Well, the above is all of the new Tinplate from the Lionel catalog. A Lionel Christmas set. Go out and take a look at the catalog for another (better) shot of it.
All told, the catalog is mediocre at best. It's a yawner. Hey, they have the new GG1! Ok, so that's been done (alot) before. They also have exciting new roadnames of the GP-7. Yawn, been done before. They also have a ton of new electronic gizmos to further enchance the running of trains! And if your brother in law or family member is an electrician, maybe you can get them installed and decypher how to use them.
By the way, I am going to ask this "Conventional Classics"? Why? To compete with Bachmann or low end MTH? Wow.
Conventional Classis is truly is one of the worst marketing attempts at branding I've seen or heard in a long time. It's like calling a Batman Villian "the Mediocre Menace". And worse, it's already been done by Jerry Williams.
Look, I still like Lionel but they're going to have to come into the 21st Century both with their product direction and with some kind of understanding of their demographics. Did the spirit of Gary Moreau creep back into Lionel headquarters somewhere? I'm not going to hide my disappointment at the non-existent tinplate offerings but do we have to see the same postwar crap vomited up every year as well?
I'll leave one ray of hope open, I did like the MTA offering. I also would love to see Lionel keep evolving products like the Harry Potter Train and Acela. The Acela is the kind of innovation that makes the catalog worth looking at. The 101 Trolley was our mini-ray of hope for tinplate people.
How many UP Boxcars or Christmas sets have we all seen floating around train shows or hobby stores?
They can do better than reheated Postwar.
Marc
1 comment:
Actually, Marc, that tinplate Christmas set was in the '08 vol. 1 catalog -- so that means there is NO new tinplate in this catalog. None. Zip. Nada. I thought once they emerged from bankruptcy the offerings would be a little more diverse, but alas...
With regards to the Conventional Classics line: I like the idea behind it, but NOT if they're going to put cheap electronic reverse units in the locos. That's a deal-breaker right there, for me. I've had problems with these crappy electronic units in the past... never had any problems with the old electro-mechanical units. Ever.
C'mon Lionel, if you're going to make reproductions, do it right!
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