> Howdy Tom and all > > Most of us who model in HO consider ourselves scale modelers. > Unless you are old enough to remember the larger flanges on some > European imports back in the 1950-60s and think of those in this > light, the vast majority of HO modelers believe the term Hi-Rail > points only to Lionel and Flyer. > > We who model normal HO look at the Proto 87 as a small fringe > group.... just like the Proto 48 in O scale, and the Proto 64 in S. > These folks are the ones who take it to the edge of the envelope and > have been called Finescale modelers long before a magazine picked up > that name. These Proto folks in all scales cannot use the common off- > the-shelf trackwork. > > While you can nitpick that this piece of equipment or that is more > toy than scale in any modeling scale, the vast majority of HO > modelers are considered scale modelers. > > Take care > Bill >
Agreed. Especially all those HO'ers with those brass steam collections that operate using real timetables;-> Nowadays, HOer's enjoy a lot of nice scale equipment. It's almost gotten to the point in Canada where you don't have to scratch build a particular car or paint/detail a loco in a particular scheme anymore because someone is coming out with it in RTR form. Case in point the Proto 2000 CNR Hudson based on a Broadway Ltd. mechanism for under $900 CDN. The rumour is an inexpensive CNR Northern is coming. (I'm almost tempted to get one for the mantle, nah.) The only thing that really sticks out about HO scale is the tire width at around 110 thou. In some cases the same as S scale code 110. Other than that, it's pretty nice stuff. Proto 87 is somewhat rare as is Proto 64. Most modellers are in the 'good enough' catagory and what is 'good enough' now is really quite good scale equipment. Where does that leave S? I am not sure. I don't hear comments at shows about availability. I have that covered with the information that I provide from the NASG and other manufacturers. What I do hear is, "What a great size but I have so much HO I just would not be able to part with it and start over." Even Ian Wilson, the author who was so celebrated because he publicly declared that he was changing to S, changed his mind and returned to HO because of the vast availabilty of HO stuff, his desire to do more in the space he had and because he just could not part with some of his HO. I am of the mindset that S is great and where I will remain. I always hated going from Flyer to HO because of the lack of information and equipment that was available to me in the 1960's. We can only grow but how to do it remains somewhat of a mystery. I do know however, that the growth will be slow. Remember too, that just because a manufacturer produces something, there is no guarantee it will generate enough sales to break even or make a profit. At present, I believe that the amount of stuff available in S scale is probably more than what the marketplace really is. This is because of the past discussions of how many kits/equipment that people have stockpiled. I have done my share of 'support the product' purchases in S that are not really part of the area/era that I am modelling. cheers, Andy Malette To REPLY to the list, use REPLY ALL; to reply to the sender, use REPLY. For those of you on DIGEST mode, all REPLY messages go to the list (remember to edit the SUBJECT of your message). Change message settings, use our CALENDAR or LINKS, view shared files or photos, view the list archives, GO TO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> 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/
