Midwestern Model Works Latest?

[86TA355SR]

Why not here?
…. Have any deliveries been made?…?

No…that’s the short answer….No.

[Pacific Limited]

Good grief, this 15 years old dead topic is still getting kicked around.

How utterly amusing. This started in the financial crisis and was slowed by Covid, what’s the most recent excuse? AI Factory Data center demand slows access to silicon used in the soldering equipment at the builder?

In the defense of these folks, it’s their business and not mine. He can do whatever he wants. Good luck! Hope it all works out.

I saw a bunch of cool photos here of center beams, who got all those?



http://midwesternmodelworks.com/general ... achment/1/

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I saw a bunch of cool photos here of center beams, who got all those?

Now there's an interesting question....

[Pacific Limited]

For the non link follower, I see 100. No clue for photo copyright not listed, no one here made any money off these photos, and I shared them with you all under the Fair Use Act, DMCA. https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/

Forum discussion by Erik C Lindgren Fine Art, on Flickr

Forum discussion by Erik C Lindgren Fine Art, on Flickr

[up148]

They look like nice cars, but any updates on the SD45 that was started over a decade ago?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

.......any updates on the SD45 that was started over a decade ago?

Nary a whimper,

[E7]

Enough of this foolishness........what about the Kohs Big Boy?

Rich

Edited typo

[86TA355SR]

Enough of this foolishness........what about the Kphs Big Boy?

Rich

All excuses, just different dates on the “update”…

[Pacific Limited]

This must be an exceptionally hard business to be in nowadays.

Nothing like it was.

Back in the day, reading some of Roger Lewis's emails from last Fall and what he has gone through recently compared to the 90s. The poor guy. There has been an obvious change in the way the Koreans do things. They do not work for a bowl of rice a day anymore. Young Koreans are like our GenZ, or Millennials. My 8 year old daughter is crazy about K-Pop Demon Hunters, straight out of popular Korean culture driven by a people completely brought out of poverty. A middle class, while we bury our middle class, they are building there's. You can't do that in the old bowl of rice a day routine that got us brass toys in 1984 from PSC.

Roger wrote: "I think I’ve mention that Trucks I paid $35 for in 1992 are notw$160 a pair if I could find anyone to produce them. Everyone I know has quit doing business in Korea. Check with Norm Buckhart of Protocraft, he had plans to build a lot of models but he’s canceled everything because It’s just too expensive to build in Korea now."

"Back in the 80’s and 90’s everything was done with letters of Credit from a bank here. The builder would take that Letter Of Credit
To their bank and get money to produce the porject. At some time all of that changed and now we have to pay the builder as they produce the project."

Deal is, it is now a privilege the Koreans will build your models now, not the other way round, sort of like the restaurant industry. Suddenly the customer is lucky they get service. Complete flip. With the state of the world economy, and Korea's is now a huge multi-billions tech-driven, especially at Samsung, SSD demand, etc, there is almost no room for hand built art in thier industry, fine art now, like our models, at least until some key things change back, if they ever will. And if they build for us? You better be willing to pay up.

Enjoy what we have fellas, all of it really has quadrupled in demand. Its not coming back for a very long time. Not in my lifetime, I am over 50.

Kohs, Key, OMI, Wasatch, MWMW, I am not blaming them at all. I think its DAMN HARD to do this kind of business now. Not Impossible, now much more expensive compared to before.

PS: here's the deal, Korea, really awhile now, its what happened to the Japanese builders now. Oh there are a few men that will build you a model in Japan, 10k, 20k, 30k? Elite stuff now. Its extraordinarily expensive and highly skilled labor. Want a quick fix? Money talks, and BS walks. And the last few excuses, COVID supply chain, tariffs, this all comes and goes, but at the root is a fundamental change in the way these skilled artists are willing to bulld for us. Its a privilege, not a right.

[86TA355SR]

Erik,

I always enjoy your posts and refreshing comments, your perspective on the hobby is enlightening.

