Model Railroading > Latest Rapido News and big order deadlines this week

Hi all,

Our latest newsletter is online: https://conta.cc/34toiJe

In this edition:

- Details about our 3D scan party in Portland on Octobr 27th
- Order deadline info for the USRA boxcars and rallying call for American modelers (see below)
- Order deadline for the Ski Train and Pullman-Standard Diner
- Big update on the N scale Dash 8-40CM
- and more!

The diners, Ski Train and USRA boxcars need to be reserved ASAP, preferably by Thursday.

Thanks for reading,

Jason
 

---

---

---

I can't wait for a National Steel Car NSG20 or NSG21 Gondola to meet your 3D scanner.

Frankly given the US market and the appeal of brighter paint schemes, I'm surprised that 92% of the USRA boxcar reservations have been for the boring brown cars...
I hope they get the yellow right on the TH&B pair.  (Perhaps Jason is hand delivering the paint chip this week)

Rapido's, and other manufacture's, dog and pony shows are getting tiring.
Just anounce the model, get the reservations, and make sure you deliver a quality, correctly done model.

Any word on the B36 units?

Gary

Posted from iPhone

I plead guilty on one of the two cars I ordered from my dealer as being "the yellow car" but honestly, even for most of us modelers, even modeling the early 1950s, many of the DS USRAs were gone or very small in number by then.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/19 19:05 by wabash2800.

Just put in a pre-order for a couple of the Flexi-Flo hoppers, hoping the orders are stong for those cars!

Scan part in Portland????  Are thoughts of D&H Alco PA locomotives dancing in your head???

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

---

For the scan my thoughts are on the UP SW10 that is there, as a SW10 will fit well on the chassis Rapido already has for the SW1200RS...  It would be an iconic UP unit, not yet offered in plastic by any manufacturer, and that could be done as branch of current SW1200 production project.  Walthers already does PAs, has done the D&H ones that operated into Canada, and the only Canadian PAs were demos that lasted only a few months (well before most of us were born).

On the just mentioned Flexi-Flo hoppers, I'm wondering why the scale test car Flexi-Flows have to be ordered as a pair when they are actually different eras?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/19 17:34 by CSX602.

needles_sub Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rapido's, and other manufacture's, dog and pony
> shows are getting tiring.
> Just announce the model, get the reservations, and
> make sure you deliver a quality, correctly done
> model.

Agreed... and be honest with the consumer (and dealer network) about what they are going to get.

I don't want to get into it again here, unless requested, but there have been recent QA/QC issues and recent product misrepresentations that have customers upset.  More time on QA/QC instead of newsletters, videos, parties, and stuff like Dalek models... might have prevented those.





 

I enjoy the humor and the updates.

Victor A. Baird
http;//www.erstwhilepublications.com

Updates are good, and humor is always welcome (when tasteful)...  But it shouldn't interfere with doing what is needed to deliver a quality product.

I used to enjoy getting high quality products (like the Angus cabooses and 8-40CMs) that didn't have defects due to careless production mistakes.  Items that were as good as, or better than, the advance descriptions and product photos, with spot on paint and lettering.  But recently on the items I've received it's been a lot more humor in the videos than quality products received.

Like every company when there is a factory defect you find out which they care more about - sales (finding somebody who will accept the defective item) or quality/accuracy/customer satisfaction...  And the real tell-tale sign is whether a company does recalls, pays for defective items to be shipped back to them, or whether they expect the customer or dealer to accept the defective merchandise or pay to return it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/19 22:14 by CSX602.

needles_sub Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rapido's, and other manufacture's, dog and pony
> shows are getting tiring.
> Just anounce the model, get the reservations, and
> make sure you deliver a quality, correctly done
> model.

"Stop having fun, dangit, and just get back to work!!!"

