Just got an announcement from Athearn that they will no longer produce Blue Box Kits. The explanation they provided really didn't make sense to me.
I think they can make much more profit with the RTR line as they are the same as the kits but with with metal wheels. It only takes a few minutes to assemble the kits & you are paying $8 to $10 extra. The end of a very important era in Model Railroading IMO....Jerry
Jerry, this is an example of another corporate decision of Horizon Hobbies (owners of Athearn). They also own the MDC/Roundhouse brand and have done the same thing there: eliminate kit production in favor of RTR. Perhaps they know something the rest of us don't...are we are in an instant gratification, RTR society? Honestly that is a shame as new folks to the hobby may never get the opportunity to increase their skill level (look at all the built-up structure kits on the market). I can see this policy of replacing kits with RTR moving across the hobby (all the major kit manufacturers produce at least some RTR stock).
'Really a shame,
Ray
Quote from: CNE Runner on October 16, 2009, 10:41:33 AM
Jerry, this is an example of another corporate decision of Horizon Hobbies (owners of Athearn). They also own the MDC/Roundhouse brand and have done the same thing there: eliminate kit production in favor of RTR. Perhaps they know something the rest of us don't...are we are in an instant gratification, RTR society? Honestly that is a shame as new folks, to the hobby, may never get the opportunity to increase their skill level (look at all the built-up structure kits on the market). I can see this policy of replacing kits with RTR moving across the hobby (all the major kit manufacturers produce at least some RTR stock).
'Really a shame,
Ray
Well, I suppose there is still scratch-building for those who really have the inclination to do it themselves. :-\
Next thing you'll here is FSM going to RTR. >:( >:( >:(
Just checked & found that they didn't even bother to change the numbers on the RTR cars...same as the blue box.
I wonder how many "kits" could be assembled in an hour with the proper tools & fixtures...electric torque limiting screwdrivers etc. Probably 15 to 20 an hour. With a list price of $15.95, it's a better profit than the kits.
Yes we still have Bowser Intermountain etc. but the kit price is at least the same as the Athearn RTR. price. The problem is not that kits are unavailable, it's that affordable kits are not available. Don't get me wrong, The Intermountain kits are worth the price because of the detail & some of the Bowser parts are made in the USA. which accounts for the high prices.
Jerry
Yes, there is still scratch building. The only problem is, most scratch builders did not go directly from RTR to scratch building. Most of us went from RTR to kits, then to kit bashing and finally to scratch building. Without kits, that natural progression is lost.
On the other hand, many of us started assembling kits because we found that the RTR equipment of the day didn't measure up to our expectations. Today's higher standards in RTR have eliminated much of the need to kit bash and scratch build.
The main interest in scratch building today seems to be uniqueness. There comes a time when you want something different than the same Atlas station that everyone else has, right down to the same moulded in colours. So you paint yours to make it unique. You my friend are on the slippery slope into the world of scratch building.
Jim
this is just the hobby evolving. things happen. you never know what the future will be like. we can adapt or grouse. i prefer to adapt and move on. much more fun and challenging.
i have seen scratch building projects from 50s and 60s mr magazines of beautiful mrr stuff when there was no internet and you had to "scratch" around for materials. the old times adapted to whatever was available. it is a dieing art. i use to love reading the articles by el moore.
lex
This may open the door to some other company.
We still got Accurail kits, made in USA.
I got a few Athearn RTR,,and they are well made products.
But then again it is not like I can't find the whopping 5 to 10 minutes it takes to assemble a BlueBox kit fer cryin out loud, sheesh. >:(
Are people today really THAT pressed for time?
End that usually pointless, empty talking about nuthin phone call.
Turn the cell phone off.
Sacrifice some TV watching time, your not going to miss anything anyhow.
Unless the playoffs are on.
It is an end to an era,,sad to see the line dropped,,about 60% of my cars
are blue box kits.
I suppose in the end it is all about the bottom line.
RTR is more profitable.
It was a corporate decision, it does not have to make sense.
Athearn will do well, Look at Bachmann,,has Bachmann ever sold rolling stock kits? or locomotive kits? Not that i am aware of.
Structure kits yes,,but i have never seen rolling stock or loco kits.
Bacmanns products are decent too and not WAY overpriced like some
others that i won't name like intermountain or mth for example.
Most of the items I buy at the Local Train show here 4 times a year are Athearn or Roundhouse Kits. I love putting them together. But im getting close to getting all the ones i want. i was just about to see if my LHS could special order me about 20 kits from athearn...guess not anymore.
Like everyone else I grew up on Athearn kits. Over the decades I have accumulated three closets full of 'stuff'. I can re-equip my layout with models of several different eras...the local modern shortline; 1960's; 1940's; but basically my interest is in the 1920's, and Athearn made no freight cars that interest me.
Going to the hobby shop, getting a BB kit, trucks, couplers, details, paint and decals, then building the car, was a hobby in itself. I miss doing it. The process was a stepping stone in the growth of new modelers, ensuring the future growth of the hobby.
I could care less about the future of the hobby; I got mine, I don't need yours. But one would think the manufacturers WOULD care. It just seems like Horizon, Kalmbach et al are slitting their own throats. They won't see any more of my $$.
It's sad to see the blue box kits go. Now think about this...I can make a hobby within a hobby looking for those "rare" and hard to find kits. Problem is that they will be over priced.
oh great, just what i need. collectors driving the price of this hobby even further out of my reach.....