Subject:
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Re: test
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.test
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Date:
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Sun, 21 Nov 1999 10:07:24 GMT
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Viewed:
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262 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.test, Craig Hamilton writes:
> in the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonight...
Trying to figure out why my linebreaks keep screwing up
I believe this story well illustrates the first of three attitude problems that
LEGO trains face. IMHO, unless these attitudes change, LEGO trains will never
be
the future of model railroading. (Get comfortable, this is a long one...)
Attitude 1: Model Railroaders.
I took my LEGO catalog into the local train and hobby shop about a year ago, to
show the owner the potential of LEGO trains, and to suggest that it might be
something to consider carrying. He seemed to be a bitter old man, and his
response to me was essentially, "We don't sell -toys-," with derision in his
voice on that last word. I tactfully avoided pointing out to him that Lionel
trains were considered toys for many years, until the collectors took them
over.
My opinion is that many model railroaders are slightly bitter and defensive
that
kids are not interested in trains the way they used to be, and slightly afraid
that if things don't change, model railroading may be a dying art. But in the
same way that LEGO purists are often unreasonable in their quest to stay 100%
LEGO (I'm guilty of this too), Model Railroaders have a very hard time with the
idea of a model railroad that does not, and will not ever look even close to
"realistic" (with appologies to some of the admittedly impressive LEGO
locomotive recreations out there).
As a case in point, at the recent PNWLTC layout at the '99 Western Washington
State Fair in Puyallup, I spoke to a man who had organized the fair's displays
of local model railroad club layouts for something like 11 years. Each year a
different guage was featured, and members of differently-guaged clubs -always-
came out to help man each others' layouts. PNWLTC was told that, as other clubs
had in previous years, they could count on the model railroad community to help
with staffing for the 16 day event. Well, as you may have guessed, the layout
was understaffed. A couple railroading guys came out a couple of days, and they
were fairly impressed, but my impression was that they considered it mostly a
novelty, and possibly somewhat beneath them. And this was a huge, complex
layout, with some of the finest LEGO modelling there is. (Gallery at http://
www.pnltc.org/WWF0999/W_Wash_Fair_Main_0999.htm )
Personally, I think that LEGO railroading could be utilized by N, HO, and O
clubs as a "gateway" to model railroading. You can get kids hooked from very
early (my 2 1/2 year old has been playing with mine for more than 6 months,
now)
without worrying about them damaging valuable models. Then, as they get more
sophisticated, and especially as they enter their dark ages, they can be easily
switched over to the other guages. That's my idea of it anyway.
Attutide 2: LEGO.
LEGO seems to be almost anti-train in the US. I understand that they don't want
to devote a lot of time and effort on a line that is a comparitive low seller,
but it often seems to me that they do anything they can to avoid making it
easier for us to buy trains. Note the following:
A. Only one train is available through retail channels. Even if a store
-wanted-
to carry additional trains, track, accessories and train structures, they would
not be able to. Lego's Shop-at-Home items are not availible to retailers.
B. If a store wanted to carry the one LEGO train which is available, there is a
minimum order of something like $500, and returns are not an option. A small
model shop that wanted to try the product out to see if it would sell will not
be willing to outlay that much cash on a product they don't know will sell, and
that they don't think much of anyway (see Attitude 1).
C. I considered opening a LEGO train kiosk at the mall at Christmastime a year
or two ago. That is, I considered it until I called LEGO. They won't sell
products to a retailer unless they have a permanent storefront. An
understandable policy to avoid shady dealings, but easily overcome in other
ways. It would be a simple matter to produce documentation that all sales were
legitimate.
D. The fact is, placing LEGO trains in toy stores is simply not a good
marketing
strategy except at Christmas. People looking for a LEGO set are usually
looking
for the under-$20 range. And people looking for model trains are not in the
LEGO
aisle. Potential customers for the product never see it. For that matter, No
one
ever sees it (Or maybe you've never heard anyone say, "I didn't know LEGO made
trains!"?).
E. LEGO does pretty much nothing to help the LEGO train clubs in the US. I
haven't persued this except to make some initial inquiries, but LEGO Group did
not exactly jump at the chance to provide either materials or permissions to
reproduce materials (specifically, the small train flyer (can be seen at
http://
astro.caltech.edu/~rrg/lego/smeu1999v2f.jpg Thanks to Roy Gal's site, http://
astro.caltech.edu/~rrg/lego/legocats.html))
Actually, if you think about it, the best place to sell LEGO trains and
accessories may well be at the train shows. Every other guage is busy selling
everything they can, while LEGO remains display-only (per LEGO's policies).
Attutude 3: LEGO Train fans.
The third problem is our own fault. I think it's minor compared to the other
two, but it's a problem nevertheless. And I'm as guilty of it as anyone. We're
not doing much to encourage kids to join us. Sales to kids is where the money
is
for LEGO. But when I was at the Washington show, the person who had come with
me
to the fair pointed out that those of us staffing the layout were a little bit
standoffish toward the kids who came to see the layout. We were very busy
making
sure they weren't touching the trains, and I myself was more interested in
talking to other adults than to the kids. Now I'll admit I don't care for kids
much (other people's, at least), and kids in the 7-12 range can be particularly
talkative about the most inane of topics. But treating them like second-class
LEGO fans is not helping matters. We gotta figure a way to include them in the
layouts at the show, without them knocking everything over. (I know some of the
clubs have a special kids area, but I think that's the exception.)
Not really sure how to wrap up this diatribe, but that's my two dollars and two
cent's worth. Am I off in left field, or have I hit some nails? And if I'm on
target, what shall we do about it?
Rick Clark
jrclark@nospam.aol.com
http://members.xoom.com/jrickclark/index.html
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: test
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| Linebreak test2. (...) I believe this story well illustrates the first of three attitude problems that LEGO trains face. IMHO, unless these attitudes change, LEGO trains will never be the future of model railroading. (Get comfortable, this is a long (...) (25 years ago, 21-Nov-99, to lugnet.off-topic.test)
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