Microscale discontinuing N scale decals????

[LV LOU]

 I was on Trainboard,there a guy there,can't find N scale LV decals..HUH? I thought he was nuts..WEll,I just looked at the Microscale website,looked at all the roads I model,nearly EVERY SINGLE decal sheet I use is either no longer even there,out of stock,or listed as discontinued when stock is depleted..LV,EL,CNJ,L&NE,all gone/going...NOT HAPPY..I guess N scale modeling is dead...

[Scott Lupia]

I am awaiting a response from MicroScale about this.  When you posted this, I did a check and I am in the same boat.  Everything I need is discontinued as well.  Is this a ploy to make us all model Santa Fe or Pennsy?  Those decals seem to be alive and well.

Scott Lupia

[C855B]

No, not at all. They have announced/released new N scale artwork recently. Microscale has been letting a lot of fallen flags drop off their inventory. They will know better than anybody else about low demand for specific lettering sets.

Somebody will eventually pick up the slack. Also check out the post in "Model Railroad Links" listing other decal makers.

[Ian MacMillan]

Microscale posted something about a year or so on their website stating what was just mentioned above. They are building new sets, but there are many low selling sets that are not being reproduced as supply is exhausted.

[unittrain]

Another thing is that a lot of the older fallen flags have gotten a lot of attention recently from ESM,Blma,Atlas,Bluford and Exactrail which have been top notch models with excellent lettering, leaving no need for decaling as many cars now. Oh and intermountain too they have done so many of these railroads. So maybe that is part of the reason. I know I purchased several Soo Line sets several years ago in an attempt to do the Soo Line plug door boxcars with the closest model I could find to the proto then guess what Fox Valley did the exact cars so hence the decals went on the shelf.

[kalbert]

Another thing is that a lot of the older fallen flags have gotten a lot of attention recently from ESM,Blma,Atlas,Bluford and Exactrail which have been top notch models with excellent lettering, leaving no need for decaling as many cars now. Oh and intermountain too they have done so many of these railroads. So maybe that is part of the reason. I know I purchased several Soo Line sets several years ago in an attempt to do the Soo Line plug door boxcars with the closest model I could find to the proto then guess what Fox Valley did the exact cars so hence the decals went on the shelf.

Exactly why Micro Scale doesn't do DM&E freight car decal sets I'd speculate. A huge majority of their fleet is patched out other stuff, and the little bit that is their own brand has been done by Atlas, FVM, Exact Rail, and Intermountain. Still waiting on that waffle box though....

Like was mentioned here already (and posted on Trainboard) Micro Scale does massive runs of hundreds of sheets at a time, and don't rerun them untill they are all out. More than likely if they are out of something popular they will get them back quickly, and stuff that wasn't so popular is probably over stocked in lots of hobby shops or online and won't be rerun for a while. I've had pretty good luck googling the Micro Scale part number for sheets they don't list in stock on their website and comming up with them still available somewhere. It has also been suggested to try calling them. Their website doesn't know what they have hiding in a dusty box under somebody's desk. (Atlas high rise add ons anyone?)

A while back I stocked up on their DM&E locomotive decals. I can't imagine demand for them was real big and I'd be shocked if they reran them ever, but they made so many of them they are still available and probably will be for some time through various outlets.

[ljudice]

I love Microscale products - and I have a ton of them - but I've given up long ago on expecting them to deliver anything I need.  I've been bugging them about Claytor lettering for NW/SOU cars for over 20 years (!) and they STILL haven't revised their NS sets to have NS reporting marks - which came into being around 1988/1989 (for several years NS used SOU/NW marks).

The trickle of new stuff coming out is so scattershot - count your blessings if you can use them - but I haven't bought any new sets except for conspicuity stripes and COTS plates in years.

- Lou

[CoalPorter]

I do fallen flags and have given up due to poor printing quality.
I note how the decals for way back were of much higher quality
than those printed in the last 10 years or so. Most of the small
dim data and weight data decals are so poorly printed that it is
no even worth painting a nice car and putting in the effort to
"roll your own".

Another factor with MS,is the decals sets basically suck for most steam
era  freight cars because they have not done enough research and
really thought out how to do the decals that make sence. I have many
set were the decals are missing some key lettering or something
and therefore cant really use them on anything.

