Kraken has discontinued all kits.

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Ferrebee88 said:
I emailed Kraken about kit availability and the response was: Unfortunately we no longer offer kits. Just rollers.

I think this is very disappointing. I know the TT isn't the best performer, but I was looking forward to picking up the kit version and enjoying building it.
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Havr you checked ddm? They had kits not long ago
 
wow .... how is it cheaper for them to sit and build a kit VS just sending out kits ? .... maybe it's for the best tho .... now the unemployment rate for kids is down ! ;-)
 
Yes, Kraken announced, approximately 2-3 months ago, that they were discontinuing the kit versions of their vehicles. I can't claim to know, with 100% certainty, what their reasoning was...but, I'd say it's safe to assume that the profit margin wasn't high enough. The more units a manufacturer produces, the lower the cost/unit...the less units, the higher the per-unit cost. Considering the limited number of kits they were producing (for the VESLA.5, the initial run was only 20 electric & 20 gas kits), the profit margin was probably quite low. Factor in the additional cost of customer support needed (more phone calls and/or emails equals more people needed in the CS dept), as well as the additional costs involved for packaging kits (manuals, individually-bagged groups of parts, containers of fluids, etc), and the profit margin decreases even further. Selling race kits, as done by Associated, TLR, Kyosho, Tekno, XRAY, etc, is a very profitable business, but only because they produce/sell thousands (probably tens of thousands) of units each year. As can be seen in my FB comment (posted, above, by cmbscx10), they really did do an outstanding job...but, Kraken is not the only company moving away from kits. Vanquish, a company that was started by producing high-end kits, and high-end upgrade parts for other company's crawlers, has also been moving away from kits, and producing only RTRs. Granted, they are still selling kits for vehicles that were released before they started releasing RTRs...but, no new kits have been released since that point in time.
 
I am also one that enjoys a kit build. It truly makes it "yours". With that said the 1/5 scale market is very small compared to the lesser scales like 9th Island wrote. Arguably the best 1/5 ever made for the average joe is the Losi 5T. Why has it been a 2.0 since 2018 and a kit never offered? Simply because and especially today, the market is lazy AF and wants things now. The first crash and something breaks they just go get a new one.

I said it before and it will never happen but if Tekno made a 1/5 scale anything i would buy 2 and possibly 3.
 
Ninth Island RC said:
Exactly. Tekno has, essentially, "perfected" (well, except for the MT410 2.0, which I feel they screwed up) large-scale RC race kits.
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Agreed. My #1 is my Tekno MT410 OG. My #3 was my Losi Muggy in converted to 6S. I last used the MT410 it in 2016. I blew it apart after 2 seasons (roughly 65 runs) i used it for and short of body posts and bodies the only thing i boke well bent was a right rear driveshaft. The bearings were still good but replaced ALL of them, rebuilt the diffs (Clean fluid & zero dirt) and rebuilt the shocks (Clean fluid & zero dirt). Essentially near ZERO slop and the big wear item being the Drive cups had .05mm of wear so they were/are bombproof under 6S use.


Decided to try something new to made my MT into a Tuggy (Tekno MT Truggy) to see if i can have a Muggy again. Came out ok and will see how she runs once the weather cools down.

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cmbscx10 said:
Agreed. My #1 is my Tekno MT410 OG. My #3 was my Losi Muggy in converted to 6S. I last used the MT410 it in 2016. I blew it apart after 2 seasons (roughly 65 runs) i used it for and short of body posts and bodies the only thing i boke well bent was a right rear driveshaft. The bearings were still good but replaced ALL of them, rebuilt the diffs (Clean fluid & zero dirt) and rebuilt the shocks (Clean fluid & zero dirt). Essentially near ZERO slop and the big wear item being the Drive cups had .05mm of wear so they were/are bombproof under 6S use.


Decided to try something new to made my MT into a Tuggy (Tekno MT Truggy) to see if i can have a Muggy again. Came out ok and will see how she runs once the weather cools down.

View attachment 94967View attachment 94968
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That is cool
 
Don't kid yourselves on them stopping the kits from not making a profit. They made more then enough for the scales of economics to work, plus it's all the same parts that go into an rtr plus more. It's just a sign of the times. Outside enthusiasts, no one wants kits. Why the rtr and artr took off years ago, why electric rigs took off so well. People are lazy and like the easy way.
Heck my one remaining local (ish) hobby shop sells more 1/10 and 1/8 e words then anything nitro and they stopped stocking 1/5 scale models all together. Even when i ask what they are working on, it oh upgrading esc/motor, bearings, kid hit a fence.... all stuff enthusiasts would treat as just part of owning an rc. And they are busy doing that kind of work too!
 
