My son is always wanting to help me put together a kit but they are too advanced for him.
Walthers used to have a the gold ribbon series which was snap together, but this product line has been long discontinued.
Does anybody make snap together kits anymore beside cheap Bachmann Plasticville?
The Plasticville products are now handled by Bachman. Info Here.
DigitalGriffin,
Kato made a 3 car covered hopper set/kit for different roads that completely snapped and pressed together without glue. Very nice engineering on Kato’s part. Reminds me of how old japanese homes were crafted with intricate joinery and pegs–no nails! The resulting cars are highly detailed and true to prototype. These are no longer in production, but can still be had on “that auction site”, but can be a bit pricey, depending on the seller. I put the C&O set together a while ago and everything went together smoothly without a hitch and am sure you and your son will enjoy the experience and the end results.
Joel
Actually, some of the Bachmann Plasticville kits aren’t that bad. If you paint them up and add a detail or two they stand up pretty well amongst other more involved and more expensive kits. I especially like the little church.
You might also look at some of the smaller DPM buildings. They are not snap together but they are pretty simple to put together.
And if they don’t look great just thinnk of that Visa add–“time spent with son: PRICELESS!”
Good luck.
Walthers has recently announced beginners kits in their trainline series. They are supposed to be all painted and really easy to assemble. Doesn’t say that they are snap together, but might be worth a look.
I think the new structures in Walthers “Trainline” series are snap together. They used to have a neat little depot that was snap together in the Trainline series, and my understanding is that they intend to beef up the entry level offerings using the Trainline name. Little kids were building their new Trainline depot at a Make and Take at this year’s Trainfest in Milwaukee – and I mean really little kids – so I assume it truly is easy to assemble.
Some of the Plastticville structures are worth exploring. I always liked the look of their house under construction.
If you know the “log cabin” technique Art Curren used to mate pieces together on his kitbashed structures, it might not be impossible for dad to modify some simple Design Preservation kits into “snap together” (and snap apart) versions. I do agree that at a certain age it is probably best to keep solvent based cements away from young hands, although we used them when I was quite young and I absolutely deny that there has been any brain damage whatsoever.
Dave Nelson
Dave Nelson
Dave Nelson
The Iron Ridge Freight Station in the Walthers Trainline series mentioned above should be a good kit for a youngster. And two of them were the source of a nice Art Curran kit bash several years ago.
Back when I was like…7 and the year still looked like “198_,” I put together this:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/433-1347
If you can find a Mount Vernon Manufacturing kit, that one was really simple too. I think this one http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/433-1339 works off the same wall panel and slotted foundation system.
My kit building teeth were cut on snap together fighter jets and cars before railroad buildings.
The KATO 2-bay hopper sets was the first thing I thought of too when I saw this topic. They were pricey back when they first came out - years later I saw a set for D&RGW on Ebay for $20 and I couldn’t resist. I was shocked at how they literally fell together with no effort and no glue. The are the best engineered kit I ever built and surprisingly easy too!
Jim
We didn’t start with “Snap Together” kits, as they weren’t offered back in the 50s. However the old Athearn Blue Box and some of the Roundhouse kits were very easy to build and used a minimum amout of glue. If your son has an interest, by all means find some of these kits and get him going. I think learning how to use glue is a necessary part of being a modeler and should be a part of getting started!
Roundhouse MDC and Athearn Blue Box kist are easy to find on Ebay or at train shows. Currently available and easy to build are all the Accurail kits.
Don:
Good to hear that your son is interested in model railroading, and working with his father! How old is he?
I would suggest trying some older Athearn BB kits or Accurail. If he is really young he may struggle a bit but its important that you let him try to do it by himself. I made the mistake of being too much of a perfectionist when I was working with my kids, with predictable results. My bad. I can hardly wait until we have grand children so I can get it right the next time around and let them do it regardless of the initial results.
Have fun!
Dave
Thanks for the suggestions guys.
Dave,
My son is 6. But he’s already a master with Legos. That’s why I figured a snap together kit would be best for him.
He loves small steam and logging locos (Shays) so I fthink I could make a few puff ball trees with him too along with ground cover.
The atlas water tower and station sheds are pretty basic with a little help.