Perhaps related, but in June when a Trains.com article reported Sandra Kan closing out some of its customers was this little blurb: Picking up some business from the turbulence is Rapido-Maytex. The company's Jason Schron says it has picked up a couple of customers and is looking for more. He says the facility specializes in runs from 1,000-10,000 pieces. I didn't know Rapido was tied into a chinese company but that is not my main point. Note that they are looking for model railroad customers, and specialize in runs of 1-10K products. That MIGHT suggest the general size of product runs in MRR. I read a Tony's ad in MR last year which set typical loco runs at 4000 now (in HO). I have heard that rolling stock outsells locos by 3 to 1 (of course, based on real railroads, it should be 300 to 1, but we love our locos!) so perhaps locos run about 4K pieces and frieght cars about 12K pieces? I am sure it varies. Something like a box car would outsell another type of car (getting the max run) and if 4000 is an average run of locos, then some lesser popular models might easily only run 1000 pieces, at least for a second run. Again, just educated guesses.
Of course it doesn't work with these very large and stuffy companies. That would be like coaxing a trout out of the water. You have to find a company that is nimble and hungry. Luckily, there are at least 3 of these in the N Scale market, and they LISTEN!!!! Advice for small N Scale manufacturers? Speed! Initial idea to product can't be more than 6 months. Security! Swear the witness to secrecy! Wariness! Those big companies are NOT your friend! Crank'em! Make lots of your model. If it's good, it'll sell. If it isn't, then going broke slowly is not better... Ignore conventional wisdom! The lack of a cab forward because only one RR had them is the "head thumper on wall" of the era. What do I see as the Number 1 "make an obscene amount of money" product still missing? Jordan Spreaders. Ya know why? Find a brass D&RGW or SP Donner Pass spreader on EBay. Can't! You have to wait for someone to die! Number 2? Still the heavyweight passenger car. MicroTrains I do not count. No one that makes one car at a time, per year, is a viable competitor. Six car sets, ala Rivarossi, who sold their old sets for what, 45 years? Number 3? Nn3 D&RGW flat cars with stake side pockets and panels. Honestly, these are rare as hen's teeth! Number 4? A Steam 10 wheeler. Nuff' said!
So why aren't you making any of these??? Sounds as if you have it all figured out....... Should be a slam dunk!! Intsant retirement fund!!
Wow, where to start with this one.... Number 1 - (Jordan Spreader) The only reason the Jordan spreaders are so hard to find is they only made a 100 or so. Because they are hard to find does not make them a slam dunk popular item. Having worked in a shop for close to 10 years now, I can honestly say I have never had a customer come in asking for a spreader. The 150 people out there that know what they are are willing to spend the money on one because they are so rare. I wouldn't give you $10 for one, even the brass one, for what will basically be a static piece of scenery on a siding. Number 2 - (Heavyweights) MT is doing just fine with their Heavies. The big test is now that all 4 original bodies are out, how will the rest of the roads be produced? There was rummor of doing them as runner packs for specific roads, an easy way to build up the roster. They aren't going to crank them out like Rivarossi because they won't slap any road on any car. It at least has to have a little bit of resemblence to the original. With the cars they have produced so far, if they made every car in both Pullman and home road paint jobs, it could keep them going for the forseeable future. There are still plenty of the RR cars out there to fill out the rest of the roster until MT catches up. Number 3 - (Nn3) - Won't even go there. What, there are 250 people in the whole US that do Nn3? I can only count 4-5 out of the thousands of member on this forum that do it, and I don't think any of them have it as a primary scale. Number 4 - (10 Wheeler) - It's on it's way, although you might not like the manufacture, they will be here around X-mas time. I will agree with the turnaround time. We were just talking about one of the RC car companies at the shop today. When they decide they want to make a new part for a car, turn around from idea to having it on the store shelves is 4-6 weeks. Now these are much simpler items not needing the huge amounts of research, but they are an American company, molding the items in the US, in their own facility, which helps turnaround time hugely.
Agreed. A modeler may have 30 or 40 locos(more or less) on the layout and a couple hundred cars (again, more or less). IF he wanted one, he would most likely have only ONE Jordan Spreader...........It would be a unique "aside" project, but not a "front line" piece of equipment of which to manufacture strictly for profit. The brass Jordan Spreader that is available isn't that far out of price range anyhow. I doubt an injection molded spreader could be competitively manufactured and sold for profit. Again, the word "kitbash" comes into play......... It is too bad (or good?) that there are so many variations in the prototype. A manufacturer has no choice but to follow what is available at the time. When a manufacturer decides to produce a model soon after the prototype is released, they can almost be assured that changes are, and will be made to the prototype making it difficult to be truthful to the prototype. Even years after the first unit hits the market. Take for instance the horn location on the BN SD-70MACs. The horns were moved to a different location so as to allow for easier access to the water piping from the roof. However the model doesn't reflect the change. This is an easy conversion to make, but just one example of how things change and how we must adapt to them if we so desire to replicate those changes.
It seems as if there should be a manufacuturing process that can create say 300-500 (more than a brass run, but less than a plastic run) of a finished model - for a price somewhere between the two. I would guess it's plastic with applied details. But isn't this really what we are driving towards - more and more releases of small numbers of unique 1-2 road cars?
I would like to see more variety in plastics hoppers. There is a short team track in town and I have seen NSC, Thrall, Trinity and ACF cars. The variety makes for some interesting comparisons. Unless I am wrong, I only see two or three ACF cars out there in N, many with garish paint jobs that I have never seen. Almost every car I see is plain jane in some shade of grey. Atlas has done a nice job with ACF cars.
Prices have come down greatly on molds, but it largely depends on their material and the number of expected shots. The larger reoccurring costs are those for multiple passes through the pad printer and all of the non-molded on details we expect today. These do add up.
