About model power

I thought I had read somewhere ( maybe even here) that someone was looking into buying the rights, or some such thing , to continue producing model power equipment. Am I correct? Or did I read something wrong somewhere. I have been to dang busy lately to keep up..
Sent from my Commando

 

You read correctly It was MRC that acquired the rights to produce some if not all of their stuff. I would not count on seeing production resuming this year though.

 

Stay tuned for upcoming announcements about new "innovative product experiences" based upon "the obvious synergy from the melding of the product lines."
http://mrr.trains.com/news-reviews/...mrc-and-model-power-enter-licensing-agreement

 

This is good news for all of us. MP way not be the best, but, it has a nice startup system for our younger generation. I don't know if the HO things are better to work with than in N scale. That isn't the point. We still need young ones to get started so they can dream and build later in life. Like many of us did. I remember my fist set was a Tyco HO scale. That was fun until the engine died. Then I bought model power set. Oh the fun I had with those.....

Sent from my Commando

 

"innovative product experiences" based upon "the obvious synergy from the melding of the product lines." I feel better all ready...

 

Personally, I want to see n-scale steam that has not been offered previously.

 

That marketing speak translates roughly into 'we're going to stuff MRC decoders into Model Power locos so we can try to compete with Bachmann.'

 

And Bachman needs some extra competition...... As long as MRC can improve its sound. This could be a winner.

Sent from my Commando

 

I think thwbigger. Synergies are in the kits and figures and other scenery materials. I expect an integration with the jtt stuff.

 

I will accept that as long as they are 'smart' decoders so that you can run them on DC and they put all wheels live tenders on the steam. I would think that an all wheels live tender would be a necessity on a DCC locomotive, but MP did claim that its half wheels live tender steam was DCC ready.

The MP FP-7 was not a bad locomotive, really. In fact, it might qualify as that elusive 'entry level F-unit' of song, story and many posts on this and other fora. To be sure, if MRC continues this one, they would need to correct the backward wiring in the 'trainset' version. Still, the trainset version was not a badly running locomotive, either. If MRC put one of their decoders into this one, as long as it would be a 'smart' decoder, that would not be so bad.

I am not a DCC user, but I have left the decoders in the majority of the B-mann locomotives that I have bought, against the day when conditions might compel me to start using DCC.

 

I'm glad there's a chance for some former Model Power stuff to come back. Walther's and DPM (now part of Woodland Scenics) advertised their Modulars, but Model Powers line of similar-but-varied houses were actually "unadvertised modular."

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/490-1556
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/490-1559

Each house kit came with a larger and a smaller section which went together different ways depending on the kit. Uniform and uniformly-spaced openings would accommodate either doors or windows. I used three Grandma's House/Bella's Farmhouse etc. kits to build a Navy Base headquarters building and a barracks. The larger building sections provided uniform-spaced walls and windows for the HQ building

and the smaller house sections from three house kits made a barracks.


I got two more kits to cobble together a rambling old seaside "seabreeze" inn on an isolated bay location which was a resort around 1900, and in the 1950s period of my layout has become a ramshackle cheap accommodation for fishermen, duck hunters...and occasional illicit couples who don't want to be around anyone who might recognize them.


I'm glad I've got my kits stashed away and hope more MP stuff will be around for me and for others.

 

Model Power had a few N scale freight cars that were somewhat "workable"

Their bay window caboose was based on a SP prototype with riveted sides and a roofwalk, which is a nice alternative to the more modern bay window cabooses offered by Athearn, Microtrains, and Walthers with welded sides and no roofwalks. Gold Medal Models offers replacement roofwalks and end railings for this car.

The other car that comes to mind is their ACF 5250 cuft Centerflow. Atlas used to offer the same exact version of this car with the high mounted brakewheel where it would be that much easier to overlook the Model Power car, but Atlas apparently revised the tooling to offer a car built after 1971 with different stiffening ribs and a low mounted brakewheel where the Model Power (and Bachmann) cars became the only options for the early ACF 5250's. Plano offers a roofwalk for the Atlas car, but it will also work on the Model Power car.

