Rapido Newsletter-But is it in N scale?

[randgust]

I've had a lot of equipment from various manufacturers over the last decade that were beautiful cars and required extensive modification to run reliably.  Whether it's detail in the way of the trucks, or insufficient coupler clearance, or other things, it had to go.   The only car that was so bad I turned around and resold it was the Atlas piggyback flat, gave up on that one as it constantly stringlined on 13" curves with a heavy train behind it.  Looked great, horrible practical engineering.

The only product from Rapido that emptied my wallet was the N lighting kits, every passenger car I own got one, and of course, those are out of stock entirely for well over a year.   Those were a great product.  The similar reed/magnet/LED boards in Intermountain/Centralia are not as good, OK, but meh.   I've found the show-stopper on my layout is night operations with all those lit passenger cars.   I have yet to have a visitor that hasn't been blown away with that.   Apparently not a sexy enough product to keep going but man... what a missed product. 

I'm old school enough that I just want stuff that doesn't derail and runs.  The Intermountain R70 ATSF reefers were fine with me, didn't need a different interpretation, and color and lettering were spot on.  Again, duplicating the market and emptying the wallet again, swallow hard.   If I can't see the detail when it's on the track, don't bother, it just makes it more expensive to produce.

The only cars I have a big fleet of that really like to shed detall are the Centralia Ce-1 and 2 ATSF cabooses; if there is a derailment you carefully check to see if part of the car is still at the scene.....

I'll also add that the FPA4's are popular enough in their third lives that an Undec would have been bought by me to letter for at least one of my favorite tourist roads where I've cabridden them (other than the Napa set).  But like Intermountain, glue everything together solid and...naah. 

[Jbub]

Among the larger manufacturers, MTL and Atlas are strongly committed to N. MTL in particular has over 100 bodystyles, releases multiple models monthly, and more often than not the bodystyles introduced in this century have been fully prototypical with accurate proportions and accurate ride height. And they still are dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster that decimated their workforce.

I think Doug was referring to Rapido staff and not N scale in general. I'm pretty sure the Jeremy is their only N scaler and I wonder how much pull he has with his position in the company after looking through their staff about us bio's. Speaking of the bio's there is a nice tribute to Mike at the end and he holds the title N Scale Legend.

[Rivet Miscounter]

I think Doug was referring to Rapido staff and not N scale in general. I'm pretty sure the Jeremy is their only N scaler and I wonder how much pull he has with his position in the company after looking through their staff about us bio's. Speaking of the bio's there is a nice tribute to Mike at the end and he holds the title N Scale Legend.

Yes, thank you that is exactly right...I meant a champion as in someone within the organization who is passionate about N that is willing to put in the extra work and really fight for cycles to get projects moved forward.

I certainly agree there are many manufacturers that are pushing N-scale forward in big ways.   Definitely was not my intention to reference the entire industry.

[Bendtracker1]

I'm old school enough that I just want stuff that doesn't derail and runs.  The Intermountain ATSF reefers were fine with me, didn't need a different interpretation.  Again, duplicating the market and emptying the wallet again, swallow hard.   If I can't see the detail when it's on the track, don't bother, it just makes it more expensive to produce.

Preach it!
I like a well detailed item as well, but at some point, it's just becomes overkill.

[seusscaboose]

And having the couplers function.

This
 

[JMaurer1]

Wait...Rapido makes trains in N scale?

I model the 50's and other than their TERRIBLE meat reefers, what have they made that I would want to run (my eyes still hurt every time I look at a photo of the meat reefers...molded on ladders and grabs and the board lines make me feel like I'm looking into a strobe light all for $35 a car)?

I would buy every 1950's SP B-50 boxcar that they would make...if they made any, but they don't (and apparently never will according to their post).

They choose to produce obscure engines and rolling stock in N scale, but only if they get enough preorders? I've already been fooled more than once with IM doing that. What they have produced recently seemingly has had issues or is inaccurate (even though it isn't in my 1950's window). Until I can actually SEE a model and verify that it is accurate and runs well, I'm not preordering ANYTHING any more from anyone (except maybe MT).

...and I'm the problem that what they make isn't selling?

[lock4244]

At this point I think there's little hope that Rapido will change their ways. They release defective models and then play the victim when the customer points that out. I recall a recent op ed where they complained that modelers were very rude to their staff on forums, and that the level of criticism was off the charts and unwarranted. Of course there's always going to be those prone to overreacting, but when approached respectively by the more even tempered modelers, they either cast aside the criticism or concede privately there are internal issues that can't be overcome.

I have always been involved in running the family business, working as a manager in someone else's business, or owning a business, and I can tell you first hand I want to know all about our mistakes from the customer. People will give you precious few chances for business if you live in a competitive environment, and feedback from customers is one of the most valuable commodities we have. A good reputation is the best marketing imo, so when we misstep, and everyone does, knowing what we did wrong, how to make it right, and how to improve going forward is priceless.