Maybe that works for you, but it doesn't work for us. I want Rapido to be a fun place to work, and I encourage all our employees to enjoy what they do. There is no connection between us having a good time while producing model trains and the deficiencies of the Prime Movers well car, which I have been totally upfront about. Our models are not perfect, and we deliver the occasional dud. Making Rapido a miserable place to work will not improve our QC to 100%. Our return rate for most models still hovers around 1.5%.

We are known for the humour in our instruction manuals. I used to write them, but Josh has been writing our manuals for a couple of years now. He has a wicked sense of humour, and I find myself laughing out loud when I read his drafts.

Jordan has immaculate comic timing. The RailCrew video where I put him in a headlock was entirely improvised and his performance - where he waves his arms about and calls for help - is the only reason that video has one of our highest view counts.

Everyone else at Rapido wants to come to work because they like to be a part of this team. They get to make and promote model trains all day, and they have a blast while doing it. This is the way it should be for every employee, everywhere.

I'm proud of what our team has accomplished over the last 15 years, and we're not going to change our approach to this hobby or our business model. We can't be everyone's best friend, and our approach may not be to your tastes. But it has allowed the company to grow. We were four people in 2013 and now Rapido supports 15 people and their families here in Canada and the US.

So no, we will not stop being silly and we will not stop having fun. If this really gets your goat, just don't buy our stuff.

Best regards,

Jason
 

rapidotrains Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So no, we will not stop being silly and we will
> not stop having fun. If this really gets your
> goat, just don't buy our stuff.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jason

+1



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/19 08:00 by SPDRGWfan.

> "Stop having fun, dangit, and just get back to
> work!!!"
>
> Maybe that works for you, but it doesn't work for
> us. I want Rapido to be a fun place to work, and I
> encourage all our employees to enjoy what they do.
> There is no connection between us having a good
> time while producing model trains and the
> deficiencies of the Prime Movers well car, which I
> have been totally upfront about. Our models are
> not perfect, and we deliver the occasional dud.
> Making Rapido a miserable place to work will not
> improve our QC to 100%. Our return rate for most
> models still hovers around 1.5%.
>
> We are known for the humour in our instruction
> manuals. I used to write them, but Josh has been
> writing our manuals for a couple of years now. He
> has a wicked sense of humour, and I find myself
> laughing out loud when I read his drafts.
>
> Jordan has immaculate comic timing. The RailCrew
> video where I put him in a headlock was entirely
> improvised and his performance - where he waves
> his arms about and calls for help - is the only
> reason that video has one of our highest view
> counts.
>
> Everyone else at Rapido wants to come to work
> because they like to be a part of this team. They
> get to make and promote model trains all day, and
> they have a blast while doing it. This is the way
> it should be for every employee, everywhere.
>
> I'm proud of what our team has accomplished over
> the last 15 years, and we're not going to change
> our approach to this hobby or our business model.
> We can't be everyone's best friend, and our
> approach may not be to your tastes. But it has
> allowed the company to grow. We were four people
> in 2013 and now Rapido supports 15 people and
> their families here in Canada and the US.
>
> So no, we will not stop being silly and we will
> not stop having fun. If this really gets your
> goat, just don't buy our stuff.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jason
>  

Great response, Jason. Make a great product, take care of the heart of your employees, and value the customer; the rest will take care of itself. Seems like you’ve got Rapido doing it right and it’s great to see that you’ll go to bat for your values. I have no layout currently but I think I’ll head to my hobby shop to see if there’s some of your stuff there that needs a home.

Posted from iPhone

Jared Hamilton
Scott Depot, WV

rapidotrains Wrote:
> Our return rate for most
> models still hovers around 1.5%.

That's fine and reflective of the past high quality.   But for more recent issues could that be because many/most defective items never make it back to Rapido?  Could it be because the consumers and dealers face the defect trinity - (A) accept the defect, (B) return the items at their own expense, or (C) just find somebody else to buy the product that's unaware of the defect?  In that later case dealers still have the chance of profit and thus many likely choose that...

