Vic, I agree…
I personally hope they do well, and for us the qualifier will be are they “built tuff” like the old LGB stuff…My Kids get to play with those while Dad has the more fragile items!
cale
What I find when I go to the Mainline America site:
<blockquote><strong>Mainline America said:</strong><br />MERRILLVILLE, IN - The model train division of Midwest Companies, Inc. just announced that they have struck a deal to purchase the remaining G-Scale [b]production inventory[/b] of MDC (Model Diecast Trains). MDC was purchased by Athearn several years ago for their quality line of HO and N Scale tooling, and the G Scale product was included as part of the deal. MDC had not been producing G Scale trains for some time before the company was sold to Athearn. There had been some product available in the eBay marketplace up until early this year, but a majority of it was rejected production inventory.
Mainline America will be assembling, decorating and selling the G Scale inventory that has been purchased, and will eventually go into full production with new updated tooling over the next 2 years. All of the trains will be manufactured in Merrillville IN at the Midwest Companies North American facility.
Look for MDC parts and kits to be available at our online commerce store by the end of 2007.
Bolds are added by me. I think it is significant that they say 'inventory" rather than molds or production equipment. PIKO is in possession of the molds in question.
The more, the merrier, I say.
Jack Barton said:
What I find when I go to the Mainline America site:<blockquote><strong>Mainline America said:</strong><br />MERRILLVILLE, IN - The model train division of Midwest Companies, Inc. just announced that they have struck a deal to purchase the remaining G-Scale [b]production inventory[/b] of MDC (Model Diecast Trains). MDC was purchased by Athearn several years ago for their quality line of HO and N Scale tooling, and the G Scale product was included as part of the deal. MDC had not been producing G Scale trains for some time before the company was sold to Athearn. There had been some product available in the eBay marketplace up until early this year, but a majority of it was rejected production inventory.Mainline America will be assembling, decorating and selling the G Scale inventory that has been purchased, and will eventually go into full production with new updated tooling over the next 2 years. All of the trains will be manufactured in Merrillville IN at the Midwest Companies North American facility.
Look for MDC parts and kits to be available at our online commerce store by the end of 2007.
Bolds are added by me. I think it is significant that they say 'inventory" rather than molds or production equipment. PIKO is in possession of the molds in question.
I also see the words full production and updated tooling and eBay and rejects.
Good points Jack, will be neet to see what happens.
“…and will eventually go into full production with new updated tooling over the next 2 years.”
I think that clears up who owns what, I suspect the Piko items will be manufactured under license agreement, and sold under the Piko flag. Kinda makes sense, you dont have to sink several dollar signs into your own tooling, factories and workers, just box’em and ship’em.
Maybe my phrasing was poor. Let me try this. Mainline Am. does not own the molds used in PIKO production.
Of course I always forget, if it’s on the internet it’s true. Did I tell everyone about the bridge I have for sale?
The negative that I see is that when released individually, the per unit cost of the rolling stock will be in direct competition with existing commercially manufactured rolling stock such as that made by Aristo-Craft. The online Mainline prices for the relatively minimally detailed hoppers was more than one could purchase a more highly detailed Aristo item, plus the Mainline/Piko American-sourced rolling stock is to Gauge 1 scale and thus limited market potential. As starter set inclusions then indeed a market exists. As ‘standalone’ rolling stock then there is more highly detailed equipment available, for the same, or even less price.
I feel that unlike LGB, Piko starter set inclusions will be to a lesser degree of detail/standard than their full range catalogue items.
Also one must factor in an economic recession, due in less than 18 months, which will see the cost of imported goods skyrocket in exchange value prices, as the American dollar plummets against the Euro and the Yuan. This could make a locally (American-sourced) made item relatively cheaper against foreign competition. The downside is that raw materials (unless sourced locally) will also increase in price.
Tim Brien said:Actually the dollar has been in a fairly steady climb relative to the € Euro.
will see the cost of imported goods skyrocket in exchange value prices, as the American dollar plummets against the Euro and the Yuan.
Today 1 US Dollar = 0.71696 Euro
Jack,
that is ‘today’s’ value. A major recession is in the wind (12 - 18 months time due sub-prime fallout and increasing American consumerism, something shared by most of the western world), which will see American stocks and the dollar take a nosedive. Considering that most imports are from Europe or China, then the value of those currencies at the time will be most important to the domestic consumer. China has been ‘bankrolling’ the American economy for many years and will take a major part in reconstruction post-recession. Thankfully, everytyhing I could conceivably ‘need’ I already have (well nearly everything).
Tim Brien said:Some folks have been saying a major recession is in the wind for around three years now. I guess if they stick to their guns they will eventually be right, give or take ten to twenty years.
A major recession is in the wind (12 - 18 months time due sub-prime fallout
Hmm, reading the business sections of several global papers will show that the Brits have higher per capita credit card debt than the US and more than two thirds of home loans are HELOCs in Australia and much of Europe, so “we” were not the only ones to overspend and overextend, dipping into money “we” really did not have.
