MTH S Scale Catalog is posted

I know that the former SHS caboose is a complex car, but I am surprised by it's omission. Good start however. I wish them luck.

Mike Wolf said that a lot of cars were in sort of a kit form and that the tooling had to be modified for more economical assembely..

Looks like they decided not to bring out the 70ACE. Probably wise.

 

I wonder how long it will be before they do a newly tooled piece?

Is this compromising on quality and detail?

It sounded like it was just a different manufacturing process rather than less detail..

Most of the SHS freight cars came out of the molds as "flat kits."  Sides, ends roofs and underframes were separate pieces that needed to be assembled at the factory then decorated.  I suspect the molds were modified to reduce the assembly operations where possible.

 

Rusty

I think it's a good start. The F3 was a good choice for their first diesel to release, esp. the Santa Fe War Bonnet scheme Now if only we could have it in WP... It would be great to see some newly-tooled stuff but I'm, guessing they'll wait to see how well they're supported (or not) by the S Scale community before they invest in new tooling. Being an American Flyer fan, it was good to see all the repro Flyer accessories too.

 

Cheers,

Ken

I will be getting a few of the billboard reefers.  The F3's are nice, but I will need them in C&NW or Milwaukee road to bite.  I like the DM&IR ore cars, but it 330 bucks for the 6 car set.  I look forward to seeing what MTH will do with S in the future.

 

Ben 

The real dissappointment to me was the cost of scale wheels.  But having said that, I think NWSL wheels are cheaper and you can order wheels with finer specs.  I do look forward to the modern cars MTH can produce in S.  Time will tell on price point. 

 

Greg

I won't be convinced that MTH is in it for the long haul until they invest in some new products. Why get excited over the same products that have been available for 15 or 20 years? They have to start somewhere... I get that. Call me when they add some new turnouts to the track system or have some newly tooled locos or rolling stock.

 

I've been burnt by MTH in the past with their 2-rail O offerings. So has the large scale community. I'll believe it when I see it.

MTH had that same hurdle to get over in HO.  They have a big selection of HO engines and cars now.  They started slow in 2008 IIRC, so I’m willing to give them some time in S.  I talked to Mike Wolfe in 2005 about S so progress is slow but moving forward.  MTH 2 rail O scale is so much better now than when they offered it in the late 1990’s also.

booo hiss booo!! No steam engines!!

I agree with joseywales. Mike, you should of had at least one maybe two different steam engines. A B6 switcher and a K4 would of been great. Also, some colorful tank cars and flats with trailers would of put a red ribbon on your first "S" Gauge catalog. Great start, but don't be afraid to venture into deeper waters.

In the real world, it takes time to develop a product line, and to modify the existing

SHS tooling. Flyer did not have diesels until two years after Lionel, and did not have

a fully competitive train line until 1953.

 

Herb Wasserman

 

 

More than likely, when MTH does it's first steam locomotive, it will be a re-release the former SHS 2-8-0.

 

 

Assuming the electronics will fit in the tender.

 

Rusty

Some of you folks would moan and groan no matter what these guys offered in their catalogs.  If you stop to think about it for a minute, you're actually darn lucky that these firms are even investing in S gauge given the small size of that niche.

 

Truth is, if they (Lionel and MTH in particular) don't see some support coming from the ranks of S gaugers, you're apt to find yourselves back where you were not too many years ago.

 

I see S as pretty near an ideal scale size for model railroading, and if I was starting over (way too late for that now) or adding another scale to my current interests, it most likely would be S.  So don't take this post as a bash.  However, I do know that if I was in the manufacturing end of things and read some of this stuff, I would be seriously thinking about just how involved I might want to become.

Ouch!  Stop beating around the bush and tell us what you really think, Allan.

(Of course, we know it's all bunnies and puppies with the new catalogs over on the O Gauge side...)

