Atso-Cad Models Announcement

Started by Stevie DC, January 11, 2019, 02:33:13 PM

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EtchedPixels

If you walk around an O gauge event or look at the car park it attracts a certain part of the 1%. There are lots of O gauge modellers who are not ! but it does mean there are people who will buy a £1000 kit on the spur of the moment, and pay someone to assemble it and spray it etc.

Also O is cheaper in some ways: most O gauge modellers don't own very much stock for obvious practical reasons. That may also be why the kit market works better. Building a kit is fun, building 35 identical wagon kits gets to be a chore.

Alan
"Knowledge has no value or use for the solitary owner: to be enjoyed it must be communicated" -- Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden

Jim Martin

Steve

This is a great shame; but given what you've said about the sales and margins involved in the business, you should be admired for persevering as long as you have. Even though my own modelling is based very much in the diesel age, your topic was one of the ones that I always checked because you were always doing interesting things. I hope that at some point you'll be doing interesting things again and writing about them. Until then, the best of luck to you.

Jim
Believe me. These things always have a logical explanation usually

Stevie DC

Thank you all for you continuing messages of support.

As has been posted elsewhere on this forum, Shapeways has sent the following email regarding the new pricing.

QuoteDear Shop Owner,

After reviewing some members' pricing comparison csv reports, we have determined that we have a flaw with how our new algorithm is calculating the price of certain types of models using Fine Detail Plastic (FUD).

We will be extending grandfathered pricing for all existing products using Fine Detail Plastic (FUD) until we fix this issue. We expect this to take a few weeks.

Once we determine it is fixed, we will provide an additional week for impacted members to download their new pricing comparison csv files before rolling out the changes and removing grandfathered pricing for this material.

All other materials will change over on Feb 4th, as previously announced.

Thanks very much to everyone who contributed their csv file reports to us enabling us to pinpoint and address the issue.

Sincerely,
Shapeways

Therefore, the current pricing for Fine Detail Plastics (the bulk of the Atso-Cad range) remains unchanged until Shapeways decides how they are going to calculate prices for Fine Detail Plastics.

Richard Taylor

Hello Mr Da Costa (forgive the formality but I'm new to the forum)

I'm very sorry to hear your announcement, but as I know only too well from personal experience you *have* to put yourself first in this kind of health situation.  The only thing I'd say is not to let the small but vocal minority of pedants, club bores and naysayers that unfortunately infest parts of the model railway internet get to you.  After nearly a working lifetime dealing with railway enthusiasts in one form or another (usually from a heritage/museums perspective) I have realised that there is nothing that you can do about some of them.  They have simply have lost all sense of perspective about what is meant to be a hobby.   I do hope that in time you feel up to returning to model production.

Moving to practicalities, I've just bought some of your V1/V3 shells from Shapeways (complete coincidence - I didn't know about either the price increase or about you stepping back from the business untila fater my order went in.)  I've secured a couple of discounted N class locos from the Rails sale.  Now, for the rear pony wheelset you recommend 7.1mm diameter Farish pony wheels.  Do you order these direct from the Bach/Farish spares department (BR Lines don't stock them)?  If so, do you know what locos Farish use these wheels under, so that I can provide a bit more detail when ordering?  Many thanks in anticipation,
Richard Taylor

RailGooner

Welcome aboard Richard! :wave:

When you've settled in, come and say hello. :beers:
Welcome to the NGF!

Richard Taylor


Stevie DC

Quote from: Richard Taylor on February 05, 2019, 10:42:50 PM
Hello Mr Da Costa (forgive the formality but I'm new to the forum)

I'm very sorry to hear your announcement, but as I know only too well from personal experience you *have* to put yourself first in this kind of health situation.  The only thing I'd say is not to let the small but vocal minority of pedants, club bores and naysayers that unfortunately infest parts of the model railway internet get to you.  After nearly a working lifetime dealing with railway enthusiasts in one form or another (usually from a heritage/museums perspective) I have realised that there is nothing that you can do about some of them.  They have simply have lost all sense of perspective about what is meant to be a hobby.   I do hope that in time you feel up to returning to model production.

Moving to practicalities, I've just bought some of your V1/V3 shells from Shapeways (complete coincidence - I didn't know about either the price increase or about you stepping back from the business untila fater my order went in.)  I've secured a couple of discounted N class locos from the Rails sale.  Now, for the rear pony wheelset you recommend 7.1mm diameter Farish pony wheels.  Do you order these direct from the Bach/Farish spares department (BR Lines don't stock them)?  If so, do you know what locos Farish use these wheels under, so that I can provide a bit more detail when ordering?  Many thanks in anticipation,
Richard Taylor

Hi Richard,

Thank you for your kind words and please, no need to be formal.

I usually source my wheels from the accessory packs that (used to?) come with the Farish A1s, Jubilees and Black Fives. The wheels you want are the largest bogie/pony wheels which are now most usually used for the Cartazzi truck on the A1s and A2s. Farish will sell these as a spare bogie/pony as long as they have some in stock if you ask nicely - most cost effective to order as a bogie but be sure to 100% specify that you want the largest bogie/pony wheels fitted.

Hope this helps

Steve

Richard Taylor

Hello Steve

Many thanks for the advice.  I will contact Bachmann and see what happens. 

Thinking about it, I should have a couple of Bachmann pacifics still in their boxes in the loft, so if I can find them I might already have the wheels in the accessory packs...

Best wishes,
Richard

PaulinSouthMidlands

I'm no expert on this and might get shot down in flames but the impression I get is that businesses like yours in the N gauge Serious Modellers Kits market are, with a few exceptions part time affairs.

Either a supplementary job done evenings/weekends supplementing another full or part time job or someone who has retired early supplementing their pension.

I've not bought your products but they look good, and you now seem to have put the hours in to develop a portfolio; so one conceivable option might be to step back a bit and let it tick over as a part time enterprise for a while, while looking at other full or part time work to make up a decent income, rather than stopping altogether and seeing your hard work go to waste, perhaps with a total break for a short while if things have really got to you?


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