riogrande5761That being said, I've often noticed when I look in some online stores, there is a lot more N-scale stuff available than in HO. Maybe because HO sells out quickly.
Actually Jim,its far deeper then that..
Atlas has had several reruns of their GP7/9,GP38,GP38-2 and GP40 GP40-2 over the years..
Exactly how many of those locomotives does a modeler need?
To put it in HO perspective what if Atlas kept rerunning the GP7 (if the dies wasn't worn out) GP38/38-2/40/40-2 how soon would those engines become overstocked? Same could be said about Athearn/Genesis.
As far as N Scale..N Scale has two magazines,2 large N Scale weekend meets plus a national convention.
Yes,Jim,I may be in HO but,my heart will always be in N Scale.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
As a Pennsy modeler, this hits home. HO is flushed with PRR steam. In N, we only have the old Minitrix engines, the GHQ conversion kit for the Kato Mikado and the finally coming out Broadway Limited M1. It's mind boggling considering the old Monitorx K4 models command premium prices on eBay and there's a whole cottage industry of re-powering them!
Sometimes I wonder which will happen first, I-95 through South Carolina widened to six lanes or a decent K4 in N scale.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
GP-9_Man11786 As a Pennsy modeler, this hits home. HO is flushed with PRR steam. In N, we only have the old Minitrix engines, the GHQ conversion kit for the Kato Mikado and the finally coming out Broadway Limited M1. It's mind boggling considering the old Monitorx K4 models command premium prices on eBay and there's a whole cottage industry of re-powering them! Sometimes I wonder which will happen first, I-95 through South Carolina widened to six lanes or a decent K4 in N scale.
SP&S modeler, 1960's give or take a decade or two for some equipment.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SGTDUPREY?feature=guide
Gary DuPrey
N scale model railroader
Oooh everything is terrible, N gauge has nothing, ooohhh its so sad...
Meh'... SHUT UP! You guys got nothing to complain about. You guys dont realize just how good you have it.
You wanna gripe, come over to my gauge, G as in the Big Stuff, Gross Bahn. We havent really had anything exciting since 2008! The list of offered locomotives and cars was already severly limited before the recession and dropped off a cliff after.
The entire gauge is in a severe depression since then, we also lost 3 manufacturers, which is enormous when you can count all of them on both hands. MDC, Aristocraft, and LGB all did the Big Hindenburg in flames over the airfield. LGB got picked up by Markin but they have done a horrid job of promoting here in the US since.
If we are lucky, we'll get ONE new locomotive (more likely just a car) by ONE manufacturer PER YEAR... and then its the wrong scale or wrong era or wrong type for 3/4's of everyone else running on 45mm track. Everything else is either just a repaint or NOS.
So instead of whinning about how much nothing you think you have, start thinking about how much stuff you really DO have, or would you prefer a choice of 10's of item like we have or the 1,000's of items you already have.
Have fun with your trains
I suspect that good sales of the BLI PRR M1a/b would cause that manufacturer to sit up & take notice. If the 4-8-2 sells well, the K4s would be a natural follow-up. If it doesn't sell well, BLI would have little incentive to produce an N scale K4s. So the ball is, to a certain extent, in the consumer's court.
To me, it seems like a re-run of the Kato USRA Heavy 2-8-2 might be overdue. That's not a new product, but there's certainly still a demand for them.
Mr. LMD my copy of the walthers catalog came in the mail yesterday and I put off looking in the catalog knowing one of two things: number is HO will dominated the majority of the catalog (yup) and number two, there's nothing new to wow over when it comes to N scale products. My question is, why is HO always getting new releases while N Scale is far behind with nothing really new released including modern vehicles instead of all WWII vehicles for some reason? I know the popularity of HO is better than N scale, but think about the current world and the sizes of the majority of modelers who do not have a large amount of space to run HO scale or even the bigger scale layouts. Is there any way of letting the manufacturers know this and actually go through with it instead of just throwing away the ideas or petition?
my copy of the walthers catalog came in the mail yesterday and I put off looking in the catalog knowing one of two things: number is HO will dominated the majority of the catalog (yup) and number two, there's nothing new to wow over when it comes to N scale products. My question is, why is HO always getting new releases while N Scale is far behind with nothing really new released including modern vehicles instead of all WWII vehicles for some reason?
I know the popularity of HO is better than N scale, but think about the current world and the sizes of the majority of modelers who do not have a large amount of space to run HO scale or even the bigger scale layouts. Is there any way of letting the manufacturers know this and actually go through with it instead of just throwing away the ideas or petition?
Tracklayer
TracklayerBy the way, if you think things are bad today they were many times worse back in the mid 1970s when I first got into the hobby...
Right,The Jurassic age of N Scale when just about everybody was still thinking it was a novelty scale that was too tiny for serious modeling.
Modeling the 50s in N is quite easy unless you want certain types of steam locomotives then oops! What steam locomotive?
N Scale been around 54 years and still gets the short end of the production stick even though its the #2 scale..
Like I mention it took years of begging just to get Atlas to produce a decent Alco switcher. The demand was there and Atlas turned a deaf ear to the request.
I've got nothing against N scale, but isn't it just too small for the masses?
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain I've got nothing against N scale, but isn't it just too small for the masses? Rich
No..Only in the mindset of those that may have never been in N Scale or completely ignores it as a inferior scale to their own.I suppose I could ask is S Scale to big for the masses?
