Dick,You bring up a interesting point…The BB RTR cars-these are the former BB car kits that is still available as kits-are assembled in China…Athearn could shift the BB production to China after all -guessing here-they apparently send the BB cars to China for assembling as RTR cars.
Still scratching my head here.
Since the ‘costs’ of assembling a kit in China are so low - maybe $5 retail - (with over half of that being retailer & distributer profit) - maybe the market won’t bear stocking duplicate items as kits.
If a RTR car - and same as a kit were offered - say at only a $5 saving would YOU (as a “modeler”) buy it?
Just a thought.
If it is something simple like an Athearn blue box model, I’d buy the kit. The answer isn’t quite so clear cut with a complex model such as a Proto 2000, but certainly a kit would be preferred if the assembly work on the RTR model is sloppy.
If anybody is serious about boycotting Chinese products, you better be prepared to quit buying a lot of your prepared groceries and most of your clothes. Even when the prepared food packages don’t say anything about China, a lot of food additives DO come from China. Even chewing gum has Chinese ingredients in it.
This is the economic reality of the world we live in. Fewer and fewer US companies actually produce tangible products and if they do, it’s very rare that all components are made in the US.
‘Course you always have farmers’ markets and craft sales if you want pure US goods.
Don,I suspect you haven’t look closely to the RTR cars?? While these are great looking and running cars there is three types of coupler boxes in use.The former BB RTR cars has the coupler clip like before.Some of the newer boxcars has the removable coupler box [tup] while others use the end of the frame for a coupler box.All 3 works as design BUT,and IMHO the removable coupler box is the better of the three designs.
Many still prefers the BB kits over the RTR cars…I prefer RTR but,like both.
For your information
So you see there is a choice…A RTR car or kit.
I do buy some RTR Athearn cars. They “Drop right” into the train with other cars both Blue Box or RTR without any trouble.
In fact, I order RTR when it suits me. Im waiting on that RTR Crane and boom tender from Athearn because I cannot stand to string all of that cable. Let someone else do it.
I have no trouble ordering more expensive RTR, especially when similar kits are made from a bazillion tiny rivets and grab irons.
Now if I can only get Athearn to re-run the long discontinued and out of production reefers from 20 years ago I would be in hog heaven. And no Im not talking about the standard athearn reefer either.
Sorry for inturupting you disscusion on Athearn shipping over seas or somting like that, but does ANY one know if Athearn is still going to make there RTR SD45?
http://www.athearn.com/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=SD45-2+ATHG&CatID=THLD
Athearn and Horizon hobbies DOES have a website that is updated fairly often ya know…
Yes I know. I go there quite often. But I was asking SD45. Not the SD45-2.
I have no problem with buying the RTR cars, especially as I have a hard time with kits with my hands being numb from nerve damage. Try assembling a kit with gloves on and you’ll quickly see what I mean.
Hear! Hear! Even with one good left hand and partial use of my right hand a simple BB kit can be hard…
Try this after you try Jeffrey’s gloves…Try assembling a covered hopper with your left hand while trying to holding it in your partly closed right hand…Remember 3 of your fingers closes 3/4 of the way while the index finger and thumb only closes around 30%…Have fun!
Metal Wheels!!! Would you believe it!!!
About the last Athearn cars I bought circa 1981 when I got them home from my local they didn’t have any wheels - or trucks, either, for that matter. My local proprietor would probably believe that I had pilferred the trucks from the kit if he had not encountered the same problem with some other customers. Never did find out what happened at Uncle Irv’s plant but it appears that a whole bunch of product got boxed up without trucks!!!
I know about the new retooled F45/FP45,the RTR SD45T-2 and the upgraded SD40-2.
