I would be interested in knowing if anyone out there in the HO community has or does plan to purchase any of the new releases from Exactrail's recent announcement.
Having been very vocal about their decision to go direct in a few discussions with Blaine Hatfield, I'm finding it very interesting to notice Exactrail's namesake 'presence' has nearly vanished from discussion in my local circles and hobby shops.
"It's as though they[Exactrail] never existed", commented on of my fellow modelers at a recent event.
Well, with Exactrail finally announcing their first truely NEW product(s) since the decision to go Direct Marketing, I'm curious if anyone is willing to pay the 'pre-order' advertised price of $46.95 for the Thrall 'Opera Window' Centerbeam Flat Car, which is now available.
While this car is unique in its design and it may appeal to modelers in the 70's era, I'm not so sure this was a car to launch as the first available directly from Exactrail.
I swallowed very hard and cringed a little when Atlas announced the price for the MasterSeries 73' Gunderson Center Partition car, of which the second run was greatly improved in terms of quality.
Even as pricey as the Atlas offering is, I was still willing to buy several, as the car appealed to my own tastes, and fitted into the modern era that I model.
With the Exactrail offering, I was hoping(and expecting) for something a little more universally popular but not previously done.
No particular model comes to mind at this moment but we all have our favorites and you know what I mean.
The Opera Window Thrall car just seems a little odd of a choice and is a rather obscure choice IMHO.
It has been done before - in a kit form by McKean Models.(it was never a very good kit)
With all of the desired freight cars that have never been offered, I guess I was expecting a 'blockbuster' - something to get people to re-consider buying direct from Exactrail. This isn't it.
I don't care much about the fact that the center partition is made of brass or that the individual ratchet castings are all separate parts - $60 MSRP and a 46.95 Pre-order price does not impress me enough to want to buy one.
Of course, all of this is just based on my own observations and I just would like to hear from anyone else out there that may have a different slant on the new offering.
Having been very vocal about their decision to go direct in a few discussions with Blaine Hatfield, I'm finding it very interesting to notice Exactrail's namesake 'presence' has nearly vanished from discussion in my local circles and hobby shops.
"It's as though they[Exactrail] never existed", commented on of my fellow modelers at a recent event.
Well, with Exactrail finally announcing their first truely NEW product(s) since the decision to go Direct Marketing, I'm curious if anyone is willing to pay the 'pre-order' advertised price of $46.95 for the Thrall 'Opera Window' Centerbeam Flat Car, which is now available.
While this car is unique in its design and it may appeal to modelers in the 70's era, I'm not so sure this was a car to launch as the first available directly from Exactrail.
I swallowed very hard and cringed a little when Atlas announced the price for the MasterSeries 73' Gunderson Center Partition car, of which the second run was greatly improved in terms of quality.
Even as pricey as the Atlas offering is, I was still willing to buy several, as the car appealed to my own tastes, and fitted into the modern era that I model.
With the Exactrail offering, I was hoping(and expecting) for something a little more universally popular but not previously done.
No particular model comes to mind at this moment but we all have our favorites and you know what I mean.
The Opera Window Thrall car just seems a little odd of a choice and is a rather obscure choice IMHO.
It has been done before - in a kit form by McKean Models.(it was never a very good kit)
With all of the desired freight cars that have never been offered, I guess I was expecting a 'blockbuster' - something to get people to re-consider buying direct from Exactrail. This isn't it.
I don't care much about the fact that the center partition is made of brass or that the individual ratchet castings are all separate parts - $60 MSRP and a 46.95 Pre-order price does not impress me enough to want to buy one.
Of course, all of this is just based on my own observations and I just would like to hear from anyone else out there that may have a different slant on the new offering.
I like to see and feel the model in my hands first before buying it and testing it with the engine(s) that I plan to run it with...
