A while ago a few people were talking about how RTR stuff has taken away from the hobby and how new modelers were losing out on the satisfaction of building kits. The more I thought about it the more I think they are right. Well I’ve just discovered Athearn Genesis kits, they are just as detailed as the RTR Genesis stuff but you got to build AND paint them. I don’t know why I’ve never seen them before. These are perfect for people that want detail and enjoy building something with their own hands. I bought four of their 50’ box cars and I hope they turn out as nice as the RTR stuff. Best part is they are inexpensive so if I screw one up who cares. [:D]
Dave, where did you find them?
Horizons?
Gordon
No I got them at the Bowmanville train show last weekend.
I have never heard of these kits. I know they have locos that you have to assemble but not freight kits .I thought their kits are all R.T.R. rambo1…
Athearn’s web site lists these kits, but not as a Genesis product, which is rather confusing. You have to click on Genesis products to find the kits, but then they are shown as plain Athearn Blue Box products. Since they are unpainted, they are appearently a very new item.
i cant believe other young modelers like myself dont want to build their own kits, Building and painting is my favorite part of the hobby, well all my hobbies, i just get so much satisfaction once i finish a kit and it looks good, i hope my other teenaged counterparts will see that themselves
Are the items at the links below what you are refering to? If so, you must have gotten a good deal, their list price is not cheap.
http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATHG4431
http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATHG4430
http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATHG4380
The undecs have been around just as long as their painted counterparts, they’re just not well advertised and much harder to find (which I think is intentional, but that’s another rant.)
You can usually find some on eBay or at some of the discount web sites.
You’re right, it is a lot more satisfiying to build your own, than just take it out of the box.
I think the Undec’s not being as easy to find is more a matter of “what sells.” If more modellers bought them, they’d probably be easier to find. From a store owners viewpoint, “Why stock what sells poorly or not at all.”
And I agree, I’ve been building and painting for more years than I care to admit.
I prefer to buy undec stuff because there are some great deals on it out there, especially on a certain online auction house. If you have a nice stock of detail parts and a good airbrush you can get these running in no time. They can also be built to your preferences and you don’t botch up paint trying to add details to a decorated model.
$24.98? Hmmm…I think it’s worth it. I prefer not having to paint them, but I suppose it’s worth a shot! I like this idea, lately all I’ve been buying is RTR or assembled used. I remember when I assembled Athearn BB and Accurail kits, I didn’t have to paint them, and it came out as something that I assembled myself and looks good. Ah, good times, good times…
Matthew
There is tons of them on Ebay. Type in Athearn Genesis undecorated and you will see them all. There are lots of different cars that I wasn’t aware of.
Chicken and the egg, Tom - I think the claim that kits (and undecs) don’t sell is a self-fulfilling prophecy…in order to sell them, first the dealers have to STOCK THEM so we can actually go and buy them. It’s easy to say something doesn’t sell when you don’t even make it available.
But like I said, RTR vs kits is a whole other rant. [soapbox]
Actually there is no rant to it…Kits are available to those that want them…Frankly I am sick of building kits and prefer RTR engines and cars…BTW Walthers RTR cars and Kato and Stewart engines are fine examples of RTR KITS since one needs to add the detail parts…So,there is absolutely no foundation for any rants about kits vs RTR unless its base on ignorance of what is readily available and I seen lots of those useless rants.
A better rant would be how hobby shops are lying to us about kits not being readily available.All to sadly that is becoming the norm so they can sell the higher price RTR cars and engines.
Another point of view is those modelers that cry they don’t have time to build a kit…Notice the small increase of prebuilt buildings?
i don’t buy RTR stuff, no fun in that at all.
If by “available” you mean search high and low with a hunting dog for them, and hoping maybe you’ll find some on eBay, maybe you’re right. 'Cuz the LHS sure ain’t stocking them.
ahem Adding a few grab irons does not a kit make. If that’s your definition of “kit”, then the Athearn RTR are “kits” too, since you have to shim the couplers, change out the wheelsets, etc. I’m talking about honest to goodness putting all the separate parts together KITS.
But there are fewer kits available nowadays…when several manufactuers like Walthers and LBF, to name just two, have virtually changed over ALL their production to RTR.
That is my point precisely. The LHS guys won’t stock them, making excuses about how they don’t sell, or how they can’t get them, when what they really want to do is sell us the higher priced RTR stuff.
Same deal. Why sell a kit for $19 when Walthers can pay Kam Fong in China six cents an hour to put the bloody thing together, and then sell it RTR for $39?