Another problem with MS for early freight cars, is most sets are for
box cars,  so try doing a gondola, hopper, reefer etc. and no dice!

I know that CLOVER HOUSE has been bought out recently (within the last year)
Maybe we should begin hounding them to do something with the 100%
stagnet dry transfer line?? Anyone at work on this??

[mecgp7]

I don't blame a company for not producing what doesn't sell, but if they don't produce something it doesn't sell either. The topic of Microscale decals has been discussed before and in one thread many were willing to pay more for the decals if they could get them. I think we saw the price increase, but the availability didn't follow.

I know nothing of the decal manufacturing process, but with today's technology I have to believe it is easier now than ever before. If someone could spell it out for me I'd appreciate it. 

[CoalPorter]

I dont have a problem with higher prices, IF the quality goes up.
Maybe they are trying to do too many ideas at once.

They could also cut back on how many they put on a set and focus
more on higher quality and do better research. I dont think too many
people ever use up a whole sheet of MS decals. And make sure
there is an n scale car that can be worked with too.

[Brakie]

Another thing is that a lot of the older fallen flags have gotten a lot of attention recently from ESM,Blma,Atlas,Bluford and Exactrail which have been top notch models with excellent lettering, leaving no need for decaling as many cars now.
--------------------------
Add the colorful short line IPD boxcars to that list.

I use to paint my own but,Athearn,FVM and the older Roundhouse  has 'em covered.

Atlas seems to be doing the more simple modern schemes like CPAA,GMRC,CN,BN MB etc.

[kornellred]

There are quite a few custom decal makers out there.  All is not lost - only convenience.

[mmagliaro]

What is really going on at Microscale right now is a mystery to me.

What follows are only actual events and facts as they happened to me.  I'll leave it to you all to
infer what they mean as to what the company policies are at Microscale right now.

When I needed Northern Pacific steam loco decals, and noted that the set was long discontinued,
I called them up and was about to make a deal for them to do me a custom run of 250 sheets.
The price wasn't all that bad, believe it or not, so I was ready to gamble that over a few years' time,
I could unload them to other NP modelers for a few dollars per sheet to make back my money.

So they gave me a price.
But they then replied again, telling me that they would not do the run for me, and instead had decided to rerun that
set themselves.

Will they really print them?   Who knows. 

The other interesting tidbit I got on the phone was that they claim that about 2 years ago, "somebody" (wouldn't tell me who)
went through the N scale catalog and willy nilly discontinued a lot of sheets as "low sellers" that still had
decent sales demand.

It's almost impossible to know what their real sales thresholds are, or how much demand they have to see
before they will rerun a set. 

I'll be happy if they actually rerun the NP steam sheets.

[LV LOU]

Like was mentioned here already (and posted on Trainboard) Micro Scale does massive runs of hundreds of sheets at a time, and don't rerun them untill they are all out.

Kalbert,as someone who was a printshop/mail inserting plant mechanic/plant manager for ten years,you can't imagine the chuckle that line just gave me.
 I would imagine that MS has a pretty decent,small five color press,and probably a few three/four colors,since one color decals would take three processes,the glue on the paper,the printing,and then the topcoat.Unless they start with paper with glue on it,then only two colors. three color,maybe several one/two colors.A single color sheet,like say,NS white decals,could be set up by a LOUSY pressman in fifteen minutes,and most modern presses will run..Better sit down..Ten to Fifteen thousand impressions an hour.So,a run of 500 single color sheets would take about 25 minutes or less.It actually takes longer to insert the sheets and instructions into the envelope,even that takes probably about the same amount of time.Believe it or not,the stupid envelope and instruction sheet are a bigger deal than the decals,between two sided printing/perfecting on the instruction sheet,and the folding/printing/gluing of the envelope,envelope window, & instructions.

[C855B]

Lou, also being a career printer, experienced in litho, gravure, letterpress and silkscreen... and still with a side business in typography... I am moderately certain MS uses a silkscreen process, not litho as you infer. Whites and yellows do very poorly on litho, you cannot put down enough pigment for the opacity demands of white or light decals over a dark base. Pre-press, makeready and cleanup are a lot more involved, and production rates are in the hundreds an hour at best, with higher reject rates.

Anyway, most of the process costs are in the makeready/teardown. If your sales tracking tells you you're unlikely to sell more than a couple of hundred no matter how many you produce, you don't do it.