I can pretty much back up what Ron is saying. Like Roy Inman, we're vastly underemployed photographers in a business that has seen most of our markets dissolve never to return. I once paid for my nearly all my modeling by photographing product for our manufacturers often doing a trade. Since that business has gone South, I build what I have under the layout, since I can't spend what I don't have. With the exception of Red Caboose most of my work has been done for S scale manufacturers and the money was pretty much sent back into the S market.
I've also become a manufacturer of conifer trees and thus far haven't had anybody on this list purchase any, while we just sent out product via a mail-order today. A local hobby shop is selling my product via direct sales, so that keeps me in paint, couplers and magazines. My wife purchased a single table at a fairly large train show some months back. She made one sale for $30 which made up for the table at $30. Later we made considerably more at a smaller show, but new brass still isn't in the cards. None of us really knows if the entire hobby is dying or whether we're just waiting for the price of oil to be de-speculated, housing to lived in again and the flowers to grow, but I'm still modeling as much as I can. Bob Werre BobWphoto.com > John, > > I'm sorry about your project and the loss of your time and money > investment. As a small manufacturer, I can tell you there are going to > be disappoinments and setbacks. Ask any manufacturer, for that > manufacturer ask any manufacturer on this list. We've all had our > failures. That is why the successses feel so good. > > As for S scale dying, I don't think so, at least I can't see it in my > business. No, we are not setting the world on fire, but I don't think > anyone else is either. I think the great Jim Kindraka said " Scale > ain't supposed to be easy", or something like that. > S Scalers by and large are a hearty lot. With tens of millions > unemployed or underemployed, it makes sense that discretionary > spending drops, not to mention the hundreds of thousands that have > already lost their homes. The good news is many are turning inward and > revisiting stay at home hobbies. > > If you think your project is good, wait for a better time, or find > different people to work with. > > Keep the faith, put your head down, work a little harder or find a > smaller project to start with. You will succeed. Good luck. > > Ron Sebastian > Des Plaines > > --- In [email protected] <mailto:S-Scale%40yahoogroups.com>, > "John Degnan" <Scaler164@...> wrote: > > > > For those of you who have been faithfully waiting on some news about > the SAL round roof box car project I started over two years ago... I > just got the final word last night from the manufacturer who was to > produce it for me... and that word is simply this : > > > > IT AIN'T EVER GONNA HAPPEN!!! > > > > A lot of things have led to this (including the piss-poor > economy)... but the main thing, I'm sure, is that out of the 88 model > sales that were promised (to ME) by modelers who initially showed an > interest in this model, only HALF of those sales ever (re)materialized > for the manufacturer after he took over the project. So the project > kept getting set back farther and farther until more sales materialized. > > > > So be it. Now, none of us who genuinely wanted one get to have one. > Not only that, I've wasted a load of money on this project and TWO > YEARS worth of my time! > > > > Thanks a lot, S scale! > > > > I guess I should probably give up on my Scale Gearbox Projects as > well... lest I waste even more time and money on this dieing scale... > > > > > > John Degnan > > Scaler164@... > > Disgusted to the point of... (you really don't want to know) > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> 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/