Seandonato73 said:
Don't kid yourselves on them stopping the kits from not making a profit. They made more then enough for the scales of economics to work, plus it's all the same parts that go into an rtr plus more. It's just a sign of the times. Outside enthusiasts, no one wants kits. Why the rtr and artr took off years ago, why electric rigs took off so well. People are lazy and like the easy way.
Heck my one remaining local (ish) hobby shop sells more 1/10 and 1/8 e words then anything nitro and they stopped stocking 1/5 scale models all together. Even when i ask what they are working on, it oh upgrading esc/motor, bearings, kid hit a fence.... all stuff enthusiasts would treat as just part of owning an rc. And they are busy doing that kind of work too!
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Sorry to have to say this, but, in all honesty, I don't think you have any true understanding of the additional costs involved in producing, as well as supporting, a kit. Yes the kit contains the same parts...but, there is a LOT more to it than just that. Packaging is different, increasing cost. The fact that all the parts have to be bagged in groups, in their own packaging, that increases cost. There's also the manual, which increases cost. Most importantly, a company then has to increase the size of their customer service department (due to the known fact that the number of support requests WILL increase), which can greatly increase cost. What you don't understand is that the dynamics of macroeconomics & microeconomics (if you don't know what these are, you're more than welcome to look them up) within a business change considerably.

I could go into a log diatribe, explaining everything involved, but I prefer to not waste space in this forum, or my time. Besides, even if I did, there's no guarantee you would truly understand. I promise, you, I'm not saying you couldn't understand (ie. I am NOT "questioning your intelligence"), only that understanding the complex dynamics of macroeconomics & microeconomics is not something everyone can fully understand. Heck, I'll admit that I don't even truly understand every aspect (I only got a B+ in my college class "Macroeconomics and Microeconomics: Math For Business Analysis"). So, instead, I will just say this. Years ago, I worked for a coupe of manufacturing businesses, so I've seen, first-hand, the changes needing to be made in order for something like this to be 'successful'. Some companies (ex. Rlaarlo) understand this, and so they start making the changes needed to succeed when taking on a new direction. Other companies either refuse to accept that such changes need to be made, or just choose to not make such changes, and, in the end, they can financially ruin the company. From what I can see, Kraken understood the changes that would be needed, and decided it "wasn't in the financial interest" of the company to do so. However, instead of continuing to make kits, and causing financial problems within the company, Rob Wee decided it was best to just discontinue the kits, and return to offering RTRs only. Hopefully, worded this way, it will make enough sence for everyone to understand.

Personally, I would have loved to see Kraken continue with the kits...I was one of the proponents that suggested to them, several times, that they should offer kit versions of their vehicles. At the same time, I repect Rob's decision to discontinue producing kits...and, for the most part, I understand the reasoning behind this decision. For a large company, such as Traxxas, to start producing kits, it's not as much of a financial burdon on the company...but, for a small company, such as Kraken, the financial problems it can cause can be considerable. It is for this very same rason that Rlaarlo, and Edison (Rlaarlo's founder & CEO) has stated that, at least for the foreseeable future, they have no plans to offer any kit versions of their vehicles.
 
No, I don't understand nor truthfully care to understand their reasons. However I know this much, everything has been in place for years now to support it manuals, people, packaging lines etc, doesn't take that much to keep it rolling once the processes are in place.
 
Seandonato73 said:
No, I don't understand nor truthfully care to understand their reasons. However I know this much, everything has been in place for years now to support it manuals, people, packaging lines etc, doesn't take that much to keep it rolling once the processes are in place.
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True, IF everything is already in-place. However, therein is the problem - you're assuming that everything was already in-place, when there's a very good chance that everything wasn't in-place.

At the same time, I find it 'interesting' that, in your most recent comment, you state you "don't understand, nor care to understand their reasons"...yet, previously, you made statements that, essentially, contradict your most recent statement. Anyway, it doesn't really matter - the kits are discontinued, and input those of us who "jumped on the chance" will ever have one (or two for the few individuals (I'm not one of them) who bought another).
 
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For a long time, I’ve wanted a Vekta 5TT—mainly because of its stunning looks. After reading tons of comments and reviews, I decided to go with the TLR 5B instead.
Kraken really needs to address the issues with their kits. The plastic quality is poor, the servos are bad, and there are countless problems scattered throughout the build. Who wants to spend thousands of dollars on something that’s essentially a shelf queen?
A friend of mine bought a Vesla. While it’s better than the Vekta in some ways, it still suffers from similar issues: a weak servo, a cheap TX/RX , and a chassis material that looks low-quality. On top of that, the case design is overly complicated—it requires removing an excessive number of screws just to access key components.
These limitations are a major reason why the sales aren’t performing well. It would be much better to focus on creating a high-quality car first. A well-made product naturally drives sales and brings profits, rather than cutting corners or discontinuing kit versions.
The core issue with Kraken products is their quality.
To be honest, I think the Dragon Hammer from China is far superior to anything Kraken offers.
 
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