The state of Model Railroading


My spare room isn't much bigger. I've been working for the last few days trying to get it cleaned out enough so I can do some measuring and decide what will really fit. since I can go to the club to run bigger stuff with the DCC, I'm thinking keeping anything at home small, and with just DC to keep costs down. I already have 2 MRC throttles I can use, and I'm thinking I won't even bother doing any block wiring and just running 1 locomotive at a time. Keep it simple....

I'm thinking with the future of the hobby that the economy may have a lot to do with any decline in model railroading. I've seen the same decline in the RC world as well.....I'm thinking if/when things begin to pick up, we'll see people start, or return to the hobby....
 
It seems to me the magazines - and even the NMRA - could be far more forthcoming with discussions and 'white papers' on problems in the hobby. There is also NRHSA (hobby dealers of all sorts) that should be all over these problems too. But reading stuff from these folks seems to paint a glowing, and very false, narrative don't you all think?
 
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The more I think about it...

There is a mountain of material, kits, and models out there that can readily satisfy our shrinking model RR population. Some of us can still have fun falling back to the stone-age of modeling where we originally came from. Rebuilding old kits sold off by others is a satisfying 'blast'. There are still millions of tons of closet-clutter for us to revisit.

Even if every store and manufacturer packs up and leaves forever many of us will adapt. The laser kit folks will be able to survive too compared to the tooling cost of making stuff in China. So these people had better wake up and be more proactive to find new echelons of younger customers if that is even possible at this point.
 
Charles:

I don't think the manufacturers "get it" yet that they are pricing themselves out of the business. Between outsourcing to China and resulting problems in quality control and unpredictable deliveries, to banks refusing to loan money to long established business because those business don't conform to the banks' economic models, to a still not very good economy for many, many possible participants in the hobby...

Model railroading isn't the only hobby in trouble, as has been pointed out. I fear for the future.

Photoman475
 
I have a puckery feeling that our future "hobby" is going to be limited to finding enough nuts and berries to keep from starving. I really, really hope I'm being overly pessimistic.
 
"...Between outsourcing to China ..." Well then don't forget Kadee freight cars, freight trucks and couplers are all made here in the US.

Anything made here in North America - Canada, Mexico, USA - is my preference. Same with laser kits are likely all/some made here. Some of the packaging doesn't say where they are made and I sure wished they did.
 
Charles Smiley said:
"...Between outsourcing to China ..." Well then don't forget Kadee freight cars, freight trucks and couplers are all made here in the US.

Anything made here in North America - Canada, Mexico, USA - is my preference. Same with laser kits are likely all/some made here. Some of the packaging doesn't say where they are made and I sure wished they did.
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The law is supposed to be that if it is made outside of the US, it has to say what country. If it doesn't say, that is supposed to mean it is made in the USA.
 
Lots of cheating though. I remember a comical example where Japan created a fake city of Usa so they could put "MADE IN USA" on the box.
 
As for not having kits any more, manufacture after manufacture when asked states the difference between a kit an a RTR car is around 1 to 3 dollars retail. So I would guess, that a manufacture would only save a way less then a dollar selling kits.
Since far more people do not care to build kits, it simply is not worth the effort to pay for people to put kits in boxes. In fact it cost them extra money as a different packaging is needed for an engine, car or just a kit.
 
I think it's more demand than profit margin though. If no one wants kits, why offer them?...I actually prefer the kit, but it looks like I'm in a shrinking minority....
 
Still want kits? There are plenty around. Westerfield is still doing resin kits, there is a thriving aftermarket in un-built Sunshine kits, Accurail is still going strong, and there is more Intermountain and blue box than you can shake a stick at! Brass car sides is still around, and there are plenty of great structure kits on the market, so much so that there is a craftsman kit builders show every year in New England. Just one caveat: You won't find any of this stuff in the discount bin at your LHS with the exception of the blue box which isn't really a kit. You're going to have to pay. Remember that old saying "They don't make 'em like they used to"? Well that's baloney! They still make 'em like they used to, it's just gonna cost ya!
 
There are companies who still make kits. I believe there's a company called Carolina models (or something along those lines) plus Walthers, Pikestuff, DPM, and others. I think the problem isn't the availability of kits, it's that society wants everything now and doesnt want to spend the time building a kit. You can a branch line train car kit for around $10 on eBay plus shipping that's just as detailed as an intermountain RTR car for a third of the price. It's all about how much effort one wants to put into the hobby.
 
A2TwrOpr;355357 it's that society wants everything now and doesn't want to spend the time building a kit.[/QUOTE said:
This is probably the reason why detail parts are extremely thin on the ground here in the UK. We used to have a healthy list of model shops here selling US models and parts. Now drastically shrunk. Obtaining supplies from the USA is exorbitantly expensive on shipping costs.

Yes, eBay....... I am amazed at the prices of some freightcars on offer - sometimes almost cheaper to buy a locomotive! Some people do have inflated ideas on what models are worth! I leave them well alone.....
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Hey Alan.

At least now we know it's the same across the pond as it is here.

As far as eBay goes, what price they ask for and what they get is another story all together, but we can't for get what P.T. Barnum said, there really must be one born every minute.
 
A2TwrOpr said:
There are companies who still make kits. I believe there's a company called Carolina models (or something along those lines) plus Walthers, Pikestuff, DPM, and others. I think the problem isn't the availability of kits, it's that society wants everything now and doesnt want to spend the time building a kit. You can a branch line train car kit for around $10 on eBay plus shipping that's just as detailed as an intermountain RTR car for a third of the price. It's all about how much effort one wants to put into the hobby.
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Or it may be that people are working more hours than they used to. Remember how the computer and the cell phone were going to "set us free"? Well they didn't. They gave us the 60 hour work week instead, and some folks, especially those more successful ones who have the disposable income to spend have less free time to spend on hobbies. I enjoy building kits, however, I have a limited amount of hobby time, so if I can get my hands on RTR freight cars or locomotives that fit the need, and just build or kitbash the more exotic stuff, then that's what I'll do. for some folks it may be the difference in getting a layout done or not.
 
A bit of a minefield trying to find out Charles! Basically customs duty is payable on goods over £135. Import Value Added Tax is payable on goods over £15. Whether both of these are levied is not clear. VAT is 20%, customs duty probably about the same. Luckily paper products like Microscale Decals are free of duty :)

Alan
www.andersley.co.uk
 
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