Rapido Newsletter-But is it in N scale?

[mu26aeh]

@thomasjmdavis, I mentioned my modeling money going to others on the FB post regarding broken links to the newsletter.  Think they screwed up here, but if they want to join walthers in not understanding n scale market, im fine with it

[Rivet Miscounter]

Great.  We finally get a decent Centerbeam car and the tooling is going in the dumpster.

I just bought my second Rapido car type....the SP boxcar....off eBay. (still in transit)  So I don't have a lot of hard data to work with but I was pretty happy with the three centerbeams I bought, even with their warts.  I was looking forward to more GP20 tank cars since they danced right on the edge of my 1989 timeframe from either direction. (I think, I haven't dove into that seriously yet)   I have some of the 5820's on order, (which they say are still happening) and hoped they would bring their Canadian TOFC cars to N.

Another poster brought this up elsewhere, but I also though it odd that they led with a cancellation of a passenger set and then went on to say freight cars were the problem...and they were going go focus on locos and passenger.   I have a feeling someone didn't like the critique of the centerbeams (and probably the GP20 tank cars) and decided to take their ball and go home.  And yeah I'm sure sales had a lot to do with it too, but come on...Canadian ore cars?  It's ok to have pet projects, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater here.

[bbussey]

Their freight car problem is a perfect storm of multiple reasons:  Esoteric prototypes, design missteps, manufacturing missteps, careless oversight.  Some recent models suffer from all four.  It's very hard to retain the confidence of the consumer base when there hasn't been an N scale freight car product rolled out in a while without issues.  Missteps do happen, and most consumers would not think negatively if it happened once in a blue moon.  But when every release over an extended period of time has an issue (or multiple issues), it adds up ... which is unfortunate, as there have been some models after reworking by the consumer that are stellar.  But at the price points offered, that shouldn't be necessary.

The esoteric prototypes wouldn't be a factor if the models were flawless, although the barrel ore cars are a questionable choice no matter how well they are done.  I agree that if a model is a "pet project", they shouldn't hold it against the consumer base if the reservations are lagging.  The ATSF mechanical reefer should have been a winner but it was a casualty I believe due to negative circumstances surrounding prior models.

[lock4244]

I really hope that is a HR-412 (or maybe a M-420) in his hands.

It's a C40-8M.

[basementcalling]

Their major misreading of N scale is that it's still fundamentally a ready to run market. Asshats and others on here will fiddle with models and fix problems in cars, but most N scalers want well decorated cars that they can put on the tracks in multiples and pull a 30-50 car train. Used to be, all the non tinkerers had to do was slap a set of MT trucks under a car and it would run.

I love my SP Boxes and my G20 tankers, although I'm still trying to get the ends back on a couple. Haven't been able to get the center beams on a track yet, but maybe with this announcement I should just put em on eBay and see how high the bidding will go. Doesn't sound like a second run is in the works.

Sadly, I believe this attitude is similar to what Exact Rail expressed before they abandoned N scale. 

[ednadolski]

Great.  We finally get a decent Centerbeam car and the tooling is going in the dumpster.

They probably got wind of our gripes about the wheel sets.

Still waiting on my HO centerbeams tho.

Ed

[thomasjmdavis]

@thomasjmdavis, I mentioned my modeling money going to others on the FB post regarding broken links to the newsletter.  Think they screwed up here, but if they want to join walthers in not understanding n scale market, im fine with it

Yeah....me too. The upside is, my meat reefers with the full scale board gaps will now be collectors' items.

[pdx1955]

I was wondering when we would see a notice like this with scads of new HO announcements but hardly a word about N. I actually ordered the RR56 and would have bought the UP, SP, and NP signature freight cars in quantity. Not sure if this new direction will actually create anything that I could use, but not counting on it.

[peteski]

Yeah....me too. The upside is, my meat reefers with the full scale board gaps will now be collectors' items.

Oh thank you Tom!  I just had to up-vote that! 
I got such a lynching here (by most, but not all) here after I mentioned those gaps when those cars were released that I still have scars.   But OTOH, I do own 2 sound-equipped Turbo Train sets and I think those are excellent models.

[lock4244]

I received a NAR GMD-1 that was missing an idler axle... no response to a request for a replacement. The PSC vans wouldn't roll and they didn't get enough replacement wheels to cover all the vans they produced (I bought 15, managed to get wheels for one). The LRC cars are basically garbage as they do not roll and there's a fault with the cct boards that cause them to heat up to the point of the cars being too hot to touch. The aforementioned issues with the centerbeam. The parts shedding GP20 tankcars (but they're good running in my experience otherwise). In speaking with someone at Rapido a few years ago I understand the chance of getting an N scale SW1200RS is zero because the engineering is too much to get sound into it (um, Atlas N scale S-2 and S-4).

With the LRC, I asked at Trainfest 2022 what the status of replacement boards since I had been told soon after they were released they'd be fixed, and was told they'll get them in soon. That was over a year ago, and at this point I don't expect they'll ever actually deliver. Those lemons cost me close to $700. I'm not the only one that experienced this, so what would they honestly expect N scalers to do? Line up to get ******** again? How stupid do they think we are?

I mean I'm basically a moron since I have 88 cars on order from Rapido, will cost me over $3200 (Angus vans, barrel ore hoppers, Procor 5820). I've done my part. Maybe Rapido can do theirs and fix my ******** LRC's?

[lock4244]

"Our freight car choices have been hit or miss, so we're going to stop making them all together" is an interesting choice to make....

Awesome.

[nscaler711]

Honestly No real loss here, even after my lengthy FB post...
I'll still hope theyll pull their head from their a$$ as I like what they produce.
I'd love more Amtrak crap from them, but they cant even seem to bring US F40PHs when Kato has effectively given up on anything prior to 2005...
This what happens when HO scalers own a company... forget everything else exists.
Scale Trains so far seems to be the exception.

[eja]

Issues with "The Canadian" turned me off.  I would love to have that train on my layout, but given that price point and all the issues discussed on The Railwire -  no way.

Sad!  It looks so nice, but trains should roll without the consumer having to rework anything for that price.

eja

[Jim Costello]

and here I was thinking that I may?? get a few more New Haven models

[bbussey]

But OTOH, I do own 2 sound-equipped Turbo Train sets and I think those are excellent models.

They did an excellent job on the Turbo Train.  Just needs a keep-alive added to be perfect.

and here I was thinking that I may?? get a few more New Haven models

I have a ton of their New Haven models, motive power and varnish, and I'm grateful that they made them.  Gotta put the production effort in with every model release though and not rest on past laurels.