Why would the tooling have to be removed from China? Any new owner of the tooling would likely base production there, anyway. The biggest issue is that the tooling is not in the hands of someone who wants to do something with it. Jim
This is really too bad. I guess Walthers just isn't getting the message, that if you come up with regular release announcements, vary the roadnames or offerings a bit, and have stuff come out at least most of the time that N scalers will buy it. We have been buying Atlas stuff, even with the six-month or so delays (and years in the case of the Shays) and we continue to do so. Atlas just this month announced, what, they're fourth or fifth release of the VO-1000, with mostly new paint schemes, INCLUDING CB&Q. Kato has been periodically releasing NW-2 locomotives, and next month they are on schedule to bring out new roadnames for UP and BN and an entirely new NP scheme, and I bet they will sell well. Atlas' latest release of GP-7/9 models has just hit the hobby shops and they'll sell fine, too. If you build it, the dollars come out and buy it, particularly if it is any good, and the SW9/1200 models are good models.
It does not necessarily need to be moved. It might not be possible at all, with the way ownership of the tooling can be. OTOH- There is some impetus for moving things back to the States for better control, jobs at home and so on. Plus, there are issues with the economy over there and along with that seems have come cost increases, quality troubles, lagging production schedules and so forth. Most of us are quite aware of waiting and waiting and waiting.
If Walthers was to sell off the N scale line I see it happening one of 2 ways: 1-They sell the ENTIRE Life Like line including the HO. I dont see this happening as I think they probablly bought it for the Life Like line for the HO scale models and train sets. (This is all just my specualtion at least.) 2-Walthers sells the mfg rights to another company that is willing to pick up the product line but retains the royalties to the Life Like name for the particular models (SW 9/1200, EMD GP 38-2, and many others) I see this as a VERY unlikely scenario as I cant think of a mfg that would want to produce something and then pay royalties to another co just to put a product on the shelf. (Not to mention that there for sure would be legal fees involved with this too.) Just my $0.02 on it Ryan
N scale has been that for years with the NMRA. I can also name you HO scalers that wont even look at ANYTHING N scale. At a show they just walk on by.
I had an acquaintance who used to reference N scale as "flea gauge". I wonder what he'd say if he saw the popularity of Z? And even T scale....
This just gets more interesting. I posted on their Facebook page on Nov 16th asking for an update. I just received an email from Walthers via Facebook advising the following: Walthers wrote: "Hi Brian. Good news — all of the latest N Scale SW1200s (920-80150 – 80157) are in stock and shipping now!" So, who to believe...................
Are you sure this is Walthers doing and not the factory? I am becoming of the opinion that the factories (Factory?) in China are starting to call the shots on what exactly gets produced, when, and how many; more so than the companies whose name is actually on the box. Case of the tail wagging the dog.
I can't stand the odor of the smoke that is used for the Oversized scales. Thus I stay away from them at the shows. Thank heavens that N scale never developed a practical working smoke generator other than the abortive attempt years ago.
Could this mean that all of the stuff I ever ordered that I didn't ever get is in a fleet of UPS trucks converging on my residence?
This. How much more important than a distributor is a manufacturer... really? True, there's marketing and design expertise required, but that is not rocket science in the Model Railroading world. And it's quite "learnable." I think what keeps the Chinese manufacturers from pushing the American distributors to the wayside is simply the low volume of business that is the entire market. Although Kader/Bachmann are certainly ramping up the pipeline, aren't they?
Meanwhile, I checked Walthers' site on one of the stock numbers (the 920-80150, for the CN) and this is what is posted: N scale, $99.98, not currently in stock at Walthers, Expected: Limited Run
Wow, sounds to me like the newest killer ap - the 'random status generator'.... http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/software/content/Random-Status-Generator.php I had one for years and years - one of the very first runs when they were available. Darn near wore it out, actually did, repowered it with a Kato drive. Other than the wheels crudding up faster than the average bear (due to the softer wheel material LL uses as opposed to Kato or Atlas) an excellent performer.
