56 replies to this topic

[Jen McNaughton]

JK Rental Cars

[Samiam]

A rental car with a .015" thick body? Yeah, that will last about ten laps.

[MSwiss]

Not true at all.

I've been using those cars (Mazda coupe) since I reopened in October and the .015" has a bit of flex and hold up tons better than the .020" bodies I've used in the past.

[Ramcatlarry]

Point is - if you think 1/8" axles and 48 pitch gears are the right combination for begining racing, every RTR can be ordered that way... from everyone.

 

Promote full USA employment - make it locally and sell it everywhere.

[DocSlotCar]

Unfortunately for Parma, except for a few products like braid and Tunas, they have not been relevant to the slot car public since Champion was bought by Parma.

In flexi racing or in rentals, unless you are using a JK product, you are behind the curve... IMHO...

[Mayberryman]

Mike, you talk about the Parma RTRs but the faults in their RTRs have been the same in all RTRs for many years. 

When we had FasTrax in Virginia we sold slot car kits in two ways. We sold the little Parma tackle box with the car and cheap controller and we called them ready to run cars.  We demonstrated how to solder in the motor and bushings and would actually do it for them as a new racer special if they wished.

For the more advanced and or person really interested in competition and our structured racing program we sold a car that was built out of parts on the wall and had the correct motor, tires, leadwire, and competitive body; we called those ready to race cars.

I am sure that it still stands that you can pick out the casual racer as well as that person that you feel might be a longer term customer and you can match them with the car at the price both are comfortable with.

Although I am not a current fan of that company their RTRs have been the starting point for more slot car racers than the others combined.

[MSwiss]

"for many years".... certainly not now.

All I need to do to a JK RTR is add some vertical tape strips at the clip holes to compliment the hi-quality (3M 898?) that is already installed horizontally.

[Rick]

Has this turned into a bash Parma, yeah JK thread? Tsk tsk tsk...

[Cap Henry]

Depends on what you're racing. For narrow pan Indy cars, the Champion is hard to beat, the 4.5" T-Flex on an oval is also pretty tough to beat.

But for most flexi racing, Jerry definitely has the go-to car.

[Mayberryman]

Mike, I have a question for you.

If that company does go belly up there will still be a very large void in the slot racing community and that would be the oval and FCR type classes. Do you think that there is enough interest and potential buyers to make it feasible for another company to step up and produce the Womp and FCR chassis (with the mandated 10% difference) for sale. 

As I look at it right now Retro and the Penn, Maryland, and Virginia areas, brass pan oval racers are the biggest growth area in slot car racing. I am not saying that the other venues of slot car racing are dead as they certainly all have their followings. I am just saying that these brass chassis groups have some of the best attended races going today for weekly racing. It would be really great to see somebody step up and produce the chassis mentioned above and crown gears in a proactive way.

I will agree that Jerry does produce a high quality top of the line flexi car but I believe that we still need that somewhat slower, easier to drive pan class.

[MSwiss]

What does "with the mandated 10% difference" mean?

[Ramcatlarry]

10%: MOST court rulings on design copyright infringment center on the "is it a copy of an existing design"  ripoff. The original Parma Womp and the Champion Thumper and Riggen chassis are good examples of how a 3" WB slot car can be 'different'...

How you can measure 10% of a design - not sure in all cases. I guess that is a problem for a jury and who can spend money on lawyers.

[MSwiss]

Do any of these items have patents?

[tonyp]

I think just this...

 

http://pdfpiw.uspto....View first page

[Cheater]

Tony,

That link isn't working for me.

AFAIK, the Parma Flexi-Kar is the only chassis that is patented.

From my admittedly-amateur perspective, the one-piece chassis probably don't have unique features that would allow them to be granted a patent.

[Gator Bob]

It worked for me but HERE is another link.

[jimht]

Copyright is one thing, design patent is another.

It's doubtful that a slot car component could have an enforceable copyright...that's more applicable to music, literature, video recordings etc. and even those should be registered to be of any use, even though copyright protection is automatic.

 

Patents are stronger.

But, prior art is the thing with patents, it's kinda difficult to prove that someone somewhere didn't come up with the idea earlier, whether they patented it or not.

Inline one piece metal slot car chassis, for instance...

[Half Fast]

The patent mentioned expired in 2003!

 

Cheers

[MSwiss]

Stephen P. Bartos... I wonder if he knows Bud. LOL
 
Anyway I guess what I was asking Spencer on the "mandated 10% difference" was there any slight chance that
was something in their rules that something new had to be 10% different or couldn't be more than 10% different.
 
IOW, it couldn't be too similar or too nice.

[Guy Spaulding]

One thing I dont see mentioned here is the Parma controller, or at least the plastic handle that other companies use as well.  What's to become of these?

[anumber1]

I agree. Although I don't use Parma chassis, I do use Parma parts every time I race.

Controller handle
Axles
Gears
Bits n pieces I will miss.

Not to mention the Champion parts I will miss...

[olescratch]

WOW, people seem to have buried PARMA already.  There are still items produced by them that are being used besides their sealed 501's  There is a problem, but has anyone really identified it?  I have heard/read that it was a supplier issue, has it been determined to be something other than that? 

I grew up in the Cleveland area, and it was the shirt to have PARMA products in our box, I would really hate to see it end this way!!! 

I do feel that the company should provide some explanation of what is going on so the people that want/need to go to different products can do so and move on.  This has been an issue for way too long at this point. 

Just my little 2cents. 

[Mayberryman]

Mike, what I was referring to in the "Mandated 10% difference" was the possibility of litigation.  I am not sure if either of these items have a patent or copy right issue, however, in this day of frivolous litigation who wants to take the chance? 

The three brass chassis mentioned along with the pink crown are most likely that company's best products as far as quality and demand and if they were to protect anything I would think that these would be the items. 

I very much hope that the company continues to produce the above mentioned items so that there is no need for somebody else to step up but lately the track record has not been all that encouraging. 

When information is not being given out by the company speculation and innuendo will be the driving force in assessing the state of the company. 

[MSwiss]

As mentioned, they aren't patented, nor is there anything unique about them, that a patent could even be considered.

Regardless, let's hope they can pull themselves out of their funk.

What was disappointing in the situation of the original point of this thread, the lack of availability of any of the larger size crowns, through the grapevine, I was told they had all the sizes in stock, for over a week, but some still needed to be packed and shipped.

[Les Boyd]

The way I see it if you can not get sealed 501s from Parma then the seal rule needs to be changed to allow rebuilding. I have dozens and dozens of sealed 501s that could be rebuilt and I would think that lots of people have just as many as I do or more.

 

They have been doing it for years in Retro, soooo what is the big deal?