# MegaG+ Update



## MSwaterlogged (Feb 5, 2014)

I have heard from Steve Russell at Racemasters and here is what he told me. Not very good news, but if we can hold out a little while longer...

From Steve: 

The container with the Infinity sets arrived in the port over a week ago and cleared customs on the 11th . . . Now it is just sitting on the dock, unloaded and ready to go but waiting for the union to let their people move it from a closed area to the trucks. That’s it. In the meantime the second container with cars etc. has arrived in the port and is just waiting for the union to get off their rear ends. 

The Giant set ships from China on Monday and will get to port two weeks later. The Super International ships one week after the Giant and there are more cars and accessories in there too. The Big Block Battler ships in early February. 

:End Steve comments

The unions are apparently arguing with the ports over a new contract and since one is not in place, they are working very slowly and causing major issues.

Hopefully when the stock does arrive, folks will buy it.

Keep the slot car faith.
Charlie


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## beast1624 (Mar 28, 2009)

Again, Thanks for the update on this side on this pond, Charlie!


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## GT40 (Jan 18, 2014)

Guys
Just another case of a dime holding up the dollar.


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## frankiesatyr (Feb 8, 2006)

Thanks for the info....


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## tasman (Feb 17, 2007)

*Just curious*

I wonder how much more it would cost to produce these in the USA. 10%, 20%, 100%?(including the cost of shipping )? I don't know, and I don't know how much more I would be willing to pay for a USA produced product. Just curious.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

If you don't know how much more you would pay for something made in the US it is not surprising that few people are willing to risk making their cars here. Judging by what I have seen posted over the years I would expect that the majority of people would be upset by even a small price increase.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

I think the cost differential would be rather high. It's not just manufacturing costs either. The costs of tooling will be more, most overhead costs like rent, electric, etc will be also. If all operations are currently overseas, you'd have to factor in the machinery to produce the stuff and the building to do it all in too. 

Unrelated sort of, but I've often dreamed of a lottery win scenario and the first thought was always buying Model Motoring, renegotiating the licensing with the big 3 and moving all the tooling here to the US. I'd also do my best to team up with Dash to make sure Dan is able to continue doing what he's doing. I would need his expertise since he knows the business so well. This would be one of those rare cases where companies merge and not take advantage of a cornered market. I would do my best to keep prices where they are, and make sure Dan is making enough for it to be worth it to him. 

I'd love to make a bunch of American jobs, but I started thinking into the future, and what will my employees be making 15-20 years from now? Will there be enough demand to keep the business afloat? I'm not looking at profit either, but simply would there be enough in sales to sustain the business even without putting any money back in my pocket. I'd probably keep it here just to maintain QC and eliminate other issues like lost tooling, etc. I guess we would just have to switch to some other products when the slot car market dies down.

I want to learn all the processes, and be hands on in it. From tooling to injection molding to tampo printing. I really want to learn it all (at least the basics), and I wouldn't want to have to go the China to do so!!! :lol: I would even hire all the tooling guys and have that done in house too (a huge expense, but worth it to me in the long run). Heck I even have the building picked out to put the company in... I drive by it when I go through that part of town and dream.... I just hope 60,000 sq feet is enough... 


But back to reality... I would guess (and this is just a guess) it would probably cost at least 100% more to do it here, probably a lot more, especially when you consider tooling costs, some union employees such as the tool guys, and much higher building expenses. Add in having to buy all the equipment to make all the stuff and the increase becomes enormous. It's one thing if you have everything needed here in the US already and just ramp up the US operations. It's a totally different ball of wax to have to set the whole thing up.


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## FullyLoaded (Apr 19, 2006)

Thanks for the update. This also explains why hobby releases in the model kit and diecast categories from other companies have been delayed. I knew there was something amiss either production or otherwise.


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## MSwaterlogged (Feb 5, 2014)

Just keep in mind folks, that Racemasters took a big hit this year. Between the factory going bankrupt (if it hadn't Steve said product would have been on the shelves here in October!), to the FCC to the dock workers moving at half speed, Racemasters has not had any product to sell for months and missed the Christmas season as well. I am guessing that accounts for a good percentage of their business. Not a very Merry Christmas for Racemasters.

Hopefully when the products hit the selves, folks will be willing to buy them and support not only Racemasters but their favorite retail sellers. 

Charlie


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## beast1624 (Mar 28, 2009)

Yeah, that dock worker thing is affecting everyone that has products shipped in from Asia (not just China but Japan, S. Korea, etc). Our company has been waiting on stock for 12 weeks that has delayed a release of a new product line for us. Now we have totally missed the Christmas season.


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## brownie374 (Nov 21, 2007)

Where are wizzard cars made?


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## RiderZ (Feb 19, 2007)

I would pay a tad extra if the cars were made here in the good ole US of A!


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

If there are new cars, I will be buying new cars. At least two of each. That's what I have always done, and I don't see me changing the way I do it. That does not fix lost Christmas sales for Racemasters or Retailers.


