What manufacturers in HO, still produce kits?


It is certainly true that some Athearn kits are warped. I ran in to one last week. By and large they have been OK but then again almost all of my unassembled ones are at least fifteen years old.

For the money, they are what they are. I bought 100 of them about ten years ago on eBay, before eBay was a good source and a man let them go for $45.00. They were all pretty much made in the '70's and '80's. They all turned out to have kadee couplers and kadee 500 Bettendorf trucks along with car weights so it was a remarkable deal.

I stripped the trucks and couplers out of the boxes on all of the fifty foot stock. I would be happy to part with the bodies and frames for the rest. I can supply the trucks that normally come with the kits. I have a big box of the trucks. I probably have about 20 of the car bodies, maybe more . I just don't like modern cars.
 
I believe they were talking about resin kits that are warped, not Athearn.
 
I've never seen this with any kits I have built. Resin, I can believe; but, styrene must have been bad packaging; or, miss-handling of some sort! Are you/were you able to correct?
 
The correction sucked. It was a box car with doors formed in place and the ends of the car and the roof slid down over a central frame of the car. The little MF simply did not fit. It had poor fit particularly above the inoperable doors on both sides of the car. Both needed trimming to get anywhere. It is the only car I believe I have made this way. It looks OK now, if you run the train fast enough... Pretty car at a scale 170MPH. Grrr... Maybe way far back in a yard, in low light...
 
I'm a fan of Accurail. I do have some BB stuff, but I find that Accurail cars are easier on the eyes (for the most part). I can't stand ready to run rolling stock. Why take all the fun out of it and then charge more money? I'm a teenager, so money is pretty tight... a $30 RTR piece of rolling stock doesn't do me any good. I don't have a layout of my own, so I'd much rather spend the time to build a kit. My skills aren't the best, and I don't have a lot of tools to work with, so I stick with the shake-the-box kits. It is a lot of fun, though, and there is nothing like the satisfaction you get when you see a entire train of cars that you have not only built, but put so much time, effort and money into making a reality.
 
So if you build and Athearn kit what wheel/truck coupler combo would you recommend? Can you keep the existing trucks and just go with some Intermountain wheel sets? I plan on using Kadee couplers
 
If you plan to use the existing trucks and simply replace the wheel sets, most Athearn use a 1.01" axle from point to point. The gauge of the wheels to track is constant for all manufacturers. I have bought Proto wheels and they were good. Walter had a great link to reboxx which sold all sizes and shapes. They can get as short as .981 and will virtually fall out of your trucks if you get those things. I had a big bag of them from Atlas and had to return it.

While the wheels really improve the capacity of the car to stay on the track, the trucks themselves really make a big difference as well. I have been using a #500 Kadee truck which is a Bettendorf and it looks and works really great!. Virtually all derailment issues vanished! I had been picking them up on Ebay at $5.99 per pair which seemed fair compared to kadees website selling them for about $9.00 per pair All are brand new . The shipping for six pairs was about three bucks, also fair. I am pretty sure there are some at that price listed now, under model trains/track/ accessories.
 
I have used a number of different trucks. Kato, Kadee, Proto 2000, Athearn (the ones that come with metal wheels), Accurail (plastic replaced with metal) and they all seem to work fine. The roller bearing Kato trucks have bearing that actually moves (really cool), and the Bettendorfs (sp?) will roll for seemingly forever. I haven't really had problems with any one set of trucks derailing, so just go for what you like (Kato rolls well, Kadee has real springs in a lot of their trucks, etc).
 
Eta power said:
I'm a fan of Accurail. I do have some BB stuff, but I find that Accurail cars are easier on the eyes (for the most part). I can't stand ready to run rolling stock. Why take all the fun out of it and then charge more money? I'm a teenager, so money is pretty tight... a $30 RTR piece of rolling stock doesn't do me any good. I don't have a layout of my own, so I'd much rather spend the time to build a kit. My skills aren't the best, and I don't have a lot of tools to work with, so I stick with the shake-the-box kits. It is a lot of fun, though, and there is nothing like the satisfaction you get when you see a entire train of cars that you have not only built, but put so much time, effort and money into making a reality.
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This is a good start for someone your age. I would recommend that you do take some of your money and invest it into some high quality modeling tools. To me this tool list is a must for kits of any type!

1. Knife handle for the blades below. Optional is 2 handles.
2. #11, #17 & #15 blades.
3. Scale rule.
4. Pin Vise.
5. Drill set #60-#80.
6. Set of "Jewelers" screwdrivers. Also sold as precision screwdrivers.
7. 2-56 tap & drill set.
8. Small wire cutters.
9. Needlenose pliers.
10. Set of "jewelers" files. Xacto & others have various sets.
11. Sprue Cutter

Not only will this let you build the Accurail type kits, but also any resin, wood, or higher quality styrene kit like Tichy, Red Caboose, etc.

I didn't include a razor saw, or a jewelers saw, as while I have both, I don't use either one but maybe 2x a year.

Later on, however, you'll want to add some quality paintbrushes, 800 grit and finer sandpaper/film to your tool box along with the saws I mentioned.
 
Cjcrescent said:
This is a good start for someone your age. I would recommend that you do take some of your money and invest it into some high quality modeling tools. To me this tool list is a must for kits of any type!

