I was reading the new issue of MR Mag and saw in the News and Products section(page 11) GS1 gondolas by Sunshine Models-$40 with S/H-No trucks or couplers.
Banana refer car-(same company, same price) No trucks or couplers.
War emergency caboose by Westerfeild-$38 plus S/H no trucks or couplers.
I can maybe see the later two if they’re REALLY detailed,but come on! $40 for a gondola without wheels or couplers??? Anybody else think this is outrageous?
I would never pay that much for anything without trucks and couplers, it is just another example of how rediculous these manufacturers are.
Yep!!!
I have felt the same when I see ads like that. I just shake my head and wonder how long they will stay in business.
Terry
Loather, you don’t need to worry about $$$ you are going back to work [:D]
Someone recenty posted they wanted to buy cars without the trucks, but reasoning was it would be cheaper. Aren’t Westerfeild and Sunshine Models costly in the first place? Not much worse then us N scalers and MicroTrains, $40.00 for Autorack cars and usually $25.00 + for other MT cars at retail.
Tip of the iceberg, gasoline at $2.75 a gallon, cars at $40 a pop. Pretty soon we won’t have to worry about the trip to the LHS costing too much in fuel, we won’t be able to afford the stuff in the shop if we could get there!
Will
Some prices are truly “out there.” But, if the company can get it, (as someone, somewhere, is always willing to pay) more power to them 
To add insult to injury, it’s NOT even RTR, painted, nor decaled. If you like and appreciate fine detailing, resin kits are top notch. Resin kits also tend to be small runs so that contributes to the higher price, as well. I’d have to agree that they are a bit pricey for me, too. I may someday buy one - ONLY on the condition that it’s a model I REALLY want and can’t find elsewhere.
I wish other companies like Accurail made gondolas. Walthers is one of the only other companies that make a shorter non-resin gon (46’ and under).
Tom
No. These are craftsman kits done in extremely small numbers for a seemingly decreasing segment of the market. Now if they were done in China as R-T-R with cast on grabs and truck-mounted horn-hook couplers, THEN you might have a complaint.
These ‘kits’ are exact models of cars that are not available in the RTR world. They are ‘spendy’, but they build up into great models of a car that no one else has. I have less that 6 of these kind of kits - they are fun to assemble. Now if they were doing a basic PS1 with 6’ doors, I would not waste the time/money on them - the KADEE PS1 is perfect!
Jim
Miker is right, these aren’t your run of the mill kits- take a look for either manufacturer on Ebay, and you’ll see what their past models are going for.
They are very nice models of more uncommon prototypes, most you won’t ever see mass produced in plastic. They are “old school”, you don’t shake the box on these. But if you want to build your modeling skills, here you go! It’s kind of like the difference between Fine Scale Miniatures and other building kits. The others might be nice, but there is a difference!
Welcome to the wonderful world of resin freight cars. Yep, they’re more expensive than an Athearn kit. They’re also 1000 times more accurate, and fun to build too. But I’m not sure where you’re seeing $40 for a gon; I’m on Sunshine’s mailing list, and the newest batch of gons are all in the $32 range.
Sunshine kits are the absolute top of the line, and the cars are priced accordingly. Westerfield’s a close second, and most of their cars are in the $29 range. F&C and Sylvan resin kits are a relative bargain, being in the $25 range. And there are only a VERY few resin kits out there (Kalso Shops and Wright Track) that DO come with trucks and wheelsets. AFAIK, no resin car comes with couplers, since protp modelers all have their own ideas about what coupler to use (I’m in the Kadee #58 camp)
Don’t worry about Sunshine Terry. They’ve got more orders than they know what to do with. Their backlog is several MONTHS, and they just moved and expanded their manufacturing plant to keep up with the increased demand. Their freight car catalog is up to several HUNDRED cars, making theirs one of the biggest freight car ranges in the hobby.
Sunshine Models produces fantastic kits of unusual protoypes not likely to be produced by others, If I modeled in HO I would not hesitate to be a frequent customer. I assume those bemoaning the forty dollar cost would also boycott Westerfield as well? This constant negativity and bashing of manfactures will stifle those who want to expand beyond the ready to run stage
If you have the means to devote hundreds of dollars for each plastic diesel, supporting kit manfactures with a occasional purchase is not too much to ask.
Dave
I am sure they are fine cars but I could’nt and would’nt If I could I would’nt I would’nt give 40.00 for a six pack of them with couplers and trucks and a mail in rebate Those of us who are retired and on fixed incomes find prices like that ajoke. Yard sales mark down table at the LHS junk boxes Carefull shopping on Ebay and internet and just plain make due …Cox 47
This all goes to prove that this is a fun diverse hobby with something for every wallet and interest.
Well that’s fine if there as could as a few have said. I can appreiciate good detail for a good $. ( I haven’t heard of either of these companies.).I’m still scratching my head on the Gon though.
Personally, I try and get the best detailing that I can affortd. If that’s an Accurail boxcar, so be it. (I LOVE the look of their wooden ones!) If, at some point, it’s a Sunshine gon, then I’ll save my pennies and buy one. I’ll take detailing over “quantity” anyday…but I also like a good bargain, too. [:)]
Tom
Tom your missing the point here! Your not only paying for the product but your also paying for the “entertainment " value of putting it together and the privelege of saying " I did that!”
Think of it as paying for a course at the local college or better yet a correspondence course and you get to keep the car!!
Gee whiz some people expect so much!!![swg]
Seriously, somwbody is willing to pay the bucks as they are still in business and as it was said before someone is willing to pay for the accuracy.
All said and done I’ll stick with my accurail, LifeLike and Atlas. They more than satisfy my needs.
Fergie
Ps Sorry if I was pick’n on you Tom but it was worth the entertainment value and it was free![:D]
Fergie
These cars are examples of what PT Barnum was talking about, but hey, if they can sell them, why not charge that much money[:0]
$40 a car? jezzuz what are they made of? I recently picked up a well detailed large scale boxcar from B’mann, less than $30 and 9 times the volumn of an HO car.
The more I read about the costs associated with HO and N, the more I realize large scale is identical, if not less in many cases. Seriously, some of that stuff is in crazy land price wise.