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## docsho (Nov 13, 2004)

Does any one know what is being released? I know that I will buy if there is something new, like bodies, paint schemes etc. I haven't seen any pics or info on any Racemaster (Tomy) product line. Any info would be nice while we wait
Thanks


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

docsho said:


> Does any one know what is being released? I know that I will buy if there is something new, like bodies, paint schemes etc. I haven't seen any pics or info on any Racemaster (Tomy) product line. Any info would be nice while we wait
> Thanks



I'm with you Doc ....


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

docsho said:


> Does any one know what is being released? I know that I will buy if there is something new, like bodies, paint schemes etc. I haven't seen any pics or info on any Racemaster (Tomy) product line. Any info would be nice while we wait
> Thanks



I'm with you Doc .... maybe some mid 70's "WideBody" Camel GT cars ..... Mustang, Porsche 916, Camaro, Couger, Cuda, 240Z and another Monza & Corvette GT. Oh and painted correctly.


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## MSwaterlogged (Feb 5, 2014)

Guys,
Here is what I THINK I know. Based on Hobbylinc website of coming MegaG+ cars.
Sets: Infinity, Giant, Super Coupes, Super International (staggered release based on when they get here in the month or so). Cars: Stocker 2 pack, Mercedes C9, GT 40 (#1), GT 40 (#3), Formula 2 pack, Ford Fusion, Hiway Patrol 848, Chevy SS (white paintable), Ford Fusion (white paintable).

Keep in mind, this is not solid information, but what I have been able to track down at this point. Racemasters will have to give us the real info. when Steve has time.

Charlie


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## MSwaterlogged (Feb 5, 2014)

It looks like the Mega G+ Infinity Race sets are finally available at several on line hobby sellers. Hopefully other sets and cars will appear shortly.

Charlie


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## beast1624 (Mar 28, 2009)

Picked up a set last night at the local hobby shop. I'll try to answer some of the questions that have been asked here and on other forums how these stack up to the original Mega G:

-the F1 bodies do indeed sit a bit higher than the original and the old ones can't be used with the new chassis but the new ones fit fine on the old chassis

-the rear axles on both the old and new are interchangeable but the new ones have a longer gear boss and actually mesh better on the old chassis than the old axles do

-the motor on the new chassis is very free, VERY quiet and works great with my 120 ohm Stage II from One Stop Slot Shop

-the two chassis in the set run nearly identically, hard to tell a difference. 

-the shoes on both chassis were running on the tip, adjusted to get a smooth wear mark all the way back and they ran faster and handled better.

-the shoes on the new chassis will not interchange with the old ones...these are similar to the old G-Plus shoes. The metal in the new shoes is much stiffer/thicker than the original Mega G shoes (should not be as prone to bending in a wreck). The pickup springs look to be a bit longer than the springs on the original Mega G but you should be able to adapt the old ones to the new chassis by slightly stretching them, as long as it doesn't make them too stiff.

-did not do lap times but the new ones are not quite as fast as the fastest of my old 1.7's but darn near and they are much faster than the majority of the old 1.7's we have and are much easier to drive and more predictable. With the old ones you could make 5 laps exactly the same and the car would react differently on 1 lap and wreck...don't see that with these. They handle very well.

-the traction magnets are the same size as the old chassis so you should be able to swap them out to find a matched strong pair if you want plus the after market ones I have gotten from K&J Magnetics will pop right in.

-only issue I saw was one chassis on top of the motor had a bigger glob of solder holding the wire down. This caused that body to ride higher. After a little filing it sat down fine.

-the F1 bodies can be made to sit lower if you slightly narrow the front edge of the mounting tab one the body and scrape a little of the paint off. This lets the chassis sit farther back and lets the body nestle down in front about 1/8". Also, watch that the wire running from the motor to the circuit board does not bind under the body and make it sit up higher when you put the body on. This should only be something to watch with the F1's on the 1.7 and not some of the older bodies when the 1.5 comes out.

-the controllers in the set are indeed 120 ohm and have a red "120" painted on the handle. Other than that they are interchangeable with the old ones.

-the front and rear wheels are the same as on the old chassis and the aftermarket tires (Super Tires) I used on the old ones fit perfectly. 

-both front and rear tires are slightly taller than the old ones. The rear's don't look like silicone but they are definitely not the hard rubber of the old chassis and have better stick than the old ones do.

That's about all I could see on first glance and tinkering with them for a couple of hours. I will post more as I find it out and get a chance to measure tires and spring tensions. My impression is these are much easier to drive and control and the variance from one to the other is much closer than the old mega G. I like them so far. I am hopping our group will adopt these into our magnet car series.


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## frankiesatyr (Feb 8, 2006)

Thanks for the update....:thumbsup: Frank


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

Thank you for the updated info.....sounds like I may give these a try to see if they will work out for the Grandkids......if they do I'll take my SGplus out of service.


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## MSwaterlogged (Feb 5, 2014)

Got some updated information from Steve Russel. He gave me permission to post it.

