TT scale trains and models

areibel · by **areibel** » Sun May 26, 2013 9:58 pm

And you still don't understand what I'm trying to tell you...
I understand that the models you mentioned were the ones you (well, SMMW) had CAD for. But did you bother to look back through the other posts and see what was already done? There are two gondolas out there in current production and three other older 40' versions that can be found easily. Why bother, especially with a limited prototype? Same with a pulpwood car, it's a really limited use car in most places. A little reading here would have given you that information.

Why not start with a poll saying we could offer one of these three boxcars. And If you're working closely with Mr. King, why didn't you at least discuss costs with him? I've never seen anyone in any scale base their decisions on a shotgun approach. Even the S scale kits SMMW offers go through a process that's nothing like what you tried to do here. He puts it up on his page, if he gets interest it goes. He doesn't go to a forum and say "what do you think?" and kill it if he doesn't get an overwhelming response?

And you don't need to lecture me on putting my money where my mouth is. I've already spent much more out of my own pocket to develop a couple of TT projects than you would have ever spent on any (or even several) of these models.

JohnnyReb69 · by **JohnnyReb69** » Sun May 26, 2013 11:30 pm

areibel wrote:And you still don't understand what I'm trying to tell you...
I understand that the models you mentioned were the ones you (well, SMMW) had CAD for. But did you bother to look back through the other posts and see what was already done? There are two gondolas out there in current production and three other older 40' versions that can be found easily. Why bother, especially with a limited prototype? Same with a pulpwood car, it's a really limited use car in most places. A little reading here would have given you that information.

Why not start with a poll saying we could offer one of these three boxcars. And If you're working closely with Mr. King, why didn't you at least discuss costs with him? I've never seen anyone in any scale base their decisions on a shotgun approach. Even the S scale kits SMMW offers go through a process that's nothing like what you tried to do here. He puts it up on his page, if he gets interest it goes. He doesn't go to a forum and say "what do you think?" and kill it if he doesn't get an overwhelming response?

And you don't need to lecture me on putting my money where my mouth is. I've already spent much more out of my own pocket to develop a couple of TT projects than you would have ever spent on any (or even several) of these models.

Understanding what you're trying to say isn't the problem here... agreeing with you is. So... tell you what - You do things your way, I'll do them my way. From what I'm hearing, you seem to be the only one who has a problem with the way I handled my posts. You can determine for yourself what that tells you, but I know what it tells me.

Regardless... I'm done with this debate.

John Degnan

areibel · by **areibel** » Sun May 26, 2013 11:48 pm

Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. Read my posts. I wasn't attacking you, I tried to offer you a few suggestions but you seem to think I'm stepping on your toes? Maybe you have a lot more experience producing model railroad items than I think, but I'm not that much into S scale that I would have heard of you.
I welcome anyone who wants to do anything in TT. But to quote John Harmon, the only way to make a million bucks in TT is to start with 2 million. There are so many guys I've seen that have tried to do something and get bogged down. Some just throw in the towel, some rework their approach and make it work. I've observed what has worked, and what didn't. That's what I tried to offer.

Rob M · by **Rob M** » Mon May 27, 2013 12:01 am

railtwister · by **railtwister** » Mon May 27, 2013 11:09 am

As a manufacturer, having an accurate assessment of what your target customers want and the price they can afford to pay for the items you want to produce is most important. Many more customers can afford a Volkswagen than a Porsche, even if more of them would like to have the Porsche.

It's interesting to note that while Jim King is in business to also make a profit, he has already given up on the biggest model railroad market sector where one would think the most business would be, and that is HO Scale. I'm not sure I really understand why...

Bill in FtL

ConducTTor · by **ConducTTor** » Mon May 27, 2013 11:34 am

railtwister wrote:As a manufacturer, having an accurate assessment of what your target customers want and the price they can afford to pay for the items you want to produce is most important.

Bill in FtL

Absolutely. The problem is, too many choices were offered. Unless thousands of people respond to the question, you're not going to get a clear answer.

What I would have done is the following:
Do research on the potential models. Of the model choices given, the waffle side boxcar was by far the most used during the greatest span of time. This to me is the clear choice. Now, do some feasibility research. Are trucks, wheels, couplers for this car available? Yes. Finally, come up with a level of detail vs. cost target. The way I see it, you want something with a midium level of detail to keep the prices down yet maintaining a level of model accuracy. The final step is to put up a poll like this:

I'm planning on offering a waffle sided box. The model will feature the following details: (blah, blah). It will be an undec. The cost will be $X.

How many would you buy?
1. Zero
2. I would buy one
3. I would buy 2-5
4. I would buy more than 5

THAT would have given the information needed for a decision to move forward or not.

TT scale trains and models

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