The below post is not directed at you or anyone else. just my general thoughts.

I can’t imagine the difficulty in getting models built over seas. Language barriers, trust issues, etc, with a foreign business that can take everything and there’s no recourse. Relationships. Not everyone can establish that and maintain.

Just yesterday I was reading a thread from Roger in 2012 about the challenges he had with just the importer. That was 2012. Now days, the tariffs, politics, etc…more complicated then 2012…it’s a wonder anything brass is brought to the market. Two years ago at the March meet we discussed this.

The craftsman, the builders, are getting older and it seems the younger generation is not be interested in learning the craft….those big ticket items, outside of trains, ie, electronics for example, really pay their bills.

SM talked about this extensively in an OSR live feed. It’s more than anyone should take on and trying to make money at it…well, we all get the picture.

When I hear someone mentioned previously, in person, telling prospective buyers at shows, that a deposit is all they need…well, that speaks volumes in two ways. The buyer didn’t do research & the kind of person running that business is in question. Maybe they (seller) actually believe they’ll deliver the product or they already know it’s not happening. Either way, they (previously mentioned) have tens of thousands of buyer dollars in their possession and nothing for the customer-after a decade for one and two decades for the other. We understand the process but personally, I couldn’t do that, I’d literally loose sleep knowing other people’s money and trust were involved.

I truly hope others get the beautiful models they’ve so patiently awaited. It’s in the best interest of our hobby for something refreshing and exciting. Not to mention another importer for O Scale. With that, I will continue to enjoy the threads on MTJ, focus on productive activities and pass on any further posts about this.

[bob turner]

Yes, but:
Some businesses are still producing nice models. Sunset, Lionel, maybe MTH - Roger may have problems right now, but he actually delivered world-class models. Isn't Key still chugging along?

MMW stands out among suppliers as not being able to deliver. At least it looks that way.

[Pacific Limited]

Yes. But:

China is very different part of this equation, and building methods are another element to consider.

More toy manufacturers than fine art craftsmanship.

HO is also getting superb models, hybrid, plastic, and other innovative means, built up like kits from design phase for the workers. Low production brass models are very unique in part from a more fine-art methods of building. Hand crafting, Lost wax patterns, hand milling, all the stuff we come to expect from a hand build. The need to hand sculpt patterns to finishing the nose of an F unit, like body work, it’s all prefab and spray now, no more artistic hand filling and forming. Another lost art, it’s not profitable! And whereas an injected molded kit style build up, albeit requires masking, painting, prep, etc. Hard to explain but I believe you get it. I should have AI write this. Haha

I tend to agree, there is a trick to all of this. Case by case situation. Art Hobbies V Scaletrains. China V Korea, or Myanmar, or the Philippines. But the models Roger did at Art Hobbies, OCS or Key did at FMT were exceptionalisim and far beyond mass injected mold designs you see from Chinese toy builders. Although case in point, add Athearn Genesis HO F units, best ever done any scale, are injection molds. And MWMW? We dont know. All we've seen are 1 of a kind hand built prototypes from a Korean fine art builder, and these are not production models. And Sunset is having luck with brass from China these days, these brass builds are 3 rail by design and cover 2 markets that can absorb costs. For every 2 railer there is 100s of 3 railers.

Lots to consider but yes, some are doing it! I think there are small nuances that make Sunset turn out ahead in this case. China? Different methods of build? Workforce? The local geo political science? -Good observation Bob.

A video showing a factory in Korea building models for Japanese market using injection mold and tooling, kit style assembly.
https://youtu.be/3Xpp3CwL1Sw?is=jRfd-etK8ICP6nH7
Germany
https://youtu.be/gOL2aHJbBAM?is=eYmVuyWG5_2kzVgD
Scaletrains, pure innovation
https://youtu.be/WoxtnAYGwrc?is=XM13puxAWdLY4VPx

Now, hand built and traditional art methods with a 73 year old Japanese builder.
https://youtu.be/o93J-ebHGhs?is=3M5ptzeQk-uXu8YZ

This all matters in the outcome. Is it super expensive or more profitable? It’s as you might expect a numbers game.

