Doesn't anyone work with kits anymore?

There has been a huge surge in mass-production RTR ( Ready To Run ) models in the past 10 years. As with everything else in life, nobody has the time for anything outside of work, with kids soccer games, community involvement, eating, sleeping, etc taking up about 23.5 of the hours in a day. The manufacturers in our hobby have been forced to cope with this, or face declining sales, or worse yet, closing the doors for good. Many years ago, I am sure the execs at Athearn sat down in a boardroom ( when it was still in Carson, or even Compton, CA ) and said, "The Hobbyist of the 2000's will have less money and less time than before - how do we get them to use our products and enjoy them, while keeping the costs down, and making trains ready to use right from the box?" Well, you close down your domestic manufacturing facilities and send them overseas to where they can not only accomplish this, but bump up the margins as well.

The rising availability of cheap labor overseas, combined with cheap materials and less expensive molding processes in the plastics world has given Model Railroaders an unbelievable selection of models to choose from. This is what you get when there's no environmental regulations, labor paid in a day what you or I make in 30 minutes or less, and plentiful ocean freight racking up the trade deficit. And why wouldn't you enjoy this? I mean, you can get yourself a pre-assembled & painted model now, with super crisp lettering, etched metal walkways, magnetic couplers, working hatch doors, wire grab irons, metal wheels, etc for under $25. The wheels & detail parts alone to detail an existing kit would add up to more than the cost of the entire car. Its tempting for sure, and I think we'd be foolish if we tried to avoid these models. They're made very well, and generally have some high quality components. I myself am a sucker for Intermountain and Tangent's hopper cars - unbeatable, plain & simple.

But then again, what about the fact that we bring our models to train shows, and there we find 20 other people with THE EXACT SAME MODEL?! I don't know about you, but when I take a piece of rolling stock to a train show, I want it to stand out and be noticed for the work that I put into it. Not everyone has the ability to scratchbuild or kitbash, detail, paint, decal, and weather a car on their own. But there's plenty that can be done to set your model apart from the masses, for very little money or time:

1. Paint the wheels a cruddy brown tone - when was the last time you saw silver or black wheels on a freight car anyhow?

2. Get an alphabet decal set and give your car a "patch job", like this Finger Lakes Railway Car:



3. Stop by an art supply store and get some colored chalks, grind them down on sandpaper, and use an old paitbrush to gently apply them to your car for a dusty look.

4. At the very, VERY least, and/or at the end of this process, spray down your car with dullcote - nothing looks worse than a flatcar with a deck so shiny you need sunglasses.


But if you want to really have something special these days, you gotta start with a kit and make it your own. Heck - even old Athearn blue box kits are great starting points for models. The best part is, you can get them for a couple bucks at a train show and if you mess it up, no big deal. Even the heavily detailed kits are available for very little money these days. Take this model of a CP Rail 50' boxcar I am working on:



This was a kit picked up at a local shop for about $7.00. I scratch-built the door from styrene, and added some other details using brass wire. It's primed now:



And at the end of the process, this will be a 100% unique model, painted & weathered like the prototype. Perhaps this is a little advanced, perhaps there's no time in your day for doing this. If you don't have the time, and don't have the desire to try doing it yourself, then you'll have some waiting to do. While I am sure that eventually just about any car will be modeled by a major manufacturer, until then, I'd like to stop hearing people complain about small inaccuracies of production models, or lack of models altogether. :)

So adopt a kit, or several - I found a seller on ebay, River City Railroad, that seems to have a plethora of some of my FAVORITE kits - the old MDC / Roundhouse stuff. I purchased a bunch of bulkhead flats from him and I am having a blast putting them together, detailing them, and painting my undecorated models. When you take the time, effort, and pride in your modeling, you'll be rewarded - and have a special model to show off to your friends.



Keep modeling, and stop by the Annex room at the Syracuse Train Fair in a couple weeks. We'll be there - with some knockout models ( not the swimsuit kind ).