Rapido, by virtue of the prototypes they choose to produce, has few competitors, if any (largely true in HO, but I'd argue even more so in the N scale market). The Canadian market is underserved by the likes of Atlas, Athearn, and Micro Trains in terms of road specific models (generally speaking). So much of the equipment north of the border having been built by Canadian mfg's to spec for a specific use in small numbers and therefore rather unique to Canada (even if they roamed into the US often). So when a Rapido comes along and offers Canadian specific rollingstock, we line up in the memetic 'Shut up and take my money' fashion. This is the market niche Rapido serves, and provides a degree of protection to their tooling investment since it's unlikely anyone else will tool the same car, even in HO. There's little doubt that no one else will do the barrel ore hopper, Angus van, Procor 5820 covered hopper, or the GP20 tankcar, so my options are to buy and support their efforts or not to buy as punishment for their sins. I choose to buy because I want a particular body style and wager if it's a dud I may be able to fix it. It's the best option if I want these cars. No more new N scale freightcars is not the news I want to hear, but they have at least produced a few signature cars that were needed for Cdn modelers and I thank them. Less underbody detail and reliable operation out of the box would've been nice though.

In terms of prototype equipment selection, their choices are odd at times but you need to view them through the lens of someone who models Canadian choo-choos. There's a number of signature Canadian freighcars that have been prominent on the rails in Canada for the past 40 or so years, a timeframe covering what most of us above ground have seen trackside for most (all) of our lives. Cylindrical hoppers (grain and general service) are the most prominent signature cars, and are generally seen coast to coast over many decades. Intermountain, NARC, and Prairie Shadows fill this need in N scale. These are easily familiar to the US modeler, as are the fabled NSC smooth sided paperboxes, but there are a number of other cars that you really can't model Canada between say, 1970 and 2000 without having at least a few representative of.

NSC 5304 combo door boxcar
NSC mechanical refer
NSC combo door 5092 cf boxcar (BCOL car, NARC does a great N scale model of these)
Marine Industries and Vancouver Iron & Engineerin Works pig flats (WISH WE WERE GETTING THESE)
Procor 3000cf sodium chlorate covered hopper
Procor 5820cf covered hopper
Slab side covered hopper
Hawker Siddeley and Marine Industries 52' bulkhead flats
Various large LPG tancars (including some unique whalebelly cars)
Tank hoppers (cement tubes in some circles)
A litany of Insulated and Heated Insulated boxcars
Open multilevels (lasted into the late 90's in small numbers, but were very common into 1992/3)
The Angus and Pointe Ste Charles vans (caboose)

And so on and so forth. Some of these are available or coming to N, others are not and are not likely to, ever. This is the market Rapido is serving, and while they're equipment choices can seem somewhat bizarre, seen in proper context it makes more sense... at least the Canadian prototype models. While a few of these cars exist in the thousands, many were road specific and only existed in fleets numbering in the hundreds. Yet if you were trackside while they were in service you'd see these cars in multiples on the mainline, all out of proportion to their numbers. So a seemingly obscure car would, from the trackside viewer at Bayview Junction, Belleville, or Winnipeg, be seen as prolific. I suspect this is true of all roads depending on where you spend time trackside. I pray someone addresses the lack of LPG tankcars we'd see on the rails from the late 60's into the early 2000's, including the straight tank and those funky whalebelly cars... it's a huge gap in anyone's fleet, imo at least. And then there's the Quebec and Ontario Paper Company's fleet of 105 NSC chipracks manufactured in 1987. Only seen between loading points in Northern Ontario and Quebec to their mill in Thorold, Ontario, they were a daily sight for 12-15 years on CN lines north and east out of Toronto, through Bayview, and down the Grimsby Sub to Thorold. Small fleet, but you wouldn't have known it trackside along their territory.

The barrel ore car. I think it was a dumb choice, but also a pretty awesome choice at the same time. While I have no practical use for this car, but ordered enough to represent a prototypical train because it's just such a cool train. And my era represents the final years of the train so I could find a reason I suppose. In truth, I've not been able to choose a location to model in Ontario, so there's a chance it'll become necessary.

[squirrelhunter]

I don't mind at all the esoteric canadian prototypes- I am glad for all the Canadian N scalers that need the specifc cars!

My beef is with thinking that the SP waffle side boxcar or the aATSF mechanical reefer were better mass market ideas than the SP B50 boxcars.

Yes the SP waffle boxes had a ton of schemes, but they are such an uncommon car that even if you model SP in Oregon in the 70's or 80's you probably only need a couple. ATSF was out of the reefer business by the 80's, so anyone from then on can only use them as sheds bought by farmers after they were retired.

One of the core problems is HO guys only see N scale at shows on modular layouts, were anything goes as far as equipment and think N scalers are just running little tinplate trains. I'm sure that this thinking affects the Rapido staff as well. 

