I normally post on CTT, but saw this news item that might be of interest to, and affect, many of you all.
Oh goody here we go again----[sigh]–and I’m sure there will be a counter suit—
This is the article. Lets hope someone is left to build model trains after the lawsuits are all completed.
CZ
http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=13623&type=UTTM
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If BLI did what is being claimed shame on them, either way there will be more modelers who refuse to buy mth products
There are probably three sides to this story. One for MTH, one for BLI and the other one might be somewhere in between.
This cannot be good either way for our hobby and the future of addtional models for us to purchase.
CZ
Ya that story was pretty one sided, would like to read those other two sides
At this point I would not miss either one of them. Puffing smoke, I think not on my layout. Sound, don’t care about that either in HO. Rare, unique, unsuccessful locos (triplex), don’t have any use for models like that either. Big monster steam, well I have a few but don’t really need more. PRR, I don’t model that railroad. UP, I don’t model that one either. I don’t collect.
While these two play in court and fight over the “HO toy collector market”, companies like Athearn, Bachmann, Atlas, Intermountain, Kato, Bowser/Stewart, Walthers/Proto and others continue to build model trains.
I have a few BLI locos (two heavy mikes, two sets of PCM F3’s, two PCM Reading T-1’s and a N&W Class A), but most of their offering are of no interest. In fact, I only bought the F3’s because FDT was giving them away for $50 a set, and all of the others where only bought at DEEP discounts. The ones that came with sound and DCC had it removed (the F3’s and the T-1’s where “stealth” models). These represent only 9% of my loco fleet. Bachmann, Athearn and Proto being the leaders in supplying my railroad.
MTH will never get a dime from me since his locos will not run correctly/full speed on my 13.8 volts DC.
Mike Wolf does not understand HO, and I’m not sure Ken is much better. We really don’t need them or their way of doing business in this hobby. Maybe the legal fees will backrupt them both, and someone with a brain will take over the tooling.
Sheldon
Oh boy! [:-^] Just when I thought that the smoke from 4 3/4 years ago settled…
Well guys, It’s beginning to smell like the spilled vinegar from February 2005 when the MTH vs QSI “threats of litigation” hit fhe HO market like an F40PH ramming a Honda Civic! From the looks of this, hopefully, it’s not going to affect our other HO and N manufacturers.
After buying the Class J by MTH I’m afraid my loyalties will rest with Mike Wolf. I think his company has changed the toy/model train market for the better, both in O gauge and in HO. I was actually watching a special on O gauge railroading featuring Tony Lash (I am sure many of you have heard of him), and he seems like a pretty nice guy who knows a lot about model trains and loves them. He insists that MTH is the underdog and thats why he buys all of their products (besides the fact that they seem to be of excellent quality). I’m too new to the hobby to judge whether that is correct, but I would have to honestly say that I hope MTH keeps doing what they are doing in HO, I think they have just sent the hobby light years ahead.
On the other hand, I hate all of these lawsuits, I really have no idea who is at fault, and I hope this doesn’t affect production too much from either company. Whether right or wrong, the BLI blue line GG-1 was discontinued over a lawsuit and that really stinks, I was really looking forward to getting one of those last year [V]
Anyway, this is a big shame for HO, just when I was starting to get really excited about the hobby again after my recent MTH purchase. I hope this doesn’t mean I have to go over to O scale to get those monster PRR smoking engines that I want. [swg]
MTH will sue every model train company eventually. >.>
Sheldon:
I’m not going to quote your thread, but let me say that as a fellow DC’er, I am in complete agreement with your thoughts.
Anyway, here we go AGAIN–[:-^]!
Tom [:P]
Do they have an agreement to go after each other every so often so they can liven things up a little? Kind of like a legal----WWWEEEEEEE!!! We wanna play!!
Barry:
Uff-Dah just learned how to jump up on the computer and walk around the keyboard. Do you think ‘Spring’ should sue, LOL?
Tom [:D]
I have a bad feeling over this announcement, and wonder if there will soon be a severe shortage of BLI engines. On the face of it, it doesn’t look promising for BLI.
-Crandell
[(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]
Nah—that would be too catty of ‘Spring’ !! LOL!!
There are no MTH products on my railroad, there are no BLI products on my railroad, and I am happy with the results. Nuff said.
Bob
Does this mean I will have to send back my BLI NYC L4b Mohawk??[banghead][swg]
Rick
Mike,
Not at all. You can just send it to me. [swg]
On a more serious note, I do hope that this doesn’t end up derailing the release of the BLI Dreyfuss Hudson in December.
Tom
As the Church Lady says, “Well isn’t that special[:)]” I’ve yet to see a MTH product that fits my layout, while Bob G and the BLI team have offered several reasonably priced and high quality steam and diesel locomotives that have been just what I was needing to fill in a few gaps.
I might be a little more sympathetic with MTH if they had not set off on what is likely (for them) a dead end road with a marginally compatible DCC system. If filing a law suit is supposed to bail you out when you are headed up stream without a paddle, then I say tough luck. My suggestion is to forget the law suits and make mainstream and broadly appealing products like BLI with control systems that work for everyone in the hobby. Is it possible that there is an ego issue here?
If you need to sue someone to pay the bills, then I’m sure that there are openings for greeters at WalMart to bridge over until you get a settlement. How pathetic!
Beware of words like, “Every,” “All,” Always," “None,” and, “Never.” It only takes one exception to invalidate the theory.
I rather doubt that Mike Wolf will ever sue Joe Works, Kawai or even Tenshodo. Of course, their products, like my railroad, run on analog DC.
And yes, Matilda, Tenshodo still manufactures HOj models of Japanese prototype locomotives.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)