Only the very worst are likely to make it back to the manufacturer.  Items with bad paint, misspelled logos, incorrect car data, loose or missing parts... most of those aren't going to make their way back to Canada once in US.  Many view the return costs as just not worth it.  Many shops have "scratch and dent" tables or areas where returned, defective or damaged items can be found.  MBK in Baltimore has one.  I've seen products from most manufacturers there, including Rapido.

BTW, this can still be found on the Rapido web site regarding the well cars... "We've taken this model out of the Prime Movers by Rapido range and given it etched metal walkways..." in a description paragraph that makes it sound as if the car was moved up (upgraded) to the higher Rapido top level of detailing and quality.  Now, only after shipping them, do we find out that isn't the case.  Only after they are shipped do consumers find out about the containers.  Only after they are shipped do they find out about the paint issue.  Right now 100% of the TTX cars have paint issues - some worse than others...  And those considering direct returns don't have much of a choice, as there are no correct TTX cars at Rapido to be replacements.  So many may begrudgingly accept them, some may weather the dickens out of them in effort to hide the error, but if returned they are going to get returned to dealers, and those dealers find some un-aware, or not-yet-aware, people to buy them (rather than paying to ship back to Rapido).

In full disclosure, I will say that I find the CP Rail well cars acceptable.  Not quite as good as expected but okay.

For any current model manufacturer any low return rate often has more to do with shipping costs than the obvious defect.  Dealers accepting returns and just reselling the items is how the current system works when manufacturers dump defects onto the market, and it appears some manufacturers are just fine with that because once they ship the defects out the door then they don't get many back.  At some it gives them a flippant attitude where they really no longer care about getting the products right, just getting them reserved and then shipped out the door.  I don't think it's gone that far at Rapido (yet) and I hope it never does...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/19 06:55 by CSX602.

rapidotrains Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> "Stop having fun, dangit, and just get back to
> work!!!"

Yeah, some people take this hobby wayyy too seriously. When I started in the 1980's, nothing was correct, There was just a bunch of crude cars with cast on details with paint applied for all the popular railroads. Any effort at additional detailing and painting really stood out. And if you wanted something to be really "correct" it was often either scratchbuild or a major kitbash job. Now the hobby seems to have morophed into buy expensive things and complain about them. I for one enjoy the humor and the updates, and won't go tie myself in knots if a car is missing a ACI label or some such thing. Doing historical reseach has taught me that's not possible to know everything or cover every point. That information is out there, but often doesn't come to light until after the fact. More than a few historical book authors have learned this the hard way. So I try to give everyone some lee-way. To dwell upon such a thing is a poision of the mind, so much better to forgive and forget and move on. Thanks for your hard work and the humor!

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

needles_sub Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rapido's, and other manufacture's, dog and pony
> shows are getting tiring.
>

Not as tiring as insulting garbage posts like this. Rapido is superb, and fun, and if you can't handle that, get another hobby that encourages negatives and grousing.  Surely there must be a group that enjoys pulling the wings off flies.

Art House

This is just my opionion guys.
This is America, I can say what I feel. You don't have to agree, you don't have to like it.
There are many posts I don't like, but I read them. They have a right to voice their thoughts.
When is any kind of discourse not allowed. When did discussion or conversation become a bad thing?
Rapido responds to my posts. I respond to theirs.
Models improved because people pointed out what could be better, what could be improved. I have never called anyone a "turd" because I disagree or dislike their post. Calling someone names says a lot about a person.
If nothing was said about the wrong colors, would Jason know? Would he know corrections were needed?


Posted from Android



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/19 08:03 by needles_sub.

SPDRGWfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rapidotrains Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So no, we will not stop being silly and we will
> > not stop having fun. If this really gets your
> > goat, just don't buy our stuff.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Jason
>
> +1

I am quite happy with everything I have purchased from Rapido...and there is a LOT of it. 

......Jason, keep doing what you are doing.  If you cannot have fun doing what you do for a living, why bother?  I cannot think of a single friend - and I have hundreds in this hobby - who has said they would not buy a Rapdo product because they do not like your Monty-Python approach to marketing :) 

Bob