What happened to the Killer Bees?
So I see a lot of disinformation online regarding the availability of Killer Bees.
I'll set the record straight here. Of course, the same people that never believe a word I say, will still call me a liar...
For those of you who have been awake for the past year, you might know that there is a trade war going on. The trade war as far as US-China is concerned, has called into question China's dominance in Rare Earth materials, as well as their overwhelming dominance in magnet manufacturing.
It's no secret that my parts are sourced from at least 6 different factories, all in the 'Pacific Rim', including China.
These parts are then shipped to me and assembled here, by hand, into the various Dash chassis that Dash makes. Again, some of the same idiots still claim to this day that I get completely assembled chassis from China. Not even close to the truth.
When I first started making parts, I tried to get domestic sources. Either my orders were too small, or the price was too high, or the US company had a subsidiary in China that made the parts for them, which kinda defeated the purpose of trying to get parts made in the US.
So like many other companies in our hobby (like AFX/Racemasters, Auto World and others), my parts come from overseas.
I have been making magnets for about 15 years.
The latest magnets, which are the Killer Bees, have been in production for over 6 years.
I have ordered these without any problems all this while, until this year.
In Nov 2024, we elected a person who said he was going to raise tariffs. I believed him, because we've seen this movie before.
So in trying to get ahead of the impending tariff situation as well as the elimination of the $800 De Minimis exemption, I ordered armatures and magnets that I thought would get me 'through any rough patch' as far as tariffs, giving me ample parts well into 2025, and then I'd reorder.
Boy, was I wrong.
April 2025 hit and with it was the 'Reciprocal Tariffs', plus nearly daily sabre rattling and threats of 125% tariffs on anything from China.
It's really difficult to plan parts procurement when the goalposts keep moving and you don't know from day to day what your tariff will be.
As a result of the trade friction between the US and China, was China threatening to withhold access to Rare Earth elements and magnets.
Killer Bees are ceramic magnets. They are made from Ferrite. There aren't any Rare Earth elements in them, but they still fell into the realm of 'restricted' products from China. (And if what a US magnet producer told me is true, ferrite are nearly exclusively made 'in China'. So getting a US source is out of the question.)
It is now incredibly more difficult and expensive to get magnets out of China.
Each shipment of magnets needs an export license and in the case of Neos or Samarium Cobalt, they require a more expensive stringent license due to the Rare Earth content.
That export license is also an additional expense, one I never had to deal with before. And each shipment can be subject to delays caused by a lengthy inspection and verification process.
I have a shipment right now that is waiting for customs clearance in China with no indication of when they will clear.
I have Killer Bees. I never said I didn't. I'm not the one who said they were 'discontinued', I believe people saw that on the Lucky Bob site. I asked Bob to change that to 'Out of Stock'.
But the magnets I have (and 16 ohm arms) are all needed for chassis production. That's my main business.
Until magnets get easier and faster to import, it'll probably by like this. That might take a change in administration, and by the next election I'll be in my 70's and not making pancake chassis and parts anymore.
I'm not 'holding the hobby hostage' as some misinformed folks have claimed, I'm not 'playing games' with access to these. Are the parts 'commercially available'? Yes, just not individually. If anyone has an issue with that, take it up with Fray. I spoke to RP today, he understood what was happening.
Then there are the people that claim 'all Dash parts should be illegal until magnets are available'... Lol... Whatever...
As soon as I'm able to get more without crimping chassis production, I'll make them available.
I don't know whan that will be.
(added 2/7)
The funny thing is, these magnets haven't been in my store since the beginning of August and people are just now complaining about this?
Also, assuming that other companies compression molded magnets are also made 'in China' (like my comp molded mags are), it seems to be a matter of time before these other suppliers may need to reorder and might have some of the same issues that I'm having with getting lowly ceramic magnets, especially if the Comp Molded mags contain any rare earth elements.
So 'switching' may not solve any problems...
Now with that being said, there are US suppliers of Comp Molded magnets, but the price increases substantially. At least from the quote that I received.