Large Scale Central

Resurrection Of Crest

General Discussion
#1

Rex Ammerman posted on another thread:

“Two things, The Revolution is not dead, it was sold to someone else, before Louis /Naven shut it down. You will see them again soon. Second, don’t be surprised if you See new things coming from Aristo molds, and where not talking the cheap stuff. Who knows Dash Nine SD-45 ? You mite be surprised. Biggest thing is if they show up, so will all the repair parts !”

I can only hope this is true as after researching what is available I am more convinced that the Revolution system was the best for my purposes. Perhaps a separate thread will allow us to monitor developments. Also his comments about things coming from the Aristo molds is encouraging as well.

#2

Although I agree with the revolution not being dead, I have not heard about other Aristo products being produced, hopefully this will be promising.

#3

I’m always skeptical of “X has happened, but nobody knows about it” posts, with no backing information.

YMMV, of course.

#4

The2 points Rex was making are not connected other than seem to be happening “soon”.

There are sort of 3 “pieces” of Aristo:

  1. The purchase/reconstitution of Crest has been in the works, but no official news of who will be backing it.

  2. The manufacture of ex-Aristo rolling stock has always been a possibility, since Kader owns the molds, and is further underscored by Bachmann announcing the Eggliner for sale (soon).

  3. The third “front” of track, which was not manufactured by Kader or the people building the Crest electronics seems to be open, the tie molds are out there somewhere.

My sources are several, but still the outcome is uncertain. I applaud Rex’s enthusiasm, but still no announcements except the eggliner and K-LINE speeder by Bachmann, and those are still just announcements.

If you want to take inclusion in a catalog as gospel, Ill gladly publish the Aristo catalog pages for several products that never saw the light of day. 'nuff said.

Greg

#5

I for one hope Rex is right. And I am not in the know, so I cant say one way or another.

I tend to side with Bob and Greg, I will wait and see what happens, but I am also hopeful that these things do happen. I know that there is a lot of money in making molds and jigs, and someone owns them. I find it hard to believe, that the someone that owns these things, would not be looking for how to make money from them, by producing product.

Greg, yes, there were several things that I wanted from the Aristo catalogs, that never came to be. Again, that is why I am skeptical, until I see the actual item come to market.

#6

Dave, it’s not that Kader does not want to make money from the molds, the opposite is violently true, they ONLY want to do the things that make the MOST profit.

When Kader bought Sanda Kan, they actually stopped making a lot of products for smaller companies. We had hoped things would expand, but it appears that Kader bought the competition, and then had more of a manufacturing monopoly in this market, and then laid a bunch of people off and then discarded the less profitable customers.

So, Kader DOES want to make money, but they are VERY careful about what will make the MOST money, unfortunately for us.

Greg

#7

After watching the Accucraft ads for the GP60m for the last number of years I have learned to take not only rumours but actual announcements by companies in the large scale field with a grain of salt.

#8

Careful, too much sodium isn’t good for us when we get older.

#9

I’d like to see the Revo line picked up since there doesn’t seem to be an affordable alternative that is as flexible available today.

#10

LOL Dave may explain why we are such cranky old men! Have to agree with Todd, I am certainly holding off any further purchases until I know if the Revolution will return or not.

#11

To add to the speculation, Greg earlier gave insight into Bachmann no longer producing the Spectrum line of large scale products. I would call this evidence support for doubting any renewed large scale production by any currently active company let alone one regenerating itself.

We again wait to see…

#12

I thought Bachmann was doing well in large scale? The Spectrum engines are amazing but I think the rolling stock does have a limited market due to their higher cost.

Next someone is going to tell us that USA Trains is getting out.

#13

Todd, USA trains…

Just kidding

Wendell, maybe, just maybe, there is a larger market for 1:29 then there is for 1:20.3.

#14

USA and Bachmann are pretty much in the same boat. Neither has done anything “new” for quite some time, just repaints, mostly. (I saw the new-release 2-6-0s tonight at the Narrow Gauge Convention; they are beautiful!) The market is soft, no doubt about it. Lots has to turn around, not just in large scale.

Will we see older Aristo stuff re-run under the Bachmann flag? Anything’s possible, but there’s also a ton of “new old stock” and 2nd-hand Aristo on the market already. Does it make sense to re-run a locomotive at likely higher production costs (thus higher street price) when the consumer can readily buy a used one for less than half?

Later,

K

#15

Kevin, that is where Kader has to make a judgement call. Maybe the FAs and RS3s would not be a good choice, there are quite a few of them out there. But the newest Aristo locomotives may still have a market, since there inst as many out there in the “field” already.

#16

On the Revolution. Lewis kept Crest when Aristro went out of business. Crest is not manufactured by Kader but a Korean electronics firm. Why Lewis was able to keep it when Aristro went bankrupt. One of the major train manufacturer had attempted to purchase the Crest line. But Lewis being Lewis would not sell the intellectual property and wanted an extremely high royalty. There is not enough profit for retailers, a middleman and Lewis to all take a cut. So unless Gregs info suggests Lewis is changing his stance and willing to sell the rights and drawings, it will probably be dead.

Spectrum: my opinion. Trains in general are an extremely soft market with G scale hurting the most. To keep the 1:20 alive, Bachmann would need to keep a whole line of engines available along with MANY rolling stock cars. Just to pay for setup and raw materials would require a minimal number to be produced each time. Lets say 1000. OK 1000 of 6 engine types. and a minimum of 20 different cars. How long before that many can be sold? 6-7-8 years? A lot of inventory(cash) tied up. Kader will be looking for areas where there is a faster turn around on investment. Just a thought.

#17

I think things for Crest can happen, there’s no money in not doing anything with it, and Lewis is a shrewd businessman. I’ve never seen him leave money on the table.

Times are different now, he stopped production… before when he was making money, he could afford to be arrogant and demanding.

Also, I believe Aristo NEVER went bankrupt, but the threat of that caused him to keep the Crest business separate from then on. Lewis stated several times that Aristo ALMOST went bankrupt from the LGB suit.

Greg

#18

Interesting discussion all we the potential customer can do is sit back and see how things unfold. Strange how what should be a relaxing hobby is so filled with uncertainty and intrigue. Much more interesting than the HO world.

#19

The big seller for many of these companies were starter sets and the hope that people who bought them would also want to expand. The problem with expansion for many is time, space, MONEY and the lack of all three.

There is money to be made on starter sets but for a company to produce many other pieces in many different roadnames is expensive.

It is hard to see how a profit can be made. We have all seen a new piece introduced with a ridiculous MSRP then there is the actual price then there is a street price.

A product like Revo is a good one for someone to pickup and carry on because the application is suitable across brands and was/is very popular.

#20

I’d like Kader to “man up” and make parts available – like the motors to the Bachmann G scale trolleys. Finally finessed their crappy gears, but I can’t 3D print a working motor. Yet.