(10/21/19) New Coal Hoppers from Menards!

Nice looking coal hoppers. Will you be selling the coal loads for these hoppers separately?

Menards always seems to miss the mark with graphics in my opinion. Why not look at a picture of a real car and try to apply graphics to make the cars look similar to real cars? Sorry, the Tyco colors and lettering always kills it for me.

For 19.99 you  can't  please everyone ..

Some people you can't please at all.

cabinet Bob posted:

For 19.99 you  can't  please everyone ..

 

It costs just as much to do it right as do it wrong.

Rusty

Rusty Traque posted:

cabinet Bob posted:

For 19.99 you  can't  please everyone ..

 

It costs just as much to do it right as do it wrong.

Rusty

Wonder if menards have a has any without road name?If they do rusty you can buy a few and detail it any way you want.Problem solved!!

I just can't understand the fantasy paint schemes Menards comes up with..

I seen these at my Menards late last week. I didn't say anything because I knew they hadn't announced them here at that time, and I didn't want to spoil the announcement by Mark.

I've often wondered the reason the paint and graphics don't look exactly like the prototype or something that's been produced before is because of licencing and copyright issues. Possibly they have to be altered in some way?

I plan on buying a few of these, they may not be correct to everyone, but I like them. The older I get, I just don't care if it's prototypical or not, and for the price, they are what they are, and that's fine with me.

Rusty

A black single dome tank car will please me. 

Well said Rusty !

Rusty Traque posted:

cabinet Bob posted:

For 19.99 you  can't  please everyone ..

 

It costs just as much to do it right as do it wrong.

Rusty

It's only "wrong" if they were trying to make a prototypically correct model; and, I don't think that Menard's has claimed that as their goal.

Why not ask Mark to produce a couple of prototypically accurate models along with their free-lance offerings?

Hey at $19.99, I am happy all the way to the bank!

There has to be an ILLINOIS CENTRAL GULF Four-bay coal hopper produced that has a black body with orange and white graphics.

Andrew

I think the Conrail one is cool!

Sam Jumper posted:

Menards always seems to miss the mark with graphics in my opinion. Why not look at a picture of a real car and try to apply graphics to make the cars look similar to real cars? Sorry, the Tyco colors and lettering always kills it for me.

Agreed! 

I think Menards has a nice mix of offering both prototypical paint and some that use artistic license to create some nice looking but more toy train type cars.  The Conrail blue hopper is actually, as some have stated, reminiscent of a Tyco HO train car of my youth.   Not a thing wrong with that!   That is the car I will buy actually.  The bulk of Menards train market is during Christmas.  Christmas is a time of relaxing a bit, and having fun with colorful toy trains.   The less realistic schemes will not run in my prototypical consists but it will run on the Christmas floor layout with other less prototypical trains.  I do hope Menards will offer the same Conrail hopper in boxcar red with white logos, and I bet they will.  I also hope they make a green with white graphics and a black with white graphics Penn Central hopper.  

I shop at the local Menards regularly.  I notice that the rolling stock inventory sells out. The shelf is full one day and whiped out the next. I see shoppers placing 3 or more cars at a time in their shopping cart.  At $20 a car it is easy for people to place a few cars in their cart.  

wild mary posted:

I just can't understand the fantasy paint schemes Menards comes up with..

Seems to go hand in hand with what Lionel has been doing lately. Seems fit

Earnest question- has the issue with the hoppers been resolved so they turn freely?

 I haven’t been following the Menard’s stuff recently, but I had issues with the earlier Morton’s salt offerings.  I wouldn’t mind getting a Reading and  Northern example, but I don’t need anymore projects.

jhz563 posted:

Earnest question- has the issue with the hoppers been resolved so they turn freely?

 I haven’t been following the Menard’s stuff recently, but I had issues with the earlier Morton’s salt offerings.  I wouldn’t mind getting a Reading and  Northern example, but I don’t need anymore projects.

I have run all the new hoppers on smaller  curves and have Not had any problems.

Menards posted:

Check out our newest coal hoppers! Shop Now>

Dimensions: 12”L x 2-3/8”W x 3-3/8”H (measured coupler to coupler)

Also available in an assorted 6-piece dealer pack with 1 of each hopper!


Thank you,
Mark the Menards Train Guy

 

Any chance in releasing the Morton salt hoppers 

I agree with Rusty....let the big two cater to the fantasy market (if it exists?), AND do some with western roads.  Does that await a Menard's in Vegas and Santa Barbara? The B&O one looks like one that might actually model the prototype, but l am no authority on that road.  Menard's has done some neat stuff but the kiddies who go for the bright colors are on their phones, and not as interested in trains as we all wish.  So?  Of course, if it is supply following demand, we are outvoted.

Pingman posted:

Rusty Traque posted:

cabinet Bob posted:

For 19.99 you  can't  please everyone ..

 

It costs just as much to do it right as do it wrong.

