Now that I have some time in my life I’ve been reading my Emails from the last month or so. I received this one from Tom Tomblin of Canadian Model Trains explaining what is going on and why no new products have been produced.
Industry Update
First, the hobby is in a manufacturing turmoil. There is no question; you have seen the delays from virtually all manufacturers. Pick any manufacturer’s name and their products are delayed. Why you ask? There are several reasons. The primary one is that the largest factory which produced models for a wide variety of manufacturers has shut its doors to those manufacturers. It …was bought out by the Bachmann group and now produces models solely for Bachmann.
As a result, many manufacturers have been forced to scramble and find another factory that can produce their models. If you can imagine the size of China’s manufacturing sector, you might well say to yourself there should be lots of factories. There is, they produce lots of electronics, such as games, toys, appliances, telecommunications, etc. However, model trains are way down at the bottom of the list, as it is such a small market. Believe it or not, there are very few companies capable of model train production. Our hobby products involve tool and die making, electronics, motors, plastic extrusion, assembly, and painting. All of this has to be done with fine tolerances. All of these areas require dedicated areas and skilled employees. Compare all of that to an example, a “Barbie doll”, with much greater tolerance for error.
The result to you the modeler is that your promised future models have been delayed. As dealers, we and all other dealers are the recipient of modelers’ frustrations, as we are their direct contact. I can certainly understand and empathize with modelers’ frustrations. We have the same frustration, except