Am I the only one...........

[spodwo]

 

Yah - it is not pretty. 

[RR Redneck]

I went into the local Hobby Lobby, and they had one of the ugly things set up around a Christmas tree. It was the first time seeing one in person and it was as ugly to me as it was in the catalog!

[Anonymous]

No, you're not the only one!

I've been active in Large Scale (G gauge) as well as O gauge and other scales for a good many years, and I think it's one cheezy looking set--not at all what I would hope for, or want to see, from Lionel.  If they were going to do a Large Scale Christmas train, the least they could do is create one that would sell to Large Scale enthusiasts as well as the general public.  I don't know a single Large Scaler who would even give that set a second glance, and I darn sure will not be recommending it to the folks who ask for my opinion about which starter or seasonal train sets to buy virtually every holiday season (primarily because of the books and articles I've written in the past).

If I was going to recommend a Large Scale Christmas set, it would be one from Aristo-Craft, LGB, or even the Bachmann set that's now available through Sam's Club.  And in O gauge I would definitely go with Lionel, MTH, or something like a Christmas BEEP from RMT with holiday cars selected from among the many Lionel offerings.

Perhaps Lionel will do well enough with that set, but it sure won't be with any help from me or most others that I know in the hobby.

And one of these years I sure do hope they'll introduce something new--even just in a new livery--in those low-end starter sets that have been on the market for who knows how many years now.  I'm getting kind of tired of seeing the same, old Pennsy and NYC sets being offered year after year after year.

[msacco]

I think just about every hi-railer and even traditional toy train operator would hate it. Threre's just too much going on for us. I personally have absolutely no interest in it.

    But.......we're not the intended target market. This is strictly a train around the tree thing and maybe add some other stuff in the future.

   Heck, I hope they sell a ton of these. Lionel could use the money.

 

Mike S.

[Dr. John]

No, you're not.

I saw several of them at Hobby Lobby last week. Frankly, they are a disappointment to me. Lionel has some great Christmas offerings of late: The Polar Express set, The Christmas Dockside engine, the traditional O-27 Christmas set, and several neat Christmas accessories and cars.

So what shows up on most retailer shelves? This odd, G(?) scale set. I wonder why Lionel would market this thing when it doesn't lend itself to add-ons (track, accessories, cars, etc.). Can anyone explain the marketing strategy here?

[RR Redneck]

..........that somewhat dislikes the design of Lionel's new G-scale Christmas train set?