Arrowhead Models Reveals Product Packaging!

[riogrande]

I have seen those ExactRail Centerbeams priced at around fifty something to sixty something but haven't followed them to see what they sold for. I got one of each BN, MILW logo, MILW plain, WP and UP when they were availalbe. All have somewhat wavey or bowed side sills. ER will replace them when back in-stock and they have informed me they do plan to re-run them but not sure when. Hopefully in 2019 but I don't know.

[riogrande]

I see Arrowhead hoppers are now listed at MBK.

[NS4122]

Oct 24, 2018 15:36:06 GMT -8 riogrande said:

I see Arrowhead hoppers are now listed at MBK.

I found it amusing that you had to put one in the cart to get their price which was.. surprise! Full MSRP.

[riogrande]

MBK is like that with some other products too, like Atlas.

As for price, do you expect Blaine to undercut his online web store? So yes, no surprise. Look at Exactrail, the prices for ExactRail models at MBK are higher than what ExactRail sells them for on their own website or their partners website, TrainLife; It appears most have sold anyway, but some are still left. Something to consider here - even though prices are the same on MBK vs. Arrowheads site, the shipping to customers closer to Baltimore MD should get lower shipping costs via USPS.

[misplacedtroll]

Hi Jim.
Not sure which answer is correct, but I have had a bad experience with Wrighttrak. I ordered two cabooses in August 2018, and I still have not received them. You may have better luck locating a Walthers 50' waffle-side boxcar on eBay.
Tim Miner

[sd40dash2]

[Partial_List]

This thread was started in summer of 2018 and “the box” is still legendary.

[gevohogger]

"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down..."

[ST974]

So are they officially dead or are we still in limbo? If nothing else, maybe the low production numbers of these items will one day make these models rare items. Or at least people will put rare in their ebay listing titles.

[packer]

[prr 4467]

"Rare" is an overused term in this hobby and is mainly used for marketing purposes. It does not reflect reality.

Various dealers still apparently have plenty of the Arrowhead open hoppers in stock, at discounted prices, just not perhaps all road names.  I had just checked for gondola cars.  Arrowhead Rio Grande hoppers are easy to find.

Is an SD40-2 rare when over a long pre-order period only 47 pre-orders were ever placed for a given stock number (with sound/dcc and without constitute two unique item numbers) and Bowser opts to produce say 53, with the extra 10% (5 models) then sold before the models ever arrive in the US? Does the fact that plenty of people had plenty of time to order them, and one can easily find most item numbers available on ebay or elsewhere for many months after arrival in the US make a given SD40-2 "rare"?

Or how about "rare" PFM Crown brass steam models that are individually serial numbered? There's only supposed to be 200 or 300 of some of them, yet you can easily find them online for sale at many dealers around the US today 40 or more years after production? As Howard Zane reports, PFM actually was not truthful about the serial numbered models because in some cases entire extra runs were produced, so quite literally there may be 500 or 600 of something that The Brown Book only lists as being 300 units ever made? Howard has even owned TWO of the exact same serial numbered PFM Crown model!

To me "rare" means if I search for a year for something, everywhere in the world, on Ebay and online at train dealers in Europe (yes, I have received models from Europe when they were gone here in the US) that I never see one available for sale anywhere at any price, that the model has become "unobtainum". There are very few models that I have not been able to find somewhere available for me to purchase if I want to spend the cash.

[markfj]

Arrowhead could have been a premier model freight car company, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

With the steady improvements in 3D printing, I wonder if Arrowhead will also be known as one of the last small manufacturers to try making high quality injection molded cars aside from the above mentioned box.

RIP Arrowhead.

Mark J.
Reading, PA

[drolsen]

Oct 9, 2024 8:32:48 GMT -8 markfj said:

With the steady improvements in 3D printing, I wonder if Arrowhead will also be known as one of the last small manufacturers to try making high quality injection molded cars aside from the above mentioned box.

I don’t think Tangent and Moloco are going anywhere. Both are very small manufacturers that have made a big impact.

Dave

[prr 4467]

I think injection molding will be around awhile. There are many reasons that manufacturers are experimenting with 3D printing and are even making some figures that way now. However, to make many repeated shells of something to a high standard of quality, injection molding is still preferred. Bowser is experimenting with the 3D printing and has all kinds of samples of items made that way, but I think Lee has said it's actually time related--that injection molding is currently much faster than they can 3D print it, and I don't know if the quality of the finished plastic part isn't also part of it.

