Hello from the offices of Korea Brass...

Hello everyone.

I have been a model railroader for over 40 years. (Whether it started with a Bachmann GP40 for my first birthday or when I bought my first issue of Model Railroader at age 11, I can't really say.) For all that time I have been a BN fan since we share almost the same birthday. The no nonsense raw power of strings of SD40-2s pulling mile long trains along the Mississippi inspires me to this day which is why my home layout is based on the double track along Lake Pepin, south of St. Paul, MN. And because on Sundays after church, my father would take the family for KFC across the river in Red Wing, MN, the first image in my mind when someone says caboose of the orange blur of a Milwaukee Road Bay window streaking past Levee Park on the way to points east. I have occasionally drifted in and out of active duty status when it comes to the hobby. From college, to family, to service to my country, I have drifted, but all it takes is the call of a Nathan air horn to bring me back home. I think for many of us model railroading isn't so much about the here and the now of our lives, as it is about allowing us to recreate what was or could have been.

Now, with my military service done, and my family well underway, i have started a new chapter in both my career and my hobby. I would never in a million years imagined that I would be working in the spaces where literally thousands of model locomotives were born. Everything from the beautiful brass of PFM I use to dream about on the back of that first Model Railroader magazine to the die cast Lionel at my cousin's house to the N&W Y6b that visits my present layout from time to time. Working in the business where I will eat, sleep and breath model trains will surely test whether I could ever get tired of trains. I have already seen a slight drop off in the number of hours spent in the train room at home.

So, that brings me to today, and why did I join this forum after being a "guest" for so long. Well, with the announcement of our new line, I have decided that after years of seeing threads on all the forums where modellers questions about why "X" company decided to do "Y" version of this locomotive instead of "Y phII" that was bought my my favorite railroad, we are going to try to be a little more open with our product development and selection. I am going to try to be active (as much as time permits, while still actually building something for you all) on several forums across the hobby, so that we can here from all of you and you will here from us. We will try to read any suggestions modellers have and keep all of you in the loop about anything new and exciting or any challenges and struggles we might have. The result I hope will be more models with more of the features and details people want and fewer surprises and disappointments from missed release dates or surprise foobies. (BTW, kudos to fellow competitors over at BLMA for blazing this trail of openness and responsiveness when it comes to new products and being upfront about the use of stand-ins. It shows courage and integrity that we will strive to match.) I believe that while there may be some in the industry who might feel threatened by this change in the way we are doing business or some who may try to use our honesty and candor against us, this can only be good for our customers and, as a result, good for us going forward.

So, to everyone out there, I will be listening and watching (there's nothing like a good wish list!) and I hope that together we can make sure that the hobby not only survives, but thrives in the future.

Scott Wendt
Director of Sales and New Product Development
Korea Brass Co., Ltd.

And new TrainBoard member

 

I heard a rumor that Korea brass was doing Milwaukee road electrics.

Everytime I look at brass on E bay or whatever it seems like the brass electrics including street railway and interurban are ALWAYS priced too high in both N and HO scale.

Still looking for a GHB Illinois terminal interurban combine in N scale that's priced low enough I won't need to sell my organs to get.

BTW , I made up that rumor

Randy

 

Hi Scott, Welcome to the TrainBoard. All I can say is "WOW", and I hope you succeed. Your new development approach is refreshing, and long overdue. Too many manufacturers for retail markets appear to base their development decisions on a few high-priced professionals locked in a dark closet, whose only retail experience is buying a Starbucks every moring.

 

Good to hear for you and glad you are "going public." I am probably too cheap to do brass except for the occasional N car sides, by glad to see you here. Good luck.

 

Welcome aboard, Scott. Sounds like a great career path for a model railroad hobbyist!