modelmaker87 Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Received this e-mail this afternoon, US EDT. I'm personally out $275 plus dollars. Chris's problem was his poor business methods, keeping his customers waiting over two years for parts surely alienated his customer base and he paid for it. So its back to the modelling bench. His hobbywide e-mail reads as follows: "Guys, I have one last tool path to run today which is for the GP38-2 exhaust hatch. I've made a lot of progress the past two weeks but I am unable to put out any OEM work in time to "save us" or generate model train sales to meet our cash burn. Anything I gain a hint of progress get squashed with another road block. There are a number of areas we have come so close to getting the job done, but the bottom line is the business does not generate enough cash to support itself. So I will post the image as my last message. Tuesday I will seek creditor protection for myself and the business. If we pull through, we have a lot of cool things coming but at this point, it's not in my hands anymore. I tried very hard with one last fight. Thank you for everything, unfortunately we didn't make it. I have no clue of what will happen next. Christopher Howard, Railflyer Model Prototypes Inc. " Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Basically he always seemed more interested in developing new products than producing the products already developed. Sad really Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Not "flying" anymore, then, unless it was by the seat of the pants? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEngineShed Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I'm sorry to see anyone in the hobby go under. Even sorrier to hear that individuals lost money on advance orders... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warbonnetuk Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 So it is true...... I'm in the same boat as Tony in being out of pocket (Q fans, handrail stanchions and a second go at GE cut levers). Real shame as what bits I did manage to get we're very good but he seem to spread himself way too thinly and duplicated existing stuff - surely he Chris could have complemented the Cannon & Co range. And the tablet? As Tony mentioned given the way he does / did business will put a lot of people off if he resurfaces again. Suppose I better get checking the Walthers & Highball websites for any left over stock. Dan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigZ Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I can't help but wonder if he'd have better devoted resources to detail parts and such rather than on his drive system. It struck me as sort of perverse that he seemed to have little interest in making it compatible with DCC. I never wished him ill, but I am glad I never prepaid for anything from him :| Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prof Klyzlr Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Dear RMwebbers, Unfortunately some of Chris's PR technique also may not have quite hit the market in a way that encouraged wider-target-user-range acceptance and use of the products. Maybe a slower, more-paced rollout of what looked to be a cracking line of parts may have been beneficial. However, it's all too easy to "armchair quarterback" such things, so let's just hope there's somelight at the end of the tunnel for all involved.. Happy Modelling, Aim to improve, Prof Klyzlr '...from a hotel room somewhere in Las Vegas, On the road to the 2012 NG convention in Seattle..." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 One gent on the Canadian modelling Yahoo list had done some work with RailFlyer. To sum up his posting: Seems a lot of their problem was getting an acceptable product back from the Chinese manufacturer. Most of the issues revolved around tooling. It wasn't so much them not selling what they had already tooled up but getting product from China that was unsellable as well a not getting the new tooling to be able to start producing their newer products. Chris was in the middle of trying to bring the injection moulding in-house when they ran out of cash. This seems to be an ongoing problem with Chinese production. Specify "A" and they will deliver "B". PWRS ended up rejecting a whole run of their grain hoppers (4000+) because the factory took a short cut and didn't deliver to the specification. Rapido is in the same boat with the Canadian set. Seems like they found issues with the grilles on the B unit in the latest batch. They've had to get the factory to supply alternate grilles to retro-fit any of the newest ones that warped during the 40c temps in transit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugsley Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 It's sad to hear, but from what I've gathered by reading various posts on t'nternet about them, it doesn't come as a great surprise to me. It sucks for all of those who paid up front for stuff and now won't be getting their order, or their money back. Chinese quality has always been somewhat unreliable, but I guess people overlooked it before as it was often so much cheaper. However, with the cost rises in China, this is less of a factor than it used to be. Also, from what I understand, wage rates are (were?) rising so rapidly that factories were having trouble holding on to the good staff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEngineShed Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I have a seen a recent post attributed to Christopher Howard, sounds more like Railflyer has had some set backs, but don't count them out just yet... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_long Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 A comment posted on diesel detailer seems to suggest that he will be back bigger and stronger. One of the big players in the market, no less. Although I've had a spat with Chris myself, I can see why he does what he does but I dont agree with it. He seems to have bought all the machinery to create moulds and models in house, which seems to have cost in excess of $200,000 alledgedly. If he can survive and do work for others on a paid for basis he may be able to re commit to his Model business. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted September 9, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 9, 2012 I've had bad experiences paying up front for model stuff (not from this supplier I emphasize!!) and one of the problems is that I suspect I am not alone in having an attitude that having been burned before that I am extremely reluctant to order anything unless the product is ready to ship which harms other model suppliers by extension. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelmaker87 Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 jjb1970, Ditto. Cheers, Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 There is an old saying used by pilots that your attitude determines your altitude. If you have the wrong attitude, you don't stay aloft very long. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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