ESM X58 teaser video

[wm3798]

While for this broke-a$$ cheapskate the price is alarming, I have to say, for a highly specialized, hyper detailed model, the ultimate street price of around $25 isn't outrageous at all.

While it would be nice if Atlas, Athearn or one of the other "majors" would do a close-enough X-58 for real fleet-building and that could wear all the foob paint schemes they dare to come up with, Bryan's approach is one of meticulous accuracy...  Even I have to confess that this approach is worth a few extra bones.

Hopefully he'll get the return he's looking for out of it before one of the bigs decides to do a mass produced model at a lower unit cost... 

Clearly this model is not targeted to the unwashed masses.

Lee

[Frank Amato]

I agree with Lee regarding price.  When you factor in your time/effort to kitbash anything close, $25 at the LHS is a steal - especially for PRR, PC, and Lehigh Valley modelers.

  Frank

[MichaelWinicki]

Clearly this model is not targeted to the unwashed masses.

That's it right there.  It's not a Trainman or Bachmann quality or priced product. 

This is higher end, which is going to command a higher price.

[Brakie]

That's it right there.  It's not a Trainman or Bachmann quality or priced product. 

This is higher end, which is going to command a higher price.

Absolutely! The car is a higher end car that should be among the best to date.

Think of this.

Looking at that video one could mistake that  N Scale train  for HO..

[sirenwerks]

Absolutely! The car is a higher end car that should be among the best to date.

Think of this.

Looking at that video one could mistake that  N Scale train  for HO..

I like Bryan as a modeler and intellectual jouster and support his business most certainly, but I have to disagree with your "higher end car" title. It has incorporated long-sought design standards (ride height, low-profile wheelsets, extended couplers) but it doesn't (IMO) go further in terms of details to be considered ground breaking. Sure, it features etched parts, which are becoming more and more popular, dare I say standard on new body style releases from a lot of manufacturers; but the hand grabs, ladders, door lock detail, tack boards are still cast on so it's not mind boggling (like Trainworx GS gon, with its beautifully intricate etched ladders and grabs, was to me though it went largely unnoticed by so many). I don't know the details of cost factors as much as anyone else interjecting here but I will publicly assume the car's limited paint scheme possibilities and appeal (outside of a$$hat territory) means less sales appeal is expected and smaller runs are likely, with the need to capture more upfront cost per car than usual. It's a beautiful car and I want some but I wouldn't say it's ground breaking to the extent that it warrants the expense previously reserved for passenger cars and vintage Walthers cabooses.

[Puddington]

Costing knowledge aside, because I have none; I do not think this MSRP is out of line given what you get and given what you don't get from MT's and the like. Not to knock MT's, they are an icon in the hobby and we all give them way to much grief but they are in for mid $ 25.00 range for old tooling, foobie cars that appear each month in huge numbers. To set the price bar at around $ 32.00 for this car seems to me to be be what the market price shoud be given tooling costs, limited run sizes and the detai/ride height/prototypical correct features it will have.

Do I like paying $ 32.00 a car - no.........do I like paying $ 1.30/litre for gas, living the second most oil rich area of the world...........no..do I pay it,............yes.... It is what it is................we brag about living in the free market........you can not buy the car or buy a Bachmann or MT......it's up to you.

[wazzou]

My only real comparison here is the FVM MILW Ribside cars. 
They are 10' shorter, sure, but still a specialty car. 
So far, three different body styles.  Etched brass?  Yes. 
Many different paint schemes, though all one color printing but with a street price of around $15.00. 

[wm3798]

Well, Bryan and Bryan are piling on against Bryan.  I don't think anyone wants to be meat in that sandwich...  The Milwaukee Road car could be a fair comparison, but maybe not...  I'll reveal my bias here, and say that Milwaukee Road has always been one of the "chosen" roads, given the heritage Milwaukee shares with the hobby, and therefore, may hold more immediate appeal in the market place.  Plus, as we've discussed here at length regarding a number of models, the horizontal ribs on a MILW car make it a real oddball, despite the large numbers of them that rode the rail.

We modelers love our oddballs.  Matt's following that niche perfectly in his freight car work, with the MILW cars, and now the B&O wagontops.  These cars are truly as road specific and unique as the X-58 is, but they look more "way out" due to the eye popping designs of the cars.

The PRR x-58 doesn't fall into this category for the average modeler.  To the untrained eye, the X=58 is just another rib side box car, and ConCor, Micro Trains and Roundhouse already make one, and all of them, I'm willing to bet, have appeared with X-58 markings at one time or another.

Bryan is responding to the part of the market that says "No, good enough isn't good enough."  It's the same thing he did with the G-26.  To Joe Runner Pack, the G-26 is no different than the 65' Athearn mill gon, and he'll look first at the price tag, and second at the paint scheme.  If he is enchanted enough by the green PC car, he might go the extra $10, but if he's even a little cost conscious, he's going to look the other way and buy the Athearn.

To those of us who know better, we're going to be more likely to seek out the right model of the car that we collectively know has been missing from the ranks of N scale models... quality or not... and know that we're getting what we're paying for.  We are a more selective group of modelers, more demanding, and hopefully we recognize that certain molded on details aren't the end of the world, particularly if ops is our game, and every add-on detail is a potential snag or derailment waiting to happen.

Part of the accuracy, if you've been following the other threads, is the paint schemes on these.  Bryan has researched cars that are notably different on both sides of the same car, and is replicating this.  Is this overkill?  Maybe.  But as we've heard echoed on these boards for years, if you have the opportunity to do something right, why not do it right?

Lee

[bbussey]

While for this broke-a$$ cheapskate the price is alarming, I have to say, for a highly specialized, hyper detailed model, the ultimate street price of around $25 isn't outrageous at all...

You're going to get jazzed when you see the roofwalk and how fine it is.  Pics in the next newsletter.

[bbussey]

... I don't know the details of cost factors as much as anyone else interjecting here but I will publicly assume the car's limited paint scheme possibilities and appeal (outside of a$$hat territory) means less sales appeal is expected and smaller runs are likely, with the need to capture more upfront cost per car than usual...

That is the primary reason.  Hopefully as we move forward, the price increases will be less severe as the production runs increase.

[bbussey]

Great looking car! I look forward to the modern NS version.  To that end, when I try to get product info from the ESM web site, I can only see the bottom portion of the pull-down menu...

I know there's an issue with the website on Safari.  It was designed at the time to work on IE, Firefox and Netscape.  Don't know why the Safari is not recognizing the stylesheet coding as it should.

[bbussey]

If that car look as good as it does in the video I want at least 3..One with high brake wheel and two with the low brake wheel.

They'll look better than the ones in the video, and various anomalies will be corrected as well.

[tom mann]

One thing to add to Lee's write up:  Bryan also has designed a unique extended draft gear coupler box.  The time required to design this and the added assembly time should contribute to a relatively higher price.

[wazzou]

Just speaking for me personally, it's not my intention to pile on at all. 
I'm supportive and have vowed openly to buy the car when it comes out. 
I know many of you guys know Bryan @ESM personally and seem quick to come to his defense and that's fine.  I haven't attacked him or his products.
I hope those that have clamored for the car will spend a small fortune to run a consist that has several cars in it.

[Brakie]

sirenwerks,I disagree I still think its a high end car..

Unless the separate grab irons and ladders are scale I'll pass and settle on the molded on grabs and ladders for now.

I seen how easy fragile details can break in HO and I'm not sure we need 'em in N---yet.