Are rolling stock 'kits' still available?


A

austinrick

New Member
Returning to the hobby after, oh, 35 years away; some things have changed!

For one, the local model dealer tells me that real kits-- wooden and metal parts that must be assembled with skill and patience --are for the most part obsolete; no one makes them anymore.

As a kid I didn't have the patience to deal with kits, so I went with Athearn rolling stock that only needed the trucks screwed on and maybe the brake wheel stuck in place.

Today I want a real kit that will challenge me. Where can I get them?

Thanks....glad to have found this forum!

-Rick
 
Wooden kits like Ambroid are no longer made on a large scale. You can find some challenging plastic kits though. They are unpainted.

Off the top of my head, I can think of two comapnies that offer challenging kits.

RailYard Models
Wright Track
 
Rick, check out the eBay auction listings. There you'll find all the originl great kits by the likes of Ambroid, Brinkley, Laconia and a host of others, most selling for very reasonable prices.

Unfortunately, most of those recently coming into HO model railroading are typically not interested in being craftsmen but rather want increasingly to pursue the hobby as if it were a downsized version of Lionel toy trains, with everything ready to go right out of the box. Since RTR items can command 2x to 3x the price of a kit, most of the current manufacturers have chosen to cater to that element in the hobby rather than the more traditional hobbyists.

You might also wish to checkout the following site, which offers many of the older kits through direct sales:

http://www.mrrwarehouse.com/

NYW&B
 
Although I like kits, fat fingers and unsteady clumsy hands make assembling small detail parts very difficult.

I often break things or make mistakes and end up having to glue everything back together.

Athearn Blue Box kits I can do, but something like an Ambroid kit is beyond me. I tried drilling holes and installing grab irons once. The way it turned out... it could have been regarded as modern art.

Also, with the older wooden kits, the detail is not the same level of detail as the Ready-to-Roll cars of today. Sure, you can put brass detail parts on it, but that's not for me.
 
You can also find the older Athearn metal kits on eBay. I've bought several to "round out" my fleet of metal rolling stock. There is an outfit called "Ye Ol' Huff 'n Puff" which makes wood/metal kits. There is really no shortage of building kits if you really look around.
 
I managed to pick up a Walthers proto2000 kit at my local hobby shop the other day, other than that, most kits are obsolete, you're lucky to find an Athearn kit that requires the trucks to be screwed on. There are still some Accurail kits available but they are also scarce.
 
Athearn blue box were just anounced that they will no longer be made. if your looking for kits like the old athearns check out accurail about 12 diffrent parts to put on in about 5 mins

proto2000 kits are pretty intence for detail thats where I draw the line it takes about 2hrs to build one of them
 
What are you talking about?

Although recently discontinued, Athearn Blue Box kits are still easy to find All Blue Box kits come with trucks that you need to screw in. Athearn doesn't use pins.

Walthers kits are also not hard to find because they lack detail.

Accurail is still in business and is still cranking out decent kits. Accurail kits are not hard to find either.
 
I was talking about what he will find if one was to walk into a hobby shop tomorrow... both my LHS have had about 10 BB kits left on the shelf for 3 months now.

Accurail and P2K are the most common kits I see at my hobbie shops now that are in stock and in prodction. Yes Ebay is BB heaven. I found about 35 BB kits 2 months ago for around a whopping 4.50 each shipped!!!
 
nephthyr said:
... other than that, most kits are obsolete, ...
Click to expand...

"Most" kits are nowhere near obsolete. I believe that some LHS have just stopped carrying them. These are just off the top of my head, and I have purchased at least two from each maker listed recently, (as in the past 6 months). Accurail, Branchline, Red Caboose, Intermountain, Funaro & Camerlengo, Sunshine, Westerfield, Ye Old Huff & Puff, Bowser and I'm sure there are a few others I'm forgetting. Edit; (I forgot, had to mail order the Sunshine kit, it hasn't arrived yet.)

These were all bought from stores located in Pelham, Al.,(Birmingham), and Little Rock, Ar. If you need their addresses to order some, drop me a PM and I'll send them to you.
 
There's still plenty of Athearn BB, Rounhouse, and other kits available at various shops around here. Some have only RTR but they never stocked much in the first place.
You can find plenty of craftsman kits at train shows and swap meets.
 
lmackattack said:
I was talking about what he will find if one was to walk into a hobby shop tomorrow... both my LHS have had about 10 BB kits left on the shelf for 3 months now.

Accurail and P2K are the most common kits I see at my hobbie shops now that are in stock and in prodction. Yes Ebay is BB heaven. I found about 35 BB kits 2 months ago for around a whopping 4.50 each shipped!!!
Click to expand...

You can't make a generalization based on your LHS. If your LHS didn't carry many kits to begin with, then they won't have very many. My LHS has tons of kits, mostly Blue Box, Accurail and Walthers. The other LHS's that I go to are also like that.
 
What a huge help you folks are! I followed a few links, Googled the rest--now I have more than enough resources to get started again. Thanks to everyone! You'll see me here from time to time.
 
The last place I saw one of those old wood and metal kits was at a train show back in December. It was one of Walthers' old Oscar passenger car models. Although there are still plenty of Accurail, Athearn Blue Box, Walthers, and Bowser plastic kits to be found and Railyardmodels.com and some other companies still make resin kits.
 
Here's what a buddy of mine picked up at a recent show in Winnipeg.
I'm sure he won't mind my posting it here.
Quite a haul!

Broadway Limited On30 2-8-0 $150
4-Proto 2000 40' double deck stock cars $20.00
4-Proto 2000 8,000 gal. riveted tank cars. $20.00
1-Red Caboose 10,000 gallon tank car $3.00
3-Intermountain refridgerator cars $15.00
1-Intermountain 8,000 gal. tanker $5.00
2-Jaeger flat car load kits. $.50
1-Northeast Scale Models Auto car wood kit $2.00
3-Juneco caboose kits. $20.00
Tichy Train Group 120 ton Brownhoist Steam Wrecking Crane
" "36' 10,000gal. tank car 3 for $10.00
" " twin hopper
1-Sylvan CP wide vision Van $10.00
1-Quality Craft CN caboose wood kit $10.00
1-Dennis Strozek boxcar $10.00
2-passenger car kits by a company called Brass Car Sides.Never heard of them before. It consists of 2 sets of brass car sides and 2 sets of roofs,ends and floors. The sides were marked $31.95 and $29.95 and the body kits were $11.65. Probably why they hadn't sold in all these years. $20.00
1-Ambroid wood kit.$15.00 (not a deal. I wanted it and couldn't get him to budge. He had it marked $20.00)
1-Pikestuff Trucker/Railroad Hotel $5.00
1-Kanamodel 18 Lever Interlocking Tower $5.00
1-E&B Valley HOn3 combine chair car(whatever the hell that is) $10.00
1-Bachmann Gandy Dancer.(Don't expect it to run though. I bought it from shom real shady lookin guy) $10.00
1-Durango Press Dutchman Mining Supply Co. $25.00
1-Magnuson Models Ottawa High Cab kit. Makes 2 trucks $5.00
1-Athearn Freightliner tractor $4.00
1-Roundhouse HOn3 B-2 Shay kit $50.00
1-Roundhouse HOn3 c-3 Shay kit $50.00
80 magazines $20.00
 
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