Joined: 23/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 2,597 Location: Beverly, MA
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 7 users liked this useful post by kbvrod
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Joined: 27/07/2009(UTC) Posts: 5,862 Location: Leesburg,VA.USA
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Sad news. I'll be sorry to see their loss. Peter
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 2 users liked this useful post by petestra
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Joined: 14/03/2005(UTC) Posts: 15,871 Location: Gibraltar, Europe
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Shame about that. Every manufacturer that goes out of business means the hobby is a little bit poorer. |
Ray
Mostly Marklin.Selection of different eras and European railways Small C track layout, control by MS2, 100+ trains but run 4-5 at a time.
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 3 users liked this useful post by RayF
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Joined: 31/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 868 Location: Brazil
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 1 user liked this useful post by waorb
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Joined: 27/06/2012(UTC) Posts: 3,478 Location: Holland
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I'm a HUGE fan of Vollmer's 1950/60's catalogs and products. Can't keep it dry while reading the 1961/62 catalog with their super cult 1960's signal boxes "Moosbach", "Stuttgart" and "Ost".  Maybe Simba Dickie can take over Vollmer, just as they did with...   |
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 11 users liked this useful post by kweekalot
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utkan, petestra, Janne75, Frankenbahner, hennabm, PierreGILLARD, Tom Jessop, Andrey, Mark5, LA2019, Shamu
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Joined: 30/01/2006(UTC) Posts: 1,894 Location: Keene, NH
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Wow...that is sad news indeed! |
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 1 user liked this useful post by mmervine
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Joined: 27/06/2012(UTC) Posts: 3,478 Location: Holland
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See this 29 minutes movie about Vollmer that was broadcasted last Monday on German TV.... LINK |
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 7 users liked this useful post by kweekalot
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Joined: 25/09/2003(UTC) Posts: 2,786 Location: ,
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I'm a big fan of Volmer , me too ! Sad, sad sad !
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 2 users liked this useful post by jeehring
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Joined: 27/07/2009(UTC) Posts: 5,862 Location: Leesburg,VA.USA
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It's too bad that Vollmer could not have just merged with Kibri/Viessmann or Faller. Peter
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 2 users liked this useful post by petestra
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Joined: 21/10/2004(UTC) Posts: 31,701 Location: United Kingdom
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Very sad to hear that. |
Large Marklinist 3- Rails Layout with CS2/MS2/Boosters/C-track/favorites Electric class E03/BR103, E18/E118, E94, Crocodiles/Steam BR01, BR03, BR05, BR23, BR44, BR50, Big Boy. |
 1 user liked this useful post by steventrain
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Joined: 09/04/2012(UTC) Posts: 1,343 Location: Southwest Ohio
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OMG!!! I felt they were the best quality of the three German structure manufacturers (Faller and Kibri the others). Their kits went together with just a quick wipe of the liquid glue brush. Nothing went together with more accurate seams than a Vollmer kit. Very sad news. |
Matt Era 3 DB lokos, coaches and freight cars from across Europe But I do have the obligatory (six) SBB Krocs ECoS 50200, all FX and MFX decoders replaced with ESU V4s, operated in DCC-RailCom+ with ABC brake control. With the exception of the passenger wagens with Marklin current conducting couplers, all close couplers have been replaced with Roco 40397. |
 1 user liked this useful post by biedmatt
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Joined: 23/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 2,597 Location: Beverly, MA
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Originally Posted by: petestra  It's too bad that Vollmer could not have just merged with Kibri/Viessmann or Faller. Peter
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 1 user liked this useful post by kbvrod
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Joined: 13/04/2011(UTC) Posts: 143 Location: Portugal
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Very, very sad... Among all major vendors of model railroad kits, for me they are top! The "romantic style" buildings are one of their best and well known 'trademarks'. For me personally that's a special ingredient of a model railroad layout. Vollmer buildings give it a special touch that makes me dream the same way as I did in my childwhood when looking at great layouts.
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 4 users liked this useful post by pn
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Joined: 12/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 9,289
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Indeed sad news! I have two of Vollmer kit building and they looks charming. Well...it was expecting because Faller did also had some problem,but they did solved the problems. I don´t think somebody is interested to buy company. Mostley of the customer is more interested in laser cut kit buildings,which has become favorite. |
H0 DCC = Digital Command Control
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 1 user liked this useful post by Goofy
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Joined: 23/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 2,597 Location: Beverly, MA
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Joined: 17/09/2006(UTC) Posts: 18,778 Location: New Zealand
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Yikes!  I'm glad that I've already purchased the Vollmer kits I was wanting to get for my layout! From the article, it sounds like Vollmer is closing mid 2014, but they are still going to be at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in late January, with maybe some new items for the first half of 2014. Rather sad news!