Rusty

It's only "wrong" if they were trying to make a prototypically correct model; and, I don't think that Menard's has claimed that as their goal.

Why not ask Mark to produce a couple of prototypically accurate models along with their free-lance offerings?

I have no issue with prototypical paint schemes being adapted to models the prototype didn't have.  Case in point.  While it's S Scale, it illustrates my viewpoint:

The manufacturer (American Models) doesn't catalog E7's and isn't likely to.  While the MKT did consider their E8's as back-up power for the Texas Special, they didn't have the fluting along the side, the Frisco logo nor Texas Special branding.  But, the paint execution is otherwise 99% correct as used on the E7's, even the numbers are correct for those E8's considered as the back-up power.  And even though the passenger cars look suspiciously like NYC Empire State Express cars, they too are painted correctly for the Texas Special.  If they were painted in some new-agish loop-de-loop paint interpretation, I wouldn't have bought the set.

I would have bought the set even if AM has used their FP7's...

Now, I don't even mind most of the Texas Special variants O gauge manufactures have placed various types of locomotive as long as they follow the way MKT units were painted.  (The K-Line O27 Alco T/S set was particularly attractive IMO.)

Even during the MPC days, Lionel endeavored to get most of the paint schemes used somewhat accurately.

Forum member Frank Swafford's been asking Menards for new prototypes for years, you can see how far he's gotten...

Rusty

Jason gartner posted:

wild mary posted:

I just can't understand the fantasy paint schemes Menards comes up with..

Seems to go hand in hand with what Lionel has been doing lately. Seems fit

I don't think that anything Lionel has reproduced of late looks anything like these.

Even though some of the hoppers are fantasy schemes they look great. Fantasy schemes sell that is why all mfgs make them. I looked at the Lionel 49er scheme on the challenger at York and it was not as bad as I first thought. Not my cup of tea but it was the second best seller behind 3985.

if you don't like them, don't buy them, simple. Please stop whining about them, it gets old. 

Dave

Sam Jumper posted:

Menards always seems to miss the mark with graphics in my opinion. Why not look at a picture of a real car and try to apply graphics to make the cars look similar to real cars? Sorry, the Tyco colors and lettering always kills it for me.

I LOVE Menards stuff, but in some respects, agree... The Conrail blue here & their Penn Central Green, in particular, are both too light.  (Is the "B&O" typeface correct?  It looks off to me.. & too big.)  How much extra effort would it have cost for them to take note of the correct colors & move closer to them?

RadioRon posted:

Jason gartner posted:

wild mary posted:

I just can't understand the fantasy paint schemes Menards comes up with..

Seems to go hand in hand with what Lionel has been doing lately. Seems fit

I don't think that anything Lionel has reproduced of late looks anything like these.

Really!!!??? How about all the southern pacific fake orange cab forward and ac12??? Or the the blue em-1. Or the challenger that’s  six different colors that was on the wall at York.  Gotta be kidding me, all the manufacturers are doing it!! Menards does a few cars that are wrong colors and it’s end of world. Obviously the other manufactures thought it was a great idea too.

LOL, Menards has a off color $20 boxcar and folks are in a panic, they need to stick with $90 Atlas so they can sleep better at night.

No one knows for sure ( except Menards ) if the graphics are even originated by Menards. Just could be that the Chinese manufacture is originating the graphics.

Bill T posted:

Menards has a off color $20 boxcar and folks are in a panic, they need to stick with $90 Atlas so they can sleep better at night.

I don't think anyone is "in a panic."   Why, however, does Menards go to the detail of putting individual road numbers on each car when they can't match basic paint colors first?

RadioRon posted:

Bill T posted:

Menards has a off color $20 boxcar and folks are in a panic, they need to stick with $90 Atlas so they can sleep better at night.

I don't think anyone is "in a panic."   Why, however, does Menards go to the detail of putting individual road numbers on each car when they can't match basic paint colors first?

I doubt that Menards has a research team that is examining prototypical ancient photos to produce an era accurate paint scheme. 

Bill T posted:

RadioRon posted:

Bill T posted:

Menards has a off color $20 boxcar and folks are in a panic, they need to stick with $90 Atlas so they can sleep better at night.

I don't think anyone is "in a panic."   Why, however, does Menards go to the detail of putting individual road numbers on each car when they can't match basic paint colors first?

I doubt that Menards has a research team that is examining prototypical ancient photos to produce an era accurate paint scheme. 

Yea I mean other manufacturers have that team and still screw it up so who cares lol

Bill T posted:

RadioRon posted:

Bill T posted:

Menards has a off color $20 boxcar and folks are in a panic, they need to stick with $90 Atlas so they can sleep better at night.

I don't think anyone is "in a panic."   Why, however, does Menards go to the detail of putting individual road numbers on each car when they can't match basic paint colors first?

I doubt that Menards has a research team that is examining prototypical ancient photos to produce an era accurate paint scheme. 

Well, I recall someone saying things about something called the Google.  I hear tell it can find a photo or two occasionally...

Rusty