Athearn crewed the pooch on this one. I have to take the RTR cars apart anyway to weather, change out couplers, and tune the wheelsets. Much easier tasks when the car came as a kit.
Probably 20% of my roster came as undecorated kits. I wanted more cars for my roads and duplicate numbers are one of my pet peeves. Hence the undecorated. And for a longtime, many of my roads had cars made in only one or two numbers. The only way to get a good sized roster was to paint and decal your own.
As far as "lazy American", more like instant gratification and the spoiled "I want it NOW!!" complex. People can support Athearn all they want. Athearn turned their back on the "financially challenged" hobbyist and the beginner in the hobby. Sure, there are other kits, higher priced, and more complicated. Even then many were not the quality of an Athearn. Dollar for dollar, the Athearn BB kit was the best deal on the market, bar none.
Some use the excuse that now, with RTR, one can spend more time detailing the layout. PSHAW!!!!!!! The BB kit gave one something to do while paint and stains were drying or plaster was setting. Gimme a break. This is where the "lazy American" ideology fits, IMO.
And 60 hour work weeks? With the overtime premium, you could hire someone to build your layout. And if you have to work 60 hours to make ends meet, it's time to stop and evaluate your lifestyle. You need to cut back on a few things because you can't enjoy them if you don't have time to pursue them. And you're gonna die young. And that's a fact!!!
Yep, Athearn did not think of the hobby, and many that are in it. The pocketbook is god to them. All about margin and profit. If they wanted to make a lot of money, they should not have picked a niche market.
I own well over 3000 pieces of rolling stock , maybe closer to 3500 now, not including passenger trains and cabooses, which I collect. I would venture to say that 75-80% are Athearn BB kits. Tell me that those engaging in the hobby during the same time period I've been enjoying modeling trains didn't buy a majority of kits. And with my layout being larger than most, I found time to build the kits, construct the layout, run trains, run multiple businesses, and still found time to go hunting and fishing. And that's a fact. (NOTE: I probably own a couple of dozen RTR's. They were all purchased on eBay as a part of package deals. And I had to take them apart to finish them. I WILL NOT pay the price of RTR stock. Not when I have to take it apart and put it back together.)
Yep, Athearn screwed the pooch......and the hobby and those in it.
Bob