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In lugnet.trains, Mark Sandlin writes:
> Josh Baakko at shi_web@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> > > > I also
> > > > think that the larger ones could have been built better, but WHERE ARE THE
> > > > DIESELS?
> > >
> > > To which diesels are you referring?
> >
> > I'm waiting for some.
> > Josh
>
> Well, perhaps you should look at it from a sales perspective.
>
> Diesel engines (IMO) look like a shoebox with wheels. The trains currently
> on shop.lego.com are far more interesting to look at (IMO) than a diesel
> engine would be.
>
> Things that aren't interesting to the consumer generally don't sell very
> well. TLC is probably counting on more than just the die-hard train nuts to
> drive sales, so they probably are trying to make the trains as interesting
> as possible to people like me who aren't train nuts.
You are so right. Mundanes want cute. They think trains are cute things that
puff. Think Little Engine that Could. Think Thomas!!! (every show should
have a Thomas...) In fact, in this month's TRAINS, REAL railroad museums
were talking about how much of a draw a Thomas is.
They are mundanes. They don't get why getting the details exactly right or
at least close gets us jazzed. If they did, they wouldn't be mundanes.
But TLC *has* to market to mundanes. I don't like these locos. They are too
cute. That is a GOOD SIGN. I am not a mundane so I don't know if they are
the right kind of cute or not to sell well... we shall see.
> Of course, I could be completely off-base, but that's kind of what it looks
> like from here.
Spot on. Star Wars isn't technically accurate either.
++Lar
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In lugnet.trains, Larry Pieniazek writes:
> In lugnet.trains, Mark Sandlin writes:
> > Well, perhaps you should look at it from a sales perspective.
> >
> > Diesel engines (IMO) look like a shoebox with wheels. The trains currently
> > on shop.lego.com are far more interesting to look at (IMO) than a diesel
> > engine would be.
> >
> > Things that aren't interesting to the consumer generally don't sell very
> > well. TLC is probably counting on more than just the die-hard train nuts to
> > drive sales, so they probably are trying to make the trains as interesting
> > as possible to people like me who aren't train nuts.
>
> You are so right. Mundanes want cute. They think trains are cute things that
> puff. Think Little Engine that Could. Think Thomas!!! (every show should
> have a Thomas...) In fact, in this month's TRAINS, REAL railroad museums
> were talking about how much of a draw a Thomas is.
>
> They are mundanes. They don't get why getting the details exactly right or
> at least close gets us jazzed. If they did, they wouldn't be mundanes.
>
> But TLC *has* to market to mundanes. I don't like these locos. They are too
> cute. That is a GOOD SIGN. I am not a mundane so I don't know if they are
> the right kind of cute or not to sell well... we shall see.
Agreed. Don't forget that in the process of helping to promote LTC's at
train shows, LEGO gets to send a postcard with a picture of one of these
cute trains to lots and lots of people.
I don't think that's an accident, neh?
FWIW, I'm not a train guy, and I think they're cute, and may buy one just
for that. Heck, I may buy one with blue trim, just so people can come to a
NALUG show and say "Hey, that's the train on the postcard!"
Also consider that this is "step 2" in LD's experiment with 'build your own
stuff'. The first step was being able to order different colors of 1 part
(Mosaic), and now they're trying different colors of several parts. I think
it's a step forward, and *will* sink some money into it, just so that it's
that much closer to a viable step 3. (Just like I sunk some money into
Mosaic, despite the hellish interface.)
James
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In lugnet.trains, Larry Pieniazek writes:
> You are so right. Mundanes want cute.
Mundanes? Er --wha? Oh... for a moment there, I thought this newsgroup had
accidentally got cross-posted to lugnet.off-topic.sca
;^D
~Grand Admiral Muffin Head
--
Mark's Lego(R) Creations
http://www.nwlink.com/~sandlin/lego
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