02-07-2012, 10:27 AM
MountainMan Wrote:Exactly my point; however, the number of items any given individual intends to purchase is probably not relevant.
From a manufacturer's perspective the number of items sold to a given individual is very important. Blackstone would not have had their success without many of their customers buying in mulitples. For a typical small basement-size layout, if I as a manufacturer can sell 2-3 copies of a given engine, and 10 examples of a given car type (box car, flat car, tank car, etc) instead of having the consumer buy 1 of each from different manufacturers, I can achieve mass production quantities more easily. And the layout is actually more realistic than the traditional "Heinz 57 variety pack" of rolling stock. Not that I personally have the budget or space for such consistency. But there are those that do, and they are much more important to manufacturing planning than single item purchasers like me.
Quote:How many individual modelers or craftsmen with the prerequisite skills do you believe have $10,000 to invest in getting started? I certainly can't do that.
You and I - perhaps not. But based on the number of cottage manufacturers I see advertising in the smaller circulation magazines, the number has to be in the hundreds. From what I can see most buy the tools for machining or photo engraving or laser cutting or resin casting as a side hobby, and a tool at a time. They then realize they can pay back some of the costs by using the tools to build a small batch of something instead of onesies or twosies, and selling the batch.
Quote:The model for this concept is Trains of Time, which pre-sells everything and never has anything in stock. Consequently, I never buy anything from them. For an individual to run off a series of cars is a leap of faith into an uncertain market, and it will only take one such failure to undoubtedly shut down the business. I wouldn't risk my garage business on such a concept.
It is indeed risky. Two runs of any kits that don't sell usually ends a cottage manufacturer's time as a manufacturer. I am thankful for those who are willing to take the risks, and produce unusual items I want such as a Sellers turntable kit (Freshwater Models).
Quote:The current trend is away from smaller scales and into production of ever increasing numbers of large scale kits, O and On3/On30 being the "new HO". This being the case, it's harder for garage entrepeneurs to make an impression on such a market, since larger scales demand greater detail, including DCC. Meanwhile, costs of even N-scale locos have gone up dramatically, but but in the process and entire era of railroading has almost completely disappeared - the 1800's to the early 1900's. No cars or loco's are sold to meet this market at all, apparently under the assumption that that era is restricted to narrow gauge. I guess no one reads railroad history anymore.
I had to buy sets in order to obtain proper passenger and freightr cars, and the freights frankly aren't that good. Even the Cabbose folks just shrug and walks away when questioned about lack of period models. Under those circumstances, I don't hold out much hope for the future.
I can't speak for N; I model 1900 and earlier in HO and HOn3. In HO standard gauge, there are plenty of 19th Century accurate and generic resin or wood car kits available from Alkem, BTS, Amesville, Silvercrash, Art Griffin, Bitter Creek, Labelle, Ye Olde Huff-n-Puff, Trout Creek, etc. In plastic, Roundhouse Old Time new RTR and old stock kits can be back-dated. Bachmann, Mantua, Model Power, and IHC train set cars can be easily modified for a more presentable appearance - replace trucks, couplers, grab irons, stirrups, brake wheels, truss rods with items closer to scale. Weather the paint a little, and there you are.
just my experiences
Fred W