Overall, Rlaarlo is a great RC company, producing extremely high-quality RCs...although, as pointed out by others, their electronics (actually, only SOME of the electronics) can be iffy. The ECSs are not very good, and the servos are only somewhat better...but, their motors are very good, and have even been used to hit (and break) some speed records. As for the plastics, they are at least as good, if not better than, most other companies. Their carbon-reinforced plastics have proven themselves to be far better than carbon-reinforced plastics by almost any other company. Their 7075 & CNC machined parts are top-notch (although, it should be mentioned that, for vehicles using a 48p center diff, the optional center diff spur labeled '32p' is actually 'Mod 0.8'). As for the other aluminum parts, if the part isn't specifically labeled "7075", it is probably 6061, and not machined (the shock bodies are an exception, as those are machined).
That said, there were two major problems, both of which Rlaarlo has worked hard to correct. First, when the AK-917 (their first in-house designed & manufactured RC, as all others preceding the AK-917, plus a few vehicles released after the AK-917, are just 'rebranded' RCs from a 3rd-party OEM) was released, they did have an initial quality-control problem with their hardened steel parts - they were using higher temps, for shorter periods of time. While this did make their hardened steel parts harder than hardened steel parts from other companies, it also made them more brittle. I understand why they were doing this...they were trying to increase the production rate. Several people (myself, included) helped them to realize the problem this was causing, to which they adjusted the process - slightly lower temp, for longer time. In the end, their hardened steel parts were matching those from other companies in hardness, while removing the 'brittleness' problem. The second problem had to do with customer service/support. Initially, both were quite bad. A lot of people complained about this...although, at the same time, I'm sure the same could be said about any new company. Heck, I'd be willing to bet that, when Traxxas, Horizon Hobby, and even Tamiya, were all new companies, not even their customer service/support was very good, as it takes time to improve to the levels those companies are at now. Anyway, over the past three years, they've added more people to that department (as for "how many more", I have not the slightest clue, as I have no direct connection to Rlaarlo...I'm just another RC user), and customer service/support has improved by a great amount. Of course, as with any company, there's always room for further improvement...but, if I were to take a wild guess, by the time they've been around for 10 years, I'd almost be willing to bet that the quality of their customer service/support will be at least as good as those other companies when they were 10 years-old.
I don't know about all the aluminum parts being called an upgrade though. I can't believe they think the following is a good idea.
"
From the Standard Version to the PRO Version —just one upgrade away.
A complete set of Aluminum Alloy, Carbon Fiber, and Titanium Alloy upgrades—every single screw is upgraded
Go find your Dragon Scale Knight—discover the one-of-a-kind Dragon Scale Knight that’s uniquely yours."
Every "upgrade part"... super sexy to look at, but... oh my.
I was super shocked to see all the aluminum extremities.
Regarding the aluminum "upgrades", in all honesty, several companies, including the "big brands" (for example, Traxxas) are 'guilty' of this. There will always be those who are gullible, uninformed, or just want to build a "shelf queen", who will purchase unneeded aluminum parts, such as suspension arms. Those of us who know better will purchase only those aluminum parts that are truly needed, and will avoid the "shiny bling".
