Large Scale Central

Great "Ofiicical" News From AML, Modern stuff

General Discussion
#1

As I was reading another forum it appears that a so called expert is giving the wrong info, so here’s the rite info from my conversation today with Cliff and Robert from Accucraft/ AML. Dryfuss Hudson needs a lot more orders in order to go forward, so if you want one you need to pre order NOW.

GP-60 project is up and running full bore expected Del fall of this year, Many more rd names other then what was previously announced will be made. Look to April GR Magazine for full listing. I also was able to make them commit to a CSX Dark blue scheme as well for the 1st run, Great news.

SD-9 is a full go in many RD names slated for 2015 Del. Good news for all you that got lead along

by the now out of business Aristocraft.

No GP-35 Dont even know were that one came from but not true. A GP- 59 NS Paint scheme

is planned maybe he was confused at his age.

Biggest and best news is that AML has committed to a 50 ft single door Hicube box car

In various rd names, A welcome addition for sure and will sell ton I’m sure.

2015 Del date expected ?

All 1/29th of course.

Dealers are getting there info today. April GR will have ads about locos.

So fellas when you want the proper info come here to this site.

PS Based on conversation today it appears there are going to be looking into more 50 and 60ft cars. Great news for the Hobby.

And like I always say out with the old and in with the new.

#2

Besides the passenger car sets, what’s new in 1:32 ?

Most of the last run of boxes and reefers have sold out. It would be nice to see a tank or something different in 1:32.

#3

John Bouck said:

Besides the passenger car sets, what’s new in 1:32 ?

Most of the last run of boxes and reefers have sold out. It would be nice to see a tank or something different in 1:32.

I didn’t ask John because I dont do 1/32 but a phone call to Cliff should answer your question.

#4

Road names and #'s of GP-60’s now posted on RLD Hobbies site, listed list price $359.00

That will be a great price if it holds. http://rldhobbies.com/electriclocomotives.aspx

#5

Not so good news for the MTH side

Shawn Conahey
Follow · 9 minutes ago

Worlds Greatest Hobby on Tour REPORT:
MTH Trains also had a nice display of trains at the Worlds Greatest Hobby in Oaks PA showing off all of their scales except for Gauge 1. So I had to ask, where is Gauge 1? The MTH Rep stated the G Scale market seemed to have suffered the most with the recession. Although business in China has changed, he threw me a theory I never even thought of until he mentioned it. He came up with the theory that the downfall of G Scale actually started to happen when LGB went bankrupt. So he explains LGB was a major player and major brand name in G Scale for a very long time. When LGB went bankrupt many lost interest in G Scale. He thinks the same thing would happen if Lionel went out of business and no one bought them to continue the name. It would be a major blow to the O Scale hobby. MTH stated that some Dash -8 diesel locomotives and passenger cars will be re-issued early 2014. He also stated that he will re-issue a few F Unit locomotives late 2014. He did state he will re-issue all of the MTH Steam Locomotives for 2015 such as the Challenger. But he doesn’t feel confident enough to invest in new molds for the G Scale market yet and I can fully understand that concern. MTH stated that Gauge 1 didn’t take off like they hoped that it would in G Scale.

#6

Thats great news about the modern stuff coming out. I will be getting some for sure. As far as MTH . I have some of their locomotives with the proto sound and think they are great. Lotsa fun to play with. I know they would be selling a lot more if they were 1/29th. Theres a whole lot more people doing 1/29th than 1/32nd. The people in charge should make any new products in 1/29.

#7

The pricing looks pretty good on these, hopefully they come through with them and they are a good performer.

#8

Mike screwed up when he aimed his 1:32 Rail King stuff at the Ready to Run crowd (us). If he wanted to go with 1:32, he should have gone with true to scale stuff in his Premier Line aimed at the high end market, and charged accordingly.

Let’s face it, for good or ill, the majority of us are running 1:29, and Mike is not going to change that. Don’t get me wrong, he has some really good stuff, it is just in the wrong scale for me to be interested.

Interesting thought that if Lionel folded, the other O gauge manufacturers would have a rough go of it.

Shields up!

#9

Steve Featherkile said:

Mike screwed up when he aimed his 1:32 Rail King stuff at the Ready to Run crowd (us). If he wanted to go with 1:32, he should have gone with true to scale stuff in his Premier Line aimed at the high end market, and charged accordingly.

Let’s face it, for good or ill, the majority of us are running 1:29, and Mike is not going to change that. Don’t get me wrong, he has some really good stuff, it is just in the wrong scale for me to be interested.

Interesting thought that if Lionel folded, the other O gauge manufacturers would have a rough go of it.

Shields up!

Agreed going with 1/32 was a proven poor ideal if he planned on making it in this scale. DCS system hindered the sales as well, doesn’t really work well for your average G buyer. need to do tricks to it to get to operate correctly, Light bulbs soldered to track, filter for clean signal ect. I liken them to the “NOW OT OF BUSINESS” Aristo, A lot of promises, but still no delivery…

#10

I tend to be of the opinion that LGB’s difficulties ultimately had little impact on the hobby. One could argue it was actually of benefit, giving rise to Piko, TrainLine45, and others. LGB’s brand recognition never waned in the slightest, and 5 or so years later, they’re back pretty much as they were. They’re never going to be the 800 pound gorilla in the room they used to be–too many other gorillas now.