As I mention before there are many myths surrounding N Scale from "its to small" to "you can't switch cars in N like HO".The biggest myth is eyesight as you get older but,yet,there are thousands of seniors in N and do we not add tiny detail parts to our HO models in our advanced years?
I suspect the majority of the modelers in other scales doesn't know how much modeling(painting/decaling/detailing),scratchbuilding and kitbashing goes on in N Scale as a necessity.
BRAKIE richhotrain I've got nothing against N scale, but isn't it just too small for the masses? Rich No..Only in the mindset of those that may have never been in N Scale or completely ignores it as a inferior scale to their own.I suppose I could ask is S Scale to big for the masses?
I have dabbled in N scale. It is too small for me and I am the masses.
Of course S and O are not too big for the masses. They are ideal as far as scales go. But they require more space to take full advantage.
BRAKIE ...I could ask is S Scale to big for the masses? ...
...I could ask is S Scale to big for the masses?
...
Well no it isn't.
It's G (Gargantuan) and O (Oversized) that are too big for the masses.
S (Supurb) is the perfect size for model railroading.
HO (How Ordinary), N (Nothing), and Z (Zilch) are too small for the masses.
Paul
IRONROOSTER BRAKIE ...I could ask is S Scale to big for the masses? ... Well no it isn't. It's G (Gargantuan) and O (Oversized) that are too big for the masses. S (Supurb) is the perfect size for model railroading. HO (How Ordinary), N (Nothing), and Z (Zilch) are too small for the masses. Paul
I once built a Z scale layout. I could hear those locos running, but I couldn't see them.
The one manufacturer that seems to see the market potential in N Scale is Bachmann. Over the past three years they have released many good-quality locomotives in N with onboard DCC at reasonable prices. They've also just about cornered the yard switcher market.
I know I'm beating a dead iron horse regarding the K4 Pacific, but other road-specific steam locos have been produced in N Scale. You have the Southern Pacific GS-4 and the Union Pacific Challenger. These were most likely produced because they are iconic locomotives that would probably have found their way onto a lot of non-SP/UP layouts. I think the same argument could be made for the K4 or a Union Pacific FEF-3 for that matter.
All I'd need is a SP&S #700 and I'd be set. a GS4 and an E1 the only steam I'd ever need or want. unless an NP or SP&S Z6 or Z8 challenger shows up. :D
ckape If it makes you feel any better, I'm an HO modeler and I'm jealous of the Kato aluminum autoracks that are only in N scale.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm an HO modeler and I'm jealous of the Kato aluminum autoracks that are only in N scale.
That's because - taking into account their Japanese product line - Kato is first and foremost and N scale company. They only make HO items on the side.
I wrote this last week as a rant (yes i will admit that) and second, a call for N scalers to get more items instead of the re-release of certain items. I will chalk this up to the time I contacted Kato about why they weren't producing the Metra Electric EMU Power cab and the marketer told me they weren't in demand to which I made a post about kitbashing one on here.
I am very limited on who sells what because I only visit this site, model railroad hobbyist, Brooklyn Locomotive works, and N scale Supply all of which are bookmarked. The only thing I see that are changed are the locomotives, but very few buildings and other detail parts like vehicles.
Thanks for commentings ladies and gentleman and we need more youngsters, like myself, in the hobby as well.
Mr. LMD, Owner, founder
The Central Chicago & Illinois Railroad
Also 4got,
Planning on re-creating the CNW high hood U-boats because I been interested in them lately and could be useful
I think what is lacking more for N scale is manufacturers not bringing HO kits in N. I would like to see Walthers grain series and ethenol series in N. As for cars and locomotives, it is pretty good although like I mentioned above there are some HO things I would like to see in N. Walthers and Exactrail are coming out with modern coal gondolas/hoppers in HO left and right, but not in N. I really started to lean towards HO because of sound and more availability in modern details like 90's and newer vehicles. Then Atlas comes out with Alco S switchers, now they announced Major 4750 covered hoppers painted CCLX, and Kato making Amtrak has the aluminum car carriers in N. Between Kato's SD70ACe and Fox Valley Models ES44AC in NS heratige units (always wanted them in N not HO) all the NS heratige units I want are at least available in N scale. I'm still not sure about the lack of dcc/sound in N, but that is a different post.
I also can't forget to mention that any scale I pick to model in MUST have Superliner I cars in phase 3 Amtrak paint. When I was a little little kid (1990 or 91) we took the Amtrak (from WIS) out to Washington to visit family. I didn't find out until last year that it was the Empire Builder, but it such an impression on me that even after almost quarter of a century later, I want an accurate (if slightly abreviated) Empire Builder traversing my layout, even if I chose to model the FEC in southern Florida in 2014.
I asked the same question. I went to ebay and calculated the percentages based on the number of items for sale. HO comes in at 49%, the big winner. O gage was 24% at No. 2 and N scale was 18%, No. 3. I wanted to know why nobody was making sound decoders for N scale. I came up with two reasons. 1. The myth that it is not worth the effort to make sound decoders for N scale because the sound is not good enough (in the literature). 2. The volume in N scale is not there (ebay results).
So, to answer your question, there is no volume, they have saturated the market with their current stuff and they won't put in the time to make new stuff when there is HO and O gage to make stuff for.
Mike Lee