Release of K-27

[Kzurek]

When will the K-27 be released again.

[petertoot]

1 will be in that at least 2 thanks

[Bucksco]

No plans to do so at this time.

[petertoot]

Well it would be nice to see some loco wise in 1.20,but what?

[armorsmith]

It has be relayed to me that with the passing of Lee Riley, the 1:20.3 champion in the board room, so has passed the 1:20.3 Spectrum product line. This is NOT a statement directly from Bachmann, but so far has very closely paralleled any responses from Bachmann about 1:20.3 future product.

From a business standpoint, I can understand their point of view. The 1:20.3 line of product is a niche market of a niche market. Model railroading as a whole is a shrinking market, especially in the scale model builder market for vendors. Large scale is a niche market of model railroading in the first place, overshadowed by HO and N scales. The 1:20.3 marked is heavily overshadowed by the 1:29 crowd making 1:20.3 a niche marked of a niche market. From the board room, folks are looking at bottom line, not necessarily the wants and desires of a smaller group of buyers. Combine that with the fact that we as the buyers complain about the high cost of our niche market products, not wanting to pay the cost of the company recovering it's investment to produce a, for a specific product, short run. The shorter the product run, the higher the per piece price .... simple economics.

Personally, I believe the 1:20.3 market is going to regress to the scratch builder / basher, taking what is available in old stock and available parts and make what it is you desire. This may be the case for large scale as a whole, not just 1:20.3, due to the very soft market for hobby products. The cost effective availability of 3D printers and 3D printing services like Shapeways, and free or very inexpensive software like Sketchup have very significantly changed the landscape for the remaining manufacturers in large scale.

Along these lines, I would suggest that Bachmann Industries offer the most common needed spare parts, and keep them in stock. Bahcmann has re-introduces the popular ex-Aristo Craft Egg Liners. Their motor blocks will sell well as replacements for existing product in the field and for folks looking for a motor block for a unique build of their own. Having spent 40+ years in the mechanical design field, I understand that not every design is a winner out of the box. A second suggestion to Bachmann is, when a design flaw is brought to your attention by customers, it would be wise to either a) quickly find a long term fix for the issue, or b) maintain stock of parts to repair the issue. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but available parts to keep my equipment running would go a long way to keeping my loyalty.

My largest complaint with all the manufacturers is their unwillingness to tell the truth to the customers. Short quips like above from Bachmann Industries, to me, is far more damaging to customer loyalty than stating the real truth. Yes, the quip is truth, but leaves a tremendous amount to be desired and can be interpreted in many ways. Some good, some not so good. I believe it would be better if Bachmann chose to direct that interpretation.

[petertoot]

Yes I agree fully with that getting some parts in large scale is,,sold out,getting sick of that,try to work around it or the credit card from other makers of k27,C19,but never give up,anyone got a k27 for sale???cheers peter

[edmc]

Peter, you really looking for a K-27..? email me, [email protected]  Ed.

[tac]

Me, I'm sitting in my little backyard here in rural Cambridgeshire UK, watching three Shays [a three- and two, two-trucks] a Climax and a Heisler, trundling around my little railroad with their loads of home-built skeleton log cars, and just being grateful that Bachmann had the guts to bring them out in the fust place.  In their time, and probably even today, the three-truck Shay was THE most complex large-scale model ever mass-produced.

My Connie is currently 'resting' on a spur.........

I'm still amazed and delighted that these wonderful models ever happened at all, but like many others, live in fear and trepidation when it comes to replacing parts of any kind.  I've never had any help at all from here in UK,and get ignored when contacting Bachmann in the US of A, so what are we to do?

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

[Hunt]

. . ., so what are we to do?

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

Have an alternate plan well thought out ready to implement.   

