Obviously, we need to talk more about modeling, but spending a few
minutes dreaming/discussing and even arguing seems to also be part of
the hobby, and especially part of our scale. Heck we could start a
protest at the next NMRA train show demanding equality for S scalers (in
this case we are the 1%er's). Actually that would be kinda fun!
But on a more serious note, really nobody on this list or off really
knows what the other 99% think of our scale for the most part.
Obviously some think we're just old AF guys, others think we're stuck in
the early diesel era, while others just think we don't and probably
won't spend any money! My guess many of us fit that to a T!
I mentioned before that it would have been nice if we could have a
couple of sweet looking girls (or even Ed or Bill) asking questions and
taking answers at the door at the NMRA or any other train show. A quick
survey with those answers are what most companies use to determine what
the needs are...I-pad or whatever! Perfect example was when I was
working for a mid-level home builder. At the time all the builders were
featuring their large bathrooms with the fancy multi person showers and
extra large tubs. So one morning I'm photographing a young couple in
the tube being a little on the 'spicy' side. That same afternoon, the
advertising agency did a marketing survey and one of the major things
people didn't like seeing was couples putting on a "show" in the
bathrooms or bedrooms! So the client listened and all the work we did
was shelved. Bottom line is finding out what your existing clients need
and what it takes to gather future clients. Face it, the new guy
selling is HO on eBay and starting a new S layout is going to boost the
financial results more than old guys like Bill Fraley and myself!
Bob Werre
PhotoTraxx
> >"Bill Lane" wrote:
>
> > Which comes first - the products or the people?
>
> I would suggest it works both ways. Were folks crying for an I-pad? Do
> they crave one now? In this instance, the product came first then the
> buyers flocked to it. How about On30 (O scale rolling stock on HO track)?
> Was anyone asking for that? But now everyone wants it around their tree.
> It is another example where the product came first and the market
> developed
> afterwards. How about Tsunami sound decoders? Or DCC itself? I was not
> aware of a huge cry for any of those items, but there sure is a market
> these
> days for those products.
>
> On the other hand, there have been numerous requests for full-scale-length
> Budd cars, operating speeders, wide radius S snap track, accurate-sized
> realistic couplers, etc. none of which have come to fruition -- yet.
> Market
> seems to be there, but the manufacturer's courage is not. So I would
> propose it works both ways.
>
> > On one side you have to somehow find the interested people in
>
> > the thousands more than there are currently.
>
> Thousands more??? Really? Brass locos are imported in quantities of less
> than 100. Resin kits are made in quantities of less than 100. Granted,
> RTR from China does require a lot more volume, but that is not the
> only way
> to get things done. The infamous "S"acto convention will deliver
> (eventually next summer) two brand new never-before-made S scale cars
> - both
> RTR and kits - with a lot less than thousands of customers. Interested
> people sure help. Thousands are nice. A couple of hundred can accomplish
> most anything if they set their minds to it.
>
> > On the other side you have to find companies currently not making S jump
> in waving their checkbook for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
>
> Hundreds of thousands?? Really? How much would it cost Lionel to offer a
> U33 diesel with scale wheels without any fancy electronics? Nowhere near
> hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now here is an opportunity for NASG to
> really get the ball rolling with a DC and/or DCC scale version of this
> loco
> as their annual AF project. Or, some entrepreneur could buy some undec
> plastic bodies from Lionel and make a power drive and sell kits for this
> loco - if Lionel cooperated. Have you seen the new Lionel AF snap track?
> Looks like a good idea stolen/copied from SHS. Investment would be nowhere
> near hundreds of thousands of dollars. Start with small projects and
> slowly
> work up to larger projects.
>
> > Again - nothing short of a miracle.
>
> Miracles do happen. SHS was a miracle. AM was an earlier miracle. Not to
> mention RRM, SouthWind, Des Plaines, etc. Each of these was a minor
> miracle
> in their own right. I agree it would be nice to have one big giant miracle
> instead of many small miracles, but we cannot have everything.
>
> > the only way anything big in S happens is because it was done by an S
> Scaler.
>
> Jettie Padgett was not an S scale guy. Jim King is no longer an S scale
> guy. Tom Marsh (Overland Models) was not an S scale guy. Nor Sunset Models
> (Mort Mann) or ALCO Models. Bill Wade (BTS) has done it in every scale
> imaginable. Even AM's Ron Bashista was a hi-railer when he started AM.
> The man at Lionel making less-than-perfect so-called scale U33's is
> probably
> not an S scale guy. I doubt the man making FAST TRACKS turnout fixtures is
> an S guy. But you do make a good point that S scale guys themselves have
> made many contributions to the scale. But there are many products on our
> layout from non-S producers.
>
> > There has never been the margins of a real for profit business solely
> making S Scale.
>
> Yep, that is true as far as I know. Which is why most products are not
> carried in your local hobby shop. SHS really made it big time with
> Walther's as a distributor. That was neat!
>
> > Years ago Microscale was blindly churning out decals and
>
> > schemes for rolling stock that did not even exist in S. They ate it
> **big
>
> > time**.
>
> Yes, and I think we all questioned the wisdom of the concept that models
> will follow decals. Interesting piece of history for sure. One nice thing
> Microscale did was to provide thousands of free decals to 3/16 "S"cale
> Railroading magazine for an article on Lehigh Valley diesels by Don
> DeWitt.
> Even that was nuts, but we took them up on their offer. Of course the
> entire magazine was nuts too, but I won't talk about that right now.
>
> > So how are you or anyone else going to convince BLI, MTH, Atlas, or
>
> > Bachmann to jump into the S pool - again given the current state of the
>
> > economy?
>
> Not having spoken with them, I have no ideas of what might work. As
> stated,
> it will require creating a larger market where a small one exists. LGB did
> it with G scale. Lionel has re-introduced AF and expanded the line in
> recent years. ATLAS O has been successful. So I do not think it is
> impossible. The recent Sanda Kan situation has effectively turned the
> major
> producer of model trains into a sort-of captive factory for the large
> companies and the smaller firms - all 60 of them - were escorted to
> the door
> and shown the way out. That certainly makes things more difficult. But
> making things here in the USA is not impossible. Just more costly. I am
> not sure any of us can predict which way the worm will turn next.
>
> >We can pitch emails back and forth all day long but the who and how is
> where the pen meets the checkbook.
>
> Sometimes lots of emails stimulate a project and a "S"ugar Daddy shows
> up to
> help out. Lots of brass projects were done this way. Many kits were done
> this way. And, most likely, a plastic model or two benefitted from a
> wealthy donor.
>
> > Nothing short of a miracle...
>
> I predict a small miracle will happen in 2012. A new manufacturer will
> make
> something in S scale. Would that count?
>
> > I am not being a fatalist today - just pointing to the elephant in the
> room.
>
> Not an easy hill to climb, but not an impossible one either. S scale has
> been doing just that ever since 1965.
>
> > I would much rather see list traffic of a finished fork lift from a
>
> > difficult kit than how to promote the scale because it does not happen.
>
> > Bill Lane
>
> I would much rather see list traffic devoid of all non-S-scale-modeling
> messages. Maybe some day..
>
> Cheers..Ed L.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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