[bbussey]

I think Doug was referring to Rapido staff and not N scale in general. I'm pretty sure the Jeremy is their only N scaler and I wonder how much pull he has with his position in the company after looking through their staff about us bio's. Speaking of the bio's there is a nice tribute to Mike at the end and he holds the title N Scale Legend.

Yes, thank you that is exactly right...I meant a champion as in someone within the organization who is passionate about N that is willing to put in the extra work and really fight for cycles to get projects moved forward.
I certainly agree there are many manufacturers that are pushing N-scale forward in big ways.   Definitely was not my intention to reference the entire industry.

Apologies for the misinterpretation.  I fully concur that they lost a great deal with Mike's passing and from a business standpoint they haven't been able to fill the very substantial void.

[DirtyD79]

Preach it!
I like a well detailed item as well, but at some point, it's just becomes overkill.

Personally, I've always been a good ol' three-foot rule kind of guy. I do like some detail, but I agree at some point you're just putting a hat on a hat. 

[bbussey]

I don't care how esoteric the model is.  If the model is made well and operates well, it is more likely it will sell well enough for the manufacturer to not get hurt.  Maybe the barrel ore car is an exception.  But everything else they've done/announced would sell or would have sold just fine if the quality thresholds are/were met.  One reason being, regarding the freight equipment in particular — if the prototype operated in your era, you're inclined to buy at least one, because it is conceivable that at least one example of the prototype could wander into the region you model on any given day.  I have no problem buying one example of an esoteric model if it ran in my era.  The ATSF mechanical reefer is a perfect example.  I could justify one visiting New England with no issue, as much as I can justify any one of the numerous PFE reefers that have been released in N.  Just as I can justify any Canadian-built prototype with no issue.  The Prairie Shadows gondolas (tooled by Rapido ironically) are well crafted, and I have three of them counting the McGrattan tribute car.  I'd more than welcome a model of the Canadian slab side covered hopper, either variation, or both variations.  They actually did run on the New Haven regularly, but I'd buy at least one model regardless — if it was well made.

Quality is the most important attribute, even more so than the prototype chosen.

[lock4244]

My beef is with thinking that the SP waffle side boxcar or the aATSF mechanical reefer were better mass market ideas than the SP B50 boxcars.

Yes the SP waffle boxes had a ton of schemes, but they are such an uncommon car that even if you model SP in Oregon in the 70's or 80's you probably only need a couple. ATSF was out of the reefer business by the 80's, so anyone from then on can only use them as sheds bought by farmers after they were retired.

Does someone make the B50 boxcar in HO? If the answer is yes, might explain why they did the waffle in HO and N.

One of the core problems is HO guys only see N scale at shows on modular layouts, were anything goes as far as equipment and think N scalers are just running little tinplate trains. I'm sure that this thinking affects the Rapido staff as well.

Highly likely this is correct. Not sure why N scale is a mystery, it's basically the same cross section of modeler types across N as HO... runners, collectors, modelers, operators or any combination of.

[lock4244]

I don't care how esoteric the model is.  If the model is made well and operates well, it is more likely it will sell well enough for the manufacturer to not get hurt.  Maybe the barrel ore car is an exception.  But everything else they've done/announced would sell or would have sold just fine if the quality thresholds are/were met.  One reason being, regarding the freight equipment in particular — if the prototype operated in your era, you're inclined to buy at least one, because it is conceivable that at least one example of the prototype could wander into the region you model on any given day.  I have no problem buying one example of an esoteric model if it ran in my era.  The ATSF mechanical reefer is a perfect example.  I could justify one visiting New England with no issue, as much as I can justify any one of the numerous PFE reefers that have been released in N.  Just as I can justify any Canadian-built prototype with no issue.  The Prairie Shadows gondolas (tooled by Rapido ironically) are well crafted, and I have three of them counting the McGrattan tribute car.  I'd more than welcome a model of the Canadian slab side covered hopper, either variation, or both variations.  They actually did run on the New Haven regularly, but I'd buy at least one model regardless — if it was well made.

Quality is the most important attribute, even more so than the prototype chosen.

This is the reason I have a few Flexiflo 3500's. In fact, a good chunk of my car fleet was bought under this premise... the ESM X series boxcars I own for example. It seems anywhere potash was delivered in the 1970's the slab sides could be found. Have found pictures of them on branchlines all over Wisconsin and Iowa in that timeframe. Same could be said for the cylindrical cars in the 70's, 80's and 90's.

[mu26aeh]

Jeremy and 1 other person on staff are N scalers, but escapes my mind who it is.

[lock4244]

Quality is the most important attribute, even more so than the prototype chosen.

My feeling is there's a correlation between quality of past product and the success of future product. Once burned some will take a wait and see approach, check out the product after it's delivered to the LHS. I have to imagine one of the chief problems with the built to order model is the lack of trust, either with a new manufacturer or one with a history of missteps... especially when you're talking cars with a street price of $35-40.