I very much agree with what you said Jeff.
I still believe that IF S will ever grow, the product will need to be made and let the buyers "come". To that point, they need to design products for people who aren't even in S today. The existing S market is just too small. Without an influx of new people there won't be a big enough market to warrant the costs on a frequent basis. Your N scale analogy is spot on. This is exactly the point I was trying to make earlier... The reports I have read recently claim that Model Railroading as a hobby is expanding overall. The issue for S is that the vast majority of new blood is coming into HO and N. That is why I think it is imperative for S companies to get their products in front of people at HO and N shows. Props to the NASG btw... They try very hard. It was good to see them present at the Nat'l show.
Of course this is all from the perspective of someone who wants to see S grow. I fully recognize that a large portion of S modelers are very happy with the status quo (and several have told me so). I think S can be a place where some people go to "hide" because it has built-in excuses. Just my opinion of course.