[tac]

I have to say that that is a pretty useless comment. 

tac

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Hi All,

I have been thinking about all that has been said above, and it  comes to m ind that Bachmann is at least making some effort to provide parts, which can not be said for many other manufacturers.  I will not go into detail about specific companies because of the forum policy about not bashing other companies.  I do have two locomotives in need of parts from a manufacturer no longer in business and I will have to use one of them to fix the other unless I can find a parts locomotive that has what I need.

I also wonder just how long a manufacturer should provide parts support for a specific product.  In Bachmann's case we are able to get parts for some locomotives that are as much as 25 years old, but not for other short runs or that were not the best sellers.  Once a product is discontinued, and the parts supply is exhausted, what are the expectations??   Should the manufacturer make more parts at a loss and go out of business??  What is a reasonable time frame for parts availability??   I use a computer program that is no longer supported with updates after only 3 years. that company wants me to buy the new replacement program and toss the old one out.  I have other products which have failed where the manufacturer provides no parts at all.  People gripe even when a manufacturer provides a sub assembly when only one small part of it is needed to make a repair.   Then there are the problems with auto parts, many auto manufacturers support parts inventories for only 15 years.  With our trains it seems we want complete availability of all parts forever even though we are in a hobby where demand is often limited, production runs are low and profit margins are slim.   We wonder why our model train Large scale Manufacturers do not make  new locomotives for us when sales for previous locomotives are low due to the limited market demand.   What other manufacturers in Large Scale have produced a complex steam locomotive recently??  Some have been made, but the detail level is often poor to virtually non existent.  

I say all this, but have no real answers to many of the questions, and I do not walk in the shoes of a manufacturer, except to say that they must make a profit, or we will not get any product at all.   I can say that Bachmann is the only manufacturer which has a limited lifetime warranty.  I don't know how they do it!! Even then when the parts are no longer available, there is not much they can do which is why it is limited.

Like everyone if I have a problem with a 20 year old product which involves some small part, I would love to be able to get the part at a low cost with free shipping to boot.   Reality says this will not happen!!

The idea of having an alternate plan is not unreasonable.   I try to buy parts locomotives and  rolling stock, in order to make repairs by cannibalizing parts to keep others going.  I have definitely had to do this for products I have where the manufacturer has gone out of business.  In the case of broken parts, it is often possible to repair them yourself, or by asking for help at a local RR club.  Swap meets are a great source for broken down locomotives useful for parts.  While the above is not a perfect solution, I am constantly on the lookout for parts locomotives which are duplicates of the ones I own.  

Bashing Yardmaster for being "honest" in saying there are no plans to produce more K-27's seems to me to be a little hypocritical.  What can they say??   Maybe someday we will make more?? You can bet if the market was there and a profit possible, they would definitely make more of them.  

On a final note, there is always the possibility of changing scales to one of the more popular ones, where considerable new product is much more available.

Just a bunch of my thoughts, and no offense to anyone.

Bill

[Kevin Strong]

Changing scales to one of the other large scales, or changing scales to the smaller (indoor) scales?

There's not a lot of "new" stuff in any of the large scale scales right now. Piko and LGB are probably the closest to having new stuff (not just repaints), but LGB's stuff is mostly European. Aristo's gone. USA's not released anything "new" in a little while. Accucraft's got some new stuff, or at least stuff I haven't seen before, but their locos aren't mass-produced. The market's still very soft. Folks are placating themselves in the 2nd-hand market, which is actually pretty well-stocked. There's little I can't find for sale with a little bit of patience.

Later,

K

[Ken Clark]

  For what it is worth, my LHS has a K-27, 2  3 truck SHAYS and a LGB Sumpter Valley 2-6-6-2 (All used) for sale
   (Goggle Trains and Such.ca ) shop is located in Calgary Alberta.

       Ken C
        GWN

[grsman]

There is a K27 on ebay right now.
Tom

[OldNoob]

There is definitely a reemergence of growing interest in G scale trains in the US. In fact, I bet, if Bachmann made just one TV commercial featuring large scale, it would be very profitable for them.