was just on Grandt line site and found a notice that as of june 1st there closing the doors.
Lets hope that someone like Tichy will buy the tooling and keep those great products on the shelves.
I've heard of them but never used any of their products. But not good news for their customers.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
slammin Lets hope that someone like Tichy will buy the tooling and keep those great products on the shelves.
I've got a few of their structure kits that fit my era and only wish they had made more. Hopefully someone will pick up after them.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Sorry to hear this, that are one of my go to places for detail parts.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Another thread pleads with Tichy to acquire the line of Jordan vehicle kits. They are becoming the last man standing for modelers who like to build, and the last thing we want or need is for Tichy to get stretched too thin.
It is true that Tichy has equivalents for many Grandt line windows and doors -- or rather I should say, many windows and doors in the Tichy catalog have Grandt Line equivalents. I do not know what Grandt Line windows and doors Tichy does NOT offer a parallel to. But Grandt Line has rolling stock, structures, and other detail items of a sort Tichy has not gotten into. Certainly the lines are compatible and Tichy would seem a logical destination for the Grandt Line tooling (and Jordan and others). But again -- we are talking about a low profit line business.
Now if you'll excuse me I need to start creating a "panic mode" shopping list of Grandt Line stuff.
Dave Nelson
j. c.was just on Grandt line site and found a notice that as of june 1st there closing the doors.
Oh dear! That is not good news. As others have said, hopefully someone will acquire their molds.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
j. c. was just on Grandt line site and found a notice that as of june 1st there closing the doors.
A couple of years ago, I built the Coors Family Mansion from scratch. I relied on Grandt Line windows and doors. Without materials from Grandt Line, I could not have successfully scratch built that structure.
I would ask the OP to consider editing the title so that this news catches the attention of more forum members. Change the title to something like, Grandt Line Going out of Business.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrainThe loss of Grandt Line is one more blow to the scratch building side of the hobby.
I totally agree Rich! I have used tons of their products in my various scratch building projects in the past, and I have a few more projects in mind that are rather dependant on being able to get their products as well. Hopefully Tichy or somebody else will rise to the occasion and pick up anything that will be discontinued by Grandt Line. I just tried to order a bunch of roundhouse windows from Grandt Line but their foreign order page wasn't working. I sent them an email and I'm hoping that they can still supply what I need. I want to rebuild my scratch built diesel engine house/machine shop so I can correct all the dumb beginner's mistakes I made the first time round. It requires about 50 of their #5010 roundhouse windows. I am crossing my fingers!
I guess I am going shopping.
.
Same thing happened when Floquil dropped Railroad Colors, Citadel changed their wash formula, Scalecoat Closed up, and Selley stopped manufacturing.
I am getting tired of panic-mode purchases.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
BUMMER!
Man, this hurts. Grandt is a major supplier for the narrowgauge community. Someone else might pick them up -- I sure hope so -- but many of their parts are exquisitely small and maintaining and making new molds may be beyond the art of even experienced companies like Tichy. Old man Grandt reportedly did contract work for the nuclear industry (Lawrence-Livermore is in the 'hood, IIRC), so you're talking cutting edge skills for the time -- and perhaps beyond.
I hope that a successor is able to carry on, but I suspect that may not work here. The Grandt's as a family are dedicated to high quality and accuracy, so it will probably take a very well-qualified situation for them to hand things over to anyone else.
Pardon me while I go have a private cry...
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
dknelson Another thread pleads with Tichy to acquire the line of Jordan vehicle kits. They are becoming the last man standing for modelers who like to build, and the last thing we want or need is for Tichy to get stretched too thin. It is true that Tichy has equivalents for many Grandt line windows and doors -- or rather I should say, many windows and doors in the Tichy catalog have Grandt Line equivalents. I do not know what Grandt Line windows and doors Tichy does NOT offer a parallel to. But Grandt Line has rolling stock, structures, and other detail items of a sort Tichy has not gotten into. Certainly the lines are compatible and Tichy would seem a logical destination for the Grandt Line tooling (and Jordan and others). But again -- we are talking about a low profit line business. Now if you'll excuse me I need to start creating a "panic mode" shopping list of Grandt Line stuff. Dave Nelson
This is very sad to hear. Their EMD switcher cab was a truly great product. I was sorry to see it dropped and hoped it would return. One can only hope another reputable manufacturer picks up all or most of their line.
Tom
rrebellOnce you own the machines and tooling, parts are cheap...
The issue there are the molds, as they are costly and don't last forever. To get the same quality from a mold, you have to have someone with the skills of the original tool and die maker. That's going to be the tough part for anyone following up with Grandt tooling. This doesn't affect every part or kit, but it's a factor when you consider the wide range of parts that Grandt offered in several scales, not just HO.
The skills needed for molds is far less than it was and the mold making cost in general is going down all the time as machines take over and the cost of machines is going down. Example, I follow the lazer and 3D printing space. Cost of lazer (for hobby cutting) went down from around $10,000 at 10 years ago to around $3,500 apples to apples but the new machines are far better than the old, just going on cost of machine to do the job. You can accually get a lazer for under $500 now. Everything is moving at Moore's law speed now or faster. I also follow battery tecnolagy and the only reason we don't have a new type of batter is that things are changing ever 6 months so no one is willing to commit, a clear case of things moving too fast. This is starting to happen in 3D printing too but not near to that extent. Remember too that hobby molds of the age of most Grant Line stuff is a very simple mold compared to what can be made today, so way less cost in mold making.
I was at Walthers (showroom - which is my LHS) yesterday and the guy at the desk said "have you heard about Grandt Line?" even before I could present my order form -- which included Grandt Line (and Tichy as long as I was there anyway). They know my shopping habits ....
The online Walthers catalog for Grandt Line shows quite a fair amount is in stock, quite a bit out of stock, and a fair mount marked as waiting for shipment to arrive. Now I wonder if those shipments will arrive?
Seems odd that MR has not listed this under their News heading for the Forums. Seems like news to me.
I ordered some parts from Grandt Line yesterday, and curious about the possibility of someone else picking up the line, asked about the chances of that. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that it would not likely be Tichy, if it were anyone.
Wayne
Proubly bid too low.
I just saw this on Grandt Line's website today. It states: "We are negotiating the sale of our tooling to a reputable company, so will keep you posted as this is finalized."
just hope that company itsn't the h word.
Grandt Line would likely find a fine home at Cannon and Company.
Ed
Did hear rumors months ago about this. Not sure at the time how true the info was and also that another manufacturer was looking into buying the molds.
We can just hope. Would be sad if they just went out, period,
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
doctorwayne I ordered some parts from Grandt Line yesterday, and curious about the possibility of someone else picking up the line, asked about the chances of that. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that it would not likely be Tichy, if it were anyone.
rrebell Proubly bid too low.
chicagorailfan2k6 I just saw this on Grandt Line's website today. It states: "We are negotiating the sale of our tooling to a reputable company, so will keep you posted as this is finalized."
Please, oh please!
chicagorailfan2k6I just saw this on Grandt Line's website today. It states: "We are negotiating the sale of our tooling to a reputable company, so will keep you posted as this is finalized."
Ah! There is hope yet!
Thanks,
Good to hear it sounds like they will continue. There is also word on Precision Scale. Their importing was sold to division point models and the parts business was sold to PF&S railway supply.
didn't think the litigation problem was still valid now.
I've not seen an official anouncement yet. However, on very good authority (a trusted source who spoke with one of the pincipals in the purchasing organizaton) I've heard that Grandt has been purchased and will continue. It's not Kadee, as I speculated in an earlier comment. I'll post more when I see something official.