Hi Rich; This is always a tough question. On the one hand there is so much that has never been available in S that I hate to see someone duplicate a piece of equipment that can be found on the used market (more readily now with the internet). Remember the Ertl farm train set? Every piece was basically a duplicate of an existing model (AM GP35, Flyer boxcar, flat and caboose). They were not great models, but if they had been different prototypes they maight have been a basis for some nice S conversions. Maybe Ertl would have sold a bunch more sets if they had modeled (say for argument) a GP38, AAR 50 ft flat car, PS-1 boxcar and Pullman Standard caboose (CGW/CNW/NH/B&M/PC/Conrail prototypes).
OTOH, it is hard to tell someone to search for a 30 year old model when they really want something, more so if they want a half dozen or more! The Des Plains X29 will be a good thing for S, even if it duplicates Bill's brass version, the old Trainstuff resin kit and even the Flyer boxcar. It's just head and shoulders better than the last two, and more readily available in quantity (for a car with 30,000 prototype examples on PRR alone) than the brass version. For my own use, a state of the art RTR northeastern caboose would be great, but with thousands of sort-of-ok Flyer versions and a brass version floating around, is it the best bet for a new caboose? It's better than some unique prototype or a freelance design, but there are other prototypes that would expand the field in S and probably do better for both the manufacturer and the scale. there is no easy answer. I guess as long as it's needed in quantity, duplication isn't a bad thing. We sure don't need another J&L coal tar tank car! Pieter E. Roos --- On Mon, 9/17/12, richgajnak <[email protected]> wrote: > From: richgajnak <[email protected]> > Bill, > > I can see your point to some extent, but one of the things > that frustrates me as an S scaler IS the lack of > newbies. Granted, it's something I have little control > over other than my meager efforts at conversion I attempt > elsewhere. > > I got in during a growth spurt created by American Models, > followed by SHS opening up shop. But, even then there > were the headwinds of "the scratchbuilders scale" > mentality(people do scratchbuild in other scales, or so I > hear...) and the "well it was done before by XYZ some years > ago..." > > It was, and still is, a formula for isolation and > stagnation. > > While sending a newbie on a quest "to find what has come > before" may have been acceptable B.I. (Before Internet) it's > something that doesn't wash well in today's modeling world. > The newbie instead will say "so long, it's been fun" and > gravitate to a scale with greater availability. > > One of my fears is that the newer, scale proportioned > American Flyer products and SHS by MTH will not draw in the > amount of newbies or satisfy the "old guard" enough to help > the scale grow enough for these two companies to continue > their efforts. > > Then, S Scale (and HiRail/Flyer) will be almost right back > where it was 25-30 odd years ago. > > Rich G(ajnak) > ------------------------------------ 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/
