MTH has done an exceptionally good job with Tinplate and in helping give it a come-back.
Tinplate trains definitely have charm, color, and character, as do some of the accessories like the Dorfan crane.
If you have the cash and layout space, these are some fun things to play with.
dav
Hi Ratpak
Welcome to the CTT Forum.
Also note that MTH is also offering TinPlate in O gauge also.
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14615
To view the catalog, you must be a member of the MTH RRC. It should be an line for all to see by the end of the month.
Tom
This is quite an impressive catalog. Back in the day when tinplate was king, the most Lionel had in terms of pages was 48 during the late 20s and early 30s. Thirty-six pages of tinplate equipment is quite an ambitious undertaking for Mike and the rest. I just hope he does not overreach himself, and suffer the same fate Ives and Dorfan did during that time period.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
I find it rather puzzling and disappointing that Lionel doesn’t compete with MTH on these types of items. They are allowing MTH to essentially rip off and benefit from Lionel’s hallowed history without a whimper of competition. I would consider purchasing some of these replicas, but I just cannot see spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on replicas of historic toy trains that have “MTH” on the plaque, instead of the appropriate “Lionel.” It would be like having a copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio, but with the author listed as “Joseph Blogs.” Each to his own :).
Hi Neil,
Maybe you don’t remember when Micky work for Lionel. He was making replacement parts for Tinplate, and then with the agreement and bless of Lionel, strated making complete Tinplates.
The big parting came when Micky wanted to start making O gauge trains with more scale, real road names (not just Lionel Lines on the tenders) and sound systems like OSI and command controls.
Gee, look where we are all at now. Funny when you look back at history.
tom
I’m pretty familiar with the history of three rail trains as it’s one of my interests. Mike’s interest in making scale trains predated his relationship with Lionel, as he was working with Jerry Williams when Williams was the only importer of scale locomotives. Mike’s relationship with Samhongsa was such that when Lionel approached Samhongsa about making scale locomotives, they insisted Lionel deal with Mike Wolf as a middleman. The Lionel classics of the late 1980s and early 1990s reflect that collaboration. The relationship fell apart when Mike wanted to import directly (he was also a retailer back then) a locomotive that Lionel had passed on. He apparently did this without consulting his partner, Richard Kughn and Kughn retaliated by lifting Mike’s Lionel dealership, which led to anti-trust charges and a legal settlement in Mike’s favor.
Nonetheless, seeing a 400E with MTH on the side, not Lionel, seems quite bizarre and not very desireable to me. The scale models of the late 1980s and early 1990s certainly are partially Mike Wolf’s doing, but he wasn’t the first or the last to think about doing such models. Lionel made the 700 steamer almost 70 years ago, which was 30 years before Mike was born :).