OH NO IS MTH COMPLETELY DONE WITH TINPLATE ?!

No one can say for certain but they are probably not done producing tinplate.  They will simply go back to "Tinplate Traditions" line.  Their agreement with Lionel is coming to an end.

My personal opinion is yes, they are done and out.

I hope not. I have thought about getting some tinplate.

I wouldn’t panic.  Production will probably slow or stop for a bit but I wouldn’t say the sky is falling.  There is still plenty of tinplate out there now and i’m Sure we’ll see more in the future. 

I've been buying many prewar 600 series freight cars during my recent trip to Ohio last week.
When I saw this latest catalog come out, I decided after much pondering to order this 263E.
 

With a logo sporting a smokin' Blue Comet 400E, do you really think MTH is "done" with tinplate trains?

Who knows, just remember the best time to buy something is when you see it, production may not last forever. Classic car parts are the same way, they may do one run and never again, small market for this stuff.

paigetrain posted:

 

 

     but my question is is MTH still going to produce tinplate like before the agreement or is tinplate over         

 

 

Yes,  in my opinion MTH is done with tinplate at this time. You have no idea the effort Mike Wolf had to go to just to be able to honor the orders in the last catalog. Chinese manufacturers have found electronics  much more profitable. It is now difficult to find companies willing to make the products, since the demand is so much higher for the other products. Do you think any of these companies are willing to do limited runs of tinplate trains?  Sorry guys, the manufacturers aren't interested. Should the business be moved to another country. Yes! However there are very high fees for moving the tooling to other countries. We are talking about 50% of the tooling's value in taxes. If you get it moved; then what do you do? Your in a country without any experience in producing trains. It will take 5 years to get things up and going again at the same knowledge and quality level.
    Want to know where the cheap labor is, follow the shoe business. The cheap manufacturing place of choice is Vietnam. That presents two issues. Vietnamese have a distrust of Americans and American manufacturers. That goes both ways if you think some of us have issues with Chinese goods, that would be even worse with Vietnamese goods.

Scott Smith

Scott

I tend to agree.  I think tinplate, at least for the near future, is probably done.  Unfortunate because MTH has done a wonderful job with the line.

I think a lot of us on the outside may not realize how low the volune really was with the tinplate.  We see the catalogs and assume it sells hand over fist but that’s not reality. There was a lot of product variety but volume of the individual items was likely small with a few exceptions. In a way we’e lucky we got as much as we did.

thank god... in the 1920's the 400E may have been state of the art, but it is one of the most ridiculous wheel arrangement in locomotive history.  add to that it's long past due to put a halt to all the idiotic liveries it has been forced to wear.  i can't help but relate what this locomotive has gone through to that poor dog you always see around the holidays dressed in a sweater to match their owner.

Hey Overlandflyer...have a Snickers.  Your not yourself when you're hungry.  LOL!

Dennis Holler posted:

I think a lot of us on the outside may not realize how low the volune really was with the tinplate.  We see the catalogs and assume it sells hand over fist but that’s not reality. There was a lot of product variety but volume of the individual items was likely small with a few exceptions. In a way we’e lucky we got as much as we did.

You are absolutely 100% correct.

Stu

Dennis Holler posted:

I think a lot of us on the outside may not realize how low the volune really was with the tinplate.  We see the catalogs and assume it sells hand over fist but that’s not reality. There was a lot of product variety but volume of the individual items was likely small with a few exceptions. In a way we’e lucky we got as much as we did.

Lucky indeed! People have been spoiled by the wealth of tinplate product produced by MTH in recent times, and it was inevitable that this would come to a halt at some point, for whatever reason(s). It has been a fun ride, and I'm sure glad I got and now have the items I really wanted the most.

I'm sure someone will ask MTH reps or Mike at York in a few weeks. My guess is it will end up being a few small runs of special tinplate traditions items like the old days in the late 90's early 2000's. No more dedicated catalog...

George

I will always cherish my Lionel Classics dark gray 2-400E with the "surprise" whistle, courtesy of MTH! 

George S posted:

I'm sure someone will ask MTH reps or Mike at York in a few weeks. My guess is it will end up being a few small runs of special tinplate traditions items like the old days in the late 90's early 2000's. No more dedicated catalog...

George

I will be happy to ask them, but I certainly don't expect them to make a commitment to anything one way or the other. They are a business, and businesses generally prefer to keep their future plans pretty much to themselves. Perfectly understandable.

There's still a whole lot of Tinplate Traditions and Lionel Corporation Tinplate product out there and readily available in the marketplace today, and those who really enjoy those lines probably would be well-advised to take advantage of what they can get now.

The Lionel badge is always nice on the repos, but not necessary for me. I have been a fan of Tinplate Traditions for decades. One exception: I have an LCT 216 red hopper with large L I O N E L letters stamped on the sides INSTEAD of the usual oval brass plates! (??) Kind of cheapens the look! If you are going to have the badging, do it RIGHT! 😐

overlandflyer posted:

thank god... in the 1920's the 400E may have been state of the art, but it is one of the most ridiculous wheel arrangement in locomotive history.  add to that it's long past due to put a halt to all the idiotic liveries it has been forced to wear.  i can't help but relate what this locomotive has gone through to that poor dog you always see around the holidays dressed in a sweater to match their owner.

What's wrong with the 4-4-4 wheel arrangement?

I've never understood the hate for the MTH paint schemes, sure I like my black 400e, but nobody is forcing me to buy a purple one.