I’m just curious. I’ve read a few posts that have stated that, after talking to one of the big MRRing manufacturers at a recent train show about the possiblilty of releasing a certain locomotive, the response is usually something to the effect of:
“Well, we believe that - since a number of other manufactuere’s are already producing that particular locomotive - we feel that the market is already saturated with that model, so we are not looking into manufacturing that particular locomotive at the present time.”
The response is either that or the manufacturer’s representative informs the eager MRRing enthusiast that it would not have the viable return on the investment because of limited interest in that model - TOTALLY legimate reasons for not producing a certain locomotive. Whether we acknowledge it or not, MRRing is a business, as well as a hobby.
Anyhow, I was thinking. Is there a particular locomotive - steam or diesel - that everyone and their grandmother is producing today? My first response would have to be an F7. I can’t think of a major MRRing manufacturing that isn’t producing F7s at the present time. Granted, it is a popular and favorite locomotive.
SD-40-2, GP-38-2, GP-9 come to mind. Too bad only manufacturers of brass locomotives produce some of the odd ball locomotives the major railroads bought. If Union Pacific only had a few of a certian prototype, I think anybody that models UP would love to have one. But manufacturers would rather produce a model of a locomotive that most railroads used.
How many Shark Nose Alcos did Model Power sell?
F40PH, GP9, RS-3, FA-1, F7, Dash-8 and GP38-2 come to mind. I think each of those is being or has reciently been produced by at least three manufacturers.
About the rare locomotives, Life Like must have made a mint off their P1K DL109. I feel pretty sorry for anyone looking anywhere but E-bay for one today. It just goes to show, just because the prototype was not very popular doesn’t mean that the model won’t sell well. The DL109 is the only time I’ve ever seen a model sell out of my LHS in one week.
The Southern Pacific AC-9 seems ideal for production. You ALWAYS see it mentioned on people’s wanted list. WHAT ARE MANUFACTURES WAITING FOR? Thats one of those needed locos. Yellowstones need more play anyhow.
Its beefy. Its semi-streamlined. And its an all around BEAUTY!.
The USRA light Mikado is overproduced. Bowser, Athearn, Trix, BLI and IHC all have one, and there are so many brass ones out there that you can pick up a mint example for less than $200. While we DO need mikes, we don’t need this many USRA models! (a nice Harriman would be nice…)
I think it’s relative: there are certainly a lot of USRA light mikes on the market, but there’s also a lot of demand for them - and because the different makes offer slightly different features, levels of quality, and prices, it’s important to note that they are, as products, distinct.
That being said, there are a couple of instances of manufacturers overestimating demand that I can think of: Challengers, for example. I am waiting to see whether the market has been flooded with diecast K-4s.
Has anyone bought or seen the MTH K-4? There was a lot of discussion about it several months ago, then nothing.
While there have been a lot of SD40-2 models produced a lot of them are for the earlier version with the chickenwire grills. I’d like to see Atlas, Kato or Proto2000 take on a late model SD40-2 with the corrugated grills (not a snoot nose). The only model of these was the Athearn effort and haven’t seen many new ones of these lately…
I would like to see more 1880s to early 1900 steam, particularly the smaller ones such as the American, Moguls, and some connies. There is a wealth of transition era steam out there, but very little (other than the Mike) USRA and earlier. I know that would make spacemouse and I happy! [:D]
I, too am interested in a MTH K-4, Rob, but mainly because it was advertised as die-cast. However, BLI’s is also largely die-cast, so I have reduced interest. I don’t see the market getting flooded, but both companies have taken the bait, so their research must have been positive; there is a demand.
Isn’t it a great loco, either way? It is #1 on my wish list.
F7s, F3s and F9s. I never liked F-units because when I was a kid most HO train sets came with F-units and I never saw a real F-unit pulling a train. So I have only one example of an F-unit in my locomotive fleet - the legendary Athearn F7A.
In the diesel category the F7 has to take top spot!
Bachmann, LifeLike, Mantua, Tyco, Athearn BB, Athearn Genesis, Walthers, BLI…and everybody else’s uncle has produced this puppy!
Mustanng, I have to respectfully disagree.
For years the only decent running HO E-units produced were from Model Power as they had the huge O-Scale motor inside . Rivorossi also produced E units as well as one other company. Our other choice was brass. Until LifeLike and BLI came along, the idea of owning a quality detailed plastic E unit involved: assortment of tools, replacement motor, lots of parts from Details West, and lots of patience.