Hello everyone,
Where can I buy Sunshine Models resin kits? I can’t seem to find any online sources or even a website for Sunshine Models.
I noticed there are Sunshine Models “meets” during the year but there must be a way to buy a kit online somewhere.
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Alex
By typing Sunshine Models into Google and looking through the options that come up, the Sunshine Models company you’re looking for is in Missouri and sells by mail order only – no fax, no e-mail, no Web site, no on-line ordering, and no hobby shop sales. And they don’t advertise in Model Railroader or Railroad Model Craftsman, so you seem to be stuck with trying to contact them via postal mail by getting their physical address and writing a letter.
Good Goobly!
Some business! Even if these people are just distributors, business common sense would dictate that you don’t get a lot of customers by being obscure or hard to find!!
Just the small investment into a web site alone could increase sales exponentially.
I’m only guessing, but perhaps if its a small business with limited quantities of models, it likely already has a large enough clientele to keep it in business.
Cheers and 10-4!
I don’t think that Sunshine could possibly handle exponential sales growth right now- with the volume they are doing, six months is not an unusual turnaround time to fill an order. In fact, that’s what was quoted to fill an order I placed with Sunshine for some gondola kits in November. As I understand it, the regular staff is Martin Lofton and his wife, though there is a handful of others who build the masters for new kits. I’ve heard that Sunshine’s moving its operation out of the house, but whether this means they’ll be adding staff, I haven’t heard.
Most people who buy these kits on a regular basis simply accept that there’s a long backlog. If Sunshine has a problem, it’s not driving growth, it’s managing the current rate of growth and containing it…
Thanks Fritz!
That is understandable. It’s good to see a small AMERICAN BASED business that builds quality products and is growing.
A lot of businesses in the U.S that started out small have winded up growing and then turning around and contracting the work out overseas to countries like China.
Fritz,
Can you tell us a bit about this company. What type of railroad model kits do they offer? Do they take suggestions for future kits?
I read on a Yahoo Forum that a small company in resin model company in Canada does this. They require a minimum order of 35 of people before they’ll consider producing a model. Some of you may be familiar with it.
Peace!
Sunshine usually makes kits based on whatever their patternmakers come up with. The one I know well has several passions, namely the CB&Q and NKP, which is why Sunshine has so many cars for those roads (another’s passion is PFE and ATSF). They come up with the masters, and Martin decides if they’re economically viable or not. If so, they start molding. If not…well, let’s just say I’ve got a few “limited run cars” cast by Sunshine…
Sunshine Models specializes in HO scale steam-era freight car kits, ranging from the post-WWI era to the 1950s. Sunshine makes use of the skills of some very talented builders for their master patterns.
I’m not entirely certain how Martin decides which models to manufacture next. I think that it may be driven by the interests of the guys who make his masters. Generally, he will release a group of kits related by some common design element, such as the large number of varieties of forty foot steel gondolas he announced last November.
Ted Culotta’s Steam Freight Cars web site (http://www.steamfreightcars.com) has a list of all of the kits Sunshine manufactured up until 2003. The list is the fourth or fifth item from the bottom on the main page. Ted’s site is a fantastic resource- I wi***hat he had more time to maintain and expand it, but he has been working on other projects lately, such as a book on AAR-design boxcars, a kit of his own (for a low-side Southern Ry steel gondola) and numerous sets of decals. You can see what he’s been up to at http://www.speedwitch.com.
Thank you, Fritz.
Too bad they don’t do locomotives! I’d love to see a New Haven EP5!!
Cheers!
I’ve been thinking about ordering some chalk mark graphitti decals from Sunshine. Those of you in the know, is the backlog on decal orders the same as on the kits themselves? Also, does Sunshine sell decal sets for freight cars seperately, or do you have to buy a kit to get a decal set (I’m thinking GB&W here).
Thanks,
Andy Laurent
Sunshine are all limited run kits heavy on ‘authenticity’ and ‘detail’. Separate sides, floors, etc.
He makes product’s that the other’s dont. He’ll probably be at the SANTA FE MODELER’S meet in Pasadena, in June.
NOT for the RTR crowd.
Pshaw. That pretty much rules out me ordering anything from them. Oops! WWI?!? (I thought it said WWII.) Okay, that’s better. Before I discovered my error, I was thinking that was a pretty tight window of rolling stock to base a business on.
I’m in the process of finishing up a small Suncoast coaling tower that I’ve probably put at least a 100 hours into. (A 1/3 of that was just trying to deciper and extrapulate information from the drawings.)
How much does an average Sunshine resin kit run a fella? Do they supply any trucks, or do you have to purchase them separately/else where?
Tom
Tom,
Sunshine kits run about $30, and you have to provide trucks, couplers, glue and paint. But they’re dead-on accurate models of cars that no one will EVER make in plastic, and which we steam-era modelers need all over our roster (no such thing as real standardization in the pre-PS-1 period!). Of course, almost NO resin kits come with trucks & couplers.
Ray,
How delicate are the resin kits? Do they need to be trimmed, or are they come pretty much “burr-free” in the kit? Can you use CA or liquid glue on resin? Or, does it need a special adhesive to put these together?
Sorry for all the questions. The few photos I have seen of the resin kits look very impressive. Thanks!
Tom
Tom;
Get out your files, knives and 1000 grit sandpaper.
CA works, liquid (solvent) glue does not, epoxy also works.
The parts need to be thoroughly washed in Dawn and well rinsed with slightly warm water (not to hot), then thoroughly dried. This is to remove the silicone mold release.
Nigel’s right: while resin kits eventually build up into the most beautiful models you’ve ever seen, they’re nightmares when you open the box. Most of the small parts are literally joined by a single SHEET of thin resin, and every edge has got SOME flash on it (thankfully, the detail on the sides you see is almost always flash free). You’ll need to practise up on your whittling skills and spend a LONG time cleaning up the castings. For something simple like a 36’ box, it actually takes more time cleaning castings than it does to build the kit!
I suggest starting with an easier, one piece body boxcar from Funaro & Carmelengo or Westerfield (both advertise as to which kits have one piece bodies). Get a nice 36’ double sheathed NYC boxcar, and get building. Once you have a couple under your belt, they’re not scary. I’ve built around ten so far, and have something like 70 on the shelves.