dkdkrd posted:JR Junction Train & Hobby posted:Makes me think it's a manufacturing issue.I'm inclined to think that overall consumer demand...or lack thereof...has a lot to do with this.
That's based on a brief comment Rich Foster made to me when I was picking up MTH catalogs at their truck at a York Meet...a couple years ago, anyway. I had asked about an item on behalf of one of our customers (LHS). He commented that tinplate overall was becoming a tough sell...or words to that effect.
If there's a "manufacturing issue" it may have something to do with the declining size of a run for a given item. So many (all?) of the importers in this hobby have to negotiate minimum run sizes re the cost of the product (translating: Price to us) before they even get a schedule of items, begin designs/tooling, etc.. Manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers are all not thrilled at the prospect of having shelves of unsold items just for the sake of helping hit a minimum. Lionel's BTO (Build To Order) demonstrates how serious this issue is.
So, it's still "No tickee, no washee!" ...build to the contracted commitment minimum, or it's a 'pass', postponement, cancellation, .....whatever.
And, if that is an increasingly frequent situation for a segment of the hobby....e.g., Tinplate...then it's hard to justify printing an annual catalog of, what?....dreams?....frustrations?.........anger?
I know Mike and his fellow leaders stand before us at several communication sessions preceding/during events/meets like York and take questions. Polite candor on our part might get some educational candor on theirs. Worth a try, anyway.
KD
Maybe MTH could just sell us the artwork, and I will make my own decals...
Scratch that, they did! I just noticed a feature called "Generate ZIP file with product images". Now, that gets me thinking... Hmmm?
George