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 2 users liked this useful post by Bigdaddynz
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Joined: 27/06/2012(UTC) Posts: 3,478 Location: Holland
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It ain't over till it's over !
I think there will be some kind of 'solution' for closure mid 2014, like a takeover by Faller or Simba Dickie or...
Marco |
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 3 users liked this useful post by kweekalot
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Joined: 17/09/2006(UTC) Posts: 18,778 Location: New Zealand
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Let's hope so Marco!
Simba Dickie, are you listening??
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 5 users liked this useful post by Bigdaddynz
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Joined: 23/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 2,597 Location: Beverly, MA
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Originally Posted by: kweekalot  See this 29 minutes movie about Vollmer that was broadcasted last Monday on German TV.... LINK That is kicking arse!
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Joined: 21/02/2011(UTC) Posts: 383
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Just built one of the kits that came with a Marklin expansion pack-it was the best kit I've ever seen, and was so easy to assemble! This is sad :( |
Author of the gritty sci-fi novel 'Stories of Earth: WWIII' (featuring an awesome train chase) Avid YouTuber (XtremeTrainz and TrainzXtreme) and train person! |
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Joined: 14/04/2006(UTC) Posts: 304 Location: Southern California
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That's too bad! Vollmer had a distinctive style in their products.
BR, Juha
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 2 users liked this useful post by Brakeman
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Joined: 25/07/2001(UTC) Posts: 11,165
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Hmmm... If I win a huge lottery win this weekend I will ask Susanne to marry me to keep the business "in the family" - or if she is already married I will offer some financial help... I think that sums up what I think about Vollmer.... The best models that must be saved at any cost... |
Juhan - "Webmaster", at your service... He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes. He who does not ask a question remains a fool forever. [Old Chinese Proverb] |
 8 users liked this useful post by Webmaster
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Joined: 23/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 2,597 Location: Beverly, MA
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 1 user liked this useful post by kbvrod
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Joined: 09/04/2007(UTC) Posts: 150 Location: Melbourne, Victoria
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Hmmm ... very sad sign of the times  I've added a Vollmer Stille-Nacht-Kapelle to my next shopping list  |
Regards Pete
expat Kiwi - now living in Melbourne
SBB Era IV & V - Digital - CS1 - C Track |
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Joined: 17/12/2004(UTC) Posts: 970 Location: Okanagan Valley, BC
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NOOOO!!!
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Joined: 17/12/2004(UTC) Posts: 970 Location: Okanagan Valley, BC
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Originally Posted by: kbvrod  Originally Posted by: kweekalot  See this 29 minutes movie about Vollmer that was broadcasted last Monday on German TV.... LINK That is kicking arse! Modellhaus-Scout??? Sign me up!!
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 1 user liked this useful post by bmcrae
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Joined: 21/10/2004(UTC) Posts: 31,701 Location: United Kingdom
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Originally Posted by: kbvrod  Google translate. Message of the Stuttgart office (ferpress@t-online.de) of the international railway-Press Association FERPRESS (www.ferpress.ch) of the 27.12.2013 of just: +++ Stop model building company VOLLMER mid 2014 +++ FERPRESS exclusively learned over the Christmas holidays, is recently that the Stuttgart founded in 1946 to the middle of the year 2014 closes its doors in the Porsche road in the District of Zuffenhausen tradition company VOLLMER finally. This was confirmed by the company. Sad news for the many model railway enthusiasts, who decorate their plants with the countless building models of the well-known Swabian family business for decades. Once again, VOLLMER at the Nuremberg Toy Fair will be late January, introduce innovations which are 2014 manufactured and delivered to the trade in the first half of. For many industry insiders this decision which goes hand in hand with the sale of the premises, a real surprise, since VOLLMER is so far to the more stable companies the model train industry. Red numbers were avoided until recently, not least because the each timely company sizing downward changes in the model railway accessories sector. This company's Managing Director Susanne Vollmer at the request of FERPRESS: "We as a small medium-sized enterprise have to suffer from the general trend. We arrived in this context after much deliberation to the conclusion, that it is better to stop in time and maps and to no longer rely on an uncertain future of the company. This would have been unfair ultimately also to the remaining employees. I hope this very, that will succeed with our help, all in the next few months elsewhere to accommodate them." SWR television was still on Monday of this week a watchable half hour report titled Mini worlds - a family operation for the construction of the model VOLLMER broadcast over the previous success of the family business, to find remains in the ARD/SWR library via [www.ardmediathek.de] The company Vollmer GmbH & Co.KG in the Internet: [vollmer-online.de] |
Large Marklinist 3- Rails Layout with CS2/MS2/Boosters/C-track/favorites Electric class E03/BR103, E18/E118, E94, Crocodiles/Steam BR01, BR03, BR05, BR23, BR44, BR50, Big Boy. |
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Joined: 31/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 868 Location: Brazil
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I`m still not believing...