Home loans have slowed in the US, but ditto in UK, AUS, and many parts of Europe. Yes, Bear Stearns failed…Northern Rock? Even goldenboy Beardy Branson in the end could not get support to save that one!
The economy in the US is not as bad as the press is making it sound. Those that were overextended were out of the picture, as they should have been otherwise. If you bought too much house, and were convinced by some crappy bank to buy a crackerbox house for $150K with nothing down and the same house in another part of town sold for $85K…tough cheese…but I guess some people need to hear that, otherwise folks like Dave Ramsey would not make millions selling the message of “don’t buy crap you cannot afford”.
Granted, my 401K is terrible, and my investment accounts are making the same interest as the checking account now, but I also made GOOD money in the past too. These things come in cycles, 2000 was a bigger blip for me than now.
There are also companies that over-expanded, just look at the quarterly reports from Home Depot and Starbucks. When you get so large you compete against yourself…and when you cut employee hours (customer service) to save money??? Ford, Chrysler, GM…well, nevermind, I will give you those, who would have ever thought that big gas guzzling cars would be beat by import sales, granted, the mechanics were different, but they acted as if 1974 never happened.
What NO ONE is talking about is the amount of manufacturing that is coming to the US. There are new iron furnaces opening in Alabama with South American and German interests, a proposed copper operation near Chattanooga…who also just landed VW car and engine plants, and 2000+ SKILLED jobs. The lumber business here is exporting to Asia and Europe without missing a beat and I recently talked with a manufacturer of components for the construction industry that is bringing much of their Chinese production to the US.
I wonder how many execs at Lehman/etc got million dollar bonuses last Christmas? Amazing that there are that many companies with that many idiots running them.
Just to return to the model for a moment, the American version looks to be–from the drawing–significantly different from the European version. Does anyone nwo the source of the molds for the American version? Do they look familiar?
mike omalley said:PIKO- new tooling.
Just to return to the model for a moment, the American version looks to be--from the drawing--significantly different from the European version. Does anyone nwo the source of the molds for the American version? Do they look familiar?
It would appear that the locomotive is to a larger scale than the already known Gauge 1 scale (1.32) of the boxcars/hoppers. The caboose is to 1/24 scale. The locomotive seems to be around 1/27/28 scale to match the Piko locomotives already available. I feel that the need for a small switcher type loco will see many purchase the item as a standalone, although given the value that starter sets usually represent, it is conceivable that the set may be cheaper alternative.
PIKO doing an American based loco and cars it can’t be - He Who Must Always be Right (HWMABR) Herr Hans must be rolling over in his words of earlier this year!! I speculated that LGBao would try to get Piko to do something American and HWMABR said something to the fact of No Way, You don’t know Dr. Wilfer…
http://www.largescalecentral.com/LSCForums/viewtopic.php?id=8396&p=3
Then again, we know that Hans is just going to do a couple smilelys , with a stupid off humor sarcastic comment, then change the topic to my lack of grammer skills and ask how bad my day was!
Link inserted
Hmm, the BR80…wonder if it could be 1:22.5-ized, as it is reportedly 1:27ish? Could look good with the LGB Harz 1’C1’h2t…still hope the valve gear is not a solid hunk of plastic.
Mark Dash said:The only thing American about that PIKO 0-6-0 is the NYC and UP lettering in English. I guess that makes it an American prototype in the eyes of some folks (just look at the rave postings on other sites), but it is still just a crude non-scale representation of a German prototype to anyone who really looks at it.
PIKO doing an American based loco and cars . . .
It might have some value to the bashing community, but even then, the driver diameter and spacing, along with what appears to be a solid plastic lump of valve gear, all have a significant toy-like look, and since it’s made in Europe, I would imagine it will have a pretty hefty price tag.
If this is what the folks at LGBoA, nee Silvergate, had in mind when they were showing their cobbled up 0-6-0 prototype model last year, they need to get a new designer. And if this is PIKO’s best shot, they are firmly establishing themselves as a manufacturer of crude toys. I think the last guys went out of business doing that, and they at least did most American things in something near a consistent (1:26 to 1:29) scale, and having an American-looking outline. PIKO’s mixing of a 1:24 caboose, something between 1:22.5 and 1:29, dependent on which part of the locomotive you look at, and some 1:32 cars is pretty ridiculous looking, even as a ‘starter set.’
Oh, did I mention that I don’t think much of it?
Happy RRing,
Jerry
Jerry,
the original image, some weeks ago, of the ‘American’ 0-6-0 seemed to be very much like a relettered German prototype. The recent ‘images’ from Jack Lynch portray a model more along the lines of the upcoming USA Trains 0-6-0 switcher (saddle tank/american cab and bunker). It is also reminiscent of the old ‘h.o.’ scale 0-6-0 saddle tank switcher made a generation ago by MDC/Roundhouse.