Re: [cpsig] HO Intermountain CPR FP7 and F7B
- From: KVRailway <kvrailway@xxxxxxx>
- To: cpsig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 17:22:54 -0700
----- Original Message -----
From: "John" <zebrails@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <cpsig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 2:01 AM
Subject: RE: [cpsig] HO Intermountain CPR FP7 and F7B
I was wondering where this conversation is going...
What this thread shows is a problem that any manufacturer faces: How do you
make everybody happy? Obviously, you can't. BUT ... perhaps then the
question has to be: what is the biggest group that has to be pleased? As
John demonstrates below, the customers are approaching the product from
quite differing standpoints. For some, apparently like John, there is a
social aspect involved in all this as well as the satisfaction of a certain
amount of "do-it-yourself." (None of which I have any problem with.)
However, again from the manufacturer's point of view - how much of these
model products are going to adult modellers that are to some degree quite
serious about prototype accuracy and how much is going in the trainsets or
individual models that people are buying for their kids - and where there is
no real concern about fairly accurate prototype detail? It would be
interesting to know what the percentage of that breakdown would look like.
Any manufacturer is going to determine how far he has to go in order to sell
this stuff and that's all he's worried about.
Probably the best solution is to approach the major manufacturers to bring
out plastic models that are better designed to allow for various sorts of
modifications and to include the parts for these modifications as part of
the basic kit. Again, you can't please everybody, and you can't have every
modification in North America, but it may not be going overboard to approach
model manufacturers to take more account of Canadian prototype
modifications. As somebody quite rightly pointed out, after all, there is a
growing contingent of modellers within the United States who are modelling
Canadian equipment and the demand may not be quite so limited to the
Canadian market as it once was.
Lastly, I'd better clarify something ... Please, you Brits on this list
... it must be my own British ancestry that gave me my passion for
historical accuracy, so please don't feel I'm slagging you. I met a lot of
you over the years when I worked at BC Rail in North Vancouver. When the
2860 and the 3716 were running, Brits came in droves to see and ride the
Royal Hudson train. Sometimes Brit railfans and modellers were a bit
amusing to us railroaders because of certain cultural differences. We
railroaders didn't tend to take too much seriously while the British railfan
not infrequently was exactly the other way around. You guys were definitely
slightly insane when it came to trains and paranoid about details, but it
was fun to meet you and talk trains with you.
As for the differences between British models and North American models ...
never to be forgotten is the day a British lady railfan took a shine to a
certain member of the Royal Hudson train crew and snuck him into the ladies
coach washroom to show him a British model of a "coupler" and how it works.
(Apparently, it looked great, worked quite impressively and the price was
right, too!)
Joe Smuin
Remember when we bought a model and put the thing together? This may be
petty but I liked putting together Athearn passenger car kits together. Now,
that's almost impossible. Now, we spend $20 more for a car that's RTR and
it has problems with paint or body errors. I guess I kinda admire the person
who takes a piece of rolling stock, and "adjusts" it to suit the needs to
look prototypical... almost to the point of kitbashing to scratch building.
We also knew people who became friends because they knew how to paint a
model, either a repaint job or one that started from an undecorated kit.
Where is that, these days? When one gets paws on a model, relish in
ownership. If it isn't exactly what you want, then make adjustments or find
a friend who may do it for you.
RTR is like food at a conveience store, it taste the same but it costs at
least 50% more. Where are the crafts-people? (I almost said craftsmen,
like the magizine.)
I go to swapmeets and scoop up the trains that people have put work in
the models. The rtr's will only cost more. But, if you got the money, so
be it. But, gee... why nitpick at rtr trains? If you're in a
competition, you're going to make it 100% right, and still get rivet
counters. Again, "You" are going to make it right.
Either adjust it or keep it on the shelf.
Well, I've vented.
John
Chris Marrable <borg2657-1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
LOL nice one Joe. I have to agree that "Some" rivet counters are
a royal
pain in the A*** as you call it BUT you are talking about attacking a
fairly
decent model with stuff that could damage it. I am not that competent a
modeller (or have the confidence) to possibly wreck a model. How much
effort
would it take them to just add another 15% to getting it right? I would
say
that some British modellers even then go about adding or stripping bits
off,
but at least the loco is 95% correct before they start. Thereby keeping
more
of the modelling fraternity happy
I do agree that the Canadian market for loco's is maybe smaller but there
is
a good group of people this side of the water modelling Canadian and world
wide the should be others. I feel it is more the attitude of "It will do"
towards us.
Saying that at the end of the day for me, who might not notice that it
should have different horns if it is a matter of I will miss out on a loco
I
will probably buy one.
Must admit I would love to get inside one of the manufactures and find out
what the profit margin is and what the real research is. Has anyone email
then to tell them what we think of their new loco, or even offered help?
Chris
"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing,
wind braces us, snow is exhilarating;
there is no such thing as bad weather,
only different kinds of good weather."
John Ruskin
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