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Joined: 27/06/2012(UTC) Posts: 3,478 Location: Holland
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I don't know if it has anything to do with the upcoming closing of the Vollmer company, but in the MiWuLa's webshop Vollmer is for sale with 50% discount, which makes it very affordable..... LINK |
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 1 user liked this useful post by kweekalot
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Joined: 15/09/2006(UTC) Posts: 625 Location: Nuremberg, Bavaria
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Very sad news!
German model train fans often criticized Vollmer products as "romanticizing". They were not really amused about products like their "Silent Night Chapel" and blamed the firm for "timberframe romanticism". But let's face it - are Faller, Kibri, or the others so much different? They all had (and have) similar products ("Kitsch" as one would say in German) to build some kind of "Heidiland". At least, the Silent Night Chapel was a reproduction of a real-life structure in the town of Oberndorf near Salzburg not far from the border to Upper Austria and Bavaria.
On the other hand, Vollmer had many nice products if you wanted to build a city. What other firm had a multi-story car park? Vollmer also offered a range of typical turn-of-the-century and Art Nouveau townhouses. They had modern office buildings. Aldi markets could be found as well as Mc Donald's and Burger King. Compared to other firms, Vollmer had managed to keep their very own, distinctive style.
Vollmer always provided excellent quality and accuracy; their kits were easily to assemble, a more ore less extensive finishing process was mostly unnecessary.
But we should also think of the Vollmer employees. When firms like Roco and Märklin (and others) filed insolvency, many model train fans were shedding tears for the firms. They should rather have cried for the people who had been working there for many years or even decades an then just were turned adrift. Let's hope the Vollmer employees will find new jobs quickly and that maybe someone will buy the moulds (or even the whole firm).
Regards, Florian |
H0 3-rail AC with DCC, MM and mfx, 2-rail DC streetcars, and N gauge |
 9 users liked this useful post by Frankenbahner
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Joined: 27/06/2012(UTC) Posts: 3,478 Location: Holland
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Originally Posted by: Frankenbahner  What other firm had a multi-story car park?
WIAD did, the ARAL Parkhaus, item# 1072B. It is the rarest H0 building ever, as far as is known only one collector owns it (Uwe Kern in Germany).   |
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 1 user liked this useful post by kweekalot
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Joined: 12/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 9,289
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That was ugly parking house building!! |
H0 DCC = Digital Command Control
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Joined: 27/06/2012(UTC) Posts: 3,478 Location: Holland
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Hi Anders,
Thank you for your kind words !! WIAD 1072B is highly sought after and #1 on my wish list.
Marco |
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 1 user liked this useful post by kweekalot
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Joined: 15/09/2006(UTC) Posts: 625 Location: Nuremberg, Bavaria
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I dind't know this Wiad item before. Thanks for posting!
Now I'll have to look for the Vollmer car park and other Vollmer items still missing.
Regards, Florian |
H0 3-rail AC with DCC, MM and mfx, 2-rail DC streetcars, and N gauge |
 3 users liked this useful post by Frankenbahner
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Joined: 23/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 2,597 Location: Beverly, MA
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Hi all, Quote:But we should also think of the Vollmer employees. That is the first thing I think about,people losing their jobs,... The Dirt
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 4 users liked this useful post by kbvrod
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Joined: 19/09/2009(UTC) Posts: 841 Location: Lidingö, Sweden
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Vollmer will close shop in the middle of 2014 according to German news site "Lokalkompass.de". The real estate where the factory is located has been sold to car manufacturer Porsche. Vollmer will be present at the Nürnberger Spielwarenmesse in January and present new items that will be delivered during the first half of 2014. Link to German site Lokalkompass.de
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 1 user liked this useful post by Western Pacific
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Joined: 13/04/2011(UTC) Posts: 143 Location: Portugal
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Hi, There's already a thread on the very same issue: https://www.marklin-user...-closing.aspx#post435902I have merged these two threads now. (Marco)
All news on that seem to point to the info FERPRESS got in a suposedly exclusive way. A few thinks that do not make much sense (at least for me): - On one hand they report Vollmer will close by mid 2014 but on the other hand the same report states that they will be in the Nuremberg toy fair with novelties. That does not seem to match a closing plan... - Coincidentally (or maybe not...) there are rumors of all sorts on possible buyers of Vollmer that go from competitors to the new owner of Märklin. On rumors and speculation the sky is the limit... Regards, Pedro Edited by user 30 December 2013 10:52:22(UTC)
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Joined: 13/04/2011(UTC) Posts: 143 Location: Portugal
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Hi, All news on that seem to point to the info FERPRESS got in a suposedly exclusive way from Vollmer management. A few thinks that do not make much sense (at least for me): - On one hand they report Vollmer will close by mid 2014 but on the other hand the same report states that they will be in the Nuremberg toy fair with novelties. That does not seem to match a closing plan... - Coincidentally (or maybe not...) there are rumors of all sorts on possible buyers of Vollmer that go from "simple" competitors to the new owner of Märklin. On rumors and speculation the sky is the limit... What are just rumors and what are the plain hard facts only time will clarify... Regards, Pedro Edited by user 30 December 2013 10:51:41(UTC)
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 1 user liked this useful post by pn
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Joined: 23/08/2006(UTC) Posts: 2,597 Location: Beverly, MA
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Joined: 22/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 1,047
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Very sad news, it's a shame that such great products can't keep the company alive.