I’m with Nick and Steve on this one… MTH is learning the same lesson other manufacturers of US 1:32 trains have learned–the stuff lacks the proverbial “Wow! factor.” When you combine that with their proprietary DCS control system, they really positioned themselves on the sidelines. Even among guys I know who run 1:32 live steam, seldom do I see strings of MTH rolling stock behind their locos. Maybe there is and I’m just not seeing it, but I’ve never seen their stuff take center stage anywhere.

Accucraft’s introduction of 1:29 into their product lineup speaks volumes. They did 1:32–still do–but that’s not the pond with the hungry fish. I think they may be taking advantage of Aristo’s troubles the same way that Piko took advantage of LGB’s (i.e, there’s a void, let’s fill it.) I wish them the best of luck.

As for future products after the GP-60, who knows? They announce one locomotive, and bring out three or four more in the interim. There’s a big part of me that thinks they look at projects the same way I do–whatever happens to strike my fancy at the time is what I work on at that moment. That, or there’s a big prizewheel in their office with pictures of locomotives on it. Every month they give it a spin to see what gets discussed next. I’m jst glad to see this one finally on track to hit the shelves. This one’s been a long time in the making.

Later,

K

#11

I agree Kevin, I don’t think the demise of LGB played a major role in the hobby. Most of the people in my club and the others I know either ran LGB or ‘other stuff’ but not both. I admire MTH and think they are making bad decisions all the same. They stick to their game, but their game isn’t getting them far in large scale.

All just my opinion and observations of course, your mileage may vary.

Here in lies my problem…
I once swore that if Nickel Plate Road SD9s came into the market I would sell off all my narrow gauge and head in that direction. Has anyone seen the AML SD9 road names yet? I’m excited and worried…

Terry

#12

The only people that think G sales have went in the toilet solely because LGB went under is the LGB loyalist. The same with Lionel. Yes LGB was a large part of the overall sales in G, but to think all the other brands suffered only because LGB went down is asinine. Many if not most of us got started in G with an LGB starter set, but have since moved on to other brands and even other scales within G. Today, we have Piko and Bachmann selling decent affordable starter sets, and that is what typically brings most people into the hobby. As for MTH, they would be wise to take AML’s lead and move over from the dark side. So long as they don’t bring the same duplicated roster, they could build quite a business selling locos and frt cars no one else seems interested in. FM and Baldwin diesels are begging to be built in 1/29th scale. 0-8-0 would be a great seller in 1/29th.

#13

Terry Burr said:

I once swore that if Nickel Plate Road SD9s came into the market I would sell off all my narrow gauge and head in that direction. Has anyone seen the AML SD9 road names yet? I’m excited and worried…

Terry

#14

#15

I don’t know. I’m sort of moving over to the ‘dark side’ I guess. I like the MTH line and the 1/32nd scale. I prefer mainline trains of the 50’s and the smaller size of the 1/32 seems to look better to me on my track. I have 20’ diameter curves and the shorter passenger cars just look better, I think. Detail is good on the engines and the sound/smoke are just great. I have a lot of MDC cars also, been picking them up over the years and recently added New Bright tank cars that I repainted. Longer trains made up with 1/32nd cars fit better into my layout and look more natural.

#16

Nick S. said:

As I was reading another forum it appears that a so called expert is giving the wrong info, so here’s the rite info from my conversation today with Cliff and Robert from Accucraft/ AML. Dryfuss Hudson needs a lot more orders in order to go forward, so if you want one you need to pre order NOW. . . . .

Nick,

Am I the ‘so called expert’, as I posted (elsewhere) that Accucraft wasn’t showing the Hudson in the 2014 deliveries? It didn’t take much expertise to read the News section of their website!

I mentioned to my accountant that we wouldn’t need the funds for another year. . . Shades of EBT #12.

#17

Pete Thornton said:

Nick S. said:

As I was reading another forum it appears that a so called expert is giving the wrong info, so here’s the rite info from my conversation today with Cliff and Robert from Accucraft/ AML. Dryfuss Hudson needs a lot more orders in order to go forward, so if you want one you need to pre order NOW. . . . .

Nick,

Am I the ‘so called expert’, as I posted (elsewhere) that Accucraft wasn’t showing the Hudson in the 2014 deliveries? It didn’t take much expertise to read the News section of their website!

I mentioned to my accountant that we wouldn’t need the funds for another year. . . Shades of EBT #12.

No Pete it wasn’t you, I probably should have put the 2nd paragraph 1st. Anyways I know you want one as bad as I do but they need 50 to proceed. At this time there not near that but

keep doing shout outs to let people know about it and the orders will increase in time.

I have 16 stripped USAT’s passenger cars waiting on this loco so we can paint to match.

Remember all call RLD Hobbies to pre oder at the best price.

Nick

#18

David Russell said:

Terry Burr said:

I once swore that if Nickel Plate Road SD9s came into the market I would sell off all my narrow gauge and head in that direction. Has anyone seen the AML SD9 road names yet? I’m excited and worried…

Terry

Terry,

Look to April GR Magazine for Rd names, Thats what I was told, I’m not a SD-9 fan but Nickel plate paint job could be use with what I model in NYC.

#19

New updates on RLD’s site, as to the GP-60… Great to see a Manufacture that has $ putting it forward. Great to see them doing a SD-9 that another company promised and well, :slight_smile:

MTH What !!!

#20

SD9, eh? Hmmmm