I have to disagree here. "They just didn't expect the popularity of the car (a VERY tough game to play and expensive if you guess wrong)." Even MTL could have foreseen that this major event was hugh, and would have been a BIG seller. The car looks awesome...even if was/is a shelf queen for many. Making such a small limited run was in my opinion...shortsighted by a long shot !! "Six months from now the 'new' will be worn off and the eclipse a distant memory and the cars will start losing their interest and most likely start showing back up." Again I have to disagree. People buy holiday cars, Ringling Bros cars, grafitti cars, and other 'one offs' etc. etc. etc. There are a whole lot of those that people consider them ' collectable'. In my humble opinion...the Eclipse car surpasses all those. The Eclipse was what some would say is a 'once in a lifetime' event. The path of totality touched 14 states, and the rest of the U.S. had a partial eclipse. The last time a total eclipse crossed the entire USA was 1918 !
"....who thought that a car about the eclipse would sell out faster than a holiday car?" The same Holidays come each year...really nothing special about that. IMHO...a total eclipse that crossed the entire country again for the first time since 1918 far outweighs any annual holiday. JMO
The folks at MTL really spend a lot of time and effort trying to get their production runs sized correctly. If they knew they could have sold more, they would have made more. They don't make more money from a shortage. They make LESS money. I also appreciate that they are sticking to their guns of not reprinting the exact same car once it sells out. Their commitment to integrity and manufacturing standards is exemplary. So hats off to Eric and Ben and everyone else at MTL. Thank you for doing your best and doing it well!
Making less of a product and not making more when the supply runs out...sounds conterproductive to me. Its their bussiness model and I understand that. Leaving your customers wanting more...that I dont understand. If the object of being in bussiness is to make lots of $$$$...and then not doing everything you can to go after that $$$$ is...well....
I heard somewhere that they shred/grind up over runs? Seems costly to make too many. MTL makes such a variety of cars every month in multiple scales. If they made more of every release to better combat the chances of shortages they would end up making fewer car types every month. What if they had made 3x as many eclipse cars...would they sell out? I think the people pay the ultra high prices because of the perceived scarcity. That settles down over time. Anyone watch the Boeing set prices? They went up and up and then back down. MTL announced another run. Over time, it all works itself out. I'm going to weather my eclipse car...just kidding, I don't have one
Ryan...one thing that caught my eye in your post >>>"MTL announced another run". By previous posts in this thread I was/am under the impression that MTL wont do another run of the Eclipse car. ( not that you where indicating they will.) That being said...if I wanted one desperately enough to have to sell my first born child to buy one wherever I could find one...and...MTL made another run of them at a decent price...I would be so ******at MTL I might be tempted to drive up to Oregon to voice my displeasure in person !! Just Sayin !
Yes, another run of Boeing fuselage kits. The box car is existing tooling. The fuselages can only be fuselages so you knew they would be making more...the question was only WHEN. I think it's best that MTL is consistent about their runs and reprints. Sometimes they make too many, sometimes not enough, sometimes the Goldilocks amount. The great thing is that we have a market where almost anything is available...price and time are the variables.
In six months we'll have to see who is right. I still think I will be. They WILL...in 2020 when the next eclipse happens. It won't be 99 years like the last one. This guy gets it! They usually are done with the run before they start shipping them out. If they make too many on a regular basis, they wouldn't have lasted as long as they have. Better to side on too few than too many. I stand by my statement that MT does an excellent job of doing what they do and just because you didn't get ONE car you wanted...boo hoo! I'm thinking I want to paint and decal my own eclipse car...getting a black car is easy, but where can I find some glow in the dark decals?
I missed out on the eclipse car. There's a few other cars (and 53' containers) that I've missed out on over the years. But for the most part, I can usually find the cars I'm looking for. I preordered their DODX flats because I do think those will sell out faster than the eclipse cars. But I'm guessing there will be more runs with different road numbers, like the Boeing fuselages.