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 2 users liked this useful post by Iamnotthecrazyone
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Joined: 13/04/2011(UTC) Posts: 143 Location: Portugal
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 1 user liked this useful post by pn
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Joined: 27/07/2009(UTC) Posts: 5,862 Location: Leesburg,VA.USA
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I just sent Vollmer a message via their website. I think it would be great for all of us to send one. Peter
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Joined: 09/12/2011(UTC) Posts: 2,533 Location: VA
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I'm so disappointed by this. Vollmer has always been my favourite. I am building a Vollmer kit right now, makes it seem even worse. I really enjoy how Vollmer plastics are always thick and robust, but the detail is still there. I had a number of kits in storage for years, the Vollmer kits survived the best.
However, they have given us 67 years of great products. I agree with Peter, send a message to thank them for all those years. I hope perhaps that the employees with skill and expertise will find work perhaps with another model company, perhaps influencing some of their production.
-Brandon |
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 4 users liked this useful post by BrandonVA
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Joined: 27/06/2012(UTC) Posts: 3,478 Location: Holland
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Hi,
I've read on a German mrr forum that in Marklin Magazine December/ January 2014 is a 4 page article on Vollmer, but I don't know if Vollmer's closure is discussed.
Marco
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 3 users liked this useful post by kweekalot
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Joined: 17/09/2006(UTC) Posts: 18,778 Location: New Zealand
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Originally Posted by: kweekalot  I've read on a German mrr forum that in Marklin Magazine December/ January 2014 is a 4 page article on Vollmer...... There is no such article in the English edition of MM 06/2013, but maybe in the German edition - the German edition is often twice the size of the English edition (which is annoying, since we pay the same amount for club membership, but only get half of the magazine).
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 3 users liked this useful post by Bigdaddynz
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Joined: 28/11/2007(UTC) Posts: 8,243 Location: Montreal, QC
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I was actually wondering whether the company's decision to shut down was related to the development of 3D printers. I would think that this new technology would pretty much enable anybody with access to one of these printers to just print out the sections and glue them together from plans taken from the internet or self made reproductions of houses and scenery.
Regards
Mike C
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 1 user liked this useful post by mike c
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Joined: 27/06/2012(UTC) Posts: 3,478 Location: Holland
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Maybe the hobby have indeed come to the point where the old method with expensive molds has become outdated ? Plastic injecting molding was fine from the mid 1950s until now, but the time has come for laser cut models.
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Joined: 21/02/2011(UTC) Posts: 383
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Originally Posted by: mike c  I was actually wondering whether the company's decision to shut down was related to the development of 3D printers. I would think that this new technology would pretty much enable anybody with access to one of these printers to just print out the sections and glue them together from plans taken from the internet or self made reproductions of houses and scenery.
Regards
Mike C Although 3D printer have come a long way, they're stil not widely avaliable, can't do colours very well and because they print in layers are very weak (in my experience) For the next few years they're still a gimick, and are no way near good enough to replace the kind of models that Vollmer was/is making. |
Author of the gritty sci-fi novel 'Stories of Earth: WWIII' (featuring an awesome train chase) Avid YouTuber (XtremeTrainz and TrainzXtreme) and train person! |
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Joined: 25/09/2003(UTC) Posts: 2,786 Location: ,
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...Marklin kit ref. #72891 was from Vollmer,... ...the garage for KOF too...
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Joined: 03/07/2008(UTC) Posts: 126
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For those of our members who did not already know - the long established and very famous House of Vollmer will cease production in the middle of 2014. I understand that the entire business has been purchased by Porsche AG for a very good price to the Vollmer family. Land and property in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen is very expensive and the proximity of the Vollmer plant in Zuffenhausen could lend some weight to the suggestion that Porsche needs extra production capacity i.e. land for expansion - any other observations would be welcome
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 2 users liked this useful post by Graham HO
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