Given the extensive list you provided HJ, you would think another less colorful livery might have been chosen.
But I remember reading, by one manufacturer, that anything with SF or PRR on it would sell so maybe that is the reason for this product.
The lads from TrainWorld mean well. They are salesmen, selling toys. At all times when reading TrainWorld ads, I take them with a grain of salt. They give all the products they market the full treatment, as if, just because a person purchase some equipment, that they might just buy anything, that is called a train.
They never really differentiate, between scale MR equipment and just fun toys.
Working with the principal, that with enough “Hipe” anyone might buy anything.
As far as the manufacturer, is concerned; having found a popular basic model, with all its many faults; that seems rather interesting to a good looking market; is bound and determined to milk that market dry, or set a new record for the number of variations, good or bad, they can produce before sales become stagnant. As mention before, by several others; "Shades of the downfall of LGB.
It might have been more prudent, for the manufacturer, to go more slowly, after finding a basically, well accepted product, to let it rest a bit, like the guys at B’mann did with the “Good old Big Hauler 10 wheeler”. Then, every year or so, upgrade it. Start by finishing the valve gear, or changing it to a believable copy of the/a prototype. then the next year change the steam and sand domes…and the list goes on.
LGB did this in a small way with their old Mogul.
This way, they might extend their market to a more diverse group of model railroaders, and gain a wonderful reputation for quality, AND improvement of their models.
Throwing out wild, wooly, and toy-like paint schemes, might get their product into Toys-R Us, but not into many model railroaders’ homes, except as bashing fodder, when seen in the clearance sale ads, for 10 cents on the dollar.
Since many of us like nothing better than pictures, here are the results http://tinyurl.com/nvoogsx from Google with the “Moguls+ATSF railroad” search terms. Enjoy!
PS Won’t be long before we get some Disney products from PIKO, a lot of their LS stuff is decidedly Micky Mouse as it is. Just a small additional step from there.
BTW back at the turn of the millennium, when I started to hang out on some of the German LS fora, I acquired some additional German sayings that didn’t figure in my Swiss vocabulary. One of them related to marketing practices/concepts and slightly sanitised translates like this: “Manure tastes just fine, millions of flies couldn’t be wrong.”
Piko have proved that they can cut the mustard with their excellent model of the DB E44 electric and the Br64 Prairie loco, so I guess this one is a sop to those who really can’t tell a good model from a hole in the wall.
tac
OVGRS.org
I would not buy one of these. That said. How many 7-8 year olds would not like to have one of these ( things) under his christmas tree. That may well be there only targeted market. And to those kids it will be just fine.
BTW: We ( prototype Large scalers ) are a far smaller market then the world market of 6-10 year olds. How many Thomas sets have been sold world wide?
tac Foley said:
Piko have proved that they can cut the mustard with their excellent model of the DB E44 electric and the Br64 Prairie loco, so I guess this one is a sop to those who really can’t tell a good model from a hole in the wall.
tac
OVGRS.org
True, but I sure would like to know how they figure that this stuff is good enough for North America.
I guess you meant E94. Anyway one just needs to go and look at their “G” offerings and compare the European stuff with what they offer as North American items.
I do not yet have any Piko products but being whimsical, this mogul would fit right in my RR.
H-J - yeah, slinger-flip. I have one in H0, so I souldn’t have made such a mistake. Anyhow, my point was that there is a whole quantum leap in accuracy between the products for the Euro market and us poor saps who yearn for North American models of equal quality and scale appearance.
I recall that LGB made the Ward Kimbal ‘trainset’ and sold it very well to many thousands of eager buyers on both sides of the Great Water, but that was a good while back.
As one poster here notes, it’s a Christmas Tree train, but little else.
tac
Ottawa Valley GRS
Tac, I almost hope they don’t sell well, so Trainworld blows them out at give away prices. Then I could get one and immediately run it through the Shannon Car Shops. Some quick disassembly, and a little airbrush work, and I could have something sort of decent.
Relocate the headlight to on top of the boiler in front of the stack and air brush that sucker engine black and fast! Granted some of the early steam engines in the USA were quite colorful back in the very early days of steam. This however isnt it. Mike
tac Foley said:
Vic Smith said:
Have you seen the “Blue Comet” version of the Camelback yet?
I’ll still take one if I can get it cheap, paint is cheaper.
Vic - black is your friend here.
tac
Ottawa Valley GRS
LOTS and LOTS of it!
Vic Smith said:
Shouldn’t that be high gloss paint?
Ducks and goes to play with the water filter.
I still wonder what is in the box labeled “BODY PARTS”. My mind boggles…
…large and small ones too…egads…!!
David Maynard said:
I still wonder what is in the box labeled “BODY PARTS”. My mind boggles…
This may not be for everyone but hey at least its something different and at least it gives us something to talk about. You have to give them credit for trying to make new and different stuff.
Ken Bianco said:
This may not be for everyone but hey at least its something different and at least it gives us something to talk about. You have to give them credit for trying to make new and different stuff.
There’s that old saying “It will cost the same money doing it right the first time around.”
As I mentioned in the Blue Comet thread; Richter’s LGB used to consider that North Americans will buy just about anything.
OTOH that was one of the reasons we could get such terrific deals from your company and other dealers when the “precious stuff” didn’t sell and yet another “Special” hit the market because RLGB needed to move the goods in order to recover at least some return.
PIKO is in a better position since they produce very nice models in the smaller scales, along with some nice structures.
All that said, who proposes these lunatic critters and paint jobs to Sonneberg?
Is it time for Mr. Wilfer to get one more set of glasses to see just how garish the stuff looks? Or is it just the green of the bucks that counts? Perhaps it’s just what the Doctor ordered?
Only the Santa Fe is gaudy, the other road names are in basic black. Proportions look better, I think, because I’m not looking for faults that the false colors bring out.
I’m glad we have more choices.
John
Based on Pikos engine and this engine, i’m betting there is a prototype engine out there that looks very similar to Piko’s model
(http://www.girr.org/girr/lals/lals_bill_mogul.jpg)
The question is, who’s gonna waste time looking for the actual prototype