Following several months of deliberation and investigation, plus some
soul-searching, I've decided to focus my kit development in S scale,
including Sn2/Sn3. I will finish the Argent Lumber line of On30 kits
and maybe add a few others, but S scale will be my priority.
I still have a few O scale Southern flat and composite gon kits
remaining but stock is low and won't be rerun. If you are interested in
either, contact me off-list soon.
My decision to switch scales was spurred on by seeing beautiful examples
of state-of-the-art S scale offerings on John Degnan's table at the
Savannah RP meet earlier this year. The exquisite detail of his
off-the-shelf SAL SW-1 by S Helper Service really got me thinking about
making a modeling switch. This thinking was sealed by the extremely
poor response I've received for the Southern steel low side gon in O.
Only 1 of 16 dealers I contacted replied, along with less than 12
individual reservations. Hardly enough sales to justify pattern cost
and production. On the flip side, I've received over 60 reservations
for the same car in S, along with a LOT of enthusiastic emails wanting
other kits. Seems there are still some modelers in S, instead of
RTR-collectors.
Offering these 2 Southern kits has allowed me to explore a scale I've
always been interested in but never pursued due to space. My Dad
started in O in the late 40s but, due to space limitations and the
growth of HO, he stayed with the latter. He made comments as he taught
me modeling that he always liked the bulk of O but never had the space
(or time) to do much building. Seems to me that S is a good compromise
between size and detail of HO and O and I look forward to offering many,
many years of kits to that market, starting with the Southern gon. In
fact, I'm actively planning a shelf layout, something I've had no
interest in doing for quite some time.
As time permits, my O collection will be sold off to fund the move to S.
I will post lists of items here to let y'all get first shot, then will
go to ebay. Thanks to all of you who've sent words of encouragement as
I've developed O kits. A special thanks to those who actually purchased
some of my kits ... you now have collectors items, for what that's
worth.
Jim King
Smoky Mountain Model Works, Inc.
http://www.smokymountainmodelworks.com
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