See....we can have highly detailed plastic models at brass prices! Let the bidding begin!! N Athearn Big Boy #4019 DCC & DC Like New - eBay (item 260758334435 end time Mar-27-11 22:00:00 PDT)
With a Buy It Now price of $800, the guy or who ever buys this is a little off even keel. This is double the original price, and it has the MRC decoder. Too bad he does not realize that, like the CHallengers, Athearn is going to re-run these with the Tsunami decoder installed.
Wow, folks are getting what I tried to say a year or so back! At my former company, which I recently semi-retired from, we have been running the manufacturing from CAD direct to CNC since 1991. This is nothing new at all, it just took a long time to catch on. It is easily a way to develop a core mechanism that the drivers and shell could be built upon. Super Turbine is sort of doing this with the coversion of a Kato GS-4 to an ATSF 4-8-4 Northern. It would be almost like a kit too. You could buy the mechanism with the drvers of choice installed, add the cab and the boiler. Now add the details of your chioce for your prototype. The best part, you could add in small wells in the frame for modellers who need more weight. But that would be over kill, because the frame would be heavy enough to never need traction tires anyway. Why this will not happen in the modeling industry, is because all of the companies sold off thier machining assets and are completely dependent on Chinese manufacturing. And they have no reason to change the business model because thier customers are trapped with no other option. And they know it. In truth, using the direct CAD to CNC approach, all of the models could be made here for the same amount of money that is being charged. The difference, is that the money would all stay here too. Manufacturing made this country a Super Power, and the lack of it has us and our economy in a tailspin. There is really no reason that this couldn't be done right now. It just takes a paradigm shift in the thinking at Atlas, IM, Walthers etc. It could even apply to MicroTrains. Any 4-8-4 variant could be done for about $400 MSRP. Any 2-6-6-2 variant could be done for about $500 MSRP and any 2-8-8-2 could be done for about $650. All with the correct tenders available, with the correct details and the correct weight and motor to be able to easily pull 200 cars up a 3% grade. All it would take is a few hours to build your prototype. There could easily be other core for 2-8-2 and other smaller units too. I found out there was no interest then, is there any now? I still have access to a machine shop and full fabrication facilities..............
Sure there is interest! I am doing this now for frames for CC 2-8-8-2 mallets. In general though, for new efforts, the missing piece of the picture is that the boiler shells will still need to be injection molded...or do you envision rapid prototyping? Sources for fine parts like rods and running gear also need to be found. I think an effort should be formed in which we piece together our own boutique house and concentrate on one engine per year. Do a 4-6-4 say, and offer boilers/cabs for normal/streamlined Hudson....etc...If we wait for any of the current manufacturers to produce new stuff...well, anyone remember the PRR Mountain from Precision Scale...tic tic tic... Dave
The frame halves would be investment castings with a custom alloy for superior weight and electrical conductivity. The boiler etc would die cast along with the detail set to finish the locomotive. Basically, think of this approach as a GHQ conversion that includes the drive mechanism.
Last time I talked to Lee, Bowser was stopping all tooling in the US as his Master Toolmaker was no longer available.
That's his bargain bin. If you really want to pretend you're buying brass this one is better. Athearn N Scale Union Pacific Big Boy w/Sound DC or DCC - eBay (item 230599635782 end time Mar-27-11 19:42:35 PDT)
We as Nscalers need to help get the economy rolling again. Between CAD,CNC and plastic being a viable medium to work with we should be able to help get things going. There are so many items everyone seems to be interested in,so we need to think outside the box. So DCE Sharkman, let's give everyone a dose of the drugs you are talking about.
I have no idea what drugs the two sellers of the Athearn Big Boys are taking, but if they think those prices will sell, then they have to be pretty good hallucinogenic! As for the manufacturing, well I can start that at any time I can see a demand and a viable profit to be reinvested into more tooling.
I just wonder if Athearn is paying attention to those auctions. It seems the market is ripe for a new production of Big Boy's. I wanted one when they came around but didn't have the spare cash for it. I had an opportunity later to get one for a song from a friend who lost is job and was moving out of state to a new job and had no place for a layout at the new home. I sold of a lot of his stuff for him on Ebay to help generate money for the move. He wanted to sell the Big Boy and I fought him to get him to hang on to it. At the time is it was about 6 months after the release and prices were down. He was going to loose about $150 selling the loco at that time. I need to send him these auctions and make him feel a little better about his decision to keep the loco now.
Um, the one over $1000 is an open auction. The sellers didn't set the price. The one setting at over a grand has better than 30 bids. It's not the sellers fault that people (at least two) want what he has and are willing to pay large sums for it. Heck Con-Cor / Rivarossi Big Boy's are regularly selling for over $300 again. I have a spare I've been debating about listing to help pay for some upcomming purchase.
Funny thing is, there is a Key Brass BigBoy also up on the 'bay at $845. Its been there forever. ...... So..,.....what do we need to do to get the new loco foundry producing? Dave
Wow, that is a crazy price for the Athearn Big Boy. Once the auction closes, I imagine we'll see the site flooded with them. I just wish I had one to give up, I passed on the big boy and challenger when they came out.
