slicrick

http://www.model-works.org/proddetail.php?prod=102321

original.mb

now thats what i call a clone almost identical

sneff

If I didnt see it I wouldnt believe it!! I cant believe how closely it resembles the Baja. I wonder if HPI strikes up some sort of deal with these other manufacturers for the tooling to help offset the costs? I guess its similar to the smartech copy of the Tmaxx(which was a complete piece of crap)!!!

hndaman1

My Feedback: (6)

wow, that is now a clone, not like the other crap that was posted before.......... Maybe we can get parts cheaper now....

cenracer1

I'm surprised they didn't copy the purple chassis.. I wish I could see a closer look at the suspension, wonder if its the same and the tires.. so you think they say dirt buster?

Earth Surfer

I am not sure, but I suspect the over seas manufacture struck a deal with some other company---and may be behind HPI's back. Some China companies have done that to their own customers.
I get sick to my stomach when I see companies that knock off other peoples hard work. It may bring cheaper prices, but it usually also brings lower quality, cheapens the industry and we then complain about new products fair prices--if any body feels like making a new product knowing somebody out there may knock them off in short time. IMO, knock off products are a bad thing over all---but we rarely see much further than our pocket book when we are at the cash regiser. Customer support is also another huge issue we tend to forget if we think we are saving a few bucks in a moment---and HPI's customer service seems really hard to beat to me. I might be off base on this one, HPI may have made a deal with somebody--but may be not. That is a Baja.

hndaman1

My Feedback: (6)

Maybe you should bring this statement back OVER by us where there is ALOT of copying being done.................

quarterscalelegends

I agree with surfer on this. It is sick and wrong. Then again, its what happens when we outsource all of our mfg to china. When the factories and foundries over there are hired to build something, there is another 10-12 factories owned by brothers and cousins. They get a hold of parts and tooling and start to reproduce the same things. The market becomes flooded, profit margins go down and people stop making things which in turn gives these chineese factories nothing to copy and in the end we have nothing. This is why it has become a trend to purchase factories and foundries in China so that this problem can be managed some what, but in reality it just slows down the copying. This has been a long time problem in many industries.

badz

My Feedback: (1)

It looks the same but it can't be there is trademarks on the baja so it can't be identical. Then again if it's only sold oversea's it can be since they pirate everything else.

thopper

China does not care about patents, copyrights etc. I can be an exact copy and very difficult to stop. No matter how you slice it China is the worlds manufacturing capitol at this point. I have no problems at this point in time with clonig etc. The cat is out of bag and it cannot be stopped. The USA and the Europe sold out years ago so this is what you get. If I could clone the baja cheaper in China I would. The quality in time will be there just like Japan. I am old enough to remember the phrase that was used alot "jap junk" You youner guys only knowof japanese products as being top notch....not always that way. The Japanese were also clone makers before they became the preeminent manufacuring nation that they WERE. Many Japanese companies know make goods in China. The baja clone stry is nothing new and before you know there will some othe third world country cloning Chinese stuff.

It is a very complicated business world these days and nobody knows where it is heading. There always events that occur that change the course of events....war for one. The USA will,be at war with China someday very scary.

quarterscalelegends

I still consider Japanese products to be low quality. The thing is that atleast they design and build there own junk. No way around it..... clones are bad an no one should support them by buying their junk. I really think if all of our manufacturing was no unionized we would not be in this situation today.

badz

My Feedback: (1)

Well said quarterscale

huw4027

Hey we can say this and that but after all is said and done it makes it
more affordable for those who can't buy the originals. [8D][8D]

IMADMAN

My Feedback: (16)

Don't count on it. When Technokit hit the market they had listed/advertised it for $499.00 before it hit the market. But when it did become availible it was selling at $999.00, $735.00 for a clone vs. $839.00 for the real deal. Just don't count on the $735.00 to be the actual retail price.

hndaman1

My Feedback: (6)

Look at all the people now with clones"Firehammers,Xtms etc......" and the FG people use those parts on thier cars like the bodies wheels etc, and I don't see them crying about their parts comming from clones?

Earth Surfer

Some really good points thopper---but I think if you owned a innovative company like HPI is, and somebody knocked off your hard work (which in my mind is theft), you might have a different opinion about the justification of ripping somebody off---because that is what the knock off guys do IMO.

From my studies in manufacturing and quality engineering, and what I have seen, Japan quality standards are the standards the world live by for manufacturing--and they are very very good at it. Toyota and Honda are arguably the most talented manufacturs in the world. Unfortunatly---many companies that try to adopt Japanese quality methods do not do it correctly. We can't even get SPC right--which was developed in the USA--rejected by our automakers orgionally, and Japan accepted it. That was the turning point of "Jap Junk".---I would not suspect there are a lot of 6-sigma black belts working in China factories to help insure quality. You usually get what you pay for. You really do. For example---our knock off CY cylinders would cost more to have a good plating put on them and good plating can easily last over three years of use replacing several worn out pistons and rings----but we don't want to pay for it. Because of cheap prices, we accepted poor quality. Yep--we got what we paid for there.

Dirby

i own two 1/5 scale .
firehammer and a baja 5b
i will begetting a third one soon and it will be another hpi baja 5b.
no questions asked.
Dirby

hndaman1

My Feedback: (6)

That model works.com that is selling the BAJA clone is a HPI-racing forem sponsor if you guys did not know that

Earth Surfer

They have to sell their knock offs somewhere. If I had a forum, I would not let them sponsor it if they are ripping HPI. HPI might not come out with a new buggy if they get undercut after doing all the hard work. That would be a shame for us as we know this company is not coming out with a new buggy.

riazz

hey that looks nothing like a baja 5b lol

hathi

Hpi knows of this buggy, they have seen it months ago. This buggy pictured is a baja, with a few diffrent parts on it. they are just testing the waters before spending the money on tooling.

vertigo performance

hndaman1, I have to ask why you are posting on a bunch of message boards that the ModelworksRC Sports Buggy is being sold by a sponsor on a site that HPI also sponsors, what does it matter? K1 Racing also sponsors that forum which BTW isn't an HPI forum and for some reason you keep telling people it is.
It is an all around 5th scale forum that caters to all 5th scale cars.

Please get your facts straight before posting inaccurate information.

Thank you,

Clayton

hndaman1

My Feedback: (6)

Hey clayton, why did you get BANNED from our forum? everyone wants too know?

vertigo performance

I am not banned from any sites

Clayton

hndaman1

My Feedback: (6)

I do not even know why, I wasn't there when It happened.............