Posted By up9018 on 12/25/2008 11:23 AM
Is it just me or do the folks at 1:20.me seem to becoming serious Bachmann bashers! There has been a lot of complaining about the release and delivery of the 2-6-6-2 Mallet. Let me tell you, my company deals directly with China, as well as several of our contractors. This has been a VERY VERY bad year to get anything out of that country, especially getting it right and on time. You get one or the other, and sometimes niether. They basically quit doing anything for 3 months this past sping/summer trying to clean up and put on the olympics. Our company, much like Bachmann will miss premiers of new products this new year, and that can be contributed DIRECTLY to China. It has gotten so bad, we as well as one of our suppliers are pulling things back to the states, and paying more just so we can get them.
So let's lay off the boys at Bachmann for a while, maybe they're not under total control of thier problems either. I like Bachmann, they're coming out with alot of new products, and they are affordable. And I for one would wait a bit longer to get one that is correct, than to hurry up and get one that I have to send back.
You make some really good points...regarding China "shutting down for the Olympics". I can't imagine how frustrating that must be for the manufactures...it's THEIR good will on the line..and yes, perhaps some are being overly critical.
But, we're learning about the two edge sword of marketing. Three or four years ago, none of the manufacturers it seemed would make product announcements. New items would just "appear". A lot of us complained...me being one. I wanted to know what to save for. The days of the $20 car on ebay satisfying me were over it seemed. Engines were now well over $200...street price too...so saving in advance became more important. The 1/20.3 crowd was moving from bashing stuff into that scale to buying it.
And the manufacturers responded...especially Bachmann. They started making product announcements WITH release dates...and then they started missing the release dates...big time. Then we had the whole Super Socket fiasco...on perhaps the single most important 1/20.3 engine ever released in plastic...the K-27....and that design "feature" probably kept people from buying it...initially. Certainly the quartering issue delayed me buying my K-27. I needed to know if there was a fix for that as it would be a huge investment for me...and a fix that stayed fixed.
Clearly, throughout the entire K-27 debate, 1:20.me grew in stature as one place where it seemed that reporting was "on da money". We certainly weren't seeing anything from the forums that could be considered accurate...certainily NOT from my potenital buyer perspective. There was one magazine article I read about the K-27 that Dave Goodson wrote...and its accucracy became the topic of a HUGE flap...and apparently had some consequences inside Kalmbach. That was very unfortunate IMHO....because it put the "openness" of the manufacturer in question..again...not to mention the objectivity of the model railroad press.
Regarding the new Mallet...if many are like me, they're looking for factual input on the loco. Here we are...considering an over $1000 MSRP engine again. So far we have two facts...something about a crankpin weakness and it's late. That may sound like bashing, but it seems more like factual reporting to me. Soon a few folks will get these engines in their hands, and we'll see more facts reported...and if there are problems MAYBE the springtime delivery is good...as it will allow Bachman to fix the issues before the engines REALLY gets on the market. Heck...maybe it's late BECAUSE they've found and fixed a problem BEFORE it was release en mass.
I really think that we're beginning to see the manufacturers be more open regarding flaws, fixes, and schedules...and that is GOOD...immensely good in my opinion. I just don't think that when those are reported it should always be considered bashing. My dad taught me that sometimes it's good to just step back...and see how well the pig can sing...and, I'll add...and be reported on from different perspectives...and it's always news when the pig doesn't arrive to sing.