 

Actually, you make a very valid point.  There's been a fair amount of carping going on over on the Yahoo S Scale board also.  And a point my evil twin over there tried to make is, if Lionel and MTH were to pull out of S, that doesn't mean they'd sell off the the tooling to another party.  After all, when was the last time you saw Lionel or MTH sell off unused assets?

 

I'll admit to being a little disappointed in the new Flyer catalog.  It was part of the "expectations" thing I mentioned in another thread.  I'm guessing the NS Heritage locos sucked up all the resources in order to strike while the iron is hot.  Obviously, the UP Heritage iron has cooled. 

 

MTH S is just about what I expected it would be for a reboot.

 

Rusty

Truthfully, I wish Lionel would get out of the American Flyer business all together. Either sell or lease all the American Flyer tooling to MTH. I believe, if anybody can put Flyer back on the map, it would be Mike Wolf. He is already off to a good start with his new catalog.

Challengers, U33c, mikados, Pacifics, SD70s, that kind of big boy, the up coming ES4400. It seems to me Lionel has been doing a better job then anyone in S right now. I foresee looking to Lionel for engines and others for the majority of my rolling stock needs (des plains, MTH). Ben

Ain't gonna happen.  When was the last time you saw Lionel selling off tooling?  I seriously doubt Lionel would cut a deal with MTH like the tin plate arrangement to produce Flyer.

 

There's also been a fair amount of carping about the MTH S catalog, particularly from the scale side.

 

Lionel's actually done a fairly decent job with Flyer recently.  The 2013 Flyer catalog may be a snoozer to some,(like me) as it seems the NS heritage has taken the priority.

 

I may be disappointed, but I haven't given up hope with Flyer.

 

Rusty

Seconded.  I've found myself really loving the looks of a lot of S stuff recently.  I fear that if I ever get to experience a nice S layout in person, it might be all over for me and my wallet.  Certainly some attractive items in both the new Lionel/MTH S catalogs.

 

I've picked up a few Lionel Flyer cars this year and easily switched out the trucks to O.  And while I realize that's nearly sacrilegious, it certainly speaks to how nice a lot of these new offerings are that I'd be willing to buy a $60 piece of stock PLUS a $20 set of O trucks just to have the item on my layout!

LOL!  I get a kick out of way too late to change comments.  Nothing against you Alan but before I settled into S I had a fair sized collection of Lionel O27, then O 2-rail scale and even HO.  I found willing buyers for what I wanted to part with and used that to fund my S scale wants/needs/addiction or what ever.  I still have a lot of my Lionel, and O scale stuff.  I found if I'm visiting local layouts it's nice to have something to run and share.  I'm even doing DCC in HO since I have become a regular operator on a couple layouts locally.  Can one have too many trains in life?   I guess a diverse group of modelers in any given area helps. 

 

Greg

Good Day,

 

I'd sure like to see MTH offer the Frisco, C&O and Erie F7's.

 

Regards,

Swafford

 

 

I suspect that we would all agree that quality is essential, but for me, with limited financial resources, cost is also a crucial element.  (Hence my  appreciation of American Models--quality plus economy.)

Mark

 

Well said Brian Olson.

 

Swafford: A big YES on the Frisco F7's.  That could possibly get me to break out my wallet to spend on a hobby I'm not currently active in!!!

 

EDIT:  Okay... took a moment to look through the catalog. Very nice to see SHS-quality PRODUCT headed toward S scale again. It's been a long time. 

 

As I mentioned above, I would be tempted to purchase Frisco F7's if offered... however (slight moan here)... always thought the SHS F's a bit "odd" looking in the windows. (Too tall.)  I have an undec AB set of SHS F3's and this has been a puzzle to me.  IMHO, the AM's FP7 has better looking windows than the much higher priced SHS/MTH F's.

 

In all, I think we S scaler's are very FORTUNATE to have someone with the financial clout of MTH pick up the SHS line that was, well, "languishing", after the Kader Kaper.  Even though we will miss Don's personal touch... at least the product line will live on and hopefully be added-to in the coming years.

 

Andre