Unless I missed a prior announcement or discussion, I believe it is new that Kadee is issuing undecorated boxcar kits, priced (list) $25.95 to $26.95. The photo suggests that they would be comparable in difficulty to Intermountain or Red Caboose kits. http://www.kadee.com/ca/kit/kit.htm
Dave Nelson
Interesting. I like to build my freight cars. Includes the couplers and metal wheels, costs that are add-on to most kits I have.
Are the grab irons and ladders separate?
Would you paint these (even the same color) or just add decals for the best result?
It is hard to know for sure from the photo but it looks like the grab irons and ladders are to be added on by the modeler. If left unpainted they will suffer from “plastic shine.”
I haven’t seen the kits, but have had assembled but unpainted undecs. They’re molded in standard boxcar color and it wasn’t shiny. I suspect paint isn’t absolutely needed and a spary with Dull-cote or something similar after decaling may be all that’s needed.
If I am not mistaken, they have always offered them since they started makeing the cars.
Yes, Kadee has been offering their boxcars in kit form for years. All “Made in the USA”, too. At $26 to $27, they are about $10 less than the usual RTR cars.
Paul A. Cutler III
Since Kadee has a list price of around $9.50 for the trucks themselves, I guess this sort of makes the kit a bargin.
All the grabs and ladders are separate, just like Kadee’s RTR cars.
I’d definitely paint them. They’re plasticky otherwise, even with flat finish and weathering.
x
I’ve noticed it looks like the color of many KD cars appear to be in the plastic rather than painted on, making them look plasticky and semi translucent sometimes.
Maybe thats one of the reasons Kadee freight cars are able to be produced in the US and not be super expensive; they skip the painting part of the process?
They know how to run a successful and profitable business, pay employees well with benefits and yes it can be accomplished in the United States of America.
No reason not to be able to!
Nice thing about the Kadee kits – which have been available for several years, is that all of the parts fit. In most cases, it’s a snap-together, push-together assembly, which greatly reduces my chances of glue blobs.
Jim,
That’s a good point. I think so.
But it’s also a kit or undec that is friendly for the final user. Rob can improve anything, so I understand him wanting to paint them, But the finish takes decals well, then you can flat finish them. They work for me, anyway. But if it was flat from Kadee, wouldn’t work as well to decorate. So it is what it is, and that’s a good thing, easy to work with, and yeah, even snap together. Kadee knows what they’re doing…
Now, if they’d just make a drop-in metal modern replacement for the 714, I’d be a really happy camper. Come on, apply some whisker technology, and we’re good, Kadee, and you’d make a mint.[2c]
Kadee styrene car bodies are painted but the add on delrin parts are molded in color. The color match is often not perfect. Light colored cars have the body molded in a light color styrene. That in combination with a very thin coat of paint results in the translucent look. I have one of the IC orange 50’ cars. I painted the inside of the body black to improve the appearance. Mark Vinski
Mark,
Do you know if that applies to the undecs and kit parts? I believe you on the RTR, just wondering if my perception is wrong about these others?