Subject:
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Re: 9v Train status report.
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Fri, 31 Mar 2006 04:18:29 GMT
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Viewed:
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3376 times
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In lugnet.trains, Troy Cefaratti wrote:
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In lugnet.trains, John Barnes wrote:
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This may depend on your interpretation of hobby train I guess.
I think the purchaser of sets will want the all plastic train and track.
I can’t recall the last train “set” I bought. But I have bought a lot of
track, points, motors, track connectors and wheelsets. After all, the hobby
is designing and building trains isn’t it? Not building Lego train sets.
So perhaps the hobby train supplies will include the aforementioned elements
and not 9v sets. I don’t see lack of 9v sets equivalent to lack of support
of the 9v train hobby.
JB
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This is perhaps the case for those of us that already have the essentials to
make a LEGO train (track, controler, motor) but it certainly is not what is
required to bring NEW people into the hobby. People at the shows and at the
store all want something that includes everything they need to get started.
Once you get them started, then they will move on to purchase more of the
accessories.
Take this example: A couple weekends ago Cap Toys did a local train show.
There was no club layout at this show, but they had a running train at the
sales table. An older gentleman purchased a high speed train set and some
extra track based on liking what he saw. The follwing Tuesday he called the
store and ordered another box of straight track to be shipped to him so he
could fisnish his “layout”. And the following weekend he drove to the store
(probably an hour drive for him) and bough another car fro his train and a
level crossing set. He left with plans to come back and purchase a Super
Chief train.
LEGO finally got the 9v train line to a point where there was a wide enough
product range, there was great club support, and hobby retailers were
starting to take notice. At the Columbus Great Train Expo there were
actually TWO retailers selling LEGO trains. It seems foolish to me that they
would abandon the line at such a point in time where evertying seems to be on
the upswing. But that appears to be exactly what they are doing.
Troy
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I can’t disagree with anything you say Troy. With that said I think we have a
decent chance of convincing LEGO to maintain the line if we can all come
together and make our case. One thing I think that has been lost in the last
couple of years is the excitement about LEGO trains on the internet. I remember
hearing stories like yours and others every couple of weeks just a few years
ago. Now those stories are so commonplace we have stopped telling them.
We need to show the excitement we all experiance at our shows on the internet
again. We need to tell our stories. We need to point out that doing train
shows doesn’t just generate interest in LEGO trains but the LEGO brand in
general. People see all these fantastic models and it energizes them to buy
LEGO for their kids, grandkids, friends kids, and maybe even themselves and it
isn’t just trains it is LEGO period.
We all basically have traveling Mini-lands that constantly pop up and energize
and excite folks. That in turn gets them to buy LEGO. We need to find a way to
document and quantify that. The first way to do that is for us to tell our
stories again, show exciting layouts with eyes poping out all over.
I feel like I have recieved enough responses privately to go ahead and set up a
web site. Of course NELUG has a train show this weekend (how ironic is that) so
it may not be until early next week before it is ready. Once it is I would love
to see everyone’s excitement for our hobby show again on the internet like it
did just a few years back.
Think positive and be excited. Doom and gloom won’t get us anywhere at this
point. There will be enough time for that in 2007 if LEGO does indeed cancel
the line.
-Eric Kingsley
LEGO Ambassador
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: 9v Train status report.
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| In lugnet.trains, Eric Kingsley wrote: (some interesting ideas) That's all well and good, and I think a website might be useful but it's not the way to prove the line is viable. That requires driving demand. But how? What are the chances of LEGO (...) (18 years ago, 31-Mar-06, to lugnet.trains, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: 9v Train status report.
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| (...) This is perhaps the case for those of us that already have the essentials to make a LEGO train (track, controler, motor) but it certainly is not what is required to bring NEW people into the hobby. People at the shows and at the store all want (...) (18 years ago, 31-Mar-06, to lugnet.trains, FTX)
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