I actually bought a “Ready to Run” Freight Car recently. I have an aversion to buying “RTR” equipment, because I love to put models together. However, I wanted one of the above for my Northern Pacific railroad, so was faced with buying a RTR car, to have one.
I found this freight car to be a nice enough car with good detailing. The first thing I did was to remove the trucks and pop out the car floor and underframe so I could paint and weather the car. Sort of re-kitting the car, as it where. I found all the molded on and added detail to be nicely done. I don’t know how the rest of you weather your RTR equipment. The dis-assembly I performed, I felt absolutely necessary to bring the car to a level I feel is adequate for my pike. I still prefer kits to RTR because I like building and find it desirable to have the car broken down into sub assemblies for painting and weathering. I bought them through Model Trains Stuff and paid considerably less than suggested retail.
Nice car, nicely detailed good addition to my railroad; still, give me kits, please!
Yes they are very nice cars, and I have a few myself. They do, or at least did before they sold out, offer that car as an undecorated kit. I have several of those as well and plan to letter them for my ATLANTIC CENTRAL.
Also, B&O wagon top box cars have been available in kit form for quite a while now, I have a number of these as well:
At every train show I have ever been to, F&C is there, selling their kits at a “2 for the price of one” show special. I have never paid any more than that for an F&C kit.
NP2626, as has been discussed on here before, adjusted for inflation, prices today are no higher than in the past for similar detail and quality.
From the 1983 Walters catalog, Sliver Streak wood kits were between $10 and $15, Northeastern and Quality Craft were all $10 +/- with no trucks included. $15 in 1983 = $34.84 today based on the most conservative inflation estimates.
That makes even a $40 F&C kit a bargin today, let alone two for $40. I easily found eight of them on Ebay for $34 or less. And on the F&C home page it says “call for specials”. I have always bought them at the shows, but I suspect the show special is available any time if you buy direct and will buy two or more pieces.
In that same catalog most Athearn, Roundhouse and Train Miniature kits were about $4 - but you get what you pay for in terms of detail - kit or RTR.
True then, true now. In this current RTR/high detail oriented market, you cannot expect anyone to make a “low budget/low detail” version of something as proto specific as a B&O wagon top. There is just not enough total market - at any price - high or low.
ExactRail still has a their undecorated kit version of the B&O wagon tops:
So, like I was saying, I thought Fox Valleys offering was nicely done. I do not recall stating that this was the only B&O Wagon Top box car ever offered. However, I’m not really iinterested in resin kits and I found ModelTrainstuff price of $19.99 attractive enough that I now have one RTR car amongst my more than 100 freight car roster built from kits.
And I agree, they are very nicely done. And I have five of them total, three in B&O and two undecorated kits to be lettered ATLANTIC CENTRAL, as well as two F&C kits among my roster of nearly 900 freight cars, about 700 of which are kits, a little more than half not yet built.
I really don’t recall what I paid for any of them, but I’m sure it seemed fair at the time.
Typical of the derailment of threads having to suffer through postings by Sheldon, the intent of this thread was somewhat lost!
I was attempting to discuss what other do with their RTR equipment. The question I have about my efforts with this example of RTR rolling stock is; If those of you who purchase this type of equipment, disassemble them for painting, etc. previous to putting them in use on your railroad?
I re kit most of my RTR stuff for both weathering and to replace the trucks and couplers.
I use ONLY regular size genuine KADEE couplers on my layout, and most of my freight rolling stock gets refitted with Kadee metal sprung trucks that have been refitted with Intermountain wheel sets.
In the case of many Athearn RTR cars, other details are added or modified as well. Long before Athearn RTR came back, I had a number of standard detail improvements for a number of the items in their line. I still perform those same upgrades to the RTR models.