ACY Judging by the responses so far, it looks like everybody believes his own era is underrepresented. I've previously heard that lament more from modern-day modelers than from others. I'm sure the modern-era guys would appreciate just about anything you can cobble up to represent the 1995-2015 world. Most important of all, stick to the commonplace stuff. Avoid the unusual weird stuff. A modern modeler might buy several Ford Escorts or Honda Civics or Toyota Corollas, but no more than one Bentley or Ferarri or Lamborghini (if that many). Broadening your market means increasing your sales. Good luck. Tom
Judging by the responses so far, it looks like everybody believes his own era is underrepresented. I've previously heard that lament more from modern-day modelers than from others. I'm sure the modern-era guys would appreciate just about anything you can cobble up to represent the 1995-2015 world.
Most important of all, stick to the commonplace stuff. Avoid the unusual weird stuff. A modern modeler might buy several Ford Escorts or Honda Civics or Toyota Corollas, but no more than one Bentley or Ferarri or Lamborghini (if that many). Broadening your market means increasing your sales.
Good luck.
Tom
Some era's seem better represented than others. Regarding "modern" lament - the post 1990 people have gotten some lovin from Atlas:
1993 Ford Explorers1997 Ford 150 Pick up trucks1996 Ford Taurus sedans
I echo Rob Spanglers comments. I could use some 1970's common vehicles, especially for some auto racks - without breaking the bank to outfit one or two even!
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Judging by the responses so far, it looks like everybody believes his own era is underrepresented. I've previously heard that lament more from modern-day modelers than from others. I'm sure the modern-era guys would appreciate just about anything you can cobble up to represent the 1995-2015 world. For myself, I model 1952-3 in HO, which means I can use anything from any time period before that, as long as it's not too ancient. I'm not aware of an available HO yellow school bus from the late 1940's, and that would be nice to have.
wp8thsubDaily driver type cars and light trucks that would be common in North America from the 1960s-1980s are lacking from the market. Exotics, sports cars, muscle cars, etc. aren't needed. We could use family sedans, station wagons, and pickup trucks.
BIG DITTO! (only I stop at 1975)
I can't remember where I first heard it, but I am a firm subscriber to the philosophy of "if you want a believable layout model the ordinary, not the exceptional". You can only have so many Corvettes and Trans-Am's on a coal country layout.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
As BMMECNYC stated above, licensing can be a big issue - I believe this is why Walthers has re-released the Boley International truck models, but not the GMC (TopKick) ones. This is also the reason, IIRC, why very few Japanese vehicle HO models have been released, otherwise the various die-casters would have released lots more Japanese vehicle HO models (besides that 1982 Honda Civic) around the turn of the century (of course, this is all vehicle modeler speculation).What would be nice is more modern-era (post 1990) Transit buses of North American origin. I have a resin New Flyer model, and apparently 3D printed ones are being offered on Shapeways, but there are other transit buses not available as of now.Speaking of which, have you made an inventory search of what's already available and being offered for sale on Shapeways, or even in resin, by small scale manufacturers? Lets NOT have another 1957 Chevy situation (i.e. like 5 or 6 manufacturers offering the same thing)
Outside of GM and the one Ford on the market the city transit fleet is pretty sparce for anyone modeling the 50's or 60's. I would like to see a Mack transit bus and an ACF bus (which could be kitbashed into a trackless trolley).
Be careful with copyright laws, Ford and others protect their brand carefully. But yeah, cars from the 1920s-1940s.
1930's American cars.
Mike
Daily driver type cars and light trucks that would be common in North America from the 1960s-1980s are lacking from the market. Exotics, sports cars, muscle cars, etc. aren't needed. We could use family sedans, station wagons, and pickup trucks.
Rob Spangler
I normally look at the Walthers website for vehicles and from my experience the selection of modern car models (in HO scale) is generally of European cars. I would like to see some more of the everyday American and Japanese cars and vans that are ubiquitous on North American roads.
Hello, I am a resin caster. For quite some time I have made tank kits. A friend of mine who is a railroader want his style of vehcile to put in his layout. I designed it in 3D and casted the vehicle. He told me I should think about branching out and cast some HO or N vehicles. Maybe add them to my model lineup.
That got me thinking. Since I am not a model railroader currently I would like to know your thoughts... So what kind of vehicles or items do you wish were produced?