Hello Michael. I'm afraid I don't understand your comment abut "SHS having a noose round the neck of every manufacturer." SHS is a fine company, true, but so are American Models and S Scale America. These three companies represent the three largest manufacuters of locomotives/rolling stock in S scale. Companies like BTS and Smoky Mountain Models are even smaller.
The "noose" is the Chinese builder AM, SHS and SSA used that essentially booted these companies out and still has some tooling held hostage. There is no "Big Name" manufacturer in S with resources to spread around as in the other scales. OK, Lionel's making some noises about catering to the S scale market, but the jury hasn't even been empaneled yet on that. Given the size of AM, SHS and SSA, every product they introduce is a HUGE financial risk on their part. It makes sense that they would want to produce what is best likely to sell to the current customer base. And given they now all have to expend resources setting up with new builders, it makes regular production that much harder, let alone new product introduction. We won't even begin to discuss how hard it is to get S Scale into a hobbys shop, even when times are good. If you begin to research the history of S Scale, you will discover it has always been a hard sell. There have been many discussions here and elsewhere on how to encourage modelers to change scales. Nobody's dicovered the silver bullet yet... Rich G(ajnak) --- In [email protected], "Michael" <wsmwrr@...> wrote: > > I never thought that asking a simple question would spark such an array of > answers. The majority of which had nothing to do with what I asked. Now > just because I'm new to S Scale, doesn't mean I'm new to the way this hobby > works. Maybe I should have introduced myself first, before asking such an > outlandishly foolish question. > > My name is Michael Ostertag and I am a locomotive engineer for the Canadian > National in Green Bay, WI. I have been working for the railroad since 1992, > first as a brakeman for the Green Bay and Western. Then in 1993, with the > Wisconsin Central as a Conductor. In 1996 I took an engineers promotion. In > 2001 the CN purchased the WC and the rest is history as they say. I have run > almost every conceivable type of locomotive that has had a pulse at the time. > SDL39's? All nine remaining ones until they were retired (587 being my > favorite) everything from FP7's to SD70ACE's! SD9043's, been there they > suck! > > My point is that I know my way around a locomotive. Not only in real life, > but in the modeling world as well. I have been in the hobby for over 30 > years. I am far from an expert, but I am well into the advanced category. > So it really is disheartening to hear some of the answers that I have read. > Between reading the answers to my question and reading the entire thread from > BTS's "modern go away" thing, it's no wonder this scale has been stagnant. > You guys can't get out of your own way! S Scale is the PERFECT SIZE! It > could be so much more than what it is now. However, apparently, SHS has a > noose round the neck of every manufacturer. Really! I am really beginning > to think that you guys don't want the scale to advance. This is ridiculous! > > Ok so let me get this straight also. If you don't model narrow gauge, or > steam or something prior to the transition era, S Scale is not for you! > Right! Is that what I'm hearing! That is absolute and udder BS! You want > to know the truth! Take a closer look at a train the next time you see one. > Look at it really close! Those engine's aren't all the same. The are > different, in a lot of way's. Just because they don't have external drivers > and a boiler doesn't mean they aren't alive! > > The same holds true in this scale! Des Plaines is trying to get the scale to > advance. You have to remember something folks, the future of any scale in > this hobby is the kids that aren't yet into the hobby. Anyone here tell me > right now why a kid would want to get into S Scale? Anyone? Anyone? That's > what I thought. Unless the more modern things that kids today are seeing, > are available to them, they aren't going to be interested in the scale at > all. That's why HO is kicking everyone's ass! Where is the scale going to > go once all the guys and gals that are 60+ pass away? It will die! Does > anyone here want that to happen? > > All I wanted to know is if there was an interest in a product like that. > Apparently it is starting to look like I've made a bad decision with wanting > to switch to S Scale. The way I see it, right now this was a bad, bad > decision! Bad attitudes from manufacturers and from others in the scale? > Wow! No wonder it's going nowhere. It's a shame too, I thought it was a lot > tighter nit community than this. Instead all I'm hearing is a bunch of > whining and finger pointing. Modern models are the future of this hobby > guys! If it is going to advance, that is the way it has to go! > > Michael Ostertag > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! 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