Enduro - Toy Cars Built for Tough Drivers |100% Sustainable

Manufacturing Update #8
almost 7 years ago – Fri, Dec 22, 2017 at 12:00:42 AM

Hello backers, and happy holidays!

We hope you, and those close to you are in good health and great spirits this season. We apologize for the long gap on updates... 

We are at the time in production where we are simply waiting for the tools to be completed. Which unfortunately means we don't have much to show... as we don't have our first articles yet... I have been pushing our factory for a production schedule, and they are telling me the first shots on the Aluminum parts will be complete January 15th. This isn't as fast as we had planned, but there isn't anything we can do but wait. Creating the tools properly is not something that should be rushed, as it will account for a large part of the quality of the toys. 

 

All other parts will be ready before then, so if everything works well straight off the tool, then production will happen directly after. If the first shots have problems, we will have to modify tools before production, which could take a couple of weeks depending on the problems. 

 

We have prototyped these toys multiple times, so I expect good things off the tool. We are at the mercy of the manufacturer at this point, but I truly believe we are at the end of the development. All of the variables are gone except how the first shots work. Please send good thoughts towards their team, as they really are working hard to get things right :) 

For all of those backers who are worried that they missed the survey, we have not sent it yet. We want to make sure to send it at the right time so that people's addresses don't change before shipment. 

Thank you all for your great patience, and awesome support - we really appreciate it. Enduro will be in your hands before you know it, and the wait will have been worth it. Enjoy any time spent with your loved ones this season, they are the best gift of all!

With much gratitude, 

ThoughtFull Toys

 

Manufacturing Update #7
about 7 years ago – Wed, Nov 01, 2017 at 10:23:36 PM

Hello Enduro Supporters,  

Trevor H. here, head of operations at ThoughtFull Toys. I have just returned from Asia where I visited all of the factories. While I was there, I reviewed the entire project with mixed news. 

Overall, production is looking very good – but we have several production interferences that will need to be addressed quickly. 

The Enduro racer has two issues. One is the leather for the racer’s seat, and the other is the fitting of the rubber at the tailpipe of the racer. The first runs did not fit correctly and are being re-worked. Leather came in too thick which caused the seat to not “seat” right :)

The tools are complete to cut the leather, but now we need to find a better supplier of leather scraps that will provide a more consistent thickness. We do not expect this to slow down production, as the leather production takes just a week or so to complete.

On the Truck chassis we are also interfering with the major rubber section surrounding the truck. These are being fixed, but they require tool modifications. 

We are also increasing the thickness of the plastic on the truck due to the decrease in strength from being changed to regrind. We have to find a balance between being completely green, and using additives to make it nearly unbreakable. 

If we use too much regrind, the plastic becomes brittle and is prone to cracking in stress tests. Our primary focus is on making the plastic tough – because we believe that the most sustainable toy is the one that lasts the longest and gets the most play. But we also need to stick to our mission of making the truck responsibly. Our plastic engineers are currently figuring out this challenge. 

The production of the aluminum bodies is going well, but has slowed due to the above interferences. We are waiting on a new fit and function sample due tomorrow to finish the Aluminum tooling. Rubber Tooling should be complete November 19th, and overall production should be complete by the end of November. 

First articles of wood have already been sent to the factory for fit. Colors have been improved (both the blackout and the standard), but we increased the thickness of the wood for strength, which required an additional change to the Aluminum tooling to make space for this change. Production on the wood will be complete by November 25th. Here are the production samples of the wood: 

 All of our rubber, leather and wood will be exported from China to Vietnam for assembly. 

The good news is that all of the components are in tooling production… meaning that all of the tools are being created and modified to get an exact fit. The bad news is that our first versions need to be re-worked and some of our materials need to be modified to pass testing and fitting. 

I expect to be in Asia in early December to see first complete production samples. Production happens quickly after that, but unfortunately it looks like it will miss Christmas. It is still possible some of you will receive your cars before Christmas if you are in Asia, but it looks like January for everyone else. The cars will travel for about 4 weeks on the water to get to Europe and the U.S., then they have to be shipped to your homes. 

With Modarri, we were able to ship everything out in a matter of 1 week except for the items where we had incorrect survey information. We plan to send out surveys in December or January. When you fill out your survey, please make sure all of your information is current and correct. You can always go back and change it within Backerkit if something is wrong. 

While Enduro production is rolling, we are also working on Displays and Packaging for retail. These toys have such a nice weight, and quality feel to them that we want people to be able to touch them, meaning that they will have very little packaging (we also want to reduce waste). Here is a retail display concept that is currently being prototyped: 

We know that this update may be a disappointment to some of you who thought you might be able to give Enduro as a gift for the holidays. Trust us when we say that this is a disappointment for us too – we were crossing our fingers for our first production run to turn out great, but that just wasn’t the case. 

We were pushing our production teams to get everything done as quickly as possible, while meeting our standards. When production is moving this quickly, small problems can arise that need to be fixed right away before causing additional problems down the line of production. It is kind of like going pedal to the metal, full throttle, and you hear a clanking sound under the hood – you need to fix that asap or else you won’t be going much farther in the race. 

We will be updating you as samples come in from our modified tools. 

Thank you for your patience, and have a great day! 

Sincerely, 

Trevor Hite

Manufacturing Update #6
about 7 years ago – Sat, Sep 09, 2017 at 12:48:38 AM

Enduro has been an incredibly difficult project to source and manufacture. We as a company feel terrible that it has taken so long to get this right. We have been in the final stages of closing deals to manufacture the product 3 times, and each time there was a catch that would have compromised the product, so 3 times we have pulled back. 

