I've been overwhelmed with comments from y'all re: my decision to move
into S scale from O. I hope I don't disappoint any of you with my
planned offerings. The Southern low side steel gon will be first out,
then the SR&RL/WW&F arch bar truck with single spring. There are MANY
other items I want to produce but won't show my hand just yet.
I've had many discussions via email and phone with folks asking why I'm
leaving O. The most obvious reason is lack of sales. Since this is
about 50% of my full time job (I'm self-employed), income is a must.
When it comes to my family's well-being, business is business and if a
project won't pay its way and be profitable, I don't do it. Simple as
that. Since moving to O scale over 3 years ago, I've noticed few
reasons why O scale is not what it used to be:
1. Aging population with rooms filled with kits that will likely never
be built. Any scale can claim that but I think O is worst of all due it
being around much longer than most scales and being the most popular
until HO took over in the 1950s or so. All of us are guilty of just
getting "1 more kit" but, in fact, most of us don't have time to build
kits anymore.
2. S scale has been ignored by larger manufacturers. With the
exception of SHS, American Models and Des Plaines, the current
S-standard gauge market has been left to cottage industry manufacturers
(like me) to supply the demand. Don't confuse this with Grandt Line,
PBL and BTS ... I'm focusing on standard gauge, not narrow. These guys
have made a HUGE difference in the narrow gauge market and are to be
complimented for their efforts.
3. Affect of "big guys" in the scale. In my opinion, when you combine
an aging population with offerings from a large company, like Atlas, the
desire to build kits drops off significantly. The same situation is
occuring in HO as well as O. In O, Atlas recently bought out
Intermountain and started offering their cars as RTR, thereby helping to
kill the kit-building urges. Similarly, P&D's GP9 and F3/F7 have or
will be re-issued by Atlas RTR in various colors. Granted Atlas' main
customer base is the 3-rail crowd but 2-railers also benefit from this.
By swallowing up more parts and kits, Atlas is, in essence, hurting kit
makers because the current mentality is "why build a kit when I can get
RTR?". I can't argue with that if your time-limited or don't want to
mess with building kits anymore, but that attitude equates to reduced
sales for folks like me and, in time, will cause most kit mfrs to close
the doors.
4. On30 ... not to be confused with O scale in general. This a rapidly
expanding market, maybe the largest market in model RRing at present.
Bachmann is to On30 as Athearn was to HO in the 50s and 60s. B'mann
essentially re-birthed On30 into a mainstream scale and the wave of
modelers flocking to this scale from others has provided great
opportunity for small shops to start up and grow. I have no plans to
leave On30 but my main focus will be S/Sn2/Sn3.
A well-trusted friend and fellow-manufacturer told me a couple days ago
that, in his opinion, S scale is about 10 years behind O scale in
growth. That's NOT meant to be slam toward S. In fact, it's a
compliment because this equates to growth potential for folks like me
... and I intend to prove that shortly with the intro of the SR steel
gon. With your support, purchases and ideas, I look forward to
producing items you want to buy using state-of-the-art 3D CAD/SLA
pattern technology that has no equal.
Jim King
Smoky Mountain Model Works, Inc.
http://www.smokymountainmodelworks.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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