Atlas Model Railroad Co. Agrees to Purchase BLMA Models Inc.

[Rossford Yard]

First thought was also April fool joke.  BLMA seemed so established and doing well.  I guess metal business cards are a pretty profitable business, and Craig decided to go that direction....think I will look into metal business cards!

I also find myself wondering "what does this mean for the model railroading business" although I am not ready to immediately jump to negative conclusions as some have.  It could just be a individual case of Craig getting tired of this biz, or he being the type to prefer creating new biz/products over maintaining what he has done already.

But in the bigger picture:   

Is it just too hard to be a small MR mfg, maybe because of China problems?

Is it like real railroad or airline mergers, where after a few other combinations (Athearn/Horizon or RC/IM for example) Atlas sees some synergies (or basic need) in being an even bigger company?

Is it just an easier way for Atlas to obtain a wide variety of good tooling (i.e., was the BLMA purchase price was less than the cost of tooling dozens of new products at many thousands per tool die, so it made sense from the Atlas POV as an ongoing model railroad business? 

At the very least, to the naysayers, it seems like Atlas is committed to the model railroad biz longer term, which has to be a good thing.

If Craig and Paul are happy, I'm happy.  Congrats on what appears to be a great deal for all, including N scalers.

[towl1996]

I suppose if BLMA was going to go out of business, and if Atlas continues the BLMA line. But is Atlas going to carry two "sets" of metal wheels and trucks? Spare parts with Atlas has become sketchy at best, is this going to be corrected? Is Atlas going to offer more modern freight cars?
                                                                                             
I see people are suggesting that this is good for N scale. BLMA was a little too modern for me, so I not really "worried", but I'm not sure I'm seeing any real benefits for N scalers.  What will Atlas do better than what BLMA was already doing?

[w neal]

Sad to see Graig "go" but I understand his reasons. Congrats Craig! You brought some real "light" and innovation to our scale. My heartfelt thanks. I do so much hope that Atlas will at least consider re-releasing some of his products in due time (but no hurry - the wallet is so bare). Miss seeing ya at Trainfest et. al. Fare very well sir!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I hope the deal is successful for all parties involved.  Good thing Walthers didn't get their mitts on it. 

It's funny, I was just saying this very thing to someone else this morning.

[bbussey]

People are freaking out all over the internet that this is a horrible deal, for some inexplicable reason. Atlas produces more N scale annually than any other manufacturer on the planet, and that includes Micro-Trains. Regardless of which coupler style is used as the standard moving forward, AccuMates don't suck as some have falsely stated. In addition, ANY of the Atlas models with body-mounted coupler pockets easily will accept ANY coupler design, including Micro-Trains 1015, and it's a simple swap. Further more, it opens up more prototypical possibilities, as the Barber S2a and the ASF trucks are interchangeable, so for example the PS-1 releases moving forward will be more accurate.

This is not a bad development. BLMA was going to be sold, and where it ended up is the best outcome, by far.

[C855B]

...Is it just too hard to be a small MR mfg, maybe because of China problems?...

To tell you the truth, from talking to Craig in person, this is my impression. While he was upbeat as always, I could hear in his voice the frustration with the serial excuses from the production houses, and from that I extrapolated it was stymieing his business growth. Craig is clearly a talented business manager and very focused on high-quality product with equally-refined presentation and marketing, and he had nowhere to go but up... if he could only get his designs through the manufacturing gauntlet.

I don't blame him one iota for moving on, and it's great that what he developed was of the caliber that the biggest US player in the market would want to incorporate the business. I am somewhat concerned about what is going to happen to the details side, as that hasn't been Atlas' forte thus far. Time for some popcorn, I suppose.

[C855B]

This is not a bad development. BLMA was going to be sold, and where it ended up is the best outcome, by far.

Hear hear.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Hear hear.

Hear hear hear.

[basementcalling]

Hear hear hear.

There, they're their. 

I am operating under the assumption that Atlas's recent struggles with spare parts are China related, as they used to be well stocked with spares and were happy to sell them to modelers needing them for kitbashing or modifying.

Sorry to see that BMLA was going bye bye no matter what. I'm never happy to see a company leave N scale, but from Craig's post it sounded like he needed to spend more time on other ventures, and rather than let BLMA suffer, he sold it to a new owner who has always done right by N scale modelers.

[eric220]

I think the doom and gloom discussions are a simple product of the fact that this is a change, and people don't like change. In the end, BLMA didn't go out of business; they didn't sell out to Kader; they sold to a well respected company (whose executives occasionally stop by here).

[peteski]

I hope the deal is successful for all parties involved.  Good thing Walthers didn't get their mitts on it. 

From what I see Walther's doing with N scale, that would have been a nightmare scenario, which I didn't even think of until you brought it up. 

I have a mixed feeling about this buyout.  I like to see large variety of products and companies out there. When companies merge there is usually elimination or consolidation of similar product lines and some items are dropped. We (as modelers) don't have any say about of what is eliminated.  While Atlas is a very good model RR company, I fear that there will be some casualties possibly within both, Atlas and BLMA lines of products.

[peteski]

My thoughts: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=37898.msg456373#msg456373  are in the post just above.

PS: WE HAVE WAY TOO MANY PARALLEL THREADS ON THIS! 

EDIT:  thank you moderators for straightening out this mess.

[Smike]

BLMA Trucks or wheel sets on all Atlas Master line would be a huge leg up for Atlas.

The lines compliment themselves extremely well. (at least N ) Atlas did not spend $$$ to suck up BLMA just to remove a competitor (which again does not have direct completing products) The clout that Atlas could bring to the BLMA pipeline in ensuring the production delays are minimized will be very welcome.

If this was Bachman buying them, I would have a different outlook.

[coosvalley]

+2.  The first thing I do to the boxcars is grind the coupler pocket off the underframe and body mount a microtrains coupler.

The first thing I do is remove MT couplers and replace with Accumates!  The slinky action is just unacceptable to me, and it makes the whole scale seem toy-like.......YMMV
If Atlas keeps the detail parts available, i see nothing wrong, and everything right, about this sale...Atlas,don't fumble and this will be a win!

[R L Smith]

If Craig and Paul are happy, I'm happy.  Congrats on what appears to be a great deal for all, including N scalers.

+1000