FAQs
What is the car made from?
The Acorn Mini is made from 100% natural hard maple sourced from within North America.
What do I get with the kit?
In the kit you'll get:
10 laser-cut sheets of wooden parts
High quality stainless steel socket-cap fasteners for all bolted joins within the car (including all hex drivers and other tools needed for assembly)
Numerous other hardware for assembly including ball bearings, differential & drivetrain components, springs, tires, etc.
Access to a highly detailed assembly manual that will help guide you through every step of the way.
What tools do I need to put together the kit?
The kit comes with most everything you'll need (hex drivers, fasteners, etc), however at a minimum, you'll want to make sure you have some wood glue and some small clamps on hand. We also recommend sandpaper (200 grit), a mini file set, and a hobby knife to make life easier.
How long does the kit take to put together?
With any project, it depends on the effort and comfort level of the individual that’s working on it. If you're a beginner, this kit may not be for you - however if you have the patience and feel comfortable working with your hands you'll be rewarded with a beautiful RC car that you can be proud of.
On average, you can expect to spend about 10-15 hours to complete the kit.
Does the kit come with a battery or radio control?
No. Some folks don't want to drive the car, but rather put it on display. So instead of selling a kit that comes packaged with more stuff, we leave it up to you to determine what to do.
That being said, the kit is ready to be outfitted with a battery and radio, which many RC enthusiasts already have. If you need any guidance in selecting a battery or radio, we'd be happy to help.
Do you offer cutout files?
Although we would love to offer cutout files online, the kit comes packaged with a lot more than just wood; including lots of fasteners, nuts, springs, wheel and drivetrain bearings, custom machined components and driveshafts, four tires, and a carefully selected brushless motor and steering servo. Apart from the wood - the kit comes with over 300 additional components.
As you could imagine, sourcing these parts alone would not only be cost prohibitive, but also introduce variation and uncertainty with each build - causing big problems.
On top of that, The kit doesn’t use cheap plywood - but rather thinly cut lumber which is then planed to a smooth surface. If we just offered the cutout files, there would be no way of making sure the wood you select is strong enough, properly oriented for grain direction, or dimensionally stable enough for assembly.
We’ve spent countless hours working with suppliers to make sure the wood we select for the car is of the highest quality and meets our stringent standards for thickness and dimensional quality - which is integral to vehicle performance.
Because of the complexity of the kit, we have no way of guaranteeing a successful outcome unless we make sure these aspects are maintained to the highest quality - which is what you’ll get with our kit.
How durable is the car?
Given that it's made from wood, the car is actually quite robust. We’ve designed in a bumper and other measures to help protect the vehicle from most low to moderate speed collisions. We recommend checking out the videos of the car to get a better sense of it’s capabilities.
Is there a warranty, and if I do crash, can I get replacement parts?
Yes! We recognize that the car is made from wood which just isn't as resilient as our modern engineering plastics. Accidents happen - and we're here to help. Our warranty includes free replacement of parts for 6 months after purchase.