Vehicles You Want in Scale

[chicken45]

I believe Rasputin makes one of those in N scale. Just ask @chicken45   

Actually it isn't Rasputen. It's Jens Jahn (Madaboutcars) on Shapeways.

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=40517.msg501837#msg501837

https://www.shapeways.com/product/K3FXSZ5E2/1-160-2x-1970-72-plymouth-valiant?optionId=61141339


I do kinda wish @Rasputen offered a resin version. I'm stalled on my FXD car. Maybe next year Peteski will let me mail these to him so he can work his magic on them.

[bman]

I spoke to Clare (Sylvan's proprietor) last February and he said that his is collaborating with Bryan (Rasputin) on some of his new N scale vehicles.  But also, year after year, Clare tells me the same thing: the N scale vehicle kits don't sell well enough for them to expand their line of vehicles.  It seems that N scale modelers just don't want the bother of painting and assembling these tiny autos.

While there's not doubt a lot of truth to folks not painting and assembling much anymore, what about offering vehicles in an era that might entice folks to buy them?  All of Sylvan's offerings are from the 40's and 50's.  And with Classic Metal Works offering assembled vehicles of the same era(with the exception of the Galaxie and Impala) how big is that market?  And the way CMW packaged their offerings was a bit strange to me as well.  Who want's 2 of something in the same color? But even Atlas did this with the Ford cars and trucks they offered.  Yes my family owned two Fairmont station wagons while I was growing up. But not from the same year nor were they the same color.   Obviously there are reasons for offering 2 of each. But at least give us different colors.  Which I believe CMW did this later on.  Anyway, I do grow a bit weary of modelers being to blame when a product doesn't sell.  What about offering a product that folks want to buy?  I know it's very, very, easy to type that. But manufacturer's have to shoulder some of the responsibility of offering a product folks would want to buy as well.  But I would agree that in this hobby the trend is moving away from kits. 

[Loren Perry]

I spoke to Clare (Sylvan's proprietor) last February and he said that his is collaborating with Bryan (Rasputin) on some of his new N scale vehicles.  But also, year after year, Clare tells me the same thing: the N scale vehicle kits don't sell well enough for them to expand their line of vehicles.  It seems that N scale modelers just don't want the bother of painting and assembling these tiny autos.

I just submitted a three-part article with scores of photos on assembling and painting Rasputin's and Sylvan's beautifully molded resin car kits and Pam has accepted it for publishing in upcoming issues. I'm hoping this will help generate increased interest in these models.

[Dreadnought]

1964 Rambler Ambassador station wagon.

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Ah, a classic - I quite like the car in your signature as well, though they'd certainly be a good bit rarer!

Anyway, I suppose I'll give you guys an update on what I've been up to. This thread has certainly given me a lot of ideas, and I've started looking into starting a resin car kit line myself. As you may have seen in my Lima LS-1000/1200 thread in another section, I'm trying to get together a resin kit company currently. I feel that, based on feedback from this thread and similar other threads, there is a good amount of demand in this sector.

Here are some details on what I'm going to try to be doing. I still have lots to work out, such as the manufacturer, designer, etc. but I'll just give you my ideas here. The kits would be offered in both HO and N:

• Separate Chassis and Body. While not only decreasing production costs (a station wagon and sedan will have the same chassis) this makes it easier to add details to the interior, such as figures.
• Window Glazing. A singular piece of clear resin would be included with each kit and glued to the roof to replicate glass.
• Facelift Capability. Many kits would include a few different grilles/bumpers in order to allow facelifts to be reflected midway through the car's lifespan. For example, a 1971-1976 Chevy Impala would include a pre-1973 bumper and grill and a post-1973 bumper and grill (1973 was the year that the Federal Government required fat safety bumpers to be added to all cars).
   This would also allow a single kit to represent practically identical cars made by multiple manufacturers, such as the Chevy/GMC Suburban.
• Exchangeable Chassis. Large truck kits would be sold as only the cab, with separate chassis kits being sold. This way, you would be able to buy a cab of, say, a Peterbilt Model 350 'Bubblenose', and then be able to choose a single-axle chassis or a dual-axle chassis, with different wheelbases available as well. This allows quite a lot of variability from a single cab, since trucks were almost as varied as locomotives in their setups.
• Detail Kits. Along similar lines, kits would be sold for converting cars from civilian to, say, a police car or taxi, instead of selling a separate taxi kit. The detail kit would include appropriate details, like a siren, as well as decals. The same concept could be used for converting a regular van to a utility van, or a regular truck to a utility truck, or for turning a tractor truck into a straight truck, dump truck, etc.
• Bulk Packages. A good amount of feedback has been that people want mid '70's or '80's automobiles for filling up autoracks or things like that. For that purpose, a bulk kit of cars would be sold that only come with one grill to reflect a certain model year.

