Ennui...

[Chulvis]

I just called MTL to get an update on the new releases.

The CP COFC is sold out already as is the NOKL Bulkhead. The SP Tank will be gone in an hour they say.

Note: They did tell me they may get more of the CP COFC' cars made, but could not promise. I doubt that will happen.

[John]

I just called MTL to get an update on the new releases.

The CP COFC is sold out already as is the NOKL Bulkhead. The SP Tank will be gone in an hour they say.

Note: They did tell me they may get more of the CP COFC' cars made, but could not promise. I doubt that will happen.

What does that mean .. you not getting any?

[Chulvis]

I just called MTL to get an update on the new releases.

The CP COFC is sold out already as is the NOKL Bulkhead. The SP Tank will be gone in an hour they say.

Note: They did tell me they may get more of the CP COFC' cars made, but could not promise. I doubt that will happen.

What does that mean .. you not getting any?

I have a standing order and had already placed an additional order this morning, so yes I will get them. Then the customer orders started hitting harder than usual so figured I'd better call and get an update.

One customer ordered four of the COFC's. I guess there was some pent up demand for that type of car.

[bobcat]

I'm not one bit surprised and I'm glad for you Chuck that you are there to sell them to those buyers. For me personally, $28-$30 is too much.

[GonzoCRFan]

I'm wondering when Micro-Trains changed their motto to "The Ultimate in N and Z scale model trains", as the header of their website now reads.

Nope, they're no longer just "the Cadillac". Now they're the "ultimate", the indisputable best....
 
The manufacturers who take the time to make cars with accurately-scaled bodies that don't ride too high on pizza cutter wheels must have been pretty pissed to find out MT is better than they are...  :

MT referring to themselves as the ultimate is like Britney Spears calling herself sweet and innocent...

Personally, it's hard as hell for me to get my hopes up for MT every month because their releases bore me on such a consistent basis. What they want to produce is not what I want to buy, so there's no use in me getting excited.

[Mark5]

Nope, they're no longer just "the Cadillac". Now they're the "ultimate", the indisputable best....

Heh, the Cadillac motto was a huge joke with folks I knew back in the late 70s into the 80s as Cadillac was making a lot of really crappy cars back then. ;D

[ljudice]

I agree - MTL releases are a huge disappointment to me - almost every month.

What is infuriating - and I hate to repeat myself - is that they could be so great - if they paid a little attention to research.

I am not talking about rivet counting, but for example - why tool up 50 new cars and not FIX utterly awful models like the 50' FMC boxcars and the bulkhead flat, which are mostly designed AROUND those pizza cutter wheels.

[haybros]

why tool up 50 new cars and not FIX utterly awful models like the 50' FMC boxcars and the bulkhead flat, which are mostly designed AROUND those pizza cutter wheels.

I'm fairly certain MT won't answer this question so I will offer my 2 cents.......

It is probably true that many early designs compensated for the PC wheels. They invested tons of money in the molds made from those designs. They will attempt to use those molds for as many cycles as they can to maximize return on investment. As long as you keep buying them...they will keep making them from the existing molds. To go back and redesign (fix as you say) and make new molds would eat up time and resources. That time and those resources are better spent designing and manufacturing new releases. Because consumers continue to buy the "utterly awful models" they have no incentive to "fix" the design or tooling. It's not rocket science....it's just basic manufacturing principles.

Bill Hay
www.nscaleloads.com

[ednadolski]

I'm wondering when Micro-Trains changed their motto to "The Ultimate in N and Z scale model trains", as the header of their website now reads.

Nope, they're no longer just "the Cadillac". Now they're the "ultimate", the indisputable best....
 
The manufacturers who take the time to make cars with accurately-scaled bodies that don't ride too high on pizza cutter wheels must have been pretty pissed to find out MT is better than they are...  :

If real Cadillac automobiles were made by MT, they would clear the ground by about four feet, and you would need a small stepladder to get in & out.

Maybe MT should call themselves the "Pizza Delivery Humvees of N and Z Scale Model Trains"?   (Buy two or more pizzas, get a free pogo stick?)