Agreed Jamie. I don't get the hate. What company has an obligation to make anything for anyone? Everyone's products have been delayed due to issues in China so it's very possible that's a contributing factor here. Plus if it's true that they are retooling everything to body mount MT couplers, then by all means take your time
Actually we are nicer to ER then the HO crowd. Think of this with that weak knee excuse-their HO is released on a timely bases or does that count? I can not give praise to where none is due. Again they sing one song about N Scale while showing a decrease-where's all those "exciting new N Scale releases"? As far as changes I'll take the "I'm from Missouri" stand.
It's not hate I'm reading, but seems to be more to the tune of mis-managed expectations. If companies set the right expectations then even the trickle will have a line waiting out the door for each release..... The more the merrier in N scale, so I only wish the best for Exact Rail.
Smike:tune of mis-managed expectations. ----------------- Could be but,maybe we was lead to believe there would be "exciting new N Scale releases"? IF they released N Scale cars in a aggressive manner instead of showing a yearly decline I am positive we would not be having this discussion..
Maybe once again I am just to simple minded...but...if they are churning out HO and not N...dont those HO come from the same place N does...CHINA! If so...no one can play the "China blah....blah...blah" card. Just sayin:tb-confused: .
I have to say, let's not be quick to judge here. I'm finally within days of distributing the very first N Scale product of my own, and I can't even begin to describe how difficult it has been to keep announcement type things to a minimum until supplies are in hand, dates are official and info is finalized. I'll reach a milestone and get so excited that I want to just share with everyone right away. Perhaps ExactRail has fallen victim to their own excitement when that announcement was made. And then as it happens, when delays start to pop up it gets so frustrating that you just want to ignore it and hope it goes away. But that leaves potential customers in the dark, and as you can see here consumers upset easily. That being said, as difficult as it is to be certain you don't announce things before they're official, you must restrain. And if something does get leaked, you can't sit on your hands. I find that the happiest (and in turn most loyal) customer is an informed one.
Actually the chinese factories raising minimum orders by a factor of 4 could have a great effect on N-scale production when less than 3 years ago at least one major manufacturer admitted to my face that meeting minimums of 300 units was getting harder and harder to accomplish.
That statement makes my point. I hate when companies use the word "Exciting" It’s almost always assured to back fire, as how does one define "exciting". Better would be to say we have X of new releases coming, or something, anything??? Also managing customer expectations as when something doesn't go right is just as important as setting them. Sorry to beat what maybe a dead horse, but in my profession, dealing with client expectations is job 1.
I wonder why new HO gets release in a timely manner? Lets see how that works..The ExactRail Trinity reefer was announce 4/19/11 and is already on the market. In that light I suspect N scale is not on the production order schedule period. 300 units seems to be a bare minimum that would sell out as soon as the item hits the Internet shops if there was enough to go around.. I suspect who ever told you that was selling a bill of excuses for the lack of new or rerun N Scale-besides Atlas has monthly N rerun releases .
Actually with this one, I wanna say they announced theirs right after BLMA announced his. One of those "oh crap" someone else is doing the same car we are moves. Being normally ER announces a car or paint schemes about a week before they ship out. But as Brakie is shown, these "new exciting announcements" just are not coming. As I have said also, N scalers haven't gotten a single announcement since June 14th, yet HO guys are getting 2 or so cars a month every month since. Plus the brass irrigation wheel and bridges. And the June announcement wasn't a new car, but just new paint schemes on the 4427s they had ran earlier. As for the retooling for body mounts, are we sure they are retooling, and not just doing all new cars?
N Scale? I know there are several new HO products due. I was assured by e-mail Atlas has several new N scale products lined up and the coil car will arrive the first quarter of 2012.Its odd(maybe not so odd) HO guys got theirs already and both coil cars was announced at the same time. I think one of the guys at the N Scale club got it right when he said N Scalers is treated like third class passengers on the Titanic ignored and forgotten.
