I've not posted here for awhile, but I've become more and more alarmed at what appears to be attempts to "gig" the model railroaders for all that they've got by some of the big name companies. Maybe there are still some reps from the model rr companies on here that can speak to this topic (if they've not been run off by the OT political posts).
While I'm rather happy to see more and more models coming off the line that are representative of what you could see on the real railroads at any give time, the way that they've been selling these products is what I've come to gripe about.
What I'm talking about is the "reserved" limited releases that are starting to appear with more frequency. Over the past few months, I've seen quite a few items that are being built, but you have to reserve your copy months in advance to insure you can get one. Sure, you can wait until they come out and hope to pick up one on Ebay (at probably an increased cost), but why are we starting to get this shoveled down our throats in the first place?
Why should I have to reserve a locomotive, months in advance, wait to get it, and then hope that it's prototypically correct to the amount that I'm paying for it? You can easily shell out $200 for a PLASTIC locomotive now, but when you get it you can't be sure of the quality? (One good example is BLI's SD40-2 for Burlington Northern, which is incorrect in the coloration of the stairwell & plows). If I'm going to pay that amount for a plastic locomotive, it should be PERFECT on details like that. Why should it be a limited run in the first place? The companies now have a good idea as to how many they are likely to sell of a specific locomotive, if I like something I should still be able to get one after the initial release is past. Yet, they are claiming that if you don't reserve your copy, you may not get one. I've not researched the exact numbers produced of specific ones that I've bought lately, or whether they're still available after the initial release, but I know SOME of the ones that I've purchased were very hard to find if you didn't get in on the initial release.
I'm aware that the companies have to make sure they don't have a ton of extra stock sitting on shelves for years afterwards. But finding it hard to get one is just as bad, and smacks of trying to elevate prices to get more for their stuff.
I've got a better idea. Here's what I would do...
Build a base (body) model that is very good but very bare. In other words, make the casting for the *body* exact, but then the "add-ons" are what can increase the cost.
If you buy the base model, you get an exact body casting, but you may get slapped on a set of horns, fans, handrails, tanks or whatever that may not be prototypically correct, and can be mass-produced for all locomotives. You won't get airhoses. You won't find the trucks that detailed. That's your 'cheap' version.
If you choose the upgraded version, you can purchase a package that is specific for the railroad that has the exactly correct castings of the add-on items, and you install them yourself. I think that in most cases people who would want the more advanced models wouldn't mind some work making them look great. Alternatively, you could purchase a fully assembled one if the company chose to go that route. But the main thing is that you build the body correctly, so that you can go the cheap route with the add-ons or go the expensive route.
This way, you have a stock of high-quality parts that you can keep producing for years, and it won't matter because someone will always be purchasing the "add-ons" for their locomotives. The base body casting will be a one-time good deal, so that you can produce a fair amount of them, but you won't have to worry about overstock as you've got both a cheap model to sell and an expensive kit for the others.
Anyhow, that's my gripe and solution.
Cheers!
Jan Kohl Castle Graphics