Lombardi Model video

Merci Lafondue! This video was very informative and it is nice to see that there are still families in Europe (and small companies) who are adamant about producing exquisite models in O and larger scales. What they do is in line with Fulgurex and perhaps even better. 

Do you have any information on the price of the models? Must be rather steep...

Yves

@ Yves...de rien!

comparing Fulgurex to Lombardi would be like comparing Bentley to Rolls-Royce. Fulgurex being more affordable.

The Lombardi Crocodile in the video now in production (2013 delivery) has a price of 8250 euros (about us$ 10300.-)

And yup it's nice that some countries still have artisan building great model and not outsourcing everything from Asia

• and here we thought there was a recession in Europe
• If we have modelers here willing to pay upwards of ten grand for a loco I suppose we could get manufacturing of such in the US.

I.  I've only met two people living in the US who I know have purchased models from Lombardi:

  -  The first is primarily a Gauge 1 collector who collects quality models [ Bockholt !! ], but who saw some Lombardi locos at a trade fair, was impressed with the quality, subsequently visited their workshop, and was even more impressed, so he bought some.

  -  The other person is a true 0 scaler who likes both American and European prototype.  As he works for a European company, he's compensated in Euros, which certainly helps his train budget !

  - I hope there are others, just UTR.

II.  Regarding manufacturing products of this quality in the US, it should be borne in mind that

   - Lombardi was and is very much a family business;  Roberto [ in the video ] learned his craft working with his father when they started building locomotives back around 1960.  [ Elettren of Italy is similar;  there, I think it has been three generations.]  Thus training the workforce, which has been very stable, is simplified, as is the learning curve.  Lombardi is a mature company.

   - There is of course more to the model industry than just making the models.  In the case of Lombardi, they really got into mass production [ in these relative quantites, of course;  50 - 100 units, say ] by being a contractor to Metropolitan and later Fulgurex, who marketed the models and thus built up a non-local clientele who appreciated them.  Elettren and Hermann [ going back ever further ] were the same way.

    The internet may have increased the ability to sell direct on a world wide basis -- but unless you have some product that's already "on the rails" you're still an unknown to most potential purchasers.  And trade shows are not inexpensive.

    So if a potential US model builder who can not only build models [ and all the same way, too ] is also well rounded enough to understand marketing, selling, cash flow, training, vendors, warranty, etc AND wants to make money and have health insurance for his wife and kids -- he is, in my opinion, probably smart enough to get a "real job" and keep the model building as a recreation. 

With best regards, SZ