Well I hate to bring logic to this converstaion but here it goes: BLMA Trinity 64' Reefer Announced: July 2010 Expected: 2nd Quarter 2011 Delivered: September 2011 (3 months late) ExactRail Trinity 64' Reefer Announced: August 2010 Expected: not announced Delivered: not yet So, if ExactRail delivers their Trinity reefer soon, they will pretty much make the same schedule BLMA did (14 months). Yet BLMA gets praise, ExactRail gets grief. By the way, does anyone remember this? BLMA 5-unit spine carrs Announced: October 2009 Expected: 2nd Quarter 2010 Delivered: June 2011 (1 year late) I also don't understand the dismay with ExactRail because, "They have more HO releases than N releases." So what? ExactRail has launched almost a dozen new freight cars into the N-scale marketplace in the last three years...and we complain! "ExactRail has deck bridges in HO but not in N." So what? BLMA has an entire line of modern signals in HO that they do not have in N. Does anyone remember the BLMA N-scale searchlight signals? I gave up on those a long time ago, but I still appreciate and enjoy their other releases. But wait...this is not a complaint about BLMA! I love BLMA! Both manufacturers are innovators that produce great quality N-scale products. I am thankful that we have BOTH, not to mention all of the others. Normally I don't get up on a soap box here; must be working too many hours and not spending enough time with trains. C'mon guys, let's embrace all of these manufacturers and their efforts to reach out to us. Isn't that what we have been asking for? Jamie
Jamie ,I think you miss the concerns or haven't read any of the replies.. So,let's see if this helps. ExactRail maintains "We are quite enthusiastic about N-scale! And since becoming Vice President of Product, our commitments to the N-scale community have only deepened. We are currently developing a new set of innovations for our N-scale models, and all of our products are being updated accordingly." but,here's the kicker.Their N Scale products has shown a decline over the past 2 years..What's wrong with this picture? Where's the "exciting N Scale releases" they boasted about? BTW..I own several of their cars and think they're top notch and I would love to see those "exciting new N Scale releases" instead of a monthly empty bag while they continue to pour forth HO products while telling us how deeply committed to N Scale they are...
I think the point is trying to be made here is that the reason "exciting N scale releases " have not been made is because there is a problem somewhere with production. ExactRail has always said that they do not to try and announce a product that is not close to being shipped. And yes I believe that they had to announce the Trinity Reefers early, because of BLMA announcement. We have gone through this with every manufactore, Athearn comes to mind, and look what we have gotten from them some really nice vehicles, locos and cars that no one else would release EVER. Let's be thankful for atleast getting something new a year from some instead of constant re-runs.
Joe:ExactRail has always said that they do not to try and announce a product that is not close to being shipped. ------------- Yup,that explains why ExactRail announce the N Scale Trinity reefer the same time they did the HO Trinity... We can go back and forth forever but,that doesn't change the evidence of a decrease in N scale production from a company that continues to claim "We are quite enthusiastic about N-scale! And since becoming Vice President of Product, our commitments to the N-scale community have only deepened".
What's wrong is that you're only taking a 2 year sample. I hate delays as much as the next guy. But we're talking about a hobby here, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
Group, I just checked into the thread, and I appreciate the feedback and suggestions for products. As one of my primary objectives, we look forward to raising the standards for our N-scale products--where I see a lot of opportunity. As mentioned, these commitments apply not just for new projects going forward, but our commitments are such that they also include updating past projects--thus the low number of releases since my tenure. Projects that have exited the pipe are not indicative of what is currently in the pipe. Best regards, Blaine Hadfield Vice President, Product ExactRail, LLC
BLMA has earned their praise by producing much needed prototypical cars without errors. EXR manages to make releases where every car is screwed up somehow. I was exited about the 4427 until I saw how f'ed up the paint was applied and how poorly the car was molded. Now, I'm scared to buy anymore. I like EXR and the variety they bring to the table but they don't come close to living up to their own hype. Jason
