Delay's, delay's, delay's

[irocinblue89]

Does any one know when/if MTH is going to re-run their HO steam engines again? Have they released any info as to why the delay? Just trying to decide if I should wait for them to come back out or get one off fleebay.

Thanks

[Selector]

I don't know the answer, but if their publicity hasn't announced an impending release, I would guess it is still several months away.

[NYW&B]

With the relatively recent big manufacturing shake-up in China, which involved most of the second tier importers and leaving them scrambling to get things going again, I'd say that unless MTH's re-run program wasn't already nearing ready-to-ship status you may be in for a long wait. There's good reason that we're seeing many long term projects that were previously projected for summer or fall delivery now being put on the indefinitely delayed, or no longer with any projected delivery dates, lists.

NYW&B

[akretowicz]

Heck of a way to run a railroad, isn't it? Pardon the pun.

[Selector]

Yes, and no, akretowicz. Firstly, it IS a hobby, after all......

Secondly, it is a relatively small hobby......

Thirdly, like all milieux, things change, sometimes precipitously. This is one of the latter times. The most popular importers are scrambling, lemmetellya. Big time. They want to stay afloat, but they have nothing to sell. I think that by Christmas, realistically, you'll see some popular offerings come up for sale. Meanwhile, many of us are enjoying what we have, and some of us have tons to keep us happy. Those who are acquisitive or who are newcomers are going to have to settle in some cases, or be patient.

Yet, the solutions, whatever they be, will have to be quick and decisive. There are other calls, other hobbies, and they are immensely popular. RC cars and aircraft is growing hugely.

[PApat]

I apologize in advance and don't mean to be harsh, but the logic of this only being a hobby just doesn't apply. The the teams of people employed by MTH, Atlas, and all the other major and minor suppliers, don't consider this just a hobby. If they did, they wouldn't offshore the manufacturing to control costs/maximize profits.

I will also add that Bowser is currently installing injection molding machines right here in PA to seek to control their manufacturing...

Again, not intending to be rude or abusive - I just don't agree with the logic...

[flyboy2610]

3 months ago, I put a BLI hybrid UP 4-12-2 on pre-order with an expected delivery date of January, 2013. According to BLI's website, the new expected delivery date is now May, 2013.
If I didn't want that engine so much, I'd cancel the order!

[NYW&B]

The very facts that the manufacturers have gone overseas for production and transitioned from the long-standing approach of producing large quantities of often generic locomotives and cars fully under their control and once in hand could be sold relatively cheaply over extended periods to a great many hobbyists, to the business plan of producing extremely small runs of expensive and very specific prototypes which quickly are exhausted leaving them with little or no product to sell, was their own very foolish mistake. With the not wholly unexpected turn of events seen in the past couple of years, with production problems and delays, rapidly rising costs, plus a decline in the number of hobbyists due both to the hobby's greying and the world economic situation, they have backed themselves into a corner from which, at least for many, there may be no escape. Exactly what will come to pass in the hobby over the next few years could prove a dramatic turning point in its history. As has proven itself over and over again, moving overseas hobby manufacturing from country to country as costs rise, with all the associated problems, costs and delays that approach brings about each time, results in an ever dwindling number of manufacturers (see the long history of brass) and is simply not sustainable.

NYW&B

[Charles Smiley]

I agree that they have shot their own feet. Much the same with the electronics industry I worked for.

But somehow Kadee managed to keep all production here. Their nice freight cars that are just as good in price and detail as anything made in China - and without all the drama. Give companies like that your business. When you upgrade your freight car trucks and couplers, skip all the China junk.

[Cjcrescent]

Frankly, I would like to see a return to "generic", in this case basic models, that the modeler becomes responsible for completing the detail and/or paint. I believe that I have had more fun taking a basic steamer, like a Bowser kit, and completing the model to match a specific road.

Did it take time, sure it did. But I now have a model that outpulls just about anything else on the market. It runs with its can motor and NWSL gearbox smoother than any similar model I have. Not only that, it was done at less than half the cost of a comparable brass loco, and about 1/4 less than a comparable "new age" plastic/die cast one.

While I realize that not everyone would like this solution, due to a lack of skills, but then they could either pay more for a model "dressed up" to specific prototypes, or learn the skills needed to accomplish their goals.

I believe that this would do several things, not the least of which would put product on the shelves for the new and experienced hobbyist to buy when wanted. It could also provide a steady flow of income into the company so they can invest in newer and more diverse models. This wouldn't be done as in the old Athearn model, but in a more disciplined cycle of manufacture.