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<ducks for cover> Come to HO scale, where your view on Rapido will be markedly different! </ducks for cover>
A lot has been said already and like many here, I'm hoping Rapido is able to find their way through this and go back to making the quality models they are known for. If anyone from Rapido is reading, my 2c as a customer:1. Choice of locomotive and road is important - mainstream locomotives & roads will sell even if it has been a locomotive done before. If scaletrains is doing another run of SD40-2 before the first run has released and after years of Kato, Intermountain and BLI swarming the market with SD40-2, that is testament that N scale will sell with the right choices2. Catering to the US market is key. Not making enough US prototypes and roads is not going to help sales. Blaming the scale at that point is not going to help. Almost all of Rapido's offerings are Canadian centric with some US roads sprinkled in. The mix should be evened out3. Details are very important but not at the expense of operating quality. Rapido has acknowledged this and that is a great starting point.Hoping Rapido is able to pivot successfully. I have nothing but great things to say about the 8 Rapido locos I own aside from numerous passenger cars. The customer service when I have needed them has been top notch. Know that while we may have complaints, we are still rooting for your success.
Given that between Rapido and Bowser I can get basically everything my heart desires for CN and CP in southern Ontario circa 1987-89, I have considered switching scales. And now I have the room for a decent HO layout. That said, I have far too much n scale equipment to change now, and the advantage to being in n is that I don't have 3-6 product announcements per month that I will not be able to resist. N scale keeps me solvent.
If you DO decide to jump ship, Caboose Stop is looking for N scale collections..
I've got a few hundred cars to dispose of, but do you have enough Godfather's Pizza boxes?
2. Catering to the US market is key. Not making enough US prototypes and roads is not going to help sales. Blaming the scale at that point is not going to help. Almost all of Rapido's offerings are Canadian centric with some US roads sprinkled in. The mix should be evened out.
When Rapido advertises... We included a full interior of this passenger car even the bathroom with poop in the un-flushed toilet.. just like the prototype.. and the bathroom compartment has one shaded window that you can't see inside...... I kind of You want me to pay a premium for poop in a toilet in a room I can't see without disassembling the car... I don't think they have 'actually' done that (yet) but I wouldn't put it past them.
Yes, they really do that (and they are not the only company doing that). They modeled sinks and toilets in previous models (like the Osgood-Bradley cars). Note the rather thick coat of paint which fortunately will not readily be noticed through the windows.
I don't see no poop... Man!...think that paint's thick enough??Cheerio!Bob Gilmore
The problem with this is I'm pretty sure Rapido was founded in large part because Jason Shron needed VIA passenger equipment for his home HO layout. If the core ethos of the company is passion/vanity projects, it's going to be hard to really focus on doing stuff that has broad market appeal first.
I think this same argument could be applied to them even doing n-scale to begin with. There's not an N champion anymore, and it's tough when there's nobody there that really has their heart into it. Passion/vanity-type product, with no champion, and in a smaller percentage of the market....not a good recipe for success.