Again, having one and a half feet in O scale, I can appreciate the S scale modelers who are grounded in AF but want more accuracy/prototypically-correctmodels. That is, as Jim has pointed out, the driving force behind AM and SHS and even SSA; without the much larger AF market the costly dies for styreneand ABS injection molding could not be amortized. As in O scale, where some desireable cars and locomotives have become available to scale modelersbecause of the far-larger three-rail market at only a third of what brass imports would cost, I would probably not be in S scale as much as I am withoutthe AF modelers. I'd seen the occasional Overland or Oriental brass S scale locomotive at shows and been vaguely tempted but was unwilling to investroughly the same amount of money for one as I'd have paid (or did pay) for its O scale equivalent. When I discovered I could buy an SHS EMD switcherfor about the same money as an Atlas O scale one, with equivalent detail and operating quality, I got into the water. Instead of one or two S scale brasslocomotives, I seem to have ended up with a dozen or more S scale mass-market ones. The downside, however, is that anything NOT offered for the mass market remains relatively more expensive, either brass cars or limited-run craftsman kits. I have picked up a very few odds and ends from older S scale where an attempt was made to sell to both markets. For instance, I still have a Rex gondolacasting with the AF underframe, if anyone wants it--seems mint except missing one corner step (sadly). I'm thinking of $15 and shipping OBRO or swap forsomething I can better use. I have a scale Rex gondola finished with a set of Jim's decals to keep and two of his kits for essentially the same prototype.I suppose I need only the one of those, so the duplicate is also on offer, $45 OBRO and shipping. Jace Kahn
General Manager Ceres & Canisteo RR Co./Champlain County Traction Co. > The entire point to producing my resin rolling stock and diesel kits is to be > as prototypically accurate as possible. I have produced the H10-44 and both > 44-tonners with hi-rail wheelsets because there is room for the larger > flanges and thicker treads. However, there is no such room under my freight > car kits. > > To offer AF-compatible wheelsets means compromising (read: removing) a lot > of detail that I spend a bunch of time researching, designing and patterning. > I am not willing to make that compromise. If a modeler wants to remove the > corner steps and a good portion of the underframe and bolster to accommodate > larger wheelsets, that's his choice. Scale modelers make up over 85% of my S > scale sales. Removing such detail would kill those sales and that's just not > good business. Granted, I may be losing some sales from the hi-rail crowd > but, at most, I'd only pick up a few more sales while losing a large portion > of scale sales. > > Jim King > SMMW > > --- In [email protected], Alan Lambert <alanlambert64@...> wrote: > > > > From: Alan Lambert > > I was not comparing, I was just giving the lengtth of the American Models > > condola. I like what Jim is doing but he needs to run more than what he > > does per run. If he did the high rail guys I talk with all the time might > > give him a shot .I know we would have o furnish our own wheels and couplers > > and make miner adaption for the bolster plates, but there are some that > > would do that. My opinion. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Alan > > Yes i'm High rail but I get half of my ideas from the scale side. > > > > > > No disrespect to American Models, > > However comparing AM and SMMW kits is like American Flyer of old and SHS of > > today and then some. The kits don't just look some what similar to > > prototype, they look like the real deal. > > Don MacDougall
