Don't be too quick. Model railroaders are pretty resourceful. We are gaining on technology to not only print our own decals but to also create our own 3D models. This is only a minor setback as there are other fine paint makers out there that WILL fill the gaps with a better product and better customer service. We all need to admit that color and quality has slipped on Floquil products in the last few years anyhow. If Testors is going to stake their hopes on the old Testors line they will fail. No matter what happens the trains will keep rolling ! Randy
I cant see the message I put up on the Testors page. Or anyone elses comments for that matter. How do you see the messages?
Not long... I checked at 7:40PM Eastern and it was gone... Dissent won't be tolerated. The FB page is just a stream of ads, 'helpful tips' and favorable posts.
Randy,I'm almost 60 years old.My eyes are still great,but,for how long? I have a half dozen hobbies besides trains,quit frankly,at the moment,trains are RAPIDLY becoming the most expensive with the least return,and all this nonsense,discontinued stuff,prices,unavailability of nonsense common items like track,switches,high priced limited runs,[BUY IT NOW!!! YOU WON'T SEE IT AGAIN!!!!!!]ETC,is just making it totally non rewarding for me.Frankly,it's getting aggravating...I'm not interested in new technology,I like things just the way they are..I'm not waiting five more years for new decals,or new paint,or Testors to fail.I've been creating my own "3D" models for 35 years without technology,and quit frankly,once it starts ticking me off,it's time to move on....
I am not interested in the latest greatest technology either. I just want to enjoy the hobby. And as far as the second part of this comment. I honestly hope this decision that Testors has made breaks them. Put them into Bankruptcy! Then maybe they will see that GREED isn't everything. When they are ALL unemployed then the mgmt will sit there scratching their heads trying to figure out what went wrong? Boycott Testors products! That is how we will send them a message. I like Testors Model Master liquid cement. But now, I think I will go with Plasctruct glue instead. Ryan
Ryan,that's just it for me,I'm not enjoying it anymore..This has gone from a creative hobby to instant gratification.With few exceptions,everybody just wants to buy trains and run them,if I'm gonna do that,I'll go back to slotcars..I use almost every product they make.I'm into trains,helicopters,RC cars,ETC,I used their stuff on everything...NO MORE.They just lost a life long great customer..Right now,between RC,train,and regular model paint,I bet I have close to 100 bottles right now,I know I have close to 50 bottles of Floquil....Did I see here they own Rustoleum? If they do,NOT FOR ME..
The posts are still there, but hidden. Select "Posts by Others" in the little drop down just above the timeline. They have it set up to not post to the main page so the average person won't see them.
Hey guys, on the facebook page, click 'posts by others' at the top. You're all there. Keep it comin! It can be seen. Meanwhile, for those of you not on facebook, another place to vent - from their holding company - RPM International. For more information, contact Barry M. Slifstein, vice president – investor relations and planning, at 330-273-5090 or bslifstein@rpminc.com. I can always understand a company loosing interest. What I can't understand - even from a shareholder standpoint - is not selling a brand name with value and a dedicated customer base. That's just stupid, even from a corporate type. Hey, FYI, I ended up being a one of a three-person group that bought my own company back from a corporate holding company that just about wrecked us for three before it was over. That was three years ago. Give somebody else a chance with the brand name and product line. When I announced our 'buyback' at a trade show convention, I got a standing ovation. It's worth it.
I like this repsonse that is on there. You are killing off Polly Scale and Floquil!?!??! un freaking believable!!!! Do you understand how these products are ingrained into the Model Railroad hobby? I have seen some bad corporate decisions, but this one takes the cake!
I suppose this could be a golden opportunity for somebody to start a new small business. In the meantime, I hope the folks at Badger can gear up to fill some of the demand. Somebody said they didn't like Modelflex--actually, it's a good product, although too thin for brush work, and there are gaps in the color selection.
When I first got into painting models, Floquil was just starting to expand its RR line with specific color mixes to match prototype schemes. What a timesaver! Of course, the basic plain janes like reefer white and orange, engine and grimy black, depot olive, traction red, the grays and muds and dusts added value. 'Twas modeler paradise. I took a hiatus and returned to a greatly reduced selection. And now, this. Well, as the old timers were telling me as I was buying airbrushes, compressors and stocks of Floquil for NYC, Pennsylvania and B&O rolling stock in those halcyon days, "Son, you want NYC gray, start with 6 drops of . . . ." Start recording your formulas as you develop them. Start sharing on these lists and forums. Start doing workshops for the modelers in your community and area. Somewhere in my boxes of old paper, there are such formulas, but most of those brands just got wiped away.
