This is not a "me too" email (I really HATE those .. what a waste of
electrons!). This post is directly in response to Bill Lane's "dare" to put
up or shut up. Thanks, Bill .. you said what I've been thinking all along.
I'm not a "negatively bent" person, just a realist, so please read on.
Here's the deal. I'm in business to make a profit. Period. If y'all want
XYZ-kit produced in S scale (not hi-rail), I need paid-in-full reservations,
drawings, photos and some source for either decal artwork or the actual
decals. Paid reservations need to total 80 minimum at full retail, assuming
$80 per kit less trucks and couplers but including decals where appropriate.
If decals are supplied by another mfr., I'll reduce my price accordingly.
If I don't receive 80 reservations within a reasonable time, say 2 months,
I'll make a decision then to cancel the project and refund the payment
(minus PayPal fees, postage, credit card fees, etc.) or move ahead with it
anyway on the assumption I can sell to the stragglers or ones not on any
list (and there are MANY who fall into that category). If it's a "go
project", it will be scheduled and put into production as soon as there is
an opening but likely after the HO model is released.
There are enough members on this list to make this project move forward. I
have no interest in nor funds to spend on paper advertising. The model
press is too slow and, essentially, ignores S scale almost completely. I've
tried paper ads and it was a bust. Yes, I know there is a small percentage
of S'ers who don't have email and another group who aren't on any Yahoo list
but I don't expect to reach everyone anyway. That's what dealers are for.
It's no surprise that many posters have stated they didn't see any
announcement re: the SAL box or John's web site. The fact is that MANY list
members don't read the emails on a regular basis . I've been told such by
several members so I'm not making this up. Their comments are based on
email content being very lame and running on and on and on. I get digest
mode and scan thru the titles to see if anything piques my interest. If so,
I read it/them. If not, it goes to the delete folder.
John D. supplied all/most of the drawings I need to create the SAL B7 about
4 years ago . at his expense . and I do plan to produce it in HO later this
year. He's done more than his fair share to make this happen but no matter
how much he wants this boxcar project to come to fruition, it can't happen
without the market's support. I don't take paid reservations from HO buyers
because the market is large enough not to require them; S scale is
different. Whether or not I get enough paid reservations to make the S kit
happen is TOTALLY up to y'all but I do plan to move forward with the HO car,
which is the criteria for ANY S scale kit, past, present or future (HO CAD
files MUST exist before I consider upscaling to S). If you are serious
about seeing this car produced, put your money where your mouth is, just
like Bill Lane said.
As always, contact me off-list with questions, how to order/pay, etc. The
target retail price + shipping (assuming I have to supply decals) is $80 +
$10 for 1-2 kits, $15 for 3-4 east of the Mississippi. West of the Miss.
requires more postage. Even with inflation, $80 will make this worthwhile
at 80+ kits but this offer is only good for the next 2 months (as stated
above).
The clock is ticking.
Jim King
Smoky Mountain Model Works, Inc.
Ph. (828) 777-5619
<www.smokymountainmodelworks.com>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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