Lee
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Post by Lee on Jun 11, 2005 1:49:14 GMT 1
For under $20.00 you get a hollow cast vehicle and two small sheets of very thin wood. ;D For over $60.00 you would get the wood cut. Labor doesn't come cheap you know. ;D ;D Add another 0 to the left of the period and Jerry just might build it for you. ;D ;D ;D
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Jun 11, 2005 1:33:34 GMT 1
Jerry and I have been talking about making a kit for the woody. What is everyone else's feelings about such an undertaking?
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Dec 24, 2005 1:26:48 GMT 1
That's the only thing I could tell against Ricko's fantastic models: their boxes! Where have they found such complicated boxes? Not less than 3 different pieces to secure the model. ;D Bill had to come to California to show me how to remove a Ricko model from it's base. But he forgot to show me how to remove the pins from the model. Just think of it as getting a Chinese puzzle at no extra charge. ;D
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Dec 10, 2005 2:47:59 GMT 1
I remember one time watching a woman (who was certainly old enough to know better) reach out and poke a train as it passed by. Just had to touch it ! That must have been the same woman that reached over our glass barrier at a GATS show and pinched off a piece of tree foliage. Maybe she thought the whole thing was an illusion or done with mirrors? ;D
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Dec 10, 2005 0:23:26 GMT 1
I found in the past if I had the space and could display an item, I would sell this item. The customer has to know the item exists before he can buy it. ...internet arrived and did it... Very true. But you still have to think of the item before you can search for it. Most people have so many other things on their minds that searching for 1/87 vehicles gets lost. But if it is on display, it grabs their attention and stands a good chance of being sold.
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Dec 9, 2005 4:23:32 GMT 1
The biggest problem at the local level is space. I used to be a part owner of a hobby shop and that was our biggest problem... space to display.
Athearn puts their trucks on blister pack cards which does take up a lot of space for one item. Ricko is putting their vehicles in nice little boxes which can be displayed in a showcase without taking up much room. I could display the whole Ricko line in the same space that it would take to display a dozen of Athearns
Stores are not bringing in new lines because they just don't have the space to display them. Radio Shack found a solution to their blister pack cards which was eating up a lot of their wall space. They put everything into nice, neat, labeled cabinets that take up a lot less room.
I found in the past if I had the space and could display an item, I would sell this item. The customer has to know the item exists before he can buy it.
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Dec 5, 2005 3:05:34 GMT 1
Jerry and I have both been in 1/87th model railroading for years and years. Between the two of us we have accumulated enough locomotives and rail cars to fill a fair size layout. In the past I have built two fairly large layouts and belonged to a club that had an even larger layout. Track, buildings, scenery, details have all been available in the past but what was missing was American vehicles from the 30's through the 60's. Those "foreign models" didn't really look right and the Match Box types weren't any better.
I have heard it said many times that model railroaders will not pay a high price for a good model vehicle. That is just plain not true. They are just as interested in quality as any one else but until recently, for the most part, have not been able to find it in American type vehicles. I am talking about the type of vehicles you would see on the streets on a daily basis in whatever period they are modeling in.
In the last couple of years a few companies have started to fill the gap with both kits and ready built. Now the problem is getting word out that they are available. If a model railroader knows that something is available in his time period, he will seek it out and buy it. Price is not a top factor in his thinking, quality is.
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Dec 4, 2005 4:43:00 GMT 1
And there has never been a better time to enjoy your hobbies! Now if I can just find the time to................
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Sept 7, 2005 3:31:21 GMT 1
Only six more weeks! Boy, Oh boy!! ;D
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Aug 31, 2005 3:29:21 GMT 1
You mean like mine? ;D holeetrains
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Jul 2, 2005 22:38:02 GMT 1
Kiwi Nick - You may want to take a look at the truck stop models website if you are thinking of starting something on the internet. truckstopmodels.com/ They started small, buying out Crescent Station and have been building and growing ever since. The trick is finding out what the customer wants and having it in stock when he/they want it.
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Jun 26, 2005 22:27:48 GMT 1
The manufacture ships by the case to the distributor. The distributer ships by one or more pieces to the hobby shop.
There are excepts to this. When I was working with Bill, who was an Athearn distributor, he could order one or two of an item and Athearn would ship him a broken case containing a number of different items.
When I had the hobby shop, I would always order only one of an item so I could have a wider variety for my customers to choose from. If some item was selling, I could always order more at one time. I see so many shops order a half dozen of everything and wind up with three or four collecting dust on the shelves.
One conclusion that I have come to about most stores that have been in business for a while is that what you see on their shelves is their buying mistakes. Products that are not selling.
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Jun 7, 2005 23:36:45 GMT 1
While everyone is talking Model Power is walking --- all the way to the bank. I am seeing their vehicles going out of the hobby shop by the bag full. The price is right, the detail is fairly good, and some of the models are everyday seen on the streets type which the model railroaders are looking for. I just hope they keep up the good work and expand their line into the '70s and '80s.
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Jun 4, 2005 23:02:01 GMT 1
Good point. The good locos approach three-digit prices! Nick K Three? I have seen more than one HO locomotive well into the four-digit prices.
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Jun 2, 2005 1:15:42 GMT 1
Then there are the Ford trucks. Ford makes everything from 1/2 ton to eighteen wheelers. It would be nice to see some Ford 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton vans
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