It seems to me that, unlike any other scale (including "O"), "S" is so connected with just one manufacturer (in this case, American Flyer). In no other scale do we see that same high percentage of items made by just one maker. A quick look at the eBay listings this morning shows that O scale has 78,241 listings, of which 47,194 (or 60%) are listed as Lionel. S scale has 6,624 listings, 5,040 of those (76%) are listed as American Flyer. Now, don't get me wrong; I love the Gilbert/Flyer stuff. It holds the same "50's mystique" for me that most things made in that era do. Easy to fix and repair, charming as h*ll, built to last. Since Lionel took over the Flyer line, and their background is toy trains/collectables, it doesn't surprise me that their new offerings tend to be fanciful and a bit "toy-like". It's their market and what they do. I also appreciate the fact that they seem aware of the scale modeler's interests, and are making an effort to "scale-ize" some of their offerings, but it's probably not likely we'll see a truly scale model from them. Unfortunately(?) for me, when I made the move into S, I opted for scale, not "hi-rail" (or whatever you want to label it as), so my options are a lot more limited. I guess my point is, I can hope that MTH's purchase of SHS's line with prove to be positive for us "scale" modelers, ( and it should be, given what they're starting with),and that someday Lionel will offer something I can use, without having to spent large amounts of $ and then having to cut it apart and modify the heck out of it. In the meantime, thank goodness for American Models, S Scale America, and the like.
Mark Mugnai --- In [email protected], tennsgauge@... wrote: > > Lionel must be targeting younger modelers than most of us currently in S > scale, including potential converts, by offering these new, modern era > diesels. Its important to their future if they are to have a future. And > these > younger guys who are considering N or HO, if they are not already in these > scales, may not be as picky about every detail as many of us are, but they > will be just as turned off by the toylike features as we are. - Earl > Henry, Nashville > > > > In a message dated 12/21/2012 9:26:28 A.M. Central Standard Time, > alanlambert64@... writes: > > > > > > From: Alan Lambert > Fort Worth, Texas > > Cris, > > Thank you. You nailed it. We( scale) need to get the word out to Lionel > that they need to get away from the toy look on their S guage line or we may > not be buying from them. They don't know how many scale modelers we have in > our scale. they go with the flow(highrail). For scale wheelsets on cars > and loco's they need a number. Scale guys need to let Lionel know or it will > not be done. I rest my case. I'm Highrail but I want to change over to > scale in the future if that happens. > Alan Lambert > > > > > > > From: Christopher Borgmeyer <cborgmeyer@...> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Friday, December 21, 2012 8:42 AM > Subject: {S-Scale List} Re: Getting it "correct" > > <WBR > > > > Bill (and others), > > With all due respect, I think you're missing the point here. Some of us > are not picking nits but concerned with the basics of the model. Swinging > pilots, for example, are a non-starter for me. Sure, I can correct the issue > but on a $400 or $500 model why should I? Swinging pilots and exposed > gearing are not an issue in Z, N or HO. S is supposed to have all these > advantage > over these other scales but we can even remove ourselves from design > practices from the 1950's. It's a real issue when talking to modelers in > other > scales and trying to attract them to S. They immediately point out to me > they have better designed/detailed models from MicroTrains/Kato/Athearn > Genesis/Proto 2000/and on and on... So before we even get to the nits, we > need to > pick our manufactures about the raw basics of their models. It's 2012 > after all not 1950. We can and do expect better. > > Chris Borgmeyer > ------------------------------------ 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/
