I could always get an unlettered Mikado done.....the problem is ..I still need to meet a 40 piece minimum. at $1000 each my cost, thats still a good chunk of change. I figure maybe I could sell a dozen, and id be 28K in the hole for the deal. Not a good prospect.
As for MTH marketing it themselves....its not as easy as u think. Its a change in the production line, possibly a change in masking, another sku, different box labels.....just another thing to try to keep track of....and not worth the effort just to sell another dozen engine or so. Conventional wisdom, not that its correct...has been that "no one wants to do painting or lettering anymore" I know it isnt true, but thats what a lot of ppl think these days.
And then there's the nit picking...especially about steam engines. Its impossible to manufacture anything without getting all the "this isnt prototypically accurate" comments. Steam engines, so it seems, were especially distinctive by railroad....but u just cant economically change the tooling for every different RR distinction...........
Its a wonder. IMHO, that some of the manufacturers havent just walked away and said "I've had enough of this. Build your own steam engine"
The question shouldnt be "why cant u make the engine I want", but "what can I do to help make this possible." The short answer, unfortunately, is time, effort, and money. Especially money.
