Excuse my request… Believe me, I don’t want to disturb you…
The problem:
I’m looking for BLI NYC 4-8-4 Niagara, BLI N&W 4-8-4 Class J and BLI PRR 4-4-4-4 T1 Duplex steam locos. Although my efforts, I haven’t found anything till now (apart from a couple of shops not responding to my e-mails). So, if you can, I’d need your help: is there anybody who knows if his local hobby shop still has these H0 models? Every hobby shop, from Pacific Coast to Atlantic one, being able to ship overseas to Europe…
The T1 Duplex from BLI is out of production. These forums were intrumental in having 5 of these get sold in one week but it took alot of doing.
Visit Walthers online catalog and find the hobby shops that have recieved this item in the past. I did this and found a copy in Germany (Did not want to re-import it) and one in Ohio (His price was way too high)
I found that calling Broadway directly yielded results. But the few that were availible sold very fast like within hours.
Please… I’m reading on Tony’s Train the Broadway Limited Locomotives products list. Well, about BLI N&W Class J, they’ve added the “STEALTH” word. What do they mean? Do you have an idea?
More importantly it means you have to spend money again sometime in the future to install a sound kit into the engine if you want sound.
If Im spending a few hundred dollars for an engine, it needs to be fully equipped from the beginning so I dont waste any more dollars on it’s rapidly declining value.
For Safety Valve: I think you’re right. Like you, I’d like a sound equipped loco too. Nevertheless, only sound equipped Class J I’ve found on the web are priced at $ 380, while at Tony’s Train the no sound one costs $ 237. This price difference seems to me unjustified… Unfortunately, Tony’s has only no sound Class J…
Rather… on BLI site, I’ve seen there are two tender versions, both used in regular service: flat tender deck and round tender deck. Do you know something about?
K4Kid, you’re very very kindly… I really appreciate your advice. At this time, I’ve contacted Tony’s Train. Eventually, I will try to the shop you’ve suggested to me. Again, thank you.
My experience when searching for a particular item is that most US hobby shops do not respond to e-mail. And e-mail coming from a foreign IP address is likely to get caught in the spam blocker anyway. Although it’s painful to do from overseas, the best way to get a stock check is to call the hobby shop on the phone. But not on a Saturday! Calling on a weekday between 1000 and 1200 (hobby shop time) seems to get the best results. The large shops, like Caboose Hobbies, are easier to get accurate information from during their busier times simply because they have the staff and/or a useful web site.
Over the past couple of years, I have developed a short list of hobby shops most likely to have out-of-production items of interest to me on their shelves, and I call them when I am looking for a particular item. They know I will buy the item if they have it in stock, and are not pricing above MSRP, so they are usually willing to check their stock for me.
Since I model 1900 era, and am generally looking for out-of-production kits, my list would not be all that useful for you. But developing your own list is a worthwhile technique if you find yourself in the situation again.