal back plates as not economically feasible...I think you should relook the economics of this....I personally think your aluminum anodized stunt tanks are pricey but I still buy the buggers as they are good quality and I distrust the plastic tanks

License Paul Gibeault's blueprint formula or have him do a limited number of mouse racer engines a year for you to sell to us

Use YOUR buying power and Ken Cook’s contact (if Ken is willing to share) and get Ukrainian (grish tornado style) "glass" propellers into your inventory

tru168 wrote:...Yes, we need that " Nylon inserted lock nut " for mounting engines.

[/quote]
Yep, that's the one. A must-have item. I put 2-56 blind nuts behind my Li'l Satan firewall too. That makes engine swapping much less messy than using wood screws.

Didn't see this listed in the previous posts, please excuse me if I missed it. The guys are often talking about adding castor to their fuels in different ratios, with different types (drug store and racing types).

Might it be a good move to offer it in small, measured amounts (to suit a quart of fuel or such) and of the type that's best for these little engines?

I know most of the heavy-duty engine guys have their own preferences, but maybe beginners and those "out-in-the-sticks" types might like an easy source for acceptable castor. Figure there wouldn't be any issues with shipping / flammability, and it might become a "side item" guys would want included in their parts orders.

Just a thought.

Since ny-loc nuts and blind-nuts are to be found at Ace Hardware, if Bernie were to offer them he'd need to price them against the compeition.

Bernie must consider his cost of doing business as well as the cost of the products offered.

Such taxes, employee benefits like sick leave, paid vacations, paid holidays...................

pkrankow wrote:How much of a relationship do you have with Blackhawk models? Is it possible to have their ENTIRE product catalog through your website, even if most (or all) of it is drop-ship from Blackhawk? Their website looks awesome but I can't find many models to actually order.

On your Facebook having TD's available new was mentioned, and in sizes larger than .049. How possible is this? (Put differently, do you have all the necessary plans and rights for manufacturing?) How likely is this possibility in the next year or ever?

2-56 machine screws and T-nuts for engine mounting would be nice. Those T-nuts are near impossible to find.

Phil

Our relationship with BHM is excellent and we can sell any of their models and have done so upon customer request. The issue here is that I advised Larry that I would only be able to list models that he can guarantee shipment of within 1 day, as per our terms of service on our website as well as our eBay store. Not all of his offerings are ready to go, as he builds them in small batches if and when he gets orders. So, we mutually picked some best-sellers he can ship quickly.

Also, kit boxes must be under 24” as otherwise it becomes very expensive to ship outside of the USA. We don’t want to have products that cost $45 to ship to Europe and we don’t want to start having “ship-to” restrictions on our website. So, this reduced the # of kits we could choose from.

However, if you would like to buy a BHM kit not on our site, please contact us and we’ll set up the SKU on our website if BHM can deliver. Any kit if you are located in the USA and if not, the 24” box size applies.

Tee Dee engines: The only thing we ever brought up is the possibility of making TD .049 engines. We are presently in the quoting stage with parts suppliers. Anything else but .049 size engines will likely never happen for us as we do not have the resources to manufacture and stock engines that are bound to be slow sellers. Even the .049 TD is doubtful due to the anticipated high per-piece cost.

Screws are on our list and I presume you mean the self-locking nuts with the sharp tines?

Jason_WI wrote:Tooling costs are a killer. I assume this was die punch tooling for the spring steel parts?

On the RTF planes get them 3D printed! No tooling costs.

Yes, die cost for the steel parts is the killer.

3D printing is in it's infancy but certainly something to look out for down the road.

cribbs74 wrote:I like blackhawk models however, if you want to sell kits then Brodak's 1/2A lineup would appeal to a wider audience. Just my opinion though.

I agree but I looked into this a couple of years ago. If I recall corerctly, drop-shipping was not something they were keen on but the biggest issue was same day/ next day shipping. That is part of our TOS and is a huge draw for our buyers, hence we are unwilling to deviate from that policy. Furthermore, this is a condition of contract with eBay to maintain Top Rated Seller status.