we’ve reached January 2012 and things are still moving along well at nanotrax. we’ve seen members come and go, some due to their own personal issues, others due to me and my big mouth. i think i should extend an apology to those turned off by anything i’ve said or done during your visits to our shop. i have my opinions and i’m often very blunt when expressing them. my views are unusual and i’m sure the way i run my shop and manage my business may rub some people the wrong way. i don’t know everything but i’m constantly learning and growing. my role at the shop has evolved and with other projects in the works, i’ll be less of a presence on a social level but always available when needed. i hope this will give visitors more of an opportunity to share & enjoy with one another without my influencing the atmosphere as i have in the past.
nanotrax is also the exclusive worldwide distributor for X-Power R/C products and that has become a key part of our daily operations. after closing the 2nd floor due to lack of interest, we moved order fulfillment into the space and have streamlined processing as a result. i look forward to the constant growth and evolution of that element of our operations as we move into the new year. if you’re a shop owner and wish to carry X-Power R/C products online or at your local shops, please contact us by sending an e-mail to sales@xpowerrc.com.
we’ve had some racing recently and that’s breathing life back into the shop. we welcomed another ‘Brian’ along with his cute little daughter, Selina into the family. Dahm and Brian C have come up with some extreme mods that have raised the bar for speed and handling in dNano, be sure to check out some of Brian’s posts @ dnanoclub for what he’s up to! we’ve had a few visitors, check out photos in the gallery. i’ll have our online shop updated with all the latest stuff from X-Power and a clearance sale on all PN Racing items within the next few days. until next time, keep the miniature racing scene alive wherever you are!
its a shame i’m so horrible with names because we’ve had a load of new visitors and made so many new friends but i can’t keep up with all of them! not only have we had a steady flow of old friends, we’re getting new ones from our feature on XTV, produced by Pattaya Channel. they’ve yet to release it on YouTube but when they have, i’ll load it here @nanotrax. check out the gallery to see whose been in and what we’ve been up to. i’ve been busy with multiple projects and admittedly lazy with race reporting but believe me, we’ve had a few and its been fun in small groups. check out our new fan page on Facebook and if you’re looking for the latest parts for dNano and Auto Scale Collection items for Mini Z, stop by our online shop. that’s the short of it for now, i’ll catch ya in a few days when i have more to report. thanks for your continued support!
the McLaren Racing Shell came and went recently… a testament to how rare items for dNano get snatched up quickly by dedicated fans. if there’s anyone who knows about dedicated, its the nanotrax crew and we’ve pushed for important replacement parts (main frame -plastics only with ic tag- set) that you can find now available @ our dnano and mini z online shop. there are also new dnano optional parts on their way into stock + the latest optional parts for Mini Z AWD. currently, we’re weathering the storm of the current economic atmosphere and we expect to be here for years to come, providing a special little something in an infamous city called Pattaya.
on sunday, we held the last race on the disastrous ‘WTF’ layout which i believe drove everyone away from play at the shop. it was difficult and certainly, that word and ‘fun’ just don’t seem to fit together for most people. as a matter of fact, we held only 2 races and ran in only one direction before removing and installing a new one. Hugh was rather direct, frank, honest…. even rude with his vocal melee on the layout but… he was right. it had to go and now, i’m sure he and everyone else will find fun again with ‘Blur’ on F1R. i call it that because the lanes are wide and action will be ridiculously fast. Gary surprised us with a rare visit and Calvin re-joined us on sunday so i suspect we’ll have some interesting racing to say the least during the next 5+ weeks before he leaves us again. i’ll get around to posting the race report over @dnanoclub soon so visit there to check that out and share your thoughts and experiences with dnano and club racing in your area.
in a brutal economy, one has to do what’s necessary to survive. for that reason, you’ll notice our shop hours have changed with our closing 2 days a week to reduce expenses, thereby extending the potential life of nanotrax. as soon as we made this decision, new people start arriving for a visit… weird. like yesterday, i planned to enjoy a free day away from the shop but as soon as i open the front door, a distant visitor from Egypt greeted me with an excited look in his eyes and being someone who loves R/C, this meant i had no choice but to open the shop for him on our ‘closed’ day. Hossam is an airplane pilot and he went out of his way to come from Bangkok on a short break to visit us @ Nanotrax. he walked away with a dream to start something similar in his own country and i wish him luck, success and thanks for visiting with appreciation for what we’ve done here. Joom is also on a mission to assist in our survival by expanding her menu selections which we’re hoping to make available to Pattaya thru Waiter On Wheels, a delivery service in the area. check out the gallery for some her best creations and stop by the shop to enjoy them in person.
so after four months of high speed insanity on ‘Funnel’, it was time to do my thing once again on F1R, our showroom dnano racing circuit. i’m always interested in mini r/c but racing on the same layout can get boring so -if you haven’t noticed- i conduct this ritual every 3-4 months depending on my mood and motivation. normally, i come up with an idea and sketch it on paper but it rarely comes out as envisioned but it normally works out to an interesting challenge and a unique work of functional art. i’m not sure what to call this one, so please give me your suggestions on the thread i’ve opened @ dnanoclub. if you’re in the area, stop by to check it out but i’d say on a dnano circuit difficulty scale of 1 to 10, this ranks a clear 8+ and we’ll all be retuning our cars for the challenge!
