Athern rolling stock kits


Airslide

The Flange Squeal
i have always been pretty fond of these and found out the other day they are being discontinued (or have already been). the variety is pretty wide for contemporary rolling stock. plus since they come disassembled, you can apply any weathering without having to take them apart and put back together..anyone else please feel free to share photos stories suggestions tips etc.

i picked up a couple today.

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yea its sad that lazy America has prevailed again. We took a simple proven cheep kit off the shelf and now we have more RTR with all that nice Detail for just 3 x more the price. what a trade off!!!.

I hear its a move for what the people want. I think that its more that people are just lazy. Most here on this site will say they like the added detail and I can under stand this from more of the detail freaks but I just cant see how a $10 kit is sceen as worse than a $25 RTR? you pay more for less.

90% of my rolling stock is BB kits. I run alot down at the club and put 30+ BB cars in a box with nothing more than bubble wrap and cardbord to protect them. never have to worry about any small parts getting lost. and no fuss with 30+ boxes to mess with. Ebay has tons left but many of my LHS have sold out all the BB kits once the word got out. I just won 17 BB coal cars on ebay for $95 shipped. complete with Metal wheels and KD couplers. would be hard to get 5 RTR cars for that same price.
 
Trent, its not completely lazyness, the RTR kit costs about the same to produce.

From what I heard, the Blue box kit made about $.45 on each kit sold. RTR, somewhere around $5, and RTR does sell faster.

Plus getting an RTR car with separate brake rigging and grabs is better then spending a week removing molded on stuff and adding it yourself.

I any case, I liked the kits myself, it gave me something to do at night. So now I detail stuff.
 
Trent, its not completely lazyness, the RTR kit costs about the same to produce.

From what I heard, the Blue box kit made about $.45 on each kit sold. RTR, somewhere around $5, and RTR does sell faster.

Plus getting an RTR car with separate brake rigging and grabs is better then spending a week removing molded on stuff and adding it yourself.

I any case, I liked the kits myself, it gave me something to do at night. So now I detail stuff.

Josh is right. Way back when Walthers was first getting ready to do the Super Chief, the cars were going to come in as kits, then the Chinese factory made an offer to assemble them for a ridiculous low amount. People voted with their wallets. BB wasn't selling. Have that problem in todays business climate and it won't be long before the bean counters get ya!

We'll still see BB kits for years in hobby shops and swap meets, and if you still want to build kits, there are plenty of them out there, by Athearn, Accurail, and others. And I don't think it's "Lazy America" either. I think it's the 60 hour work week many of us have to pull to make ends meet. Modeling time has taken a hit because of this. The manufacturers will always follow the money. They have to.
 
Behold, Blue Box is not dead, just pre-assembled, and $7.98 to $8.98 more than what you used to pay:

HO RTR ACF 4-Bay Centerflow Hopper at Athearn
Except mine came with metal 33" wheelsets, not 36" as advertised.

HO RTR 50' ACF Boxcar/Railbox

HO RTR 50' Covered Gondola

Of course, Athearn's been doing this (built blue box kits as ready to roll) for a while, but without kits too.

I do like that on the new tank cars, Athearn has gone to using metal wheelsets with metal axles.

I like Blue Box and Accurail and old Roundhouse/MDC for projects, and now have a couple dozen to work on. It's the only way I get the roadnames I want in the way I want them.
 
i was talking to the sales associate at hobbytown a week or two ago about this and he also suggested the "lazy american" theory. i didnt agree and thought immediatly that the decision was bottom line driven, because in business, everything is. the lazy theory may be the case with a lot of things, but i dont think it applies to american modelers. I dont know many modelers, but the couple i do know are not lazy.
I picked up an accurail kit but havent put it together yet. from what the owner at my LHS told me they have better detail and they are made in America. they are also a couple of dollars more. even with my limited budget i would gladly pay the extra $$ to buy American. from what i saw though, most of the accurail kits at my LHS are 1960-70 car types and do not fit my era (mid 90s). I will keep looking for them. There is a show in town on 16Jan.
 
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I don't buy the "lazy American" thing either. Technology caught up with the BB kits and made the RTR models look and run better with very little work. Thewre are still hundreds of thousand, maybe millions, of car kits out there. I too would like to see Accurail build some more modern era kits but even they are moving more to the RTR era. I'm actually happy to see modelers have a choice that fits their skill levels compared to the old days, when people with less skill were effectively shut out of the hobby.
 
This isn't just a phenomena of model railroading. R/C aircraft have gone the same way. 15 years ago, all you could buy was a kit. Now almost everything is ARF (Almost Ready to Fly), where you just have to add the engine, radio, fuel tank and bolt on the wings. Or even worse is RTF, where everything is preassembled, just bolt on the wings, charge up the radio, add fuel and go fly.
Kits are still available, but they are definitely in the minority now, and the local Hobbytown doesn't even stock them. Kinda sad, isn't it?
 