 

I've been highly critical of Model Power for their over-hyped and under-engineered steamers of the past decade; however, it was Model Power that got me back into model railroading in the early 1980's with their train set package which included the Minitrix F7-ish diesel. They imported European (German, Danish) plastic structures and other scenery elements which are found on many layouts. Their pricing was reasonable for entry-level modelers and 'did' have those good quality F7 diesels.

I'm not sure if the acquisition by MRC is going to result in an improvement to their current line of locomotives. If the intent is just to wedge in a sound card and sell these for over $200.00 without improving the pre-existing mechanical shortcomings... then it won't be a good merger. Any other company could lease the molds to remake the structures and other scenery elements... but the locomotives are the potential diamonds in the rough... IFFFF they are re-engineered to run better. I was never really impressed with their rolling stock... as they were mostly re-hash of other previously offered cars (Roco, Minitrix, etc...)... so I won't miss them if they are not re-released by MRC.

 

I had written a decent sized post about this, but things timed out before I could submit it... oh well.

The long and short is that Model Power filled a pretty important part of the market, entry level modelers and hobbyists. If we want our hobby to survive we need a company to meet the needs of new comers and people with limited budgets.

The Model Power structures and rolling stock were mostly vintage European items with ever so slight changes. While the buildings often didn't match North American prototypes, they did adequately represent the industries they were meant to be and could be made to look acceptable on layouts built by modelers of all skill levels.

I'm no rivet counter so the rolling stock was okay in my book. Model Power's cars filled in the bottom end of the hobby and that is an important niche since the price of Bachmann's offerings has continued to climb to the point where most of their rolling stock is as expensive as much more accurate items from upper end companies. I would like to see MRC continue production of Model Power's rolling stock but a better knuckle coupler is needed and the street price should probably be brought down since these old car designs were starting to get into the same price range as the superior Atlas Trainman line. I think $6-$7 (certainly sub $10) street price is achievable and that would have more appeal to new modelers and kids who are just getting into the market.

I don't own any more modern Model Power locomotives but I hear good things about their F units. I would like to see MRC release a decent GP or ALCO unit with a sub $40 street price to replace the market segment Like Like's plastic framed locomotives used to fill. Bachmann still produces their GP-40, and other lower end models, but the price keeps creeping up and performance was never all that great. It really isn't possible to buy a decent, new, locomotive at a price a child can save up for. When I got started I saved money to buy Life Like GP-38s and those locomotives ran great, looked acceptable, and basically kept me in N scale because I could afford them and they were good enough for operations. The secondary market is often too unpredictable for a kid or newcomer to put together a good roster and you have to deal with the realities of buying used items from people you haven't met, often without any product support from the manufacturer. Product prices continue to rise but the amount of money I have left over to pay my kids for chores, and therefore able to be spent by them on hobbies, cannot keep up.

Seems like a lot of companies lose sight of their primary market and the purpose of their primary products. Model Power's line was great for people getting started and acceptable for many others. MRC has a great opportunity to re-attack the entry level demographic while expanding Model Power's line into the upper end, the mid level is now saturated with pretty good Bachmann offerings and the Atlas Trainman line, of course there is a little room left there as well.

 

Everythings too expensive. $300 locomotives that look like $50 locomotives.

 

“the plan is to use the obvious synergy from the melding of the product lines to create new, profitable opportunities for our dealers and distributors, as well as innovative product experiences for railroaders and other hobbyists.”

I can't believe people actually talk like this. Does it impress anybody but industry insiders? Note that Adam Tager, formerly of Model Power, is now "Director of Product Development". Looks like they are at least planning new product down the road. The economy, as always, is the 800 pound gorilla in the room everyone happily ignores. I wish them well.

 

All,
I went to their website‎ www.modelpower.com and found this...

UPDATE 6/3/14Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of misinformation spread or published with regard to Model Power.


We know that much has changed over these past few weeks, and it will continue to do so in the near term. As our situation becomes settled, we will make this information available to the public. Thanks for all the support and patience.


-Model Power


Tom

 

Sounds like a Presidential candidate........


Hopefully they will improve and bring back their steam models. With just a couple improvements they can be very good runners.