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  #61  
Old 21-03-2014
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Here's the reply I just posted to essentially the same question on RCTech.net:

There has been one problem with all the previous X - 7s, and that, combined with some scheduling priority issues has stopped that avenue of development. Paul has decided to see if he can fix some of the problems inherent in shaft drive, and is using a B44 to test out his ideas. They seem to be working well so far.

The X - 7 had a unique steering geometry which gave it great steering for a 4WD, really just as good as a 2WD. A version of this has been grafted onto the B44 and it is working well. Also, Paul's improvements to the driveline are working well too.

Development of a new 4WD car continues, and whatever we come up with will be called the X - 7 -- it's the next number. It still may be like the first X - 7s, or it may be like this test bed B44, or perhaps something in between. Paul has several more ideas to try out on the B44. This is the fun of designing and testing new R/C cars.
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  #62  
Old 13-04-2014
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What's new?

Been 3 weeks since last update
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  #63  
Old 13-04-2014
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Its a small company and the x7 isn't there #1 priority. Being a small company they need to focus there resources, and I believe that's still x6^2 production, so 4wd progress will be very slow and I'm sure Paul or Chazz will post every where when there's something note worth. You can also follow xfactory on facebook.
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  #64  
Old 13-04-2014
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Paul continues to run his modified B44. Nothing new to report on it -- the changes he made have worked great. Now back to Cubed production, updating the trucks, and making parts for D.M.S.'s S model...
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  #65  
Old 01-05-2014
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Default X 5 CUBE????????????????

hi guys one of club guys just returned fron the catus classic and told me that u were not going to go ahead with the X7 if this is true hav u thort of doing a X5 cuded based on the 22-4 as u could just have to make a chassie and layshaft as well as a new motor mount .....
as eveything is already done it would save in cost to make everything!!!!
just a thort......as ive just returned to driveing my X5-sq again it still kicks ass!!!!!!!!!!!!
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  #66  
Old 18-10-2014
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Any news on a new 4wd, we're now nearly 6 months on?

Be good to get another up date please.
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  #67  
Old 21-10-2014
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The X - 7 project is way back on the furthest-back burner at present. There are too many other things for us to do right now, all of which can be done quickly with minimal cost and decent profits. We are having great success with the new Infinity line of parts and are re-designing the two trucks, with the SCX - 61CF and X - 61CF slated for release soon. C.A.D. for the short course is almost finished and testing has been successful on the SC as Paul demonstrated at the recent J Concepts race.

Updating the two trucks will be simple, cheap, and quick as it's mostly just cutting new CF. The X - 7, on the other hand, will require a massive investment of time and money, both of which are currently in short supply. The X - 7 will involve at least five new molds @ about $8000 each -- we estimate a total investment over $100,000 before we produce a single car.

The X - 7 prototypes run by Paul and Ellis were excellent cars with a number of engineering innovations that have not appeared anywhere else since, and are very fast. In the past three years we have learned a ton and probably can make the car even better when we get back to it. But that won't be anytime soon.
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  #68  
Old 22-10-2014
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Ha ha normal story then.
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  #69  
Old 23-10-2014
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We are not laughing. There is a host of info in my post above, the sort of info you'll not find ever made public by any other company.

When the X - 7 project started we were most serious about it, investing much time and money. Making a whole new car is something we have never actually done, and we have learned it requires more time and money than we initially thought. I got sick during that time too, and business fell; therefore the cash stream fell.

Fortunately we've experienced an on-going succession of opportunities to earn profits by making great stuff, opportunities we could not afford to pass up, We have sold a bunch of short course trucks, for example. The Infinity line is selling very well indeed.

Will we ever make the X - 7? We started with the X - 5. Paul's first R/C car of any sort was a 4WD Tamiya, and his first real race car was a XX-4. If we are ever going to make the X - 7, and as stated above the engineering concepts are still ground-breaking and valid, growing our business with these other products is vital.
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Last edited by YoungChazz; 23-10-2014 at 10:25 PM.
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  #70  
Old 24-10-2014
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Keep pushing Chazz and doing what you need to do to grow your business, plenty of recent 4wd cars out there at the moment for people to work through

The RC racing scene would be a much duller one to be part of without the smaller companies such as yours
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  #71  
Old 24-10-2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by discostu View Post
Ha ha normal story then.
Highly inappropriate comment.
X factory should be respected for not bringing out the car before its totally ready
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  #72  
Old 24-10-2014
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It's a bummer to hear... but at the same time it's for the better: With the dedicated attitude to the hobby that you have, you deserve to have the X-7 go in the books as a beautiful car, regardless if it remains a concept or makes it to production (though I'm sure everyone will love to see the latter)!

