Comparing model railroading to other hobbies and questions raised

I can't speak to a comparison with transformers. I can say that Model Railroading while popular, it is not big as you might imagine. Within this relatively small hobby HO and N gauge are the most popular. 3 rail O gauge has seen a resurgence because of the baby boomers. And, I dare say, there are more offerings today in 3 rail than ever. This has also had an impact on 2 rail. However, O gauge is still a very small segment of the hobby.

When you see statements on this forum about what some would like to see, you have to realize that the forum only comprises an even smaller group of modelers, who may or may not represent the opinion of the majority of O gauge hobbiests, and this does not necessarily translate to a huge number of sales of a proposed item.

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I see a lot of things like "what do you hope to see in this years catalog?" While I'm confused why companies haven't started investing in this hobby and trying to sell what is being demanded.

Certainly there is nothing wrong with posting about things you'd like to see made. But a few posts asking for a certain piece to me made doesn't mean it will sell well enough for a company to produce the item and make a profit. The companies have folks who project demand and determine what should be made.

Do the companies look at these boards and read the letters their customers send? ---I am sure they do.

 There are "Transformers" threads within the last year. Time to learn to use the advanced search in the blue bar above!

 There are plenty of aftermarket, and professional/custom builders for hire.

There are companies that compete. even little guys.

There are kits, though most are rolling stock..

Detailing parts to model more prototypically.

Fantasy schemes.

Kitbashing- Conversion kits for changing one loco into another.

Write a wish, and an OGRF guardian angel may answer "it's over here". 

Much like model boat building, we may be down, but not out.

Command alone has rekindled some interest.

Look at "war-gaming". Classic war diorama building, just twisted for today's crowd.

 For much the same reasons, history, popularity, relevance, action,..  I don't think model RR-ing will be "gone" for many many years

Dennis,

You're so right. Through all of this you have the trains that started it all, tinplate trains. Without tinplate trains there would not be toy trains as we know them today. Fast forward a few years, there is the postwar era. In this era many of the sci-fi creatures came to be. This might be the era he's looking for.

Several things to consider:

New tooling is expensive and the manufacturers have to consider what their return on investment going to be. 

Not every new model sells well.

This forum represents only a portion of the O gauge market.  There's at least six O Gaugers that hang out regularly at the LHS I loiter at.  None of them are on the forum.  (And I'm only a peripheral O Gauger.)  So, unscientifically, that's 6-1 not participating in the "what I'd like to see" treads.  The real odds are probably even larger.

Rusty

I believe you see allot of "wish they would make threads" is because there are allot people in this scale/gauge that enjoy the plug and play opportunities the manufactures have given us.

Some don't even operate or run their trains. Others run the wheels off them.

The common denominator is we have been given the opportunity to collect and run quality scale like equipment with digital sounds w/o having to scratch build it...

And what is nice is the Manufactures sometimes listen.

Collected Transformers for twenty years, had just over 6000 at the height... pictures of about half my collection are here, still have a ways to go photographing.  Started getting out of the TF hobby in 2009-2010, as I was getting older and losing interest, plus really disliked the often juvenile, complain-y fandom.  Have kept everything G1 84-86, Masterpiece, Binaltech/Alternators, and Alternity.  Now I'm focused on O gauge and Hot Toys products.

To your point, there are companies making fully transformable figures that rival anything Hasbro/TakaraTomy has made, and the fans eat them up.  The economies of scale are dramatically different, though. I think it would be tough to be profitable in O gauge with the limited market already well-covered by the big brands.

Heck, there's not even a readily available supply of KO/reproduction PW Lionel shells (F units, Geeps) on the secondary market, which is telling... if there's not even enough demand to be profitable producing a simple plastic shell with a horn on it (I'd buy dozens, personally), I can't see third parties getting engaged in more expensive and risky products in O gauge.

I am with Dennis B above.  But note - O Scale and O 3-rail now have more products available at lower prices than at any time in the past (adjusted for inflation, please).  Not bad for such a slim market.  I believe that a lot of production, especially in 2-rail, has been because the producer was/is in it as a hobby, and produced what he/she wanted whether or not the market research was done.

If your hobby is 1/4" scale model railroading, you are now in an enviable position.  Take a look at what you could buy 40 years ago - you were lucky if you could afford a 3-rail Hudson, let alone a string of beautifully painted 21" passenger cars.

Well I think there has been and are many specialty makers That have come and gone.

let me start off with a quick list of what I have seen at my LHS over the years.

Kusan/AmT/kmt/franks/william/menards

Samhongsa/CT/MTH

intermountain/toystate/kline

redcaboose

hudson products

allnation/GMC/bowser/yoder/ECS/ellis klie/IMW/Walthers/MLM/RYmodels/scale craft/SSSmodels (and a lot more 2rail converted to 3rail) like that company doing Sd40 and GP38s cant think now.

MTSI/Taylor/RMT

ROW(QSI multi train control)/Pheonix(remember this)/3rdrail/GGD/OMI/FAM

Rivarossi/AHM

Indutrialrail/AtlasO

williams/bachmann

Weaver/crown

yes there are companies like your specialty transformer makers and they will be out of business in 10years Or less.

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Heck, there's not even a readily available supply of KO/reproduction PW Lionel shells (F units, Geeps) on the secondary market, which is telling... if there's not even enough demand to be profitable producing a simple plastic shell with a horn on it (I'd buy dozens, personally), I can't see third parties getting engaged in more expensive and risky products in O gauge.

At one time during the Modern era, Lionel was fairly loose with selling unpainted F3 shells. To a lesser extent FM and EP-5 electric shells were available too. Someone had a business going painting them in postwar reproduction paint schemes. I think it was Trainland that advertised the painted shells in their magazine ads.
Just something to know if you are purchasing a postwar engine.

Here is a thread on the subject.