Back to MWMW

MWMW sample photo copyright unknown found online with Google search. by Erik C Lindgren Fine Art, on Flickr

MWMW sample photo copyright unknown found online with Google search. by Erik C Lindgren Fine Art, on Flickr

MWMW sample photo copyright unknown found online with Google search. by Erik C Lindgren Fine Art, on Flickr

MWMW sample photo copyright unknown found online with Google search. by Erik C Lindgren Fine Art, on Flickr

MWMW sample photo copyright unknown found online with Google search. by Erik C Lindgren Fine Art, on Flickr

In the end he has some astonishing hand built prototypes. I too hope they get a run done of these. Surely a candidate for a $10,000 production-model at this point. These photos are not mine, I have not been to a March Meet in years, I would have certainly taken photos myself. The rewards of travel. Credits to the photographer I sourced these offline someplace on a blog or something because now I cannot find them anywhere as an attempt to give the photographer credit here. Still I think having them in this thread is good for all. These models are incredible, and some of the best ever made in any scale, 1:32 and all. Beautiful stuff MWMW, astonishing, Bravo

Put aside these MWMW brass models and I'd concentrate on a 1/48 scale equivalent of what Drayton is doing at Scaletrains.

Latest:

Forum discussion by Erik C Lindgren Fine Art, on Flickr

https://www.scaletrains.com/rivet-counter-ho-scale-emd-sd40-2-burlington-northern-late-class-lights-10.html

https://www.scaletrains.com/

Drayton at Scaletrains is a living legend. Masterclass manufacturer. I wish I could afford to do a start up and make these in 1/48. Only takes money, and I am not part of the inheritacracy.

By the way support them all. Without our support they all stop making our toys.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

By the way support them all. Without our support they all stop making our toys.

No. It's not my job to support any of these people. They seem plagued by poor decision making.

They make/import nothing I might want and as you noted, I'm not part of the inheritacracy (whatever that really is....) and am finally fully retired. I'm struggling to find & afford the detail parts to build the models that I have set aside for my remaining days as my entertainment. The multi-thousand $ toys are not part of my hobby and belong to folks that have too much disposable $. I have little sympathy to spare any more.

[Pacific Limited]

In all fairness to you Martin, I don’t think you or I are part of this equation, as far as Scaletrains is concerned many are supporting them, he has new models all of the time, and delivers. Is that good decision making? And as for MWMW, ?

I am certainly not buying a $10,000 SD40-2 with opening side doors. It’s a lot harder to sell 2000 dollar models than 500 dollar models. Ah, the inheritacracy, , that’s a social platforming buzz word that has been spun around. AI came up with this definition: Inheritocracy is a social and economic concept describing a society where a person's life chances, career trajectory, housing, and general success are determined by inherited family wealth and parental support (the "Bank of Mum and Dad") rather than individual merit, education, or hard work.

I enjoy looking at the pictures, making an analysis of the work. Good stuff but all dreams for me.

PS: it looks like I am trying to defend MWMW, I know. And, It’s not my fight, I don’t have any stake in this. It doesn’t mean I don’t like what he was trying to accomplish. And maybe he still will. I’ll take the high road and hope for the best. For all of them.

[up148]

I agree with pretty much all that has been said here. Our world is very different than it was a decade or two ago, much less 40-50 years and that is in all things, not just hobbies. You see it everyday in pretty much all realms of our lives.

But, I don't give MMW or Koh's a pass. They knew what they were doing when they jumped in. Like Aaron said, I couldn't sleep at night or walk into a train show if I was holding (most likely spending or spent) customers money without delivering anything......but they seem to have no problem with that. The internet has created a new kind of liar and they both fit the mold. They're nothing but scammers like so many in our modern world. I doubt either will deliver anything.