Here's a little glimpse of the shortlist I've been putting together. Naturally, I can't hope to satisfy everyone's needs, but it seems the greatest want is late '60's-early '90's, so that's where I've focused first.

1975-1991 Ford Econoline Passenger Van

Would include details for 1975-1978 model, 1979-1981 model and 1982-1991 model.

1971-1976 Chevrolet Impala Sedan

Would include details for pre-1973 model, and post-1973 model.

1965-1966 Ford Galaxie 500 Sedan


1967-1972 Chevrolet/GMC Suburban

Would include optional Chevrolet or GMC branding.

1960-1963 Chevrolet/GMC C-10 Fleetside

Would include optional Chevrolet or GMC branding.

1982-1984 Honda Accord Sedan


1974-1976 Dodge Monaco Sedan

 
Here are some 'possibles':
Autocar DC-100

Both day cab and sleeper variants. Would be compatible with single axle chassis with short or long wheelbase, and dual axle chassis with short or long wheelbase. For example, the truck in the picture would be a day cab with a long wheelbase single axle chassis.

MCI MC-9

Would include decals for a few different bus outfits.

That's what I would like to be able to do, anyway. I'm currently trying to get into contact with a designer, so I'll see how that goes. However, I am making no promises yet. This is simply a listing of concepts and possible products.

Tell me what you guys think of this.

Dreadnought

[up1950s]

Speaking of Autocar , This outfit had a plant 1/4 mile from me from 1953 to about 1973 . Big a$$ trucks . Common to Long Island then .

https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/162262079933_/COLONIAL-CONCRETE-NYC-1953-AUTOCAR-DC103-11-CY-REX.jpg

[Mark5]

I need cars for my open racks circa 1975 ...

Ford Pinto? Ford Maverick? 

Mark

[peteski]

Ah, a classic - I quite like the car in your signature as well, though they'd certainly be a good bit rarer!

Anyway, I suppose I'll give you guys an update on what I've been up to. This thread has certainly given me a lot of ideas, and I've started looking into starting a resin car kit line myself. As you may have seen in my Lima LS-1000/1200 thread in another section, I'm trying to get together a resin kit company currently. I feel that, based on feedback from this thread and similar other threads, there is a good amount of demand in this sector.

Here are some details on what I'm going to try to be doing. I still have lots to work out, such as the manufacturer, designer, etc. but I'll just give you my ideas here. The kits would be offered in both HO and N:

• Window Glazing. A singular piece of clear resin would be included with each kit and glued to the roof to replicate glass.

Here's a little glimpse of the shortlist I've been putting together. Naturally, I can't hope to satisfy everyone's needs, but it seems the greatest want is late '60's-early '90's, so that's where I've focused first.


Tell me what you guys think of this.

Dreadnought

Have you looked ad Rasputin's catalog of vehicles?  Other than the lack of window "glass", his kits are excellent and I would hate to see any duplication.

Speaking of glass, while a block of clear resin is better than no windows at all, appearance-wise it is far from ideal.  I would recommend that you consider making the glass out of thermo-formed (vacuu-formed) sheet of thin clear PETG.  That would look 1000% better than a block of solid glass.

Small vacu-forming machines are readily available (even Micro-Mark sells one for a bit inflated price).  Those are the ones used by dentists for making custom mouth guards. Then you could make resin or 3D printed bucks for the window molding and produce a dozen or so at a time. And that method to me seem to be less hassle than casting them out of resin (and worrying about air bubbles or rough surface).

[Dreadnought]

Have you looked ad Rasputin's catalog of vehicles?  Other than the lack of window "glass", his kits are excellent and I would hate to see any duplication.

Speaking of glass, while a block of clear resin is better than no windows at all, appearance-wise it is far from ideal.  I would recommend that you consider making the glass out of thermo-formed (vacuu-formed) sheet of thin clear PETG.  That would look 1000% better than a block of solid glass.

Small vacu-forming machines are readily available (even Micro-Mark sells one for a bit inflated price).  Those are the ones used by dentists for making custom mouth guards. Then you could make resin or 3D printed bucks for the window molding and produce a dozen or so at a time. And that method to me seem to be less hassle than casting them out of resin (and worrying about air bubbles or rough surface).

peteski,

Thanks for the input. I actually meant a vacuum-formed piece, not a solid block of resin. Sorry if that wasn't clear. I will look into the things you mentioned. The windows thing is something that I have not discussed very much with anyone, so I will need to look into it further before the cars go into production - if that happens. Again, this is what I would like to do, not a guarantee.