Badger Modelflex is JUNK!!!!! If that is what we have to resort to now. I will not paint. The stuff is too thin! It is like shooting a model with water. You cant even cover a model even half way decent with that stuff!
I don't think comments on Facebook and individual emails to Kristin Schiro are going to achieve much, if anything. No doubt she is the filter between us consumers and the people who made the decision. What is needed is direct contact with the President of Testor Corporation from people like the President of NMRA and the Editor of Model Railroader (and possibly Jim Hediger) on behalf of the entire hobby. So if you are a member of NMRA or a subscriber to MR, make your feelings known through those channels and those at the top can act. Cheers David
Well, as an alternative, there is Tru-color Paints (the old accu-paint line but reformulated) . They have lots of colors and many are much more specific than Floquil ever was like (SP Colonial Yellow and Olive Green...no more mixing!) plus a whole line of different freight car reds. They have a lot more than the old line did as far as I can remember. I'll probably go here for new stuff or when old stuff dries up... http://www.trucolorpaint.com/ Peter
Thanks for that-I'd never heard of them before. Looks like a promising source, and they're all over ebay which is nice too.
Hi Gang When I saw the title of Tony's post, I jumped to it immediately thinking, well knowing this is bad news. I sort of guessed that something like this would happen someday. When RPM rolled up the model paint companies (In the 1990's)Pactra, Testors, flouquil, they basically created a monopoly within the segment of paint and finish. All of these companies acquired by RPM had formerly been competitors with each other over the years in one form or the other. If one slacked the other picked up the pace. So for the last 20 years like the rest of you I have been observing and experiencing the disappointment. Like Lou said these companies have been the foundation for us hobbyist who like to build models. It feels like they have just pulled the rug out from under us. Lou hang in there pal you have been doing this long enough to know that we model building enthusiasts are resourceful. You would really be missed. Yep this is going to hurt but we'll will get around it over it or just build our way through of it. I saw mention of boycott this is OK but if you are going to do this educate yourself before hand find out where the raw materials are being supplied from other paint companies. Often times you will find a large company like RPM end up being the primary supplier to its competitors. Al Davenport founder of Pactra Paint, was a friend and associate of mine, unfortunately Al's is not going to be able to come back and acquire his old company, and I doubt that the other founding principals like of Flouquil will be able to so either. The one thing that we can hope for is that who ever does try to fill this void is that they have the passion that the other founders preceding them did. That's whats missing at RPM now. It is not something they can buy and it shows in the products they have been producing lately and it evident in their customer relations. And that's all I have to say about that.
The real surprise here is that with the way the model railroad hobby has been declining in the last 10-15 years, that they didn't give it up a long time ago. Floquil has never been the same since the original company was first taken over by Testors many years ago, and switched from Dio-sol thinner to that awful Rev-1 stuff which curdled the paint in your airbrush bottle. Frankly, I'm surprised that MicroScale decals is still in business as well, in spite of the fact that they make an excellent product, although I admire them for hanging in there. Their inventory must be an accountant's nightmare with all those dead items. I once worked for a large hobby shop who was on auto-ship with Microscale for all their new releases, and when they went out of business in 1999 they had about $15,000.00 (priced at $2.00-$3.00 a sheet rather than the current $8.00 price) worth of decals on hand in their decal drawers. The fact is, the number of modelers willing to take the time to paint and decal their own models has been declining dramatically over recent years, and truth be told it never was all that high. The discontinuation of Athearn Blue Box kits because of declining sales was the warning signal for the death of the "building" part of the hobby. If modelers are unable or unwilling to build an Athearn kit, just what would they be willing to build? Another thing to consider is price, how many bottles of paint are they going to sell at over $6.00 for a one ounce bottle? I'm sorry to see Floquil go, and I will miss it, mostly because I've used it for so many years (I still have some in the old square bottles). However, I honestly don't do enough painting to justify the storage space for the amount of it I already have on hand. Bill in FtL