I found very little on any retooled SD45 RPP shell…
Pilfering of the parts bag in the BB loco and car kit was so bad at one hobby shop where I was gainfully employed part time that we open the kit for viewing and then Saran wrap the kits…KD couplers is another highly pilfered item.[:(!][V]
Well in there Future Product Review Booklet from 06-07 it said that they where going to make a RTR SD45. And it was estmated to come in Spring of 07. Well I Emailed Athearn a couple weeks ago and so far noting has turned up. I did ask another fourm member who Emailed them and Athearn said they where going to make it. But I wanted to make sure my self. Maybe I should send another Email.
I recall the announcement but,find very little information other wise.
I don’t really care where its made. My fierce subscription to the Theology of Star Trek means that some day we need to have a complete intigrated world economy, and a unified world government.
The thing that makes me sad is the loss of kits. While some people point out that Athearn is again making Blue Box kits again, My hobby shop is still not able to get them because they are not able to come up with the needed “minimum order” I think Horizon needs to rethink its exclusive distributorship polocy because I think such greed motivated thinking is harmful to the hobby as a whole. I am a Life long die hard model railroader. But I have finally been priced out of the “new” market. My last 10 purchases of model railroad equipment have been used or at least previously owned.
I dont know about the “New” market but there is still some value to the blue box kits against the really expensive “New” item these days. My only issue with these is I have to toss parts that I know are no good into the trash. However, the statement that they plan metal wheels is a welcome one. They will need to choose quality wheels that passes the gauge because when it gets to my house the gauge decides if I install my wheels that have already passed.
Im dismayed by the pilfering talk. There are bags and bags of parts availible for a buck or two. A scrapping of a car that is wore out yeilds even more parts.
I remember long ago buying a blue box for 2.25 or so, kaydee number 5’s for about 1.40 or so (I dont really remember but they were consided an expensive add on back then) and the nicer trucks with brass wheels were very much the cost of both the kit and kaydee couplers for a total of close to 10 whooping dollars.
The other day I paid 6.95 for the kit, 3 something for the couplers, about the equivilant of 3 dollars for 4 wheels for a total of about 13-14 dollars roughly.
I still think they are a good price.
Here is how I have been priced out of the hobby:
Up until 1995 I my dad bought all my trains for me. 1995 is when I started making my own purchases with my own money. My first locomotives I bought were Athearn BN SD45s One powered one dummy. While the Athearn website still lists this SD45 kit at the $39.95 price I bought mine for. This kit has been discontinued in favor of iether an Upgraded RPP shell on the RTR line or a Genisis offering.
Since I can’t use this locomotive as a good example I will demonstrate with another athearn locomotive.
In 1995, the Athearn Super Power Drive F7 A and B cost $29.95 each. They now cost $39.95. Considering that since there has been an average of aproxamatly 5% inflation per year since 1995 39.95 is very reasonble consiering that by the math they should now cost $53.95 more or less. And at $39.95 this locomotive is still within my bugdet to buy.
However it seems like hobby shops are no longer interested in stocking this old stand by. I don’t know if they just don’t move, or if because they first came out in 1953 they are considered old and stale. Instead they expect me to buy something like the new Proto 2000 F7 A and B. Unfortunaly you can’t buy just a Proto 2000 F7 A or B you have to buy a Proto 2000 F7 A and B. So taking my original 1995 price of 29.95 I double it so I can buy and A and B and so we are still comparing Apples to Apples here. in 1995 an Athearn F7 A and B would cost me $59.90. Today since no one wants to carry Athearn F Units. I am forced to buy the Proto 2000 F units for $269.98. And for clarity that is the standard DC only version. now you can go on on about how all that extra detail is worth all the extra money and so on and so forth. And you would be correct. But I still can’t afford it. I would rather add my own detail kit rather than have some china man do it for me. And I can still put the units in service without it until I buy it.
I do not know why Hobby Shops don’t want to car
James,
I feel for you…your hobby shop obviously isn’t interested in servicing their customers or making money. My LHS will order one (1) blue box kit if that’s what you want…he told me what the minimums are from Horizon - they’re not very high. If your dealer can’t muster up enough business to cover those, he won’t be around much longer. My dealer has many Athearn F units available also…let me know if you want his contact information.
Don Z.