Athearn and N scale would be nice, however, I could see them getting alittle out of control and going Kato style. However, a SD70MAC in N Scale, mmmmmmmm!! Dane N. ------------------ TAMR2860-AKA BC Rail King TAMR2860@hotmail.com
I believe as N scale grows in popularity more manufacturers including Athearn may produce equipment to satisfy the market. It all comes down to supply and demand and hopefully the more manufacturers the better availablity of "off the shelf" products. Congratulations to Lifelike for at least putting Atlas and Kato on notice. ------------------ http://members.optusnet.com.au/~pcassar/index
Hmmm.. a boycott? Of whom? Kato? For what purpose? The US market is small for them and if it is going to be too much trouble, they will simply drop it. Inkaneer did a good job of summing up Kato's production priorities amongst other points. Maybe they could go to China for additional capacity but that would be sub-contracting like Life-Like and Atlas do, and I doubt that is in their plans. Also it's China and there may be a historical problem there. Atlas has done more than anyone in recent times getting a good variety of good looking and running models to market in a short time. IMHO, they don't fall into Kato's category of a limited production manufacturer. You can buy just about any of the models they have produced just about anywhere at reasonable prices. And if demand warrants it a re-release is done. The Classic line is an example. Plus they have to be the best when it comes to spare parts. As for Athearn, the rumour has been travelling a few years now. I don't see them buying in at this point, and probably not at all - N simply is not a large enough market to withstand another large volume player. And they would have to be a large volume manufacturer to keep the pricing lower than the current competitiors that already have a toehold in the market. Look at the Genesis line in HO - Kato quality, Kato availability, Kato pricing. If and when Life-Like gets their act together, there's our N Scale Athearn. Gary.
oh, yeah... Dane, if anyone is to do it, look at Atlas doing the SD70/75 series. They have the makings already in the SD60 series. Kato is tied to the SD40-2. There is something like 13 different major phase variations in the prototype - enough to keep them busy for a few years yet!
I would like to think Kato will do lots of different SD40-2 variants, but we cannot be sure what they have in mind, so have to buy as many as we can afford of each version as it appears ------------------ Alan The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.ac-models.com http://Andersley.homestead.com http://galleryusarail_tehcaj.homestead.com
If any of you guys are really interested in Athearn getting into N scale why don't you email them and say so. I think if there is enough interest shown by prospective customers they may just bite the bullet and do it,and yes I allready have e-mailed them. ------------------ Catt!
...and the address would be? ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX, Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Style! Brent Tidaback
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Catt: If any of you guys are really interested in Athearn getting into N scale why don't you email them and say so. I think if there is enough interest shown by prospective customers they may just bite the bullet and do it,and yes I allready have e-mailed them. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I just DID? Maybe we should start some kind of campaign?
since i dont have their e-mail why dont someone who does invite them to look at the train board posts and maybe that will help convince them. just a thought. ------------------ bnfan99
Because there is no way on earth they would actually look at something to see what the costumers wanted..... Dane N. ------------------ TAMR2860-AKA BC Rail King TAMR2860@hotmail.com
I am sure that Athearn has looked into expansion, has considered N, and is fully aware of what market is available out there. The Genesis line was a departure from the norm for Athearn. Currently, I would hazard, their eggs are in that basket for now. A campaign by a handful of people spread across NA, Europe and Australasia will not have a massive impact. It may sound defeatist, but it's reality. If Athearn feels the need, they will come.
I agree with Gats. I am pretty sure Athearn are well aware of the market place, but judging by Trainboard.com, is N scale humming or what ------------------ Alan The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.ac-models.com http://Andersley.homestead.com http://galleryusarail_tehcaj.homestead.com
WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! I may sugest that we also e-mail Life-Like and tell them to get on the ball and re-drive ALL of their old loco's with the new split frames! JOY! ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX, Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Style! Brent Tidaback
Wow! Athearn has really started to tell costumers things they didn't know "Anything is possible, I never would have thought of that" Dane N. ------------------ TAMR2860-AKA BC Rail King TAMR2860@hotmail.com
I myself own 1 Kato NYC RS2, 2 SP c44-9's, and one Conrail RS11. They're beautiful locomotives, and run better and smoother than any other loco's I have(Except for my two NYC Atlas GP9's and 1 Atlas NYC RS1). If Athearn joined the n scale market, there would be enough competition to get the other manufacturers to compete and produce more. I would like to see how correct the detail and paint is on the new SD90MAC's coming out now. Does anyone know if Conrail is being done?
Hiedeeho, I am Mr.Hanky! Brent, Kato has not released alot of detail on what they will do with the 90MAC. If they do Conrail, I would think that they would just use some form of 90MAC body, making it unprototypical. However, from what I have gathered, there will be a CP Rail unit done. Pacific Scale Rail, in New Westminster, BC, Canada was asked to supply pis of some CPR 9043MACS for them to make a model. That was the first I heard of the project, about 4 months ago. Anyhow, I would like to add the new Kato snoot to my list, as although they screwed up on some of the RRs I don't care about (no offence intended by that comment) they still did a good job. Sure the nose is too big for SOME of the RRs, it is still right for a few guys! The paint is crisp, they run like a charm, and frankly, that White-Blue LED don't bother me as much as it seems to do to other people. After like 2 minutes on the test track I didn't even notive. The hand rails look good considering how they molded them, and the flooring on the side walks is prototypical. The trucks look good, could use dull coat, but still even Atlas and LL units need that. The #s on the BNSF unit look big, any comment? Happy Railroading to you! Dane N. TAMR International Region Rep. Publisher of da good old Cascade/Intercolonial/Extra #4449 ------------------ TAMR2860-AKA BC Rail King TAMR2860@hotmail.com
BLAME CANADA! BLAME CANADA! I thought the same thing about the numbers. I know they put WAY too large numbers on their CW-44-9 Santa Fe units, that's why I got mine un-numbered. I understand the SD-40-2's come only numbered, does anyone know if this is true? ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX, Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Style! Brent Tidaback, Member #234 [This message has been edited by Maxwell Plant (edited 09 May 2000).]