I cant be 100% sure its lazy America but IMO it all points to it. Yes the "bottom line" point is valid but to me that just falls in behind the issue as people are spending more to buy RTR than save with BB kits. I think this is where the bottom line comes into play as they now sell more RTR than BB. looking at the figures will show them that the RTR is were they will make more money. from a buiness stand point it makes perfect sence. So now that they have a product people want and will pay more for it I have to ask why do people pay more for one RTR car instead of getting 2 BB cars for the same price? Some will say details and the others will say that its already built. Im willing to say its about 50-50% but because of the lack of kids working with their hands it will lean to the lazyness.

Just my .02

;)
 
My 2 Cents Worth

I remember the first time I got an Athearn kit (about 1973). As a fairly new modeler, I was excited. Besides being built way better than any of the AHM or Tyco stuff I had at the time, the paint was better, the plastic was stronger, there were many different roadnames, and those horn hook couplers actually worked (sometimes). I thoroughly enjoyed putting it together--"shake-in-the-box" or not. While it's true that modern day RTR kits are more detailed, the Athearn kits spurred me on to learn more about modeling. I still enjoy those cars. They've held up very well and I hate to see them go. Yeah, I know the price of everything usually determines what stays around. I also know that most folks of working age are so busy that they often don't have the time to mess with a kit and would much rather pay somebody else to assemble it for them. Witness the ads in MR where others will build your whole layout for you. Lazy? Not necessarily. Like me, they may have 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet. But believe it or not, it seems to me that retired folks and a few folks who have lots of money AND can find the time (remember the Rod Stewart article in MR) would rather sit down and assemble and detail kits. I just hope that young Americans figure out that "Made in the USA" should still stand for something really good, even if it was personally assembled in their basement. ;)
 
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I'm one of those younger guys and I gotta tell ya, I love these things. At $7.25 a peice it fits my budget. We aren't rich and my parents don't buy me everything. So I get them with my own money which feels even better. When I assemble these things I take my time with it and enjoy it. To me its a pretty good feeling to see a train made up of rolling stock that I completely built myself.

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My most recent purchase.
 
I definitely agree with the business decision theory, and the 60+hour work week to make ends meet theory as the two leading causes of the demise of the bb kit.

I have been buying bb and Roundhouse since the early 1960s, when you had to assemble the trucks and insert the springs:(. A few of these are still operating on my layout, coupled to RTR stuff. Yet I have a couple of footlocker sized containers of incomplete bb and other kits waiting for me to get around to it. The last thing i need is another kit of any type.

On the other hand, I don't like buying more from China, especially with steep mark-ups because of very bad QC. My locomotive shop count for cracked gears, mis-aligned drive shafts etc. grows weekly.

Ultimately, I will complete many of the bbs and enjoy them right along with the repaired RTRs:)
 
Out of it all, I just hope the bb kits don't turn into high price pieces at upcoming train market/event/shows
 
im with nwdrummer379, im one of the younger generation as well, if it wasnt for kits my inventory of rolling stock would be alot less, their cheap, simple and affordable, perfect for the limited time i have dedicated to the hobby.
 
Out of it all, I just hope the bb kits don't turn into high price pieces at upcoming train market/event/shows

i was thinking the same thing - like in 5 years we will see the BB kits on ebay for 100.00 a pop.

I'm one of those younger guys and I gotta tell ya, I love these things. At $7.25 a peice it fits my budget. We aren't rich and my parents don't buy me everything. So I get them with my own money which feels even better. When I assemble these things I take my time with it and enjoy it. To me its a pretty good feeling to see a train made up of rolling stock that I completely built myself.

DSCF4003-kits.jpg


My most recent purchase.

great score nw. i got two of the southerns from my LHS about a year ago. they had a slight wobbeling problem that i corrected with a makeshift cardboard washer between the chassis and the truck. they both had the same serial numbers so i converted one to a helm financial (HLMX) car loosley based on sand hoppers in my area - except there is no graffiti on mine. the CSX to the right and the SCL boxcar to the left are both BB kits also - ironically, same wobbeling problem.

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hey thanks, those were the last of each scheme on the shelf. About 5 or 6 of the Conrail ones were left along with a few other ones. SP 50' boxcars are stacked 10 high and a few cities service tank cars are left with a variety of 40' and 50' flats. No covered hoppers....which is what I am looking for! :mad:
 
hey thanks, those were the last of each scheme on the shelf. About 5 or 6 of the Conrail ones were left along with a few other ones. SP 50' boxcars are stacked 10 high and a few cities service tank cars are left with a variety of 40' and 50' flats. No covered hoppers....which is what I am looking for! :mad:

That's my problem, I never find any BB kits that I really want or that suit my needs at my LHS. It's always cabooses and boxcars that you never see around anymore.
 
what a coincidence - thats my problem too. I have been looking high and low for inexpensive covered hoppers also. im not much of an online shopper so i basically look at my LHS and shows when i get the chance. i have managed to clean out my LHS of all the relatively usable BB kits. like you said all thats really left are cabooses wooden reefers or 40' boxcars with running boards. guess ill have to wait a couple of decades before there is a surplus of 80's and 90s rolling stock.
 
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
 



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