Specialty train sets

[Anonymous]

You've seen them in the mags, at the LHS, the shows...... specialty train sets. C'mon, a pilsbary doughboy train set, a gravy train, a chocolate town special, elvis?! (I'll admit some of them are quite nice, like the harry potters[^], and even that doughboy [:I]one was cute........). I don't really understand why they make them (bachmann & life-like inparticular). Does anyone else feel this way, you know, that these sets are, well annoying? Specialy set owners: I'm not saying you're dumb or stupid or choose the wrong thing (I own a few myself[;)]). It's just that at my LHS and most stores only stock those (they get rather annoying)! Give me a Spectrum Frontiersman anyday.[;)]

(all this coming from a newbie.....**gulp**)
**getting ready to run from the insults and ridiculements that will follow**
I may as well leave the forum now.[:D]

[Anonymous]

I have been getting lots of mail from a company out east wanting me to buy a Chicago Bears HO special. Now I am a big Bears fan but that thing will not run around my track. Personally, I think they are more intended as display items. However, I won't buy what I won't run.

[brothaslide]

Anybody run the Hogwarts Special on their layouts?

From a business standpoint, I can see how the manufacturers would make money off of some specialty sets but loose on most of the rest.

[Anonymous]

Our train club runs the Hogwarts Special during our city's Olde Town Day, mostly for kids to watch.

Ken

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by brothaslide

Anybody run the Hogwarts Special on their layouts?

From a business standpoint, I can see how the manufacturers would make money off of some specialty sets but loose on most of the rest.

I have a Hogwarts express set. That's probably my best.

[BRAKIE]

If it brings in new modelers who cares what they come in? The hobby needs growth to survive and if that specialty train set draws them in then I say good as I am sure they will grow in modeling and buy prototypical road names..The thing is we got to get them started in a slowly dying hobby..If the colorful train sets does that then the hobby is bound to grow.

[Trainnut484]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE

If it brings in new modelers who cares what they come in? The hobby needs growth to survive and if that specialty train set draws them in then I say good as I am sure they will grow in modeling and buy prototypical road names..The thing is we got to get them started in a slowly dying hobby..If the colorful train sets does that then the hobby is bound to grow.

I agree. If the specialty sets bring in new modelers, that is wonderful. Of course, the kind of specialty train set needs to be considered. Mostly the specialty theme is from very popular movies, tv shows, books, or whatever is in demand by today's children. I'm sure there are some posters here that remember Lionel's "pink train set" that came out long long time ago to attract little girls to the hobby. The idea didn't work so well at the time, but those pink sets are highly collectible and sought after now. I don't know what the value is on them now.

I wi***hey had a "Dukes of Hazzard" train set when I was a kid [:D][:D]. It would have a warm home on my display shelf.

Wait....on second thought maybe it was a good thing there were no "Dukes of Hazzard" train sets. Flying locomotives don't land well [:D][:p]

Take care

Russell

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE

If it brings in new modelers who cares what they come in? The hobby needs growth to survive and if that specialty train set draws them in then I say good as I am sure they will grow in modeling and buy prototypical road names..The thing is we got to get them started in a slowly dying hobby..If the colorful train sets does that then the hobby is bound to grow.

You've got a good point, if it brings in more people to the hobby, who cares?![:)] (I still think they're annoying, though)

[Hawks05]

i've only been to the LHS twice and all they have is passenger cars and train sets that are crap. i have a bachmann set from like 92. i'm probably going to just use the boxcars i got with it and weather it or something. same with the locomotive.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Hawks05

i've only been to the LHS twice and all they have is passenger cars and train sets that are crap. i have a bachmann set from like 92. i'm probably going to just use the boxcars i got with it and weather it or something. same with the locomotive.

I think modern day train sets are all right. I just got a Bachmann HO set called the American. It's awesome! The locomotive is incredible. I'm also looking at another Bachman set called The Overland Limited. A UP 4-8-4 with smoke and nine cars, plus tons of track. Just what I need.[:)]

[Hawks05]

ya mine sucks. the locomotive is crap well actually its alright. but the cars i got are horrible. i set it up one night and a pair of wheels on all the cars fell off. needless to say i started getting the good stuff.

[Anonymous]

I think 3/4's of us wouldn't be here if it wasn't for some sort of Specialty set we got as a kid.

Jay.

[eastcoast]

I bought a few myself.
I have the TOY STORY 2 set and some expansion cars for the set.
I have also bought some grocery store sets, the engines are crappy
and the cars are useless. It's all for display only, unless I am running
for the kids in the 'hood. It's cute and all but does not look real , way too
much like toys and performance is horrible.

[Hawks05]

i'd probably be here. i don't know for sure though. i never really played with it when i was younger but i went to a friends house and saw his layout and i started. i set up my set but never ran it. i just took it down cause it was late.

my friend is the person who got me into the hobby.

[Anonymous]

I'm contemplating buying the loco from the Harry Potter set - over here it's made by Hornby, and it looks kinda convincing - the paintwork and decals on the Hornby model are in the style of British Railways in the steam age (though the red paint was never seen on a GWR castle!). I just think it would be a kinda cool way to annoy the purists - have "Hogwarts Castle" simmering away in the loco depot.

Note: Bachmann have the rights to produce models of the "Hogwarts Express" for the US market, while Hornby have the UK rights, in case anyone was confused. In my opinion, the Hornby model looks more realistic as the paint finish is better and the decals more realistic than the Bachmann example. Take a look at it on the hornby website www.hornby.com or at www.ehattons.com, both have decent photos.

[BR60103]

But my Bachman Hogwarts Castle is a model of a Hall class, just like the one in the movie. [:D]
I don't mind a special set if there's some justification for it, like a special paint job that was done for a movie or Model Railroader's 70th anniversary. (I even have the 50th anniversary.) But an Eddie Frobart special when he has nothing to do with trains, I don't get.

[Anonymous]

If there wasn't a market they wouldn't exist. for the past seven years a large food chain in Canada has released a train set just in time for Christmas. Each set, made by Mehano was of a Canadian steam engine and came with Canadian marked rolling stock. The engines have been of good quality, marked/painted as Canadian but "aren't".
Last year the company released the "yard goat". It didn't sell well, no surprise, and hence this is the first year the company hasn't released a collector's set.
A lot of us, in the hobby, and bought the sets for nostalgia are surprised to say the least.

Where are our President's Choice Collector's Train Sets?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any experience with the Baumann Thomas the Tank HO set? I'm considering getting it since my three boys LOVE Thomas. In fact it's why I started working on my old set up in my Dad's basement. Even though it didn't well work well the boys loved it.

There's another avenue for these specialty sets to get people in the hobby through their kids and trying to restart their old sets.

DT