Perfect Dan, we who are in S for the duration have two things to
consider (1) what we need for our personal layouts, and (2) where new
converts will be coming from and what their needs are.
Since your layout is looking great you've made things work to satisfy
#1. Additionally,
I don't think Dick Karnes needs a switch motor attached to his turnouts,
Ed Loizeau doesn't need a better coupler, I don't need any more kits to
build. However some of us who have been involved in promoting our scale
and it's products (a very steep up-hill battle) realize many of the
things that are needed to actually draw them into the scale.
We tried to make the impression that S is a viable alternative to the
other scales. However it doesn't take long to realize that one would
try to build a layout in rapid time (like that home rebuilding show on
ABC) it probably couldn't be done in several years. Case in point the
most popular, visible manufacturer since Gilbert has been SHS. They ran
ads in the S magazines, some of the general MR publications, they were
at shows, and their products were available in many hobby shops. They
pretty much had it covered until about 4 years ago. I suspect our
market had become somewhat saturated, and 2-8-0 project was difficult to
complete. One could however, pretty much replace all his flyer track
with SHS track (except for crossings). The problem was you couldn't go
beyond that too far by appealing to the potential converts from HO or
possibly O. Even though American Models also had a track items, it to,
wasn't complete enough to be called a "system" and certainly wasn't as
well known. Now we can talk about other track and turnout suppliers but
one has to search fairly deep to find some of them and be confident they
will work well with other items.
Bob Werre
BobWphoto.com
On 2/13/11 4:50 PM, danvandermause wrote:
>
> I could not agree with Tom more.
> However, all of that is beyond the point. The question is: going
> forward, how can S-scale modelers best present themselves to the model
> railroading public, to increase the likelihood that some conversions
> will come from scale modelers in other scales?
>
> The truism that S scale modelers and AF/hirail enthusiasts should
> stick together to ensure a large enough market for new products may be
> yesterday's truth. With the disruption to the Chinese manufacturing
> chain, and the aging of the S-scale population (including AF
> enthusiasts), is the age of mass-produced plastic ready to run
> products in S coming to an end? How many times do you hear modelers
> saying "I already have enough models to fill two layouts and projects
> to last weel beyond my lifespan"? How long has it been since S-Helper
> or American Models brought out a truly new product? What are the
> chances that these manufacturers will take the chance to retool with
> new manufacturers and invest in completely new products for the aging
> S population?
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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