Treat your items you have well, may be all you ever have. Might have to open some of those boxes you never opened! (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
No unopened boxes here Jerry. But, I have been considering, for a while now, selling a few Aristo items such as a couple of boxcars and two bay coal hoppers. However, seeing that spares are now quite scarce maybe they would be better kept for spares, such as trucks, wheels, brake wheels, stirrups etc. or even kitbashing. Fortunately I have not found Aristo freight cars that fragile whereas the sole USAT car I have only has to be removed from its box to sustain minor damage.
I do think that getting into the hobby some ten years or so ago was probably the a very good time to start. Track had not leapt in price, much of the Aristo freight was improved and easily obtained - even in the UK- which has meant that only one or two items have been added to my inventory in the last couple of years. I would, most likely had they become available in the UK, purchased a few of the ore cars but now it is too late as far as I am concerned.
Who makes 1/29 for AML (Accucraft)?
Accucraft, AMS, AML all owned by same person, Bing. They don’t have to bow down to Kader, thankfully!
For such a small company, the number and quality of their products is amazing.
Greg
Jerry, I have a few unopened boxes, but that will change once I get another shelf built in my storage cabinet. I hope I have enough spare trucks to keep my fleet running. As for the other parts, there are sources, and there is always making my own detail parts.
Question, wasn’t some of USA’s product actually made in the USA? I thought some of the 1:24 stuff was made in the USA. Ok, its not 1:29, but…
My thought, if it becomes too expensive to have stuff made in China, maybe some of the stuff will be made in the USA. It would probably have to be new releases, since the molds for what has been done are locked up in China, but new stuff would be a good thing.
I just bought another Lil Big Hauler set from ebay (I just couldn’t say no to the price) I don’t need it, but I am pretty sure the line will go away for good so I’m grabbing what I can while I can. I’ll just bank it for the future. I have more stuff than I’ll ever need, I holding on to all of it. The way supply and prices are going, I can only afford very little new anymore (just Lil’s) I’m already pretty well priced out. I’ll likely use all of my stored stock over time thru attrition. l’m also going to start hoarding whatever track I can lay my hands on cheap, goodness knows what the future holds, all I know is that whatever future large scale has, its never going to be 2002-2006 affordable ever again. 
Vic, yes, I agree. I nabbed a little big hauler locomotive at York last year. I may have need for the motor block in for a project I have mind. Or, I could add the missing details, and have a nice little plantation type locomotive.
I didn’t mean that AML is made by Accucraft,I know that. Who makes the AML product for them?
Paul, they make the 1:29 product themselves… they make their own molds, etc.
I do believe the only thing they don’t make themselves is the metal rail, but they mold the tie strips.
It’s a family owned company.
Greg
It seems like live steam is doing better today. Seems like new steamers are always comimg out. Wonder why its different in the live steam market.
Shawn Viggiano said:
It seems like live steam is doing better today. Seems like new steamers are always comimg out. Wonder why its different in the live steam market.
This may be one answer Shawn. $ or £ or € or whatever.
Live Steam >
Pre-order and deeper pockets ensures a market.
1:29>
Too much left on shelves for extended times, probably resulted in factory down times. Factory raises price to cover void and time between orders grows and so it goes 'til wall street finds a new labor to embrace…
John
For what I need, I have lots of spares. The Aristo stuff I get rid of. I just sent a box of trucks off to some guy who needed them.
I still have new in the box Delton stuff. If I need boxcars, reefers, even cabooses, I have them. I did put all the ballast cars in service…keep them in a tub with a lid when folks want to run them.
Other than parts, I am just about out of Bach 4-6-0’s. Man, was I glad to get rid of those. Donated three Version 5’s to a local Church for the Christmas display I set up, so they now own all they need…track, small Bridgeworks, Polar Express passenger train, Circus train, engines.
I scrapped out oh, 10-2 maybe more 4-6-0’s. Boilers in one box, cabs in another, bare chassis in another, box of cylinders, rods, valve gear, domes, handrails, most of the stacks are gone as are most of the headlights.
I tried to sell a V&T 4-6-0, radio/battery/sound, BBT chassis, 7 V&T passenger cars, and a new USA woodside V&T caboose…and the morons wanted pictures. So you take pictures, and they want to trade three broken 4-6-0’s for it.
