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Re: (erielack) Re: Rapido
Hi Jason,
Welcome to the list!
It's nice to know that manufacturers are lurking about. I find your comments interesting about what it takes to make a new model and how many model railroaders are actually out there. Half a million you say? That's interesting because some would have you believe that if we don't all get out there this weekend and "evangelize" and recruit another ten new model railroaders, our hobby will die within a decade. But, let's not change the subject.
I have no problem with the foobies as long as nobody is trying to misrepresent their products as something they are not, and I think you are being upfront about it enough, without advertising the lack of prototypical accuracy for some of the road names. Would I buy one of them? No, but if other people want to buy them (and I hope they do) then more power to them!
I'm just pleased as all get-out that you created an accurate (In my opinion) model for the EL 10&5 sleepers. List members should also know that Jason is a good guy. After my model of the "Spirit of Youngstown" arrived from the ELDCPS, I noticed much to my disappointment that inside the box was the "Pride of Youngstown." Modellers of the EL executive train will know that the "Pride" simply will not do in that regard. Anyway, Jason was kind enough to make an exchange for the correct model, and threw in a lifetime supply of batteries for my trouble.
Now if I can only get somebody to do a reasonable model of a business car that can be kitbashed for the EL cars, I will be farther on my way.
- -pat moore
- -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Jason Shron - Rapido Trains Inc." <jshron_@_rapidotrains.com>
>
> Hi all,
>
> After two years of reading messages from this group that people have
> forwarded to me, I have just joined. Please accept my apologies if this
> message is somehow formatted incorrectly. I haven't used a listserv like
> this since my days as an undergraduate student in the early 1990s.
>
> I joined because I would like to reply to Randy's comments directly on the
> Rapido thread.
>
> Randy, you are welcome to front the tooling costs and we will make accurate
> cars for every paint scheme, including Erie. ;-)
>
> With passenger car tooling approaching six figures per car, the only way to
> break even in this business is to paint them in as many paint schemes as
> possible. The key is to do the paint schemes as well as we can, and to be
> honest about it. The car has been announced as "based on" a CN car. It is
> 100% accurate for.... CN. That's it.
>
> Will I write "Bogus" on the box for fantasy schemes? You try that and try
> making a living in this business.
>
> You want 100% accurate cars for every paint scheme? We can limit our entire
> line to pre-war Pullman sleepers, as those are the only lightweight cars
> with enough paint schemes to only do accurate ones and still make a profit.
> Or we can stick with PRR, PRR, PRR and PRR.
>
> Our cars are the most detailed passenger cars ever produced and represent
> several years of hard work, with countless hours spent underneath, inside
> and on top of the real things in order to get the models spot on. That
> detail comes with a price. It costs far more to tool a car with every
> underbody conduit than a car with 10 blobs under the frame.
>
> I am running a business and I have a family to feed and a mortgage to pay.
> Here's some inside information for you: we sold more foobie CN coaches
> painted in Erie colors than all of the accurate 10-5 sleepers (in both Erie
> and Erie-Lackawanna) combined.
>
> I hear comments like Randy's all the time, and I know I will not convince
> everyone of the economic realities of this industry. But I invite anyone
> who thinks we should stick to only accurate paint schemes to answer the
> following questions: what would you do if you were in my position, based on
> the one statistic I just cited? Would you stick with only accurate paint
> schemes or actually make a living?
>
> Regards,
>
> Jason
>
> --
> Jason Shron
> President / Président
> Rapido Trains Inc.
>
> True North Locomotives FP9A Locomotive: Beauty.
> La locomotive FP9A par Rapido: Sans Pareil.
> http://www.rapidotrains.com
>
>
>
>
>
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