Everybody’s Scalin’ – The Ripper
The biggest news in the scaling community as of late was Vanquish Products announcing their ultra high-end “Ripper Project” would be available for order to those interested in getting one. Everything on the chassis/body is custom machined out of billet aluminum, save for a few 3D printed accessories.
The price? $1,899. You then have to supply additional parts to complete the build. As you might expect, that generated some discussion. Much of it not so friendly.
As someone who has worked in both machine and race shops most of my adult life, I’ve been on both the giving and receiving end of plenty of specialty parts invoices. I can tell you that given what I know of material costs and the processes involved in machining low-batch precision parts, the pricing on the Ripper seems in-line with what I’d estimate.
Regardless of whether it’s a “good deal” or not, that’s kind of irrelevant to the point I’d like to make, though.
When it comes to pricing on machined goods, it seems that the scaling segment of the hobby likes to lose its collective mind more than any other. Hell, any kind of pricing discussion for that matter.
Some decry that those who spend lots of money on “over-priced” r/c items like this are buffoons that are better off burning their money in the street and/or buying things of “real” value. Others that routinely like to partake in r/c luxuries look down on the bargain hunters as peons needing to be stepped on and made fun of for being cheap.
I just don’t get the extreme combativeness over toy trucks here. If someone wants to blow over 2 grand on the crème de la crème of scalers, so what? By the same metric, if someone is happy with a $200 ECX then more power to them.
Whether you think the Ripper (or anything else in the hobby) is worth the $ or not, keep the discussion civil. The more hell people raise over stuff like this, the less companies want to try dealing with the hassle that surrounds it, and I’m all for more interesting things in the hobby versus less, whether I can afford it or not.
And if you want and can afford it, great. Enjoy your new Ripper. If you don’t or can’t, well, let bygones be bygones. Not everything has to be for everyone, and that goes both ways!
Being fiercely argumentative over this kind of stuff is hurting this segment of the hobby. Sharing your feedback is fine, whether with a company or individual, but let’s knock off the incessant flame wars.
Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox. Have a great weekend and I hope you get some scaling in!
