R-T-R vs KITS

[CBQ_Guy]

I chose RTR, which may surprise those of you who have read my past tirades against them. My main objection is to the cost which I fear may keep many youngsters out of the hobby, and also because the prices have increased much faster than they should, I have observed, since they were first introduced, indicating some level of greed on the part of the manufacturers, IMO. Profit+recoup cost=fine. Greedy, NO!

I'm a "good enough" model railroader. I have a layout to build in my basement so a piece of rolling stock, or some structures I can quickly put together which, to my eye, look just fine, are welcome additions to the layout. Most of the cars I currently have are shake-the-box and fit my requirements in that light quite well. Others in my area feel similarly.

Even though a sheke-the-box kit generally goes together quickly and easily, when you have hundreds to build it can be daunting. So years ago myself and my friends expressed a "Wouldn't it be nice if you could just buy these already built?" attitude. Of course we realized it would cost more but at the time we figured we were just "what if'n". And we didn't think it would ever happen.

HOWEVER, we were wrong and it has happened. And as we expected the cost is more than a kit. But none of us anticipated it would cost several times more than we were used to paying for our kits. Thank goodness that I'm a "good enough" modeler because I feel the Athearn Ready-To-Roll series fits in with what we were wishing for all those years ago quite nicely. Cost more than a kit, but doesn't break the bank -- the perfect RTR solution.

Generally, at this point in my life I am in a position to purchase RTR cars if I need or want to, and increasingly do, but am just happy I am not starting out in the hobby with a need to start with "car-one" and build a roster from scratch.

[Anonymous]

it all depends on the prototype. most types of locomotives and freight cars are available as either kits or RTR. rarely do you find the same type of loco or car available as kit and rtr. but if the same exact freight car or locomotive was available in kit form and RTR, i would get the RTR bcause i dont have very much time for modeling and kit building.

[Anonymous]

I love building P2K , Intermountain and Branchline's highly detailed kits. It's all about patience, the heart rate and breathing slow down, I get very focused and enjoy the heck out of it. Generally, they provide extra parts for the ones which break easily, and if I break all of them, most of the time the loss is minimal, or I can fashion a new part out of brass wire. You need proper tools to remove the parts from the sprues and if you don't have them, it's not a wonder you can have problems.

[Anonymous]

I'd only prefer RTR if its a complex kit like Proto. Those are no fun to built. All them little micro parts get damaged when I handle them. Making a simple Accurail kit is fine for me.

[Anonymous]

I have a few Athearn Blue Box engines and some P2K engines, but most of my rolling stock is either MDC or Athearn kits. I like the RTR stuff as some (sometimes quite a bit)of the detailing is far better than the inexpensive kits, but the budget just doesn't allow for the expense. I am interested in buying some Atlas, Walthers, and P2K RTR as I have seen some on sale for $6-9 each. After upgrading Athearn BB kits with Kadee's and metal wheelsets, these others are starting to appeal to me. Besides, my hands aren't as steady and my eyesight not as sharp as some highly detailed kits require. I have all plastic kit-built structures, also. For me, it's a compromise based on finances. Whatever I can afford at the time, I buy. Right now, with some companies offering Athearn BB kits for $3, it's hard to pass up.

[rogerhensley]

Everyone always leaves out the combunation choices which most of us fit into. In my case, Kits, Scratchbuilt and Kitbash. I have very few R-T-R and most of those are train set cars that I modified with couplers and new trucks.

In other words, 'None of the Above' or 'All of the Above'.

[ClinchValleySD40]

I prefer Atlas ready to run freight cars. Otherwise I buy kits.

[Anonymous]

I only buy RTR when there's no kit available for the same car. The closest I've got to a loco in kit form is Athearn Blue Box - I've seen the work involved in building locos from brass kits and wish I had the skills and funds to buy and build these - they are amazing when complete. On an economic basis RTR locos are hard to beat. I do enjoy building kits - I have a growing fleet of Athearn cars built from BB kits as well as a few Walthers cars. I would have to say that where cars are concerned I prefer the kits as they are far cheaper and very simple to build - I'm willing to put in the minutes needed to build the kit if I'm saving around half the purchase price of the RTR model!

[Anonymous]

KITS
are for me... Since I have no track to run my HO stuff, all the fun is in building the kits.

In N scale (my main scale) on the other hand, I tend to smash more parts than I get onto the model, so I prefer "semi kit" where the item comes in a runable condition, but you add the handrails and other details...

[Anonymous]

Beyond assembly I remember when spending several evenings adding details to a loco was par for the course.. and then to watch it running and how much better it looked. with p2k its all (mostly) done.. where is the fun in that? besides.. back when an athearn sd40-2 cost $25 you could afford to do one even on a limited budget. now that you have to fork out $75+ and you don't get that fun what's the point?

