iHobby

[wcfn100]

Which makes it something like Exactrail: 8   Atlas: 0  for the year!   

Atlas released 4 new body styles for the 1932 ARA boxcar.

Jason

[ljudice]

>>>Atlas released 4 new body styles for the 1932 ARA boxcar.


Cool - I can have a boxcar museum! 

[sirenwerks]

Re: Athearn...

You gotta be kidding me!!!  Probably the most ASKED for freight car on every forum were LPG tank cars.  Athearn delivered not 1 but three versions (well 1 is still coming).  And possibly the best n-scale freight car ever.

Athearn totally rocks in my mind after that car, the Ethanol cars and the SP cabeese.... 

Meh. The tanks are way too new for me. They need to give me something I can use. But I had forgot about the caboose and I believe it will make a very nice CGW hack when I get around to it.

[ljudice]

Oh, by the way, I went to the Atlas site's New Products Listing and found the following ***ANNOUNCEMENTS***  since June 2009 (16 months ago):

N Scale:     New Models:   none

HO Scale:   New Models:   85' trash car
                                    Laser Structure Kits
                                    GP39-2 Phase 2
                                    40' Standard Container
                                    Trainman Flatcar
                                    GP40-2(W)
                                    Genset
                                    USRA Rebuilt Boxcar
                                    GP40-2 Phase 2
                                    52' Gondola Cover
                                    73' Center Partition Flat
                                    Short Bulkhead Flat


In other words, no public announcements of any committed N-scale tooling since May, 2009 (17 months ago). Please don't our intelligence by suggesting this is merely due to problems in China...

[sundowner]

Atlas also release two new tank car this year.

[ljudice]

No, sorry...  The 25.5 was announced in May, 2009 and the 20k was announced in March, 2009.


By the way, I know as little about Atlas' plans as any of you know about Kato or Intermountain or anyone else's plans.  Can you see how annoying it is to have someone drone on criticizing your favorite manufacturer???  Perhaps NOW you know how irritating for me to listen to the constant complaints about Kato.

The fact is that it's a lousy economy, and we should be happy with what is available - and we can afford. Beyond that it's just idle speculation and I thought a fun topic of discussion.

Apparently I was wrong about that last point!

My last comment on the matter - I have seven rescued barn kittens to bottle feed for the next two hours:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=538536&l=b9514ba3fc&id=100000507455861

[CBQ Fan]

Has there been a month without at least several new products, even if reruns?

[asarge]

Just got back from an operating session and saw the EXR reply to my Facebook post on their HO announcement. more N scale cars coming from them. We'll find out which ones soon I hope.

[FrankCampagna]

>>>Atlas released 4 new body styles for the 1932 ARA boxcar.

Cool - I can have a boxcar museum! 

Meh. The tanks are way too new for me. They need to give me something I can use.

Frank

[SkipGear]

Quote
>>>Atlas released 4 new body styles for the 1932 ARA boxcar.

Cool - I can have a boxcar museum! 


Quote
Meh. The tanks are way too new for me. They need to give me something I can use.

Frank

Happens to be just fine for me. I model steam era at home and a modern train for N-trak and both filled voids.

We can't all be happy at the same time.

[Ian MacMillan]

Just got back from an operating session and saw the EXR reply to my Facebook post on their HO announcement. more N scale cars coming from them. We'll find out which ones soon I hope.

Most likely another specific to one road car that they can QusiExactRail put road names on.

[sirenwerks]

Just got back from an operating session and saw the EXR reply to my Facebook post on their HO announcement. more N scale cars coming from them. We'll find out which ones soon I hope.

4427! 4427! 4427! Please! Please! Please!

[lashedup]

Must be something in the water this week - you guys are awfully wound up!

To me it is pretty simple -

1. We had a LOT of stuff produced over the previous 4 years. Then the economy took a dump. Given the lead times on projects, we are now seeing a lull of sorts as a result of decisions to hold back on new projects a bit that were made a year or more ago.

2. Clearly not every release makes everyone happy.

3. Production in China has definitely become more difficult. Look how long it took to get Atlas Code 55 produced again.

All that said, Kato has announced quite a bit of stuff lately - production in Japan is obviously not an issue. Give it some time. Trainfest usually has a bit more to offer. There are still interesting new things coming that haven't been announced yet.

- Jamie
 

[m301]

I keep bustin Athearn's balls on Facebook to break out Roundhouse/MDC N Scale dies and make stuff. I keep seeing ads for those Californian P59 loco's and curse outloud.

  There's at least 5 or 6 different items they can make but they sit on their hands.

[ljudice]

Maybe I wasn't clear in my comments...

I think it's amazing the cool stuff that has come down the road (or announced) in the past year!  The Kato/FVM GEVO's, the Kato SD70ACE's, Bluford's hoppers, the Athearn LPG tanks and covered hoppers, the BLMA refrigerators and gons, all the stuff from Exactrail, re-announcement of Deluxe stuff, the 4427 from MTL and plenty of new paint schemes from Atlas on previously announced models.  Plus tons of interesting stuff I have no use for like the MTL passenger cars, COLA and PC stuff from Kato and ESMC's fantastic XIH's.

All I said was that it's just kind of strange that Atlas hasn't announced a NEW model since May, 2009 - about 17 months ago, while everyone else seems to be able to churn things out.  And oddly, they've announced about a dozen HO models in this time period (who knows how many O things as well)

Makes you wonder...