Part of the problem is everyone wants "their" favorite nowadays. If it's not on the survey, fugettaboutit.
Do I have a favorite? Sure... The Russian Decapod, particularly Frisco. Do I expect one to be produced in S? No. Does it prevent me for participating in a survey? No.
However, I have become reluctant to participate in surveys (I eventually did participate in this one) because nothing usually comes from it.
Right now we've got two so-called major players in the S "mass" market, for lack of a better term: American Models and Lionel. One has less resources than the other. Both insist on marching to their own drumbeat. And who know when Ron B's going to retire...
MTH is done. Even if someone buys the Showcase Line from MTH, expect at least a year before anything shows up and 4-5 more for anything truly new.
There's River Raisin and PBL for brass, but that's even a smaller piece of the pie. Plus, PBL is almost exclusively narrow gauge. For the average S person, RR & PBL are $$$$ and neither cater to the HiRail/Flyer crowd.
Can you believe that River Raisin couldn't get enough reservations for the N&W J? A famous locomotive (even before the excursion era) that was supposed to be a slam-dunk. Another company (G&W Models) also tried getting interest in the "J" back in the late 80's and failed. Go figure... I honestly don't think a Daylight GS4 would fare much better.
Rusty
