Not 20 years, maybe 12-13. The article was before the PS-1 when they were "just" a coupler company. I was impressed that they truly did everything themselves. The manufactured their own packaging, inc

One reason it's difficult to sell a successful well-stocked store is, well, it has a lot of inventory which means the asking price is going to be pretty high. The original owner has built that asset b

I've been prototype modeling for 38 years, and actively RPMing (as in going to RPM meets and talking and fraternizing etc) for 17 years, and just about every minute of it has been fun. I enjoy researc

6% by head count. Wonder what it is by $$ spent. Andy

We'll see you there, probably around 4 pm local time. Andy

As far as I'm concerned, a wannabe prototype modeler is a prototype modeler. To what degree he adheres, etc, is subjective anyway, but I think you are one if you say you are. Because those who aren't

If you ask almost *anyone* in Cincinnati who knows me or has even heard my name, they'll probably tell you I'm one of those damn rivet counters. But if you saw what I bought in the past 3 months - for

I use to pile my picnic basket with detail parts on my annual DPH pilgrimage, but the last few years, it ends up being filled with freight cars. One of the few places where you can browse a substantia

I define prototype modeling as a desire to model after the prototype. The amount of money, time, and skill a person has to pursue that end may determine his level of success, but even at a low level,

The abundance of pretty good prototypical RTR models makes it very likely that even a rabid freelancer has a prototypical model somewhere on their layout. But without intent, and without knowledge, it

If EXR succeeds with this new scheme, certainly others will want to follow. I'm more concerned that others will follow without waiting to see if it succeeds, or follow even if it fails. Andy

How so? If not for the basement (and traveling show) operators, 75% of the geographical market wouldn't be reached at all. Andy

Of course there are some who believe you have no right to ask for a product, or even a version of a product, if you're not willing to front for the tooling and production costs. If I were that wealthy

Exactly. Andy

I would never consider doing such a thing unless I won the lottery. And I don't mean a 2.5 million, more like a 100 million plus. I think the real harm is that the large players in the industry still

The shows have replaced the neighborhood hobby shop as the primary attraction to expose newcomers to the hobby. Of course the big shows tend to only go to big cities - WGH, and GATS before that. Just

DCC Train in Cincinnati did a similar thing. Rather than a retail storefront and the ensuing rent and extraneous costs (like the skim/tribute you have to pay to the strip mall), they located in an ord

Maybe we should ask new modelers (yes, there are some) how they are getting attracted to the hobby. I think that today - and as always - attraction comes from family involvement, friends, word of mout

I would not own an LHS because I believe that the business model is dead unless you have a major (as in, Chicago) metro area to serve and/or don't care about making money. I wouldn't be a basement bom

And yet Horizon cut off a *legitimate* brick and mortar store... why? Because his contact phone was a cell and he didn't have a land line. He got it back, but - still - the requirements are basically