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Atlas HO scale 1932 ARA boxcar
The price for this model warrants everything correct, no adjustments.
With the cost of trains,how can one enter the hobby?
I agree with William Greer. The hobby (Even in HO scale) has raised it’s prices considerably. Yet again, it is a lifetime hobby. Still, it’s very outragous in a form. Overall though, I think these cars are nice, but not in my era.
Part of the reason for the increase in prices is due to the “I want it now!” baby boomers coming into the retirement years looking for a hobby. They are new modellers, and don’t want to waste time building kits, they want it RTR. A lot of them are also rather affluent (or they were until last fall), so price is not that important. Hence the manufacturers are catering more and more to them. Just an opinion from a baby boomer, and long-time modeller.
Comparing these with Ted Culotta’s book on these cars:
Chrome wheels - need blackening. They stick out like a sore thumb.
Atlas 3 part couplers - many will replace with Kadee.
“Atlas, Made in China” are very visible on the underside. It spoils the prototype look.
The end and side ladder rungs should align closer than they do. The side rungs should be raised half the distance.
With normal 60 year old eyes, these are extremely good looking cars. If they were $5-6 dollars less expensive, I would have purchased more. I understand more paint schemes are coming in 2009.
Quoting RICHARD KOSTERMAN from ILLINOIS
Who stated I still believe that the fun of our hobby is being able to say" I built it". Ever since products began to be mass produced in China to save American companies and their bottom line we have experienced he loss of kit work and a lot of “scale” features being applied that, inadvertently at least, have caused serious increases to we the consumer. If its out of the box and run then why all the fragile detail? Lionel has been out of the box and running for my entire life, and those who enjoy “running” trains don’t seem to mind the lack of complete authenticity. Just one geezers opinion.
This is too much for a simple box car. Where have all of the kits gone? Maybe I am alone in enjoying the task of building a model. Wow, it does not take much skill to open the box and place the car on the track.
I agree with the comments about pricing. When all the 50-60 year old people with disposable income die off the hobby will die too. Look around the hobby shows, not to many kids are buying 25dollar box cars.
I will agree, the price is steep. Although it would fit my railroad, I will take a pass. $30 bucks is too high. It is not a KADEE model, that also being too high.
I agree with the comments above. The price of rolling stock & locomotives is based on “out of the box and onto the layout”. I still believe that the fun of our hobby is being able to say" I built it". Manufacturers should offer more items as affordable kits,
Modelers in the U.S. complain about prices. Just think of what it costs me to buy a product at the current rate of exchange. The Canadian dollar is about 80 cents U.S., which means it costs me 20% more to buy any product. And you think you have it bad!
The hobby is pricing the product lines outside the means of many potential newcomers. The industry needs to “get real”!
I’ve been in this hobby since a teen, and am still 30 years away from retirement… As a father of a young son - I have almost no time to spend building models. I really like the high quality of today’s R-T-R models. They are better than I could build, even if I had the time. They are a bit pricy, especially the locomotives, but I get a real kick out of being able to run them easily. I also really enjoy sharing them with my son. Hopefully he too will get into the hobby, there are certainly cheap ways to get into it - especially if you surf the internet a lot, or got to train shows.
I think one good quality car is better then two bad for the same money. Price is also a problem of the low dollar.
Intermountain has better cars for this money, but I am happy to have this beautyfull models of the 1932 ARA !
I agree with the sentiments here - RTRs are much to pricey for me - I too want good quality kits that I can afford that are true to scale.
I would like to have a few of these cars, but at the price they are asking, would anyone like to buy my golf clubs first?
The price isn’t too bad, considering an old athearn, or atlas model. With plastic wheels or horn hook couplers. Where you had to change the wheels to metal, and the couplers to kadee, and add other details. By the time you add all the numbers and time vested in the model. You have camparatively twenty to thirty dollars in it anyway. You get alot of enjoyment building cars and structures for the layout anyway. Buy ready to roll, detailed and spend more time and enjoyment operating your empire.
I am not planning to buy this model because it is out of my era (1972 ). But I am grateful for all the models that have come out in recent years and understand the pricing is necessary to cover costs and make a profit for the manufacturers. RTR is nice but I too would like the manifacturers offer kits as well.
I purchased a pair of these puppies from my “pusher”. Overall, it is a very nice model and looks great coupled to one of my Kadee boxcars. The only addition I made was the installation of Kadee #5s. Although I love to assemble kits, every now and again I break down and acquire an RTR puppy, and this is a great addition to my fleet of 40’ boxcars.