Atlas RS-11 in KBS paint has been cancelled?

[nkalanaga]

Ed: Very true.  The price of oil goes up, plastic is made from oil, models are made from plastic...
The price of oil goes up, ships, trucks and trains burn oil, models are delivered by ship, trucks and trains...
The workers in China get a raise, the factory has to pay for it, or the workers go somewhere else, models need workers...
The big industries use more metals, the price of metals goes up, models require at least a little metal...
The factory changes hands, the importer has to find a new builder, the new builder can demand more money for the new contract...

[Bremner]

truth is gas makes the world go round, and until we drill Yellowstone, things won't get better

[Ed Kapuscinski]

truth is gas makes the world go round, and until we drill Yellowstone, things won't get better

And not even then.

[nkalanaga]

There is no natural gas, or oil, in Yellowstone NP.  Fossil fuels generally are found in sedimentary rocks, not large volcanoes.  Geothermal power, yes, as it has a lot of steam potential, but most of the steam has too many contaminants to be used.  It would either clog heat exchangers or corrode the turbines.

[fredmoehrle]

There is no natural gas, or oil, in Yellowstone NP.  Fossil fuels generally are found in sedimentary rocks, not large volcanoes.  Geothermal power, yes, as it has a lot of steam potential, but most of the steam has too many contaminants to be used.  It would either clog heat exchangers or corrode the turbines.

That or we would poke to far and set the thing off!!! 
Then we all would wish we'd spent the money on MREs! 
 

[Ian MacMillan]

...not so that Paul and Cory can go by themselves Bentleys.

Beamer Benz Or Bentley.....nothin but me and my Smith and Wessy

[CBQ Fan]

You'd think that by now you'd have stopped beating that poor dead horse of "oh my god my luxury hobby items have gotten more expensive"...

Seriously. Get over it. Prices increase for reasons, and I guarantee you it's not so that Paul and Cory can go by themselves Bentleys.

Ed, I feel that you are missing my point completely with Atlas.  It is a comparison of the price per the product offered compared to the competition.  For the same money or less I can get brand new limited run designs from other companies, IM, FVM, Kato etc.  With Atlas it is the same old reruns.  They are starting to look like Con-Cor if you ask me.  But then again I would not expect to be understood.  This is the same the place that told me I was crazy when I said Atlas had a flaw in there production business model.  As we have seen little to no production disruptions it is clear that I am off my rocker. 

Now, I am keeping an open mind on their new engine releases and hope to see that they are in line with the market.  I understand inflation, deal with it daily, and I understand higher prices for more details, which I am all for, I just want to get the value for my purchase.  Also if they do offer the S-2 in CB&Q I will buy one of each road number they offer.  I would have ordered the U25B in the Q as well but that was cancelled. 

All that being said I hear your point and will let it go.

I am curious though, at what price point above the other manufactures do you feel is too high?  Especially when you factor in that Atlas has a history of producing many mulitple runs of varied road names compared to others who manufacture smaller runs and more limited road names, or have a tendancy to cancel?

My interest in your opinion is a sincere one. 

[lock4244]

I agree that the price of the RS-11, $125 MSRP, is rather high. There is a perception that Atlas has been increasing their prices faster than anyone else. I'm not sure if this perception is correct, however as the RS-11 of today is not the RS-11 of 1985... they've upgraded the model considerably and as far as I'm concerned, it is a new model.

Others would know better than I, but I think Atlas has improved a number of their older offerings, and the cost is being passed along.

[Philip H]

considering what our HO brothers pay for new, quality locos . . . $125 is not actually bad.

[GaryHinshaw]

According to numbers on Atlas' site, this generation of RS-11 was released in 2005 at $99.95, and the current release was announced in 2010 at $124.95.  That corresponds to 4.5% annual inflation over 5 years, which is higher than general consumer prices during the same period, but not outrageous, IMHO.   Peer manufacturers are producing locos with MSRPs of $119.95 (Intermountain) and $129.95 (Fox Valley).  Only Kato has managed to keep things cheaper at $105-$110, but their supply chain is different.  To Atlas' credit, they managed to drop the price on the latest release of the Dash-8 by $10 ($139 to $129).  I'm sure they are looking for every opportunity to do the same across the board.  We can argue about their business savvy until we're blue in the face (and we have!).  Let's just let the market decide now.