Big News from NTS!!!!

[Sokramiketes]

Notables that did were Skibbe purchasing a Bulldozer Flat And built it during the convention.

I've been wanting to build one of your rolling stock kits for some time.  By Saturday I was looking for something else to do and the Bulldozer Flat looked interesting.  It went together really well; you have your fold lines figured out, Bob.  I've got one or two ideas that might help, but probably not even worth changing on the kit... I'll send you a separate note.

If anyone is holding back, they really are easy kits, and can really go together with super glue.  

[mcjaco]

Crowds were a little light at NMRA as compared to Trainfest, but most were modelers and appreciative of the work as opposed to people who ask "Is this Z scale?".  Still plenty of opportunities to talk to folks and lose track of your train and ram into the back of Vince's caboose hop... 

For those interested, Mike is correct.  The crowds were light.  However, they were knowledgable (more General Public was at the show yesterday), which meant longer, more intelligent converstations, rather than the typical head banging questions. 

For the record, I only rear ended one train the entire weekend.......Nate, on the other hand.   

[ljudice]

So, Bob, Skibbe and mcjaco - you guys were there...

Can you tell us - did Athearn, Exactrail, Intermountain, Deluxe, FVM, etc... have anything new or anything to say????

[Philip H]

The list transscibed and summarized from the Model Railroader website:

N scale locomotives

Baldwin 4-6-0 steam locomotive.  Bachmann
Electro-Motive Division GP7 locomotive. Bachmann
General Electric 70-ton diesel locomotive. Bachmann
Con-Cor International N scale General Electric U50 diesel Con-Cor International
Con-Cor International N scale Union Pacific gas-turbine locomotive with Con-Cor International

N scale traction
Peter Witt streetcar. Bachmann

N scale freight cars
Canadian four-bay cylindrical grain hopper. Bachmann
Trinity 64-foot refrigerator boxcar. BLMA Models

N scale passenger cars
Heavyweight 70-foot baggage-express cars. Wheels of Time

N scale structures

West End Shack. GC Laser
Chicago "L" elevated track system. Laser-cut wood kits. Imagine That Laser Art,
Assorted laser-cut wood structure kits. JL Innovative Design
Sidetrack Laser N scale Electro-Motive Division diesel shop Sidetrack Laser
Sidetrack Laser N scale Greyhound Bus depot Sidetrack Laser
Sidetrack Laser N scale TOFC combo ramp Sidetrack Laser

N scale details and accessories
Under-track uncoupling magnet with brakeman figure. Bachmann
Rigid-jaw knuckle coupler. Con-Cor International
Modern log bunk kit. S&R Models
Six-wheel heavyweight passenger truck. Wheels of Time
Americans with Disabilities Act warning band for modern Amtrak and commuter station platforms.Wheels of Time

My guess is if FVM or anyone else had announced something, it would be on here.

[mcjaco]

^ That sums it up.  At least what I saw.

Quite honestly, I didn't go looking for new announcement items, nor do I really care.  I'm there to run trains, and hang out with friends. 

The Wheels of Time stuff looked great, expecially the new ADA passenger platform stripes.  Very cool for modern modelers. 

Bachmann's stuff looked real good, and I think the Geep will be an excellent DCC entry loco.  The Peter Witt Street car, the Concor HO street ca and dual light Zephyr, FVM's Hiawatha's, all looked really good.

Soundtraxx had a new decoder that was supposedly pre loaded to speed match any loco that had one of their sound decoders already installed.  I got one for free, but I haven't really read up on it yet.  (It's also for HO). 

In other news, Westerfield and Tomar had signs up "For Sale."  Both guys are attempting to retire and look for someone to buy the companies.

[ljudice]

If you scroll down here - you'll see a test shot of the modernized IMRC refrigerator car:

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/2964


Also mention of a CN caboose from Rapido and CMT??? - I think they are talking n-scale.

[lashedup]

Skibbe and I usually try and get around to do a show report each year at Trainfest, however for the Milwaukee NTS I was only able to make it up there for setup when no vendors were up and running on Wednesday and for a brief period on Friday. So I didn't have the time to walk around with Mike and try and photograph all the new stuff - sorry guys.

Overall while there was new stuff announced (listed above) I get the overall impression that the manufacturers are taking a little breather of sorts. After several years with lots of great new products, they all went through a major recession year and are probably being more careful. John from Athearn told me that their biggest problem is the instability in China right now both from a rising cost standpoint and ability to get stuff produced in a timely fashion. He seemed pretty frustrated about it and I can understand their reluctance to jump in with lots of new stuff right now with all the instability.

Overall I think manufacturers are just being cautious. On the other hand we've been spoiled the last few years with a lot of releases so our expectations are high.

- jamie

[skytop35]

Notables that did were Skibbe purchasing a Bulldozer Flat And built it during the convention.

I've been wanting to build one of your rolling stock kits for some time.  By Saturday I was looking for something else to do and the Bulldozer Flat looked interesting.  It went together really well; you have your fold lines figured out, Bob.  I've got one or two ideas that might help, but probably not even worth changing on the kit... I'll send you a separate note.

If anyone is holding back, they really are easy kits, and can really go together with super glue.  

Glad to hear TrainCat had a good show. I also made my first purchase from him. When I recover from the show, I look forward to putting together the B & O stockcar I purchased. After I saw Mike assemble a kit during the show with ACC, I was impressed!

[ljudice]

Between the BLMA stuff coming, the FVM NS GEVOS and the second round of Athearn LPG tanks, additional Atlas gons and tanks, there is plenty to save up for!   

[tehachapifan]

Believe it or not, I actually like it when there's a lack of new products. For me, the most enjoyable part of the hobby is yearning for stuff that doesn't exist and trying to build it myself from scratch or by kitbashing. In more recent years, there's been somewhat of a flood of new products and I've had this feeling of over-saturation. In a strange way, this has actually caused me to lose some interest in the hobby. Case in point; I have two unfinished GP60's on the shelf that I completely stopped working on when the LL offering came out. Up 'till then, I was having a blast building them but now they will probably never be finished. The challenge is just not there anymore. Weird? ???

Russ

[TrainCat2]

So, Bob, Skibbe and mcjaco - you guys were there...

Can you tell us - did Athearn, Exactrail, Intermountain, Deluxe, FVM, etc... have anything new or anything to say????

Yes.

[mcjaco]

So, Bob, Skibbe and mcjaco - you guys were there...

Can you tell us - did Athearn, Exactrail, Intermountain, Deluxe, FVM, etc... have anything new or anything to say????

Yes.

LOL!

I watched Skibbe put a good portion of the flat car together.  Man is it sharp.  And it went together really well.  Really nice stuff!   

[FrankCampagna]

I welcome Sidetrack Laser to N scale. That Greyhound depot looks nice.

Westerfield has been up for sale for years. One of the old timers of the hobby. I suspect he never really made that much on his kits, and were financed mostly from a "real" job. That doesn't mesh well with the for-profit business model in place today. They would be a shame to lose. Wrong scale, but a lot of good stuff.

I note with interest that the Bachmann GP-7 is in mostly eastern roads. Kind of different from where the market has been.

Frank

[Bob Bufkin]

If Bachmann ever made the GP9's in a different phase than Atlas, I'd be all over them.

[Robbman]

If Bachmann ever made the GP9's in a different phase than Atlas, I'd be all over them.

They are a different phase... just a GP7 phase, and one that doesn't exist at that