Just pulled a mailer from Hawthorne Village out of the box. This time the Bachmann On30 passenger train is a tribute to Mickey Mouse (Appropriate? [:D])
After wading through all the emotionally-loaded, “You’ve gotta have it!” wording, I finally found the price - their usual, per piece for four separate pieces, cost spread out over a year. (Shipping is up a bit this time.)
Just for grins, I checked a well-known Internet retailer. No surprise there. For a few dollars more than the Hawthorne Village price I could have scored TWO Colorado and Southern trains - in appropriate prototype paint scheme, not something I’d have to hide from scale modelers.
Think I’ll pass on this one.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September 1964 - in 1:80 scale, not 1:48)
Speaking of Hawthorne Village, my Bachmann locomotive that had a gear jamb this past November, after 15 minutes of running time, has not come back from Hawthorne yet!!! I sent it back right away per their instructions. The person with whom I spoke said they didn’t think I could get it back repaired or replaced before Christmas. Geee I wonder which Christmas she was referring too?? Hmmmmmmmmm???
I have said before in a thread that they will put anything on that train, if there’s a hope people will be suckered in. Most people who see those things, however, are not as savy as we who are in the game.
Mind you, I do collect Disney stuff from Disney directly. Mainly Cels. (a clear acetate cel used to paint on one-16th of a second of a segment of an animation film). Older ones are harder to get, as Disney went to computers for most animation. Prior to that there were 16 cels painted for each second of animation, and doesn’t include the background/grounds.(I think I’ve got the right numbers) There are the rare initial cels painted to stage animation information for the computer to use to create more of a new animated movie. Disney periodically lets out “new” cels of an old segment or a specially created cel for collectors. SPeaking of which, It’s been awhile since they released something, or I’ve fallen off their mailing list for new Cels.I don’t buy them all either.
I would not buy a hawthorne anything, though it might be tempting to add a new Disney item to my collection. Just because its Disney, doesn’t mean I’ll buy it. But someone will for a kid or grandkid and watch, now- 40 years from now a “new” condition with boxes and all parts will be on Antiques Roadshow and appraised at something rediculous like $10,000.00!!!
OOH, a DISNEY train!! And just when I thought I’d recuperated from Hawthorne Village’s Thomas Kincaide ‘painter of light’ trainset advertisement.
Well, first of all, pricing the Hawthorne train-set means it’s about twice as expensive as any standard Bachmann On30 trainset out there on the market. Second, I don’t like Walt Disney, he shot Bambi’s mother, and I’ve NEVER forgiven him for that.
But I wonder how many innocent people are going to bite on THIS one and get stung?
I threw my Hawthorne flyer out in the trash today. Anyone willing to pay $100 per car/locomotive deserves to be ripped off. This is truly a purchase for those who don’t need to worry about money or the lack of it. People buy $300,000 sports cars, why not $600 crappy train sets?[swg]
If Hawthorne can make a buck, and maybe impress some children to enjoy trains it sounds like a good proposition to me! I sure ain’t gonna buy one, but look at what Thomas is doing for our youngens, and I’ll bet there are not to many Thomases on our train layouts. There is a prototype for it though, just like there is a prototype for nearly anything if you look hard enough. I stayed at a Hawthorne sweets in Arlington Texas, I thought they were overpriced and underquality to. Maybe it has something to do with the name. I did manage to build a really nice LaserKit house while there without interference from the housekeeping staff…so It was not a total loss.
Either your mail delivery is very,very, very late, or this set is a reissue perhaps? They did a set called “The Magic of Disney” three or four years back. Featured Mickey Mouse, in character as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, on the locomotive tender. You can still find it listed on some websites. Is this the same set, or something different?
To me it’s a waste of good trains, but no different than “NFL” or “NASCAR” collectible sets you see other manufacturers offer. I work for John Deere, but nothing makes me cringe more than to run across some non-prototypical Deere-branded railroad item like a John Deere diesel, or even a John Deere steam locomotive! Mind you I do have one of the new Athern HO-scale model “John Deere Dealership” structures. Not on my railroad, as I model in N. It sets atop my cubicle bookshelf in the office.
Well boys, I agree with y’all about Hawthorne Village bombarding your mailbox.
That being said, I took a chance and ordered the Kincaid Hometown Spring collection, and I’ve been nothing but pleased by their offerings. Each structure is made of some type of resin, and they’ve molded them in such a way that only light comes thru the windows. Each house has a lot of cast in and painted details, and have a weathered appearance. They are the perfect size for S scale foreground, or for background structures on an O gauge pike (which is what I use them for). They don’t have a sheen or glaze to them, and can easily be blended into the most detailed of pikes.