Delete.
Like the time I tried to sell three Pola big building kits. Sealed. They wanted pictures.
No problem…once they’re paid for, I’ll break the seal and take a picture.
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Was it Navin that got most of the parts inventory? My friend bought a UP SD45 thats missing the handrails, price was right, so we figure if we can find a handrail set and still be money ahead. Any color as I can always repaint them. Its sad to see so many LS hobby shops/businesses and manufactures go down the drain amid the poor economy. Despite this so called recovery, the money for trains or other hobbies is tied up paying for everything else that has gone up in price. I hope this mess doesnt put Scott into a deep personal financial crisis. Mike
Navin had parts, some parts. But I was told, weather true or not, that someone came in and bought the lot of stock that Aristo was cannibalizing for parts. I do not know who that was, or if the story is even true.
David Maynard said:
Navin had parts, some parts. But I was told, weather true or not, that someone came in and bought the lot of stock that Aristo was cannibalizing for parts. I do not know who that was, or if the story is even true.
Yeah. Well. “Pay no attention to the west coast experts”. When they announced they were closing, one or two weeks after the (partial) container of stuff from the bottom of the pile in the PRC, remember the fire sale? Everything must go?
And what, a month before the announcement Navin sent out a letter to the faithful stating that he had committed to doing repairs through the next year?
I recall pointing that out on one of the forums, that if you sell off all the parts, what is Navin going to use for those repairs he committed to?
And, just like expected, one of the faithful transmitted that off to Polks…and suddenly the website went down. Remember? Some BS about the physical inventory not matching the computer inventory.
When it came back up, the remaining parts were gone…allegedly or supposedly to Navin.
It has been so much fun over the years to let the faithful (whoever you are) do the legwork, by just posting the obvious.
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Isn’t Bachmann tied into Kader too? If so what’s going on with their new release and items? Prices up 40%?
Mickey Kelley said:
Isn’t Bachmann tied into Kader too? If so what’s going on with their new release and items? Prices up 40%?
Bachmann is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kader (hope I got that in the right order) since what, 1984 or 1985.
You don’t think they’re raising prices already?
I’ve always marvelled at the raising prices when sales volume drops…which seems to be a cycle that feeds on itself.
Do you remember when some of us knew, knew…that Aristo was going, but couldn’t say so…and some of the faithful tried to bait us?
“Are you telling me to buy all I can now?”
Well, yes, but I couldn’t say that, and nobody else could either.
The choice was theirs. Blinders tightly installed and all.
With the number of businesses and manufacturers dropping out, and none of us able to buy the new, high priced PRC products anymore, one wonders how long?
My crystal ball is in the shop.
Russ Reinberg preached that for years and years. He was just a tad early.
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Kader owning Bachmann will insulate Bmann from the major 40% price gouging, which to me this reaks of. But Bmann already has already suffered sticker shock. Higher prices near brass levels, limited production runs, its all having a negative effect. I wonder if this price spiking is engineered to break Kaders existing contract agreements with companies like USA, although why they would not want Charlie’s continued money is troubling. Just my speculations now mind you 
PS I would be very interested to know if USAs manufacturing agreement re: tools and molds, is the same model with Aristo. Now this is really some mindstretching but it occurred to me that if Kader also owns the tools and molds for USA, like they did for Aristo. Having Charlie throw in the towel for lack of new (now too expensive to order) products, could eventually leave Kader in the catbird seat re 1/29 scale, suddenly being THE source for that scale. Its real hardball business politics but its not inconceivable.
Vic Smith said:
PS I would be very interested to know if USAs manufacturing agreement re: tools and molds, is the same model with Aristo. Now this is really some mindstretching but it occurred to me that if Kader also owns the tools and molds for USA, like they did for Aristo. Having Charlie throw in the towel for lack of new (now too expensive to order) products, could eventually leave Kader in the catbird seat re 1/29 scale, suddenly being THE source for that scale. Its real hardball business politics but its not inconceivable.
In con ceiv able.
Kader trying to corner the market on model railroad production? And setting “the” price? Is that what you’re saying? Holy Smoke! What a concept!
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