In fact, I have looked at a lot of Rasputen's stuff. His kits are very impressive. I'm not sure I have the most up to date list of his available products (I got it from https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=40518.0 ) but a lot of his stuff seems to be '40's - early '70's. I don't believe I have duplicated any of the product he listed there in my list, except for perhaps the Dodge Monaco. You will note that I plan to offer these in both HO and N scale, though, while I believe he only does N scale.

If this gets off the ground, I will certainly talk with him further on the topic of duplication. I am making a bit of an effort to be more recent here, but I may, in the future, look into replicating cars of an earlier time period. I also want to do more trucks, buses, and other things like farm equipment, which I don't believe he does.

Again, this is all a proposal at the current phase. However, I don't believe I have proposed any duplicates of his products here.

Regards,
Dreadnought

[peteski]

No, I don't think you have any duplication with Bryan (Rasputin), but I thought I should bring that up before you started selecting more prototypes.

As far as windows go, you stated "Window Glazing. A singular piece of clear resin would be included with each kit and glued to the roof to replicate glass."  To me that seems to imply that a thick piece of resin would be included with the model, similar to how Wiking, some Kato or few other brand models are constructed.  The solid slab window results in a prism-like effect which does not look very convincing as a glass window.

[Dreadnought]

I suppose that is a bit misleading, I'll go ahead and change it. I suppose the image I had in my head did not translate very well to words. It wouldn't be a clear piece of resin as you are supposing, though - I meant it as a hollow piece, but I think resin is not the best way to go now.

Regards,
Dreadnought

[peteski]

I suppose that is a bit misleading, I'll go ahead and change it. I suppose the image I had in my head did not translate very well to words. It wouldn't be a clear piece of resin as you are supposing, though - I meant it as a hollow piece, but I think resin is not the best way to go now.

Regards,
Dreadnought

Even if you were envisioning a cast resin glass insert which is just a hollow part (like the ones injection-molded from styrene used on some models) then I still think that using a thin 0.015" or so vacu-formed sheet would not only look better (thinner, and clearer) but will give a better yield than cast resin.

[Dreadnought]

Even if you were envisioning a cast resin glass insert which is just a hollow part (like the ones injection-molded from styrene used on some models) then I still think that using a thin 0.015" or so vacu-formed sheet would not only look better (thinner, and clearer) but will give a better yield than cast resin.

Thanks for the input, peteski. It's very helpful.

Dreadnought

[cfritschle]

Dreadnought,

This sounds very interesting, and I will do what I can to help promote your products.  One other possible duplicate issue is the 1965-66 Ford.  It seems like it would be very similar to the C in C model.  http://www.pfc-cinc.com/catalog/item/297863/63504.htm

Good luck!

[daniel_leavitt2000]

That does it! everyone buy me a Power Ball ticket and when I win I will retire from the gov't and start a company dedicated to releasing three new N scale kit vehicles monthly, with see through windows and interiors.

I had this idea. Monthly releases like Micro-Trains. All US made. Even thought about ways to get around the choke box licensing issue:

1. Vehicles would be made of three primary parts: body, windshield and chassis/interior. Possibly with the body and windshield integrated and painted like Tomytec does. Maybe with a separate interior.
2. Chassis/wheels would be either molded into a display base large enough to eliminate the choking hazard.
3. Model could either be razor-sawed from base for use on the layout or left in place for display. Detailed chassis could be sold in bulk by a 3rd party (either FXD or resin cast).
4. A premium line would include models detachable from the base (obviously not GM cars), and include etched parts and extra details. These would focus on trucks and construction equipment.

Standard line would include two vehicles in one display case - one 3/4 view forward and one 3/4 view facing rearward. Target price would be $20-25.

Premium line would be only one model per display at a price of $30 each - think Athearn Marck R cement mixers etc.

Although I thought about doing this myself (this is was Northeast Truck Company was supposed to build to), I also thought it would be a great opportunity for Micro-Trains to diversify. In fact, they could use their standard jewel case inverted as the display case glass.

Also thought that a Micro-Planes line would be a great addition too: a new plane monthly in various schemes - all in 1/160 scale. Obviously price would vary wildly from Citation to 777.

[Dreadnought]

daniel_leavit2000,

That's a pretty good idea for getting around the licensing issue, if I do say so myself. Excuse my ignorance, but what is Northeast Truck Company? Is it still in business?

I'd love to work together with you guys to form the best business possible. I've already got a few things in the works right now, such as a loyalty club (10% off all purchases, 15% off pre-orders) as well as 'Golden Ticket' coupons (every production run will have a free coupon for a model of equal or lesser value inserted randomly), but I do like daniel's ideas for three releases a month. The Micro-Planes line is also pretty interesting, though I don't know if many people would be willing to drop the sum of money required for a 16" long model of a 777. I've never actually seen an airport scene on a model railroad in person, but perhaps that is just my inexperience - or perhaps those models would not be meant for railroads?

Regards,
Dreadnought