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I was surprised to see James Wright, of the very, very popular youtube train review channel (mostly HO and N) reviewed a American Flyer RTR set as well as the new FlyerChief Baldwin.  James has some 45,000 subscribers.  I would venture to say that S Gauge Flyer just got the most mainstream attention with an audience likely in the dark on S Gauge that it ever has. Add in the fact that this set he is revieweing can be picked up on Amazon for around $175.00, and maybe we just brought a few more people into the S fold. 

And yet...reading through some of the comments on YouTube some people still find a reason to complain about the video. Just amazing. 

I have long thought it would be nice to see him review the Polar Express set on his channel for the exposure it would create. I still believe the FlyerChief PE set is superior to the O Gauge and HO Gauge PE sets being put out by Lionel.  

I have long harped on the lack of RTR sets and corresponding exposure they (or any S Gauge) sets gets in the main stream train media geared towards a newbie crowd.  This is the two birds with one stone scenario.  I have largely departed S, but I still love it. 

Anyway, I think this is fantastic exposure to S Gauge.  

Ben

https://youtu.be/ImS-X4QteTc

 

Last edited by NotInWI
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I posted a bit of information that James liked and pinned for people to see.  He's a nice guy with a passion for the hobby.

It's great to give S as much exposure as possible, but in reality his viewers are scale modelers. I doubt that many of them would be interested by the toy train set that he reviewed. S scale would have been more appropriate for the audience, but at least he took the time to introduce S to his viewers which of course he didn't have to do.

Johnathan - your right...but I would add..

I would guess a good number of his viewers, maybe up to half, don’t have much a train collection at all, or none at all.  I have watched James’ reviews for several years, and it always surprised me when reading the comments at how many people don’t have trains, but found the videos as a passing curiosity.  James has done starter sets of all gauges (now with S) and his starter set videos have more views and likes than most his videos on any one manufacturers specific model that an enthusiast would look for. 

Channels like JLWIII2000, Eric’s Trains, Da’bobs, and the steam channel (and others I’m sure) have a massive social media footprint.  As we lament the passing of the S Gaugian and other train rags going by the wayside, we should keep sight of where the information flow is to catch the new fish.  

Say that video of James FlyerChief set get 10k views over the year, it’s reasonable to think that Lionel will sell more of that set post that video, than before it.  S needs more of this free messaging, especially from well know train faces, even if that message is not worded exactly as our little community would like. 

Good on James.

Ben

I watched the video.  "An Introduction to FlyerChief S Gauge by Lionel" might be a more appropriate title.  An "Introduction to S Scale" is somewhat misleading, (particularly as the Flyer 0-6-0 is oversized) as we all know S is much more complicated than a starter set.

He did a good job showing off the set's components and operation, along with a separate sale Baldwin.  Couple of minor faux-pas, but nothing outrageous as he's working with something outside his wheelhouse.

Rusty

 

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