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Post by Brakie on Sept 17, 2012 7:00:12 GMT -8
Dave,These may be the early run cars(aka old stock) or was handled roughly at the shop I bought them from..
Make no mistake I have several of the 5344,5347s,5277 and SIECO cars and I like 'em even though some stirrups needed glued back on.
They're among the best looking cars on the market.
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Post by mlehman on Sept 17, 2012 8:03:01 GMT -8
Atlas is resting on their laurels, plain and simple. When the Genesis GP40-2 lands, folks will forget that Atlas ever offered one. They didn't kill the forum because everything is so peachy in NJ. Dave I'm a Rio Grande modeler, but my cutoff predates the rise of the GP-40, so I don't really have a dog in this fight... But if I were a fairly stable business run by the folks that own it, instead of being all leveraged out and run by bean counters, this is pretty much what I would do. With the Western economies in tatters, production in China getting iffier by the day, with a great potential for increasing costs...maybe a conservative approach is the right one to take? The flood of products from others is slower in many cases, too, for many of the same reasons that are likely affecting income at Atlas. At the National Narrow Gauge Convention, there was a noticeable lack of new product announcements overall, including from industry leader Blackstone. Things are still in the works, but would YOU want to be in this business right now trying to guess which way things are going next? There are lots of projects on backburners everywhere right now. I'm sure Atlas has its share. I can stand to be patient, because my budget is pretty limited these days anyway. So far I haven't run out of stuff to buy, but maybe that's getting to the crisis point for others. How about some nice scratchbuilding supplies? ;D That's what I've been doing more of and frankly that's a good thing. For all we hear in the real world about deficits and the need to be more fiscally conservative, none of that seems to apply with many critics when it comes to their favorite hobby -- or something??? If government was run like the way some folks think manufacturers and LHSs should run their business -- well you ain't seen nothing yet in terms of bad fiscal policy... Folks who keep insisting they want more, but are only willing to pay less??  The hobby itself is not real world, but the folks who make a living at it don't pay their bills with 1/87$$ and get to bank the other 86/87 of their salary. As for Atlas killing its forum to silence critics...uh, have you ever heard of the internet? And the fact that you're right here doing pretty much what you claim Atlas wants to prevent? Next it will be Atlas Black Helicopters...I just hope they're in HO and not just O...  |
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Post by riogrande on Sept 17, 2012 10:07:12 GMT -8
There are lots of projects on backburners everywhere right now. I'm sure Atlas has its share. I can stand to be patient, because my budget is pretty limited these days anyway. So far I haven't run out of stuff to buy, but maybe that's getting to the crisis point for others. How about some nice scratchbuilding supplies? ;D Yes, that is my position too. In many ways I feel pretty satisfied with the products already released or coming to market in the near future. I've got nearly all the engines and freight cars I want or need covered with existing products. There are a few minor holes to be sure, but if nothing new was ever produced, I'd manage pretty well AND I wouldn't need to scratchbuild much which is also good cause I suck at that - yes I've always admitted I have never been a "real" model railroader - I'll never be a member of that elite club. But I'm ok with that, I've never been in the hobby to get acolades or afformation from others, I am in it for the fun, but social fun is a bonus if people are decent and friendly! I haven't run out of stuff to buy for the same reason, limited budget and thats fine, I can continue to fill in with things I couldn't afford to buy when they came out but am month by month filling in. I've got a pretty good TOFC fleet built up now, and I've been filling in some of my missing unit train coal cars I didn't have yet etc. I can't complain - Athearn, ExactRail, Walthers and Atlas, BLMA etc have really filled in lots of 60's, 70's and 80's stuff in the last 5-10 years. Bottom line is if we can't afford something we can gripe all we want, but it's always been that way - nothing new under the sun. My only comments about Atlas forums and being a critic is, IMO it seems like it would be hurting them ultimately more than it hurts me. Like you said, there is the internet and are other forums and there are other sources of trains too - I'm fine with that. As my wife would say about Atlas, it's their loss, not mine. See above regarding need for train cars - there is still plenty out there from past production or stuff I already have that I am not worried much about new production missing etc. |
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