The good news is that we have finally solidified and closed a deal. We have completely sourced Enduro, and it will be built as advertised, but obviously shipped at a later date than anticipated.

The delivery still looks to be before the end of the year, which we understand is unacceptable - but we are finally at a point where all of the balls will be rolling, instead of just a few. We really want to get these toys shipped before the holidays.

 

Final Material Details:

• The bodies of both vehicles will be made from aluminum. They will be beautiful and tough.

• Wheel hubs and mechanisms will be diecast Zamac, some of it will be plated. The prototypes used some bronze, but for multiple reasons, this does not work. 
• The bumpers and tires will be Natural Rubber. This is a very resilient material with excellent resistance to: compression, water, abrasion, acid, alcohols, alkali's, and maintains great performance over time.
• The seat of the racer will be leather, made from remnants/scaps from other leather products.

• The bed of the truck will be beechwood. This decision was made with the help of our knowledgeable Kickstarter backers; after they informed us of the splintering issues with bamboo when wet, and showed much support for the durability of the beechwood material. Beechwood is super tough and dense with great resistance to: chipping, gouging, impact, UV damage, and moisture.

• All of our plastic will be Industrial Regrind ABS. Factories waste a lot of plastic when injection molding parts, and they can only put small percentages back in the product, so the rest goes to waste. We’ll be taking a different route. These plastic pieces will be strong enough to hold up to years of punishment, and made in a sustainable way. 

Our main goal in creating Enduro was to make an heirloom quality set of toy cars, where generations of kids could play with the same toys. It had to be tough, beautiful, and fun. Our second goal was to do it in a sustainable way. 

We are finally confident that we have all of the pieces in place to accomplish these goals, and now all systems are go. This project will begin to move at a quicker pace, and we will be able to show you more exciting stuff on a more consistent basis.

We’ll keep you informed on project progress and send pictures as we receive samples off of the tools. The first parts should come off the tools in mid-October. We will then have to trouble shoot the first shots, make tool changes, and go to production. Actual ship dates will depend on the success of the first shots. 

Again, we apologize for the slow pace of the project thus far, and we sincerely thank you for your patience. We know that it can be frustrating to pay for something and not receive it in the expected time. 

The simple truth is that we would be doing a disservice to you and ourselves if we didn’t source the right materials, find the right partners, and put the right systems in place to build Enduro. This is a special product, and it needs to be made right. 

 

Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got an awesome toy to build. We'll talk to you soon. 

-The ThoughtFull Toys Team

Enduro – Manufacturing Update #5
over 7 years ago – Thu, Aug 17, 2017 at 10:23:20 PM

Hey Backers! Like always, we'd like to thank you for your patience and support as we get our materials finalized – and this time around, we'd like to thank you for participating, too! We got your feedback about the wood and we heard your concerns and comments about our three different options, so without further ado, here is an update about our materials! 

In our last update, we took a poll to figure out what type of wood our backers preferred, with 265 votes for Bamboo, 95 for Beechwood, and 63 for Basswood. 

Bamboo had earned some initial praise for its appearance and renewability, but we quickly learned that our backers know a great deal about wood – and they informed us that bamboo is subject to fraying and splintering after repeatedly getting wet and drying out. This could be problematic when it comes to ensuring durability and safety, Enduro should be able to handle almost any weather, and never put kids at risk.    

We've heard you loud and clear. We'll be building the Enduro truck with Beechwood! We are incredibly thankful for your communication and great information – you saved us a lot of time! 

As for the other materials we're planning on using, we've doubled down on our commitment to natural rubber. Although natural rubber can become harder with age, this will have less of an effect on repeat play and durability, and the product will continue to function great. What's more, natural rubber is exactly that – natural. We're aiming to make a durable and green toy, and by opting for natural rubber we'll get both.  

Thanks again for your willingness to take part in the wood selection process! We're excited that our backers are becoming a part of the process, and we aim to include you any time we have an important decision to make.  

We know that we keep saying that we will have an estimated ship date for you soon, and we will – there are just a few more pieces that need to be figured out before we can give an accurate estimate.  

For now, we are expecting to ship before the end of the year, and we should know how early soon. The latest would be December, but we believe we can ship earlier. We will have a better answer for you soon enough. 

It is a long journey, but we promise it will be worth it. Great things take time to build :) We'll have another update with some good information for you soon!

Enduro – Manufacturing Update #4 - Wood Samples
over 7 years ago – Mon, Jul 31, 2017 at 11:20:50 PM

Hey Backers! 

As always, we appreciate your patience as we make progress towards getting Enduro into your hands. In the meantime, we've got some good news about our materials!  

We just received wood samples for the Enduro sideboards and truck beds. There are three types for us to choose from, now: bamboo, beech, and basswood. The Bamboo and beechwood both look great, and are pretty darn durable. Our basswood sample is a plywood, and is the most durable of the three. Each type of wood is 100% sustainably made, so the main issue at hand is deciding which looks best and which will last the longest - and then finding a balance that suits our mission.

What you are seeing are the Enduro Truck's side panels and bed. Keep in mind that you won't see the dark edges (cut by a laser) when they are built into the truck.

We would love your opinion on which wood you'd like to see on the final Enduro truck! Please take this very short survey to vote! We'll post the results in our next update!

Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NVWXSVH

We value our backers, and want to deliver on our promise to build a high-quality, long-lasting toy vehicle. It can feel sluggish sometimes, but we're making definite steps towards our final goal. Getting these material samples in our hands is the best way to ensure Enduro has the exacting levels of quality we're aiming to bring to our backers. We'll keep all of you posted as more material samples come in, and you'll all be the first to know once the materials are finalized and we start tooling! 

As usual, thanks for your support and patience!

-The ThoughtFull Toys Team