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Dear Rapido Customer,
I told you I'd be back soon with a new announcement and here I am! Welcome to the 45th edition of Rapido News! We should have a party or something. This newsletter is super short, so there is no need to take it with you to the bathroom.
In this issue of Rapido News:
Welcome Back, Coaches!
"Your dreams are your ticket out..."
Gabe Kotter, Arnold Horshack, Freddie Washington, Vinnie Barbarino, Juan Epstein, Bill, Dan and I are pleased to let you know that Rapido Trains Inc. is bringing back the HO scale Lightweight Coach! It's been six years since our last full run of coaches, and we get requests for them all the time. After much complaining from Horshack, we've also completely revised the tooling of the coach for a more rigid construction. The underframe has been redesigned as a C-channel; this ensures that the ends and sides will not warp out of shape.
"Well the names have all changed since you hung around..."
In addition to bringing back some of the old favourites like CN, PRR and NYC, we're introducing some new schemes which you probably wouldn't have expected to see on a super-detailed, ready-to-run model. Scroll down for an illustrated list of all the paint schemes. Here's a complete rundown of the features of our HO scale Lightweight Coach:
- Revised tooling for more rigid assembly
- Accurate dimensions
- Fully decorated and assembled with factory-installed grab irons
- Full underbody with all air, steam and electrical lines
- Window blinds at different heights for each car
- Operating diaphragms with etched-metal end gates
- Magnetic metal knuckle couplers at the correct height
- Free-rolling trucks (41-BNO-11 or 41-N-11 as appropriate)
- Metal wheelsets
- Full multi-colour interior detail
- "Easy-Peasy" battery-operated interior lighting
- 22" minimum radius (18" in a pinch)
Regarding the random-height window blinds: this was so well received on The Canadian that we decided to do this for the Super Continental Line as well. I prefer the blinds at the same height (I do model a coach yard, after all!) but I was outvoted by you. Even though we are producing up to ten different car numbers per paint scheme, no two cars in a single paint scheme will have the same window blind pattern. That's another industry first (I can see why - it's costing us a mint).
"Those dreams have remained and they've turned around..."
We first released the Lightweight Coach in late 2006, and I am amazed to be able to say that in the last six or seven years, no other manufacturer has even come close in terms of passenger car detail. Have a look at that underbody! Every pipe with a diameter of 3/4" or greater is represented. As far as I am concerned, you can't have enough underbody detail.
Our product costs in China have increased by over 100% since we first brought the coaches out (eek!), but thankfully the MSRP has NOT increased proportionally. The lower profit margin means that from now on Dan is just eating dry cereal.
The MSRP is $84.95. The order deadline is 28 June 2013, and delivery is Fall 2013. Please order these from your local dealer. We accept direct orders, but only for two cars or more. Click on any paint scheme picture below for more information.
"Welcome Back..."
Welcoming these coaches back to the Rapido line up has gotten us so much into the spirit of Welcome Back Kotter that Janet, Dan and I have decided to go in for a new look. We look forward to bumping into you (literally) at the next train show!
Upcoming China trip
Bill and I are going to China next week and we expect to return with samples of our new locomotive. So after more than a year since we first leaked it out, the official announcement of our new locomotive (with paint schemes, ordering information and pricing) will be coming in our next newsletter. Stay tuned!
Exclusive models and shirts at the KingstonSub.com shop
Here's a shameless plug for my other site, KingstonSub.com.
The next time you are forced to travel by plane (it sucks but it does happen), you need to be wearing a T-shirt clearly letting everyone at the airport know you would rather be on the train. I am thus pleased to present "I'd rather be on Amtrak" and "I'd rather be on VIA" T-shirts. These are for sale exclusively through my basement's web site, KingstonSub.com.
Also at the shop are two exclusive VIA FP9A locomotives and SIX complete 9-car VIA Turbo sets that the factory literally found sitting at the back of the warehouse. The VIA Turbos have been SOLD OUT since they first arrived back in late 2008. Click here to visit the KingstonSub.com shop. I don't expect the Turbos to last very long.
The fear of starting...
I've just updated Rapido's blog with a bit about my own layout construction, or - more appropriately - my lack thereof. I've been staring at an empty room for the last three months. Well, I say empty, but you can see in the photo above that it's slowly being filled up with junk. I say "slowly" but I really mean "rapidly." I say "rapidly" but I really mean "ridiculously quickly." I say "ridiculously quickly" but I really mean that the junk is multiplying exponentially, is taking over my entire house, and in the last ten minutes has buried two starship captains and a guy named Arne Darvin.
This blog post builds upon something I shared with the CanModelTrains group a couple of weeks ago, namely my paralyzing fear of starting my layout. Maybe you've experienced the same thing, or maybe you are one of those go-getters who finishes six impossible things before breakfast and you won't be able to sympathize at all. Either way, please click here to read about it. Here's an excerpt:
Model railroading is a lot more complex than building a full-size train in your basement, believe it or not. I look at signal systems and think, "wow!" but then when the layout owner starts to explain how it works, the information goes right over my head. I look at the tangle of 8000 wires that someone like master builder Dave Gunn has under his layout and my first thought is, "if I run away now, I'll never have to do this kind of wiring."
Please click here to read more.
That's all for this short issue of Rapido News. Next month it's big locomotive announcement time, provided our first test samples from the factory don't look like Hostess Twinkies. Thanks for reading!
All the best,
Jason
Jason Shron
President
Rapido Trains Inc.
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