Following the GE 44-tonner project, I'm unclear as to what to produce next.
The S market seems to be abnormally slow; MUCH slower than HO. Under normal
conditions, HO is more active simply because it's a much larger market.
However, I think the poor economy is still causing problems for S scalers
more than for HO'ers simply because, percentage-wise, S is comprised of more
retirees than HO and retirement funds have not recovered to pre-recession
levels. I have not received enough "gotta have" interest for 1 or 2
specific models to justify moving forward with anything beyond the
44-tonners so I'm unsure as to what to do after those.
The last flurry of interest was several months ago. The SAL B7 "turtleback"
boxcar seemed to have sufficient interest to move forward (at that time) but
I need verification from y'all that this is still the case. I plan to
produce it in HO in 2011 so upscaling to S, like all other rolling stock
kits I've made so far, seems logical . but I'm not willing to gamble on new
patterns, decals, etc. without a current "feel" for the market. The time
required to convert 3D HO files to S, purchase very expensive patterns and
assemble various kit components cannot be justified for a 50-kit run, even
if the CAD files exist in HO, so whatever non-self-propelled kit I produce
must have sufficient market appeal to make it worthwhile.
If you'd purchase 1 or more of this kit, and/or have suggestions for other
rolling stock kits, please let me know OFF LIST.
Jim King
Smoky Mountain Model Works, Inc.
Ph. (828) 777-5619
<www.smokymountainmodelworks.com>
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