Hi,
Will BACHMANN again produce On30 locomotives?
Why did BACHMANN cease production of On30 locomotives?
What is the state of the On30 Marketplace?
Norman
Norman Bourgault said:
Hi,
Will BACHMANN again produce On30 locomotives?
Why did BACHMANN cease production of On30 locomotives?
What is the state of the On30 Marketplace?
Norman
Why don’t you ask them? The Bachmann Forums will surely have some people with more insight than this G scale group (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)
Last I saw they were coming out with 0-6-0 Steam switcher in On30 this year.
Hi Norm,
Yes they are still cranking out interesting On30 locomotives. Here is this years offering:
Every other scale in the Bachmann line is getting new items… except us, we get repaints, and no, Eggliners absolutely do not count.
Vic Smith said:
Every other scale in the Bachmann line is getting new items… except us, we get repaints, and no, Eggliners absolutely do not count.
Vic, all you have to do is persuade 1,000 other modellers to buy the current stuff and then they should complain to Bachmann about lack of new stuff.
I suspect there is no longer an internal “champion” since Lee Rainey passed.
Pete Thornton said:
Vic Smith said:
Every other scale in the Bachmann line is getting new items… except us, we get repaints, and no, Eggliners absolutely do not count.
Vic, all you have to do is persuade 1,000 other modellers to buy the current stuff and then they should complain to Bachmann about lack of new stuff.
I suspect there is no longer an internal “champion” since Lee Rainey passed.
Yeah everything really hit the skids after his passing. I suspect all the marketing shots are now being called by the suits in China
Hi Pete and Vic ,
I will always believe that
IF BACHMANN HAD STAYED with 1:22.5 Scale,
they would still be selling Large Scale locomotives!
( They LOST the LGB Train Size Market Customers ! )
The other point is the Latest Market Street Pricing of their Latest C-19 Loco and their 2-6-0 .
At those Higher Prices, I expect the Model to be DIECAST !
Which of course BACHMANN could do as per their WILLIAMS Line.
Norman
Most LGB people could care less if 1:24, 1:22.5, 1:29 or 1:20.3 or rubber ruler between. The whole market went south.
Heck LGB and thrn Marklin declared bankruptcy.
I have become very much anti-Bachmann after 14 of a total of 27 Bachmann HO and On30 locomotives have had one or more electronic, mechanical, motor, and even a structural, failures over the last 8 years or so & I have now hit the point where I frankly don’t care whether they ever/never make another On30 product at all. Same for HO.
Some Highlights:
Even had an HO GP 40 where the DCC board caught fire.
Quite a few axle gear splits in various locos.
On30 Davenport gas mechanical where both its original and replacement wheelsets were out of quarter to the point where running the locomotive is impossible unless siderods are removed.
3 out of 7 of their 6-wheel HO scale Plymouth WDT switchers had motor failures. All but one of those have bodies in-progress not yet finished for use on On30, so it’s not like they were running 30 miles every weekend.
HO 0-6-0 had eccentric crank break, WTF? It is metal not plastic like the axle gears!
So forth and so on.
Bachmann has now succeeded in deeply dis-impressing me.
In a interesting contrast to the HO and On30 locos, the several Big Haulers and one Annie are doing fine.
Hi Lorna Dane,
"
Most LGB people could care less if 1:24, 1:22.5, 1:29 or 1:20.3 or rubber ruler between. The whole market went south.
Heck LGB and thrn Marklin declared bankruptcy.
"
I think MARKLIN bought LGB after LGB went Bankrupt.
Why did the whole Largescale Market Go South ?
Did All of Us Model Railroaders All Die Off At The Same Year?
AristoCraft also Closed Up Shop, not Bankrupt, citing lack of Consumer Sales.
Norman
Bachmann C-19 street price: $900 (and cheaper)
Diecast MTH Hudson: $1,100
Accucraft C-19: ~$2,500
LGB/Aster brass Hudson: ~$4,000
In my opinion, diecast is nice and heavy, but the Bachmann has better detail. The brass locos are nice to look at, but don’t run as well as the Bachmann
The 1:20.3 line of Bachmann renewed an interest of more to scale locos in Large Scale, still going, but the entire hobby has dropped off…
Time for us to all go to Buddy L…
Greg
The main reason the New large scale market has floundered is because the secondary market is doing so well. The manufacturers have made so much stock that they have saturated the market. You can find many like new items on the secondary market.
Case in point, I’ve bought a couple of engines in like new condition that were never run or used.
I have had several dealers and manufactures say the exact thing that Joe just posted. The fad/boom died down and now there is a surplus at good prices.
Also, I do not believe that Aristo quit because of business volume alone, Lewis needed to retire (especially judging about how little retirement time he got) and he had no one he trusted to take over, his son was not in the business and he definitely did not agree with his nephew who was in the business one day and out the next.
Also, Aristo made some very poor business decisions on what the customers wanted as time went on.
So, my prediction is in a year or 2 the secondary market will dry up, Sanda Kan will take the Aristo molds and start producing more than just the eggliner…
Greg
Pete and Vic.
That would be Lee Riley.
Norman Bourgault said:
…
Why did the whole Largescale Market Go South ?
Did All of Us Model Railroaders All Die Off At The Same Year?
as mentioned before, the second hand market plays a role.
large trains always has been a hobby mostly for elderly men. (avayable money and time)
old men die. - and leave lots of stuff for the second hand market. - meaning less demand for expensive new stuff.
so the producers would need new customers.
from where?
houses/condos get smaller.
gardens get smaller.
net income gets smaller.
and don’t forget, younger generations tend to play less with real toys, but more with virtual toys on the phone or pc.
the result is, that the few companies, that do not quit largescale, build less quality for higher prices.
our greatgrandchilds will have to visit museums to see largescale trains.
so, let us be nice dodos, and play with what we have or can get, as long as we live…
Korm, That is so very true.
Jason