And let's not forget, who knows what the future will bring in terms of production technology. If you ask me, it's reasonable to expect tooling costs will drop in the future. 3D printing has opened a whole new world to mould making, and with the rate of developments and patents lapsing on key technologies in the upcoming years their potential will grow and the costs will reduce
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Last edited by Origineelreclamebord; 24-10-2014 at 06:35 PM.
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  #73  
Old 24-10-2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve.T View Post
Highly inappropriate comment.
X factory should be respected for not bringing out the car before its totally ready

Totally agree
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  #74  
Old 24-10-2014
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I don't think the general public has any clue just how expensive injection molding is. Each part is quite cheap. It's the molds that are extremely expensive. Thousands of dollars each. A tradeoff needs to be made on those too. Do you want a cheaper mold that can only pound out 1 part at a time and therefore make a smaller quantity? Do you want a more expensive mold that can make a dozen at a time? Did your initial mold design work? If not, could it be modified to fix the issue or did you have to have another made at several thousand dollars? How many molds were necessary for the job? One? Two? Twenty? Each at several thousand dollars. What are the projected sales? Will it be enough to cover the investment in equipment and tools to build it as well as ongoing maintenance? This all assumes contracting out to an injection molding company. How are those molds going to be paid for? Up front in cash? Credit (loan)? Amortized over production life of the molds. That brings up another point. What if those molds wear out? It's more money. This is only talking about molded parts and not everything else.

Let's pretend for a moment that these guys actually started a company to make some money. That's the goal of every company. If it's not a goal there are two possibilities. One is that they aren't in business very long. The other is that they are setup as a non-profit agency. I don't recall seeing any good products coming out of nonprofit agencies that aren't intended as handouts for the poor. With money being a definite need and goal, they need to spend lots of it before they can ever even sell a car. What if you had to spend the same amount of money as it would take to buy a house up front just to sell an rc car kit in the hopes that you not only make your money back but actually make a little bit more? How long would you be willing to be at a loss until that happens? Not many would do it, and not many do.

They can't spend money they don't have. They need to generate revenue before they can generate product. It's an evil cycle but works best gradually over time by reducing risk. A new car is a huge risk.

I don't laugh at them for this. Especially with only a couple of people doing everything. This is very tough and it's respectable that they are doing this. Obviously they do it for their enjoyment too. Too often a hobby stops being a hobby when it becomes a job. This is far more than a job for them. It's way past that. It's their way of life. Give them a little credit for the effort. They sure look like they are tackling it correctly.
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  #75  
Old 26-10-2014
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Thanks, Fred.
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  #76  
Old 27-10-2014
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Steve and Fred hit the nail on the head. I thought Chazz had a conservative number at $100k in tooling for a new kit, I guess there's more machined parts then I though, but that's a lot of money. If they're spending that much money, it better be perfect, if they don't feel that that's where they're at, I think it would be silly to build the car. I think they're possibly one of the smallest companies in the industry, I imagine making a car and have if fail could possibly put them out of business. They'll have a lot on the line to build a complete car in such a competitive market. The whole 'normal story' thing is a complete cheap shot, they've got to make a living to make, and only they know what's best for there business
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  #77  
Old 28-10-2014
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Thanks Andrew. As Fred says, it's become a way of life for both Paul and me.
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  #78  
Old 22-12-2016
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What happened with the X7?
Will it produced or not?

greetings
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  #79  
Old 22-12-2016
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I think X factory have been concentrating on a truck and the X7 has taken a back seat.
Mind you, after having owned four X5's, I'm curious too.
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  #80  
Old 22-12-2016
Buggyman Buggyman is offline
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did anybody ever see the layout of the car. ?
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