it’s one thing to do the build, it’s another to do the report. after respectable sales and consistent interest in the ‘Drift Spec AWD‘ i piloted in our latest YouTube video, i decided i’d take the special, limited edition Kyosho Alice Motors Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X AWD Chassis and build a special ‘Drift’ version i call the Alice Motors Drift Spec 2. it has more bling than the original Drift Spec and it includes a limited edition Champagne Perfex 2.4GhZ KT-18 Transmitter. i took photos of each step in the build and break it all down in the gallery below. for questions or comments, send all e-mail to qon@nanotrax.net
yesterday was the last of week long celebration of the Thai new year… it doesn’t actually last a week, but in a place like Pattaya, the party is always bigger and the final day of Songkran in Pattaya is truly a sight to see and an experience one will never forget nor see anywhere else in the world. it’s one of many things that has endeared me to this country, its culture and its people and after 8 years, i still enjoy to see it even if i don’t actively play. i’ve added many of the interesting sites in a gallery with over 70 images and you can CLICK HERE to view them all. what’s the surprise? at the end of a day where we didn’t plan to open the shop, Pop and his crew showed up and took ‘The Scooby’ for a few rounds on our drift circuit. Pop has extensive experience with R/C and immediately decided to get his own Drift Spec Mini Z AWD with a Nissan Skyline R34 shell. i spent the morning building it and it was ready to run circles around the slick surface inside the lounge. they all had to rush back to Bangkok but i’m happy we were able to help them all leave Pattaya with a smile and i hope they look forward to coming back as much as i look forward to seeing them again.
Darren and Darren from the UK (old members who pop their heads in every few months), Duncan from Australia, and Ben from nowhere stopped by for chatting, drinks and some of Joom’s marvelous cooking. Ben found us on Pattaya Addicts and decided it was the perfect hobby for him so we’re excited to welcome our 3rd new member of the year in what could be considered a bit of a slow season for nanotrax. in my last post i was complaining about the lack of traffic, now its like things have flipped and we’re running around like headless chickens trying to care of all the customers! its a good problem and i hope it continues… not to mention, we had a great time watching the most recent F1 Grand Prix and i hope we continue to get more fans in for the broadcast during the season.
there’s not much news for dnano fans outside of a few updated parts & releases from X-Power, the most interesting to speak of is the arrival of the McLaren Type Shell with green and white being the first of five colors available for shipping last week. the shop has been quiet with many of our members going back to their home countries and some disappearing into the clutches of romance or whatever life brings their way. drift has received positive feedback but still only a few owners in our midst and sales are lagging. i suppose this is a great time to take a break, enjoy a holiday and try not to let the troubles of the world and economics increase my stress just in time for Songkran (Thai New Year). the shop will be open normal hours but most places of business will be closed for several days and venturing outside means getting soaked. i’m expecting another exclusive item to arrive before the end of the month, expect to get the word @ dnanoclub first! if you’re looking for bodies, optional & replacement parts or accessories for your dnano and/or mini z, visit our online shop and if you need advice, e-mail qon@nanotrax.net or check out our youtube channel.
in the video, you’ll see a driver piloting a ‘Drift Spec AWD‘ on the 2nd Floor Drift Lounge Circuit @ Nanotrax. stop by to have a go or grab a Mini Z to swing into drift at home. i had to quickly put this together but i’m looking forward to releasing another very soon. want to make comments? register and post @ dnanoclub.com – see ya there!
2 weeks ago i decided to convert F2L, our 2nd floor lounge circuit. after 3 days of our interior designer’s sanding, smoothing, polishing and painting it is now the home of Mini Z DRIFT and its slowly attracting attention from existing customers and even i’m catching a buzz on it. obviously i must have a thing for the Nissan as i’ve chosen the Fairlady Z Z33 for my Mini Z AWD-DWS 2.4GhZ. i’m running optional parts from Atomic & PN Racing to improve handling and the chassis’ ability to drift. currently these items are only available to local visitors, i’m hoping this will interest a wider range of R/C lovers and improve local traffic as its been a bit slow in the shop lately. Joom and I were contemplating closing the shop for a break on Sundays but that didn’t turn out well, so our club races and F1 broadcasts will go on as usual starting @ 5pm. stay tuned for a new video to be released on our Youtube Channel, that should give you a nice visual of RC Drift @ Nanotrax.
our forum has been quiet as well and based on discussions from around the net, i felt it might be good to sponsor a dnano fan forum independent of the nanotrax shop, so we’re directing all interested dnano fans to join and contribute to the growth of the revolution @ dnano club. at our shop, a few new items are now available and we’re running a few promotions you might be interested in. i expect an interesting club race this weekend with guests and members coming back all at once. if so, expect a big race report and pics over @ dnano club. holla later!