If Lee honestly felt he could produce the same quality shell with 3D printing as injection molding, he would most definitely do it because he has always tried to make the most effective use of new technology.  Just think of how far Bowser came from those 1980's zinc diecast PRR M1 and M1A models, and the PRR A-5. They were THE last new steam locos they ever newly tooled and made. Believe me, if he could replace injection molding he would.  It's just not quite time to do that yet.  Lee was THE driver of all the changes at Bowser on the manufacturing side for all those years.  The other family members all worked on the financial side of running the business.  Lee has been the overall shop foreman since prior to 1986, when I started there as a summer employee (there were many college students who worked there through the years).  Yes, his father had input into things, but the ultimate decisions of how to make what and what machines to purchase to make everything from screws on up were Lee's final decision.  They made or still make a variety of parts for other small industries, not merely limited to model trains.  Lee makes anything that can pay the bills.

To my knowledge they still make ALL their plastic parts here in the US so they can control dimensional stability (as Lee has explained to me in the past). They want to know that everything will fit as good as possible.

[jonklein611]

Oct 9, 2024 11:11:23 GMT -8 prr 4467 said:

I think injection molding will be around awhile. There are many reasons that manufacturers are experimenting with 3D printing and are even making some figures that way now. However, to make many repeated shells of something to a high standard of quality, injection molding is still preferred. Bowser is experimenting with the 3D printing and has all kinds of samples of items made that way, but I think Lee has said it's actually time related--that injection molding is currently much faster than they can 3D print it, and I don't know if the quality of the finished plastic part isn't also part of it.

If Lee honestly felt he could produce the same quality shell with 3D printing as injection molding, he would most definitely do it because he has always tried to make the most effective use of new technology.  Just think of how far Bowser came from those 1980's zinc diecast PRR M1 and M1A models, and the PRR A-5. They were THE last new steam locos they ever newly tooled and made. Believe me, if he could replace injection molding he would.  It's just not quite time to do that yet.  Lee was THE driver of all the changes at Bowser on the manufacturing side for all those years.  The other family members all worked on the financial side of running the business.  Lee has been the overall shop foreman since prior to 1986, when I started there as a summer employee (there were many college students who worked there through the years).  Yes, his father had input into things, but the ultimate decisions of how to make what and what machines to purchase to make everything from screws on up were Lee's final decision.  They made or still make a variety of parts for other small industries, not merely limited to model trains.  Lee makes anything that can pay the bills.

To my knowledge they still make ALL their plastic parts here in the US so they can control dimensional stability (as Lee has explained to me in the past). They want to know that everything will fit as good as possible.

100% spot on.

3D printing cannot match injection molding's cycle time. 3D printing makes sense for low volume / one off type things. It saves the cost of mold development, but each print takes a decent amount of time (hours / days depending on the printer / complexity of the print). If you have a mold built, shot times are on the span of seconds, so you can pump models out quite quickly.

[ncrc5315]

Injection molding, will probably be the most effective way to produce large volume models, for the foreseeable future. But, I'm guessing with a few more advances in 3d resin printing, the ability to turn out an Ingalls 4-S, (or anyone of a number of small run locomotives) in small runs, might be a possibility.

[mvlandsw]

How much do we know about the stability of 3D printed models over time? I see many resin models that develop warping as they age.
Mark Vinski

[edwardsutorik]

"Resin pest"??



Ed

[hudsonyard]

Oct 9, 2024 16:51:00 GMT -8 mvlandsw said:

How much do we know about the stability of 3D printed models over time? I see many resin models that develop warping as they age.
Mark Vinski

I've often wondered this, although I am fairly ignorant to the process of printing an entire car. I've operated on a lot of layouts with 25-40 year old resin cars throughout the fleet, i've seen many that are warped or beginning to crumble. Although if you can get 25-30 years of operations service out of a car period that's about as close as you can get in this hobby for something paying for itself. 

[mvlandsw]

I'm not concerned about them paying for themselves. I just don't want to spend the time and effort on something that won't last at least as long as I do, even if that may not be that long anymore.
Mark

[gevohogger]

Oct 9, 2024 16:51:00 GMT -8 mvlandsw said:

I see many resin models that develop warping as they age.
Mark Vinski

I'm not sure age is what makes resin parts warp.  With some manufacturers, they come warped right out of the box.