Hi Bob; That was certainly the concept behind the NASG logo and slogan. Certainly it makes no sense to hit an interested modeler over the head with the variations and differences in the first few minutes of discussion.
The devil remains in the details; if all the advertising copy shows big wheels and Flyer compatible couplers, will people see beyond that to the detailed scale models that SHS, AM and Des Plaines produce, or will they see toys? If the pictures or samples all have scale wheels and couplers, what happens when the person sees a new, in-the-box model and it comes RTR Hi-rail with "extra" scale wheels (and you need to buy the scale couplers at extra cost). If you go back 20+ years, HO had the European made models with big flanges, and everything had horn hook couplers that more serious modelers replaced with after market Kadees so things were a bit more equal. HO has moved away from all that, so there is no similar learning curve. Pieter E. Roos --- On Mon, 4/25/11, Bob Werre <[email protected]> wrote: > I received the latest issue of the > NMRA Bulletin on Friday, so I spent a > few minutes of downtime over the weekend reading what I > could. The NASG > placed a medium sized announcement regarding our part in > the > convention. An hour after laying it aside, I came > across an epiphany of > sorts. On the right hand side of the ad is our logo > with the couplers > containing the word United. On the left side of the > ad are the typical > words---American Flyer, Hi-Rail, Scale and Narrow > Gauge. So what we've > done is say we United and then one inch away we're saying > we're divided > into four segments. > > I've expressed my opinion before regarding the AF vs > Hi-Rail thing---AF > is simply hi-rail with a brand name attached. So is > American Models, > DesPlains and SHS. They are all Hi-Rail until the > time comes to change > them--just like many of us have done with AF to varying > degrees. I > think If I were Ron B or Don T, I would demand a individual > line of > copy--after all both companies have product lines as > extensive as AF > except for the operating accessories. See how > ridiculous that it! > > But putting that aside--why not just S Scale-United! > Use the NASG as a > reference to find more information. That can happen > on line or at > shows. If someone wants to ask questions of Monte or > any of us about AF > or some old Super Scale boxcars--great. If he wants > to bring up the new > Hybrid K-27 great. If we need to answer questions of > AC, DCC or DC > fine--just don't bring all these divisions up in our > advertising! If I > was taking a train ride from Chicago to San Francisco on > the City of San > Francisco I would actually have ridden on three railroads > but the train > was continuous and the ticket was continuous--despite > different crews, > switching cars, different classes of passengers, there > weren't any > apparent dividing lines--it doesn't help us to have them > either! > > Bob Werre > PhotoTraxx.com ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
