Hey guys, gals...
I wanted to take a quick moment to throw out some advertising for a company called Ridemakerz.
But I have to share a quick story first:
In early September my wife and I went to the Mall of America in Minneapolis. I had feared that there wouldn't be much for me to enjoy at the mall (what with 21 different SHOE stores, 17+ different women's clothing stores, etc.) I scanned the website for the mall and found Ridemakerz. When I finally arrived at the Mall, I quickly learned that Ridemakerz had gone out of business. I was rather furious, having been really excited to visit the store, so I sent a "nastygram" to their customer service email address, accessed from their website. Within a few days I received a reply, and an offer to send me a $75 gift card to use at a different Ridemakerz store OR on the internet. Suffice to say I was shocked. I agreed to the offer, built two "ridez," and was quite pleased. I made them aware of this, and told them that I would refer their company to some "car buddies" of my own.
We all know what "Build a Bear" is - a store where kids can go and build stuffed teddy bears (or a small variety of other animals) and dress them up, make them unique.
Ridemakerz is essentially "Build a Car." You start by choosing a "Ride" from a variety of licensed and non-licensed bodies, all of which come in at least 3 different colors. Then you decide whether you want the vehicle to be a "Street" chassis or an "Off Road" chassis. Then you pick if you want it to be remote control or not.
From there, you pick things such as sound effects, wheels, tires, and a slew of aftermarket accessories such as side "pipez," tailpipez, enginez, wingz, hood scoopz, etc. (Notize the 'Z' theme going on here? Their president refers to himself as the "Z-E-O.")
My Review:
I have now have two Ridez - a matte black Viper GTS coupe (Gen IV) and a non-licensed, gloss black "RZ Force" which I converted into a tow truck, complete with working yellow service lights. I have a picture on my cell phone - I'll try to upload them tonight.
The products are indeed made in China, but do have a quality appearance to them. The fit and finish of the cars are very nice, and designed in such a way that each part can look like it belongs with any car. I'm sure that the chrome pieces will lose their chrome coating after prolonged use (as all chromed plastic toys do) but none of it seems "cheap." My Viper is remote control, which unfortunately is not a very high-tech RC device. It offers "9 function," (all turns, forward/reverse/stop) but doesn't have features such as "turbo," or digital proportion steering. It's also only a $25 upgrade to a basic "ride." Rides can run as cheap as $15 for a non-remote, ready-to-roll kit. They can also easily exceed $100 with multiple accessories, remote, extra sound effects, underbody lighting, etc. Lastly, "vinylz" (basically stickers) are available to add that final touch. They estimate that there are over a milllion different possible combinations available, NOT including sticker placement.
The BEST part of ridemakerz is that YOU build the car of your imagination. I built the Viper in a store in Baltimore, MD. I ordered the Truck online. Whereas the store experience was fun, building at home was equally rewarding. Your order arrives in pieces. You assemble the chassis to the vehicle, install the rims and tires, and add your accessories. They provide a special tool to attach the chassis to the body. In the stores, a mini "pit road" is set up, complete with overhead "air" tools.
For anyone with kids who have already been infected with the "auto itch," I strongly recommend Ridemakerz!
Find stores, info, and the online store at
www.Ridemakerz.comHappy Holidays!
Jeff
Topic: A GREAT Toy for Kids!!! Affiliated with Chip Foose!!! (Read 5141 times)
