OK - this is my fault for choosing a favorite railroad that is now a “fallen flag”. All those beautiful SD 80 and 90 MAC’s and nothing in Santa Fe blue or silver. Or SP gray, or Chessie yellow, or Conrail blue for that matter either. Is CSX, UP, NS and BNSF the only thing we are going to see the rest of our lives in those new hulking beasts?
A few years ago Athearn did some fantasy F59’s and Intermountain did some ATSF ES44’s in silver, and Tower 55 did a blue ATSF ES44. Must have done OK - try finding one on the secondary market. You can’t ! Modelers want some new power to modernize their fleets. Almost every model company takes pre-orders for their new diesel issues. So why not some fantasy paint jobs??? Not enough orders - well, then don’t make it. I’m still waiting for my CSX #1492 Spirit of America diesel I ordered from Atlas over a year ago. Must not have been enough orders.
Come on manufacturers - I thought part of this business was to make $$$$$$$. The hard part - the tooling and guts are already done. Announce an SP, ATSF and Conrail SD90MAC and watch the bucks roll in. Modelers - let’s light the torches and get the pitchforks and start storming the electronic gates and get this thing rolling. Show these guys there is a market just waiting for someone to fill it.
As you can see by signature I fall into the optimists camp, but there comes a time when sheer bloody mindlessness must give way to pragmatism. [swg]
These guys, here at this latest of many threads on the subject…http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/221611.aspx are a case in point, and are just as likely “whistling Dixie” as yourself. [:D]
And once upon a time in the Blue Box Athearn days - you could easily do that because everybody offered Undec as an option. Ever try striping paint from an engine these days with all that detail attached to it? So what is to lose? An email goes out with a fantasy paint scheme being offered. Order by date is set. If enough orders don’t come in - the project is canceled.
Since I’m the guy who started the “Models needed” thread, I guess I ought to respond to JaBear.
There have been quite a few responses. We’re on the third page, and it’s only been two days. I won’t judge the relative merits of every posting. Some seem more likely than others to bear fruit, but that’s for the potential manufacturer to decide. If there hadn’t been modelers who pointed out the need for an F7 shell that was better than the old Globe shell, we’d still be buying models with that old shell. More recently, Intermountain discovered that a lot of eastern modelers were tired of seeing re-do’s of the AAR Standard offset twin hopper from Athearn, Atlas, Kadee, and AccuRail, while nobody was producing the Alternate standard car which was the type used by all the Van Sweringen roads (C&O, Erie, NKP, W&LE, etc.) as well as other roads. Intermountain responded to this demand, and their brand new alternate standard car is expected to arrive on dealers’ shelves any day now.
Many — probably most — of the suggestions will go unanswered by the manufacturers. But if we get a positive response from a few, and get some new and/or better products on the hobby shop shelves and on our layouts, then it will have been worthwhile. It can’t hurt to put a bug in a manufacturer’s ear.
Well if the prototype keeps doing “heritage units” like Norfolk Southern, I’m sure model builders will follow suit. So far I’ve seen the Jersey Central, New York Central, Penn Central, and Wabash units - and I’m about 400 miles from the nearest NS tracks!!
One thing I’d like to see is Atlas release their FM H-24-66 “Trainmaster” in the original Chicago & NorthWestern paintscheme. CNW didn’t have Trainmasters, but did have H-16-66 “Baby Trainmaster” engines that were virtually identical externally, except for being about 3-4 feet shorter. Milwaukee Road had the same units too, and both used them in Upper Michigan iron ore service into the early 1970’s.
Got both numbers of the ATSF ES44’s from Intermountain. That is my point though… They sold out at Intermountain. They rarely come up on the secondary market (Ebay, etc.).
The demand is there.
So slap a war bonnet or bloody nose on an SD 80 and watch the cash role in the door! How many manufacturers are making NS heritage units - three? Anyone really think all, or even most of those things are running on NS themed layouts? I’ve got an ES44 NKP heritage parked next to an NKP RS11 right now.
I suspect that the companies see it is not worth the effort of making the old paint schemes and getting the equipment to make it happen. Plus there isn’t as much demand, most modelers seem don’t seem to model fallen flags in modern times, and if they do, then they will buy a unpainted locomotive (cheaper to make, and only one choice fits all) and decorate it. It is just the way businesses work, they have to make money. Athearn has all 20 NSanniversary locomotives (19 of which are heritage units). Because the a real locomotive that are unique, they will be in high demand, and modelers will buy them (especial those that have NS layouts).
I would LOVE to see some manufacturers return to undecorated locomotive models (…don’t forget N Scale in that request please [;)]). My Son models N Scale CP/Soo Line and I have modified/painted and decaled a few Kato and Atlas shells over the years for him. But removing the railings and other details combined with getting the paint off is a real messy and time consuming pain in the butt [:(!]! Heck, charge me the same price as a RTR locomotive but have it come undecorated and I’d be all over them [:P]. I suspect they would sell pretty well as many modelers still repaint and detail their locomotives. But hey…what do I know [D)]!
The odd thing to me is it seems like manufacturers actually have pretty regularly done pure “fantasy” paint schemes - Great Northern SD70s or whatever - but now seem reluctant to do what we might call “close enough” engines, perhaps for fear of being criticized for making “foobies” in forums like this one. In my earlier example of offering an Atlas H-24-66 in CNW paint as a stand-in for a CNW H-16-66. The difference between the two is so slight that even railfan / model railroad magazines have misidentified the CNW H-16-66s as “TrainMasters”. So what would be wrong with offering the model, stating that it’s technically not ‘correct’ but is very close??
If you look in the Walthers catalogue, there are manufatures that sell in decorated units, and Athearn has a NS unit in primer gray, which is like an undecorated model.
Concur with most of what the people on this forum are saying. I have a B40-8 and FP45 in GTW and have plans to paint a SDP35, GP60B, GP40X, SD60F, SD70I, and SD45 (high hood). I am also considering painting a Spokane Portland & Seattle SD60. I have bought an Athearn BN GP60M, fantasy scheme and it looks great.
I have heard a few modelers who model fallen flag railroads in modern day, as if existed. There is one on this web site who models a modern day NYC, and his locomotives look great! I realize some modelers want that perfect technically correct locomotive.
Those maybe nice, but I don’t need it. Close enough is good for me, and fantasy locomotives are awesome. As someone else mentioned, adding these paint jobs could make the different to a paticular model being produced or not.
Caution: This does involve [shudder] actual modeling…[;)]
I suspect the market for fantasy paint schemes is rather fickle. Some do sell well, but I can imagine a few that wouldn’t (Monon Tunnel Motor, anyone?[:o)])
Yeah, the whole “foobie” thing gets pretty rabid. Modelers know they need to either do the research or accept what’s not quite right, as we do with many things in life. Why should a handful of folks with a bug under their saddle that someone, ANYONE, would ever put a non-prototypical paint scheme on a model!?!![B)][*-)][%-)] dictate what manufacturers should build or other modelers might want? I suppose that sort of thing is one more expression of the “I’m an expert because I know everything about XY&Z RR” syndrome that seems to plague some people’s online engagement with the hobby, usually to the distress of those around them.[^o)]
