Classic Metal Works - survey #2

[Bangorboy]

International Harvester little SUV

Would that be the Scout?  Like the one Jesse Stone drives in the Paradise movies? 

You could also add the Ford Bronco and Bronco II, and the Chevy Blazer.  What did they call the mini one?  Trailblazer?

Bill B
South Okaloosa N Scalers
 

[pnolan48]

Blue collar cars.
Light delivery trucks.
No more police cars, fire engines or semis. Got too many of those already.
All in the transition era for me.
I've already repainted a number of cars just for variety, so starting with an unpainted car doesn't faze me.
Where would decals go on blue collar cars? Tiny bowties for the hubcaps? That might give me some eye strain.

[up1950s]

The local hobby shops forced the hand of CMW to put in 2 the same color to a pack . Supposedly because the customers wanted to buy a single car of one color . If CMW sold them separately in smaller packages I would be happy as a clam , but 2 of the same is the worst IMO as it killed some sales as per forum comments . I have heard nobody ever stating that 2 of the same color was an improvement except for the hobby shop owners .

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I am looking at the responses here and I agree with a lot of it. We do need a lot more SUV, vans and cars that the average 'Merican can afford. But this would also incluse the Crown Vic and Caprice, both of which are also used as police and fire vehicles.

Those that say we have too many police and fire vehicles all seem to be earlier era modelers. Let me tell you just how difficult it is to find a modern (i'm talking 1985+ here) cruiser. I would suggest your vision is a bit skewed. Keep in mind anything ever used as  fleet vehicles was also used by many, many blue collar workers. There is no reason why CMW couldn't do a civilian version of the Vic, and cover ERYONE's interests with just one vehicle. Same goes for the Expedition, or Bronco etc.

The GM and Chrystler licenses are a lot cause at this point, so you are looking at Ford, International and maybe Toyota or Nissan (Mazda and Honda are also difficult to license from what I hear). Now I'm no import fan, but some Toyodas would be a great addition to the vehicle lineup.

With all due respect to Bobb, I also think they should do an auto transporter. a pre-painted, snap together kit would instantly mean sales of one or two bulk pack kits as well. The TrainCat kit is very nice, but not for the novice. Something they could build in 10 minutes (maybe even without glue) would be perfect.

One thing I think CMW looses out on is the laser-like focus Athearn has with their vehicle lineup. Athearn has been very sucessful milking all their tooling for all its worth. They also have set up clusters of vehicles to serve certain eras and locals. For instance, the Edmire Mack B & R trucks are based in Chicago, as well as three of their Fire apparatus. Boston has two fire engines and bus. If you focus on a location or era, they have a product portfolio for you. Very smart.

CMW has some RR specific vehicles, but all based in the 1950's, and NOTHING based on location. Say they have a International dump truck. Now it could be a nice model, but if it comes in green or red, I'm not interested. Now say that truck has MASS DOT on the side. Well that truck just found a home. In fact, I purchased both recent commuter buses just becasuse they are painted in "T" even though both are out of my era.

One more thing they need to do is fix the sloppy tooling on the chassis. Truck wheels stick out over a foot wider than they should. Buses with over a foot of clearence between the hubs and tires. Totally unacceptable.

[CBQ Fan]

The local hobby shops forced the hand of CMW to put in 2 the same color to a pack . Supposedly because the customers wanted to buy a single car of one color . If CMW sold them separately in smaller packages I would be happy as a clam , but 2 of the same is the worst IMO as it killed some sales as per forum comments . I have heard nobody ever stating that 2 of the same color was an improvement except for the hobby shop owners .

I agree completely.  I feel like my small town is where all the doublemint twins went after their acting career ended.

[Nato]

             Did ,did and done. I requested the Greyhound Bus done in HO for Walthers,the earlier Silver Sides Greyhound Bus and a Scenic Cruser. The delivery version of the Ford Station Wagon was also on my list. I also suggested 1930's-40's era cars( I know all you 60's 70's modelers won't want). I too vote for tail fins. Lastly The painted kits would be a great idea. Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt Lake, Utah.

[asarge]

I don't know where you guys came up with the LHS forcedc CMW to put 2 of the same color in a package. CMW has said repeatedly that they were quoted a better price to do that from the factory. Don't know why, but that's what they said. Besides, the LHS won;t have that kind of input in the production cycle. I have heard of VERY few say they wanted two Auto's of the same color in a package. ALMOST everybody I have talked to at the shop, at shows and as a visitor to shops would prefer mutiple colors.

[sirenwerks]

A good civilian Jeep

An early 50s Willys pick-me-up and/or wagon would be sweet - http://blog.willysjeep.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/wagon.jpg . Numerous RRs used them for hirail vehicles; like the WP. The Dodge Power Wagon like Busch makes in HO would work for me too. Those are great for bush (no pun intended) fire trucks.