From Steve...
- The Giants finally got in today and most orders have already shipped out.
- The Super Internationals arrive in the next 10 days or so. When they get out of the port is unknown but should be within another 10 days instead of the more typical 4.
- New Big Block Battler set with new Ford Fusion and Chevy SS bodies and a Digital Lap Counter will arrive in mid February. Going to view final production Friday.
- Several new cars including two coming with short wheelbase (those will be later in year).
- The 2-Pack Stocker with Fusion/Chevy SS, a Generic Fusion, a generic Chevy SS, a paintable Fusion, a paintable Chevy SS are all arriving and will be in stores between now and about mid February
- Tune Up kits for the New Mega G+ and the old Mega G will ship out in the next 10 days or so.

Also, I just finished photo'ing all the new cars and will get them up on the site next week. But there are no new photos of any cars with the MG+ on the site yet. And there will continue to be a bunch of MG cars around for the next year and more I would say, just like with the SRT and SG+.

All for now. More next week when back in town.

Steve


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## Wahoo (Jan 15, 2007)

*A Bushel and a Peck . . .*



tasman said:


> I wonder how much more it would cost to produce these in the USA. 10%, 20%, 100%?(including the cost of shipping )? I don't know, and I don't know how much more I would be willing to pay for a USA produced product. Just curious.


Sadly, the last time I looked into it (2008) the cost of producing an AFX set in the US was about 12 times the then current cost. Including the cost of shipping. I looked at Mexico also and it was better . . . only 8 times more. Allowing for the much higher Chinese labor costs now I estimate the gap to the US has fallen to maybe 9 to 10 times the current China cost.

Wish it were otherwise, particularly with the increasing difficulties of dealing in China. But as a consumer I'd have a hard time paying way over $2,000 for a Super International set. No axe to grind, it's just what it is.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

The difference in final cost can't be figured from the difference in labor costs alone, especially if you only consider the hourly labor rate. Ten years ago a typical Chinese factory worker made 55 cents an hour. Chinese plants used little automation in those days because labor was very cheap. The individual Chinese worker was much less productive than his US counterpart, but for the same dollar you could get a lot of Chinese workers. Besides that Chinese workers got no benefits, if they got sick or something they were simply replaced. The cost of Chinese labor has gone up, I have not seen any figures on that however. Labor is of course only part of the cost of an item, there are raw material costs and capital costs plus overhead costs like utilities, transportation and taxes.
Although the cost of labor in China has gone up many manufacturors have invested in high tech equipment and are now more productive because of that. That is not as likely the case with companies that make slot cars. Judging by the prices of 1/32nd slot cars that are made in China versus a brand that is made in Italy the actual difference in cost might be more like a factor of two or three. If you are selling a commodity saving a penny a pound can make you a lot more money.


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## mrbert62 (Dec 11, 2014)

HI Guys, back into my old hobby after a 30 year hiatus. I have always used Tyco Track and products and decided to jump into Tomy AFX to try some new track layouts. I picked up (2) of the super international sets. They come with Tomy 120 Ohm controllers and The Mega G cars fly when set to the high voltage settings but seem to cut out when hitting full throttle pull. However, all my old Tyco, Lifelike, and G-PLus cars react like rocket cars and go out of control. Should I use a lower ohm controller with the new AFX sets? All the cars run beautifully with the old stock tyco controllers and HP power packs.


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## MSwaterlogged (Feb 5, 2014)

I know Racemasters did a lot of testing and determined that 120 ohm was the best fit for the new MegaG+ cars. However, that was probably aimed at the non serious slot car market. I have been told that 90 ohm works pretty well, but have not tested that yet.

When you say "cut out" do you mean they hit top speed and go no faster or they are actually not running?

Charlie


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

I do not have a TriPower power supply, but I once asked someone who did to take some measurements. The readings were 9.1 volts on Beginners, 13.9 volts on Intermediate and 24.4 volts on Expert. The standard for HO cars is 18 volts, some people like to go a little higher, but I would expect that any car that was running properly would be a handful at 24 volts no matter what ohms your controller was.


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

Just ran my first MegaG+. Fast, handles very well stock using the 60ohm control. 45ohm was an on/off switch. Power set on intermediate. Think anyone could run it on a 60ohm. I ran it on a body I use all the time, and I like it......the MegaG+ that is.

90ohm should work even better.

The new #61 MercC9 in Black and Blue is very nice looking, it was not on the track.


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## MSwaterlogged (Feb 5, 2014)

90 ohm seems to be the middle ground, although the Racemaster techs insist that 120 is better. I have a 90 ohm resister coming that I am going to swap into a spare Parma eco, so will see how that works for MG and MG+.

Charlie


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## GT40 (Jan 18, 2014)

Rj
I'll bet you used a GT40 body, Didn't You :thumbsup:
Come on you can tell us.:freak:

gt40 :wave:


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## RjAFX (Oct 26, 2014)

Ran it on my fat body Monza GT. Next I'm going to fit it to the 917.


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