1. Knife handle for the blades below. Optional is 2 handles.
2. #11, #17 & #15 blades.
3. Scale rule.
4. Pin Vise.
5. Drill set #60-#80.
6. Set of "Jewelers" screwdrivers. Also sold as precision screwdrivers.
7. 2-56 tap & drill set.
8. Small wire cutters.
9. Needlenose pliers.
10. Set of "jewelers" files. Xacto & others have various sets.
11. Sprue Cutter

Not only will this let you build the Accurail type kits, but also any resin, wood, or higher quality styrene kit like Tichy, Red Caboose, etc.

I didn't include a razor saw, or a jewelers saw, as while I have both, I don't use either one but maybe 2x a year.

Later on, however, you'll want to add some quality paintbrushes, 800 grit and finer sandpaper/film to your tool box along with the saws I mentioned.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the list!

I already have a few of the tools you mention, but I am working on expanding my tool box. I have an Intermountain Kit that I am bound and determined to finish, so I see a pin vice and a few small drill bits in my future.
 
Micro-Mark makes a tool called the "Gripster" http://www.micromark.com/gripster-holding-tool,6734.html that at times is worth it's weight in gold! As a matter of fact when there, looking at this item, go to the upper left corner of the page and click on "Request a Catalog" fill out the form, hit send and they will send a great little catalog of all the items they sell!
 
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nwdrummer379 said:
I've found needle nose tweezers to be a good aid in building accurail kits as well.
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I did leave forceps off. My bad. I would recommend the #3C Jewelers forceps, get these at any LHS, Xacto makes a good set. This sounds like what you're describing.

My personal favorite is called a Dura pickup. It had a large area for gripping the forcep in your hand, but then thins down fast to a small area for grasping an object. They were originally designed for surgical use, and were used to pick up the membrane over the brain, the Dura.
 
Cjcrescent said:
This is a good start for someone your age. I would recommend that you do take some of your money and invest it into some high quality modeling tools. To me this tool list is a must for kits of any type!

1. Knife handle for the blades below. Optional is 2 handles.
2. #11, #17 & #15 blades.
3. Scale rule.
4. Pin Vise.
5. Drill set #60-#80.
6. Set of "Jewelers" screwdrivers. Also sold as precision screwdrivers.
7. 2-56 tap & drill set.
8. Small wire cutters.
9. Needlenose pliers.
10. Set of "jewelers" files. Xacto & others have various sets.
11. Sprue Cutter

Not only will this let you build the Accurail type kits, but also any resin, wood, or higher quality styrene kit like Tichy, Red Caboose, etc.

I didn't include a razor saw, or a jewelers saw, as while I have both, I don't use either one but maybe 2x a year.

Later on, however, you'll want to add some quality paintbrushes, 800 grit and finer sandpaper/film to your tool box along with the saws I mentioned.
Click to expand...

Carey, what a great list!! I have all this stuff, just never put it together on paper!!
 
CoolRuehle said:
Carey, what a great list!! I have all this stuff, just never put it together on paper!!
Click to expand...

Thanx! Back when I was building models of all types, trains, planes, cars, & ships, I found that these tools were absolutely essential to do a superior job on assembly.
 
Although you've mentioned a sprue cutter, I have Zuron tools that I use in the same way excepting they cut rail very well, also. As I said, Micro-mark has many small tools, some specifically for the model railroader. If you haven't hooked up with them I strongly suggest you do.
 
NP2626 said:
Although you've mentioned a sprue cutter, I have Zuron tools that I use in the same way excepting they cut rail very well, also. As I said, Micro-mark has many small tools, some specifically for the model railroader. If you haven't hooked up with them I strongly suggest you do.
Click to expand...

I have those tools as well. However, when I was his age, there wasn't anything called a sprue cutter. I did have in the tool box 2 sizes of nail clippers. One was fingernail clippers and the other a larger toenail clipper. Next best thing was a knife handle with a #17 blade in it for removing the parts from sprues without marring the part.

While I agree that Micromark has many small useful tools, alot of their prices are a little elevated above what I want to pay. (I love the skrill of the bagpipes in the morning, sounds like a cheap B*****d). :rolleyes::D

Many quality small tools can be bought from places like Walgreens, HF, flea markets etc. I bought a set of tools from Walgreens for $3.00. It consisted of a 5" pair of needlenose pliers, and a wire cutter the same size. That was 8 years ago. The pliers are my primary spiking tool on my layout. I believe that I've driven in about 15,000 spikes with it as well as using it for other tasks. It has lasted longer than many other "high quality" tools I have had. The wire cutters are used for cutting "soft" wire like brass. It only has one nick in it, but still cuts very well. For steel, I use a larger, heavier wire cutter for this.
 
I don't think Micro-Mark's prices are out of line, I've even found tools there that I have purchased for work, so consider them an industrial supplier, also. However, I have paged through their catalog and found items I knew were similar enough and available locally and then purchased here in my home town.

I'm only advising people to go to Micro-Mark and sign up to recieve a very useful, FREE CATALOG!
 
Sorry, I misunderstood about the catalog. But many of their prices are out of line with what I've been able to pick up locally. While I occasionally will tell folks to check them out, I will personally never order from them.

I got burned by them once, and I don't intend to be burned again. I ordered a specialty tool from them once and after getting it in, it 1. Didn't do what they said it would do. It was almost as if they sent the wrong tool. It wouldn't even fit iinto the power tool it was supposed to. I never even got a chance to use it. 2. Found a similar tool locally, (in an auto parts store of all places), at less than 1/3 of the price, that let me accomplish the task perfectly. 3. They refused to refund, because it "had been used".
 
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