Athearn announced the HO F9 A/B/B, D&RGW #5771/#5762/#5763 (Genesis) 12/26/2002 and it’s already discontinued. This post is not about the F9, it’s about why manufacturers do it this way. I’m pretty sure that if this F9 existed today, Athearn would sell lots of it.
I can often see locos and other things on eBay that are discontinued and cost big money. Almost like collectors items. As a model railroader I just want to order my loco and use it, but that is impossible in many cases. I just wonder, what’s the point?
I’m sure we can get manufacturers to do whatever we want them to do. If we can agree on something we want to see I’m sure they will listen.
So lets start discussing what we want to see on the HO scale market.
My guess would be so that they can keep people chasing after the products but that’s just one of my black helicopter theorys…
What I would like to see is fewer limited runs and more staple items. I’m not asking for give away items like it was in the ‘good old days’… Just keep the stuff available… I’m not expecting it to change anytime soon however… I’d wager that almost as soon as they start taking orders for the latest and greatest 4-8-8-4, they will be sold out… Not that I care to have one, that’s just an example.
El,
I suspect the discontinued bit is just modern business practice and inventory control. Hopefully the molds for the shells didn’t wear out in four years. Most of these folks i think do the tooling and make a run based on the number of units they need to turn a profit and only then review demand and consider another run of the same. The way to get something reissued is to continue to contact the manufacturer and request the item. If there is enough demand from enough people there will be a supply eventually. As for me, I’d love to see an EP-5 or EF3 or 4 in New Haven colors but i realize there is little chance of ever seeing that. J.R.
One of my favorite Walther’s kits is the “Miranda’s Banana’s” business. Beautiful brick structure with a perfect loading dock for freight cars. Also had great potential to be used as other businesses as well.
Yet, it’s been retired over a year, along with other popular structures like the Car Shop and Back Shop.
Realistically, a manufacturing business can only do one thing at a time. If they are set up for producing GP-9’s, then it takes a while to change over and make F-7’s. Similarly, if they are painting Rio Grande colors, they can’t just flip a switch and start making BNSF. There is some down-time for every changeover, too, so a manufacturer has to consider whether or not it’s even worth setting up for a run of a particular product. All of this, of course, is keyed to sales.
If you want a “new” model (even of an old locomotive) then someone has to stop making an older model in order to produce it.
I don’t buy the “black helicopter” theory, which, in fuzzier terms, is the same as the marketing model for Beanie Babies. The Ty company intentionally “retired” certain models to boost demand and make their products “collectable.” (Yeah, in my neighborhood, they collect on Thursdays.) While this may be an unintentional offshoot of what happens with MR manufacturers, I don’t think they do it deliberately. Instead, I like to think of the whole hobby as a constantly-changing landscape. I’ve learned to buy something when I see it, because it won’t be there for long. Trainworld and M.B. Klein are helping us all by carrying a large inventory of discontinued items, and selling them at steep discounts, besides. And then, there’s always eBay.
Locos are discontinued to speed up the pace in the market- buy it now or don’t get it (It does work) Now with building kits, you are looking at something different. Many building kits are simple flat molds, (no slides for 3D detail) so are often made of lesser quality materials and don’t hold up as well to the wear and tear, so if the mold becomes damaged, it is retired rather than being repaired. Also with a building you basically have one kit, with cars, you can change part of the mold and have a different car.
As a couple of others have already related, this involves modern business practices. The manufacturer wants to totally eliminate the stocking of a product. Their desire is to have an item pre-sold before it even enters the country. Repeated runs on most items, or continuous runs, would mean stocking an item in a warehouse that must be rented. This simply isn’t done any more by most manufacturers as it costs them considerable addition funds and cuts seriously into their profits. Should enough immediate demand be demonstrated, a new run will be made but only large enough to meet the demand at the moment. Don’t expect things to change in the future.
Athean Genesis is imported in limited quantities and they are calling them discontinued to indicate no more are being imported. You might see a second run later on with a different number, but that particular version and number is not on the horizon.
The Challenger shows up the same way. After two runs of the 3985 in fan trip trim, it is now discontinued also. Their market is probably satuarated and stock would just occupy the shelves.
I would like to see Northern Pacific Challengers or Yellowstones on the market instead of the same models that continue to come out. I model the UP so I should not be complaining, but the latest announcement of still another Big Boy from the Genesis line is really surprising. The Trix Big Boy has set new standards in running qualities and should continue to be a model to own. The Genesis line will be nice, but will probably have the same sound as the Challenger. Need I say more.
How about an EM1 B&O Yellowstone or the M4 DM&IR Yellowstone. These two engines have so much in common with the basic driving gear and both could be a big seller.
again: any generic Camelback, for LV, CNJ, LNE, D&H, DL&W, Erie or whatever. So many high-end models of big, bigger, biggest articulateds, many USRA designs, almost all of EMD’s and Alco’s catalogues over the years… and NONE of the faithful workhorses that built antracite country! (Did i say this before?)
Bangert1–I’m with you on that one. Actually, both prototype locos were built by Baldwin during WWII, and considering the materials available (or lack of them), it wouldn’t surprise me if Baldwin didn’t just plop a lighter-materialed B&O-specific boiler on top of a Missabe set of engines. I know what’s what Akane did back in the 'sixties when they imported both of their brass M4’s and EM’s. I’ve got two Akane M-4’s and I was able to compare one of them with a brass EM and guess what? Yup! Same wheelbase and drivers and eccentric gear. So the idea of someone deciding to come up with newer models of these locos wouldn’t entail much more than different boiler and cab castings and two different types of tenders. I sure wouldn’t mind. I know the EM was lighter in tractive effort than the M3/4, but it was sure a handsome hunk of locomotive!
Tom [:p]
The buy it now or pay double for it on ebay trend is the most annoying part of the hobby for me. I ,like most people I would assume, don’t have unlimited funds to spend on the hobby so I can’t buy everything I want, the second it is annouced. If you shop around you can usually find what you are looking for even if it is discontinued but it is an annoyance.
The Just In Time process of manufacturing trend isn’t going away anytime soon. All areas of manufacturing are moving towards it. It is good for the manufacturer as it helps increase profits but it isn’t always a good thing for the consumer.
I’m afraid the outlook is rather bleak for those of us interested in camelbacks, dothinker. Just consider that the last reasonably accurate, mass produced model of a common camelback road locomotive was issued 45 years ago! Mantua’s LV 2-8-2 and 4-6-2 were examples of a very, very limited number of machines that operated on a single road, while the IHC mogul really resembles nothing accurately…nor is it even in proper proportion. Oh well.
