# Weaver Models Closing June 29th



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, sad news for the model train scene, Weaver Models is closing at the end of June. I didn't believe it, so I called them, and it's really true. 

I hope none of my Weaver stuff needs parts...


----------



## Patrick1544 (Apr 27, 2013)

Too Bad. Weaver made some really good stuff in its day. Still like their brass imports from years ago.


----------



## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Sign of the times!*

Sad indeed John, A friend of mine who was heavily into O Gauge always said that Weaver was considered the Poor Mans Lionel back in the day...even though they made competitive Diesels and Rolling Stock with nice detail....they obviously couldn't compete with Lionel, Atlas and MTH!! Guess the Bay will be having a Weaver price gouging period and John your going to have to find that Elephants Graveyard for parts!


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

I am sorry to hear they are closing. I think it is good for the hobby to have lotos manufacturers, but frankly I never bought any of their locos and have fewer than a half dozen of their rolling stock, which is good but not, in my opinion, among the best I have.

In my perfect fantasy world, Menards would buy up Weaver and expand into making locos and some premium offerings. I don't know how Menards does can offer the rolling stock and structures they do at the prices I pay - I have nearly three dozen cars now and about a half dozen buildings, but assuming they _are_ making money now, I'd think they could make money with Weaver's stuff . . .


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have a few of their brass steamers, they were a pretty good deal. I don't have any of their recent locomotives, but I have some rolling stock from them. I do hate to see any manufacturer go out of business, it can't be good for the hobby in the long run.

This is one of my favorites, I liked it enough to install cruise, fan driven smoke, and a Super-Chuffer. It was a fairly recent one that came with TMCC/RS from the factory.


----------



## 400E Blue Comet (Jul 11, 2014)

I'm looking at their page right now, they make some cool things. Not enough people like trains anymore.


----------



## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

I looked at purchasing a few engines from them recently but most that I've seen run on the larger diameter curves. 036 is the largest I can do in my space right now. I just can't convince the wife I need that much more room for the trains and I'd guess a lot of other people are in that situation as well. 

Right now there seems to be a huge gap between the entry level stuff and the top of the line. I've found auctions to be my best option to improve my collection. I bet that's the case for a lot of people and that won't help any of the manufacturers. Late 90's - mid 2000s is my target buying for O scale at the moment. 

I wish I could spend the big $$ and get the modern stuff but can't right now.


----------



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

L0stS0ul said:


> . . . Right now there seems to be a huge gap between the entry level stuff and the top of the line.


I agree. Last night I posted some comments on the new Lionel Legacy 4-6-0 on the O-Gauge area of this forum. It is scale, good looking and O-31 capable, and a great runenr with good sound, so it would be a candidate for any layout like yours, but its list price is $900, which means you can find it at reputable website dealers for about $700 - $750. That's a lot for a small loco, maybe a bit too much, butin my case I really wanted a 4-6-0 with that staggered driver set up (uneven spacing between driver axles). Right now the best bargains I have found in steamers are Lionchief Plus, but they aren't quite scale. some MTH WBB and Lionel diesels can be found at pretty good prices too, if one is not too choosy about wanting rare roadnames, but you really have to shop around.


----------



## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

The big loss for me will be Scalecoat paint. Great stuff, and another railroad-specific manufacturer gone. Which leaves Modelflex and....True-color?


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

There's also Collector Color Paint from Hennings...


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Vallejo acrylics are also superb paints. While they don't make railroad specific colors (except a few in the MicroLux line sold by Micromark), they have so many shades it's impossible not to find a color match.


----------



## Ricky Tanner (Sep 19, 2015)

So what's the latest news on the Weaver tooling? On the _other_ forum,it's a touchy subject and any talk or speculation will be SILENCED!


----------