[Anonymous]

I've been building Athearn and Roundhouse kits since the early 80s and have a very hard time plunking down 3x what i used to pay for the same car already assembled.
now there are some rtr's that i like.. case i point the Atlas reefers.. very sweet. but half the fun was getting the kit assembled, and ready to run, maybe adding some paint touches,weathering etc. rtr takes that all away.. what do you end up with.. receive box, open box, put car on track. done. it used to be you could spend an evening working on a few kits (for the price of 1 rtr) and have a nice sense of accomplishment, and a bunch of cars to put on the layout.

jeff

[Anonymous]

You've just made my point in a previous topic of discussion. Building the kits are just so much a part of the hobby. I just dont think that there is anything more fun than watching the piece you just built roll down the track, or sit on the hill, or showing a red signal when the tain rolls by. ......that verses placing something almost right from a box to the layout. Sure, you may get a compliment on how good your layout looks with a pre built kit, but there is no feeling of "intamacy," for lack of a better word.

[BRAKIE]

I use both kit and RTR cars so I can have a well rounded out freight car roster.
I prefer RTR lately because I am burnt out on building kits and more into operation.[:D]

[on30francisco]

I do all three; ready to run, kits, and scratchbuilding.

[Anonymous]

Kits seem to be the best option. I mean some of the RTR look cheap.
Besides I've built models most my life.
(thats how I got into MODEL railroading)

[orsonroy]

Since I've joined the ranks of "get it closer to the prototype" modelers, almost NOTHING offered in this hobby is RTR. I'm in HO, where we have a wealth of products, and I still need to do things to get models up to my standards. Usually, it's little things like handrails, cut levers and repack dates, but sometimes it's entire roofwalks, doors, or ends that need to be upgraded. And every one of my steam engines will be spending lots of time on the workbench, having extra details added, new tenders built, and generally broght up to photographic quality (if you can see it, you can model it!).

Because of this, I really prefer when things come out in kit form. I have bought a few freight cars (and most of the modern steam that's out there) as RTR products, but only when I have to. Give me high-end kits any day.

And I do quite a bit of structure scratchbuilding too. It's generally cheaper than buying a kit, and you can have exactly the right building for your vision.

[timthechef]

I like kits. I've just started in the hobby 2 years ago after wanting to all my life. as my layout progesses I plan to do more (all my buildings are kits and so is my rolling stock) kit building and even scratch building. The RTR structures I've seen don't look real to me (one of my sayings is Life like isn't). All my loco's are RTR but I plan to kit build any additional. I wi***here where more Steam engine kits available. One thing I have noticed at my LHS is that kids getting into the hobby tend to buy RTR, but I think that as they get older if they stay in the hobby they will move to scratch or kit building.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't R-T-R stand for Ready-To-Rebuild? [(-D]

[Dayliner]

Hard to answer this one, as R-T-R, kit-building/bashing and scratch-building all seem to have a place on my layout. Very little of my rolling stock goes on to the layout straight from the box, although sometimes it's fun just to open the box and get something running right away. On the other hand, cost factors and the fact that I model a specific prototype mean that at the very least I buy undec and paint/letter it. I do have some kits and have spent a fair bit of time modifying and repainting old R-T-R stuff. As far as structures go, it's all kits or scratchbuilt--the built-ups look too toy-like for my taste. I like showing off the stuff I've worked on the most, so I guess my preference is for kits over R-T-R versions of the same model.

[Anonymous]

The only R-T-R that I buy is locos, there just isn't that many good quality loco kits out there. As far as rolling stock goes I only buy kits ( I prefer the resin kits).
I get a lot of pleasure out of building the kits. I just hope that the manufactureres of resin kits don't get into the R-T-R business.

[AggroJones]

If kit form mean saving money, give me the kit! I would only prefer R-T-R if it was some compliacted structure (the only thing I have problems building). Kit form is almost always the best because you actually have to use some skill to build them. [:0]

[Anonymous]

I simply buy RTR when no kit is available for what I want. In N-scale, that basically means that most of my rolling stock and engines are RTR. I have no pre-built structures.

BTW Gary, your website link sez "No Home Page Found".

---jps

[Eriediamond]

Hey y'all (southern for hello to all of you'ins), My thoughts pretty much parallel Ray's replies above. Since I am modeling a branch of the Erie RR in HO scale, locos and rolling stock are scarce so I buy for the Erie logo but, and there is always a "but" to everything, I do enjoy building kits. Like Ray (maybe), after 50 some years of modeling, the "craftsman" type kit is becoming harder for me to build ( the parts are getting smaller)?? Also my job as an over the road trucker leaves little time for modeling, I don't have that hour or two in the evenings build. I do, however, miss the locomotive kits that came "semi assembled". Now for an observation. I think the main reason we are seeing less kits and more RTR models is not the lack of skill, patience, etc., If you notice, there is a lot of references back to the 40's and 50's and therein lies the key to the whole thing here. Back then, life was slower and not so many things to take up our liesure time. Families lived in the same area and life was centered around the home and we mostly had to to make our own entertainment. To some, it was model railroading. Yes, today we still enjoy our hobby, but some don't have the time for it like we did back then. This may be a little over the top, but to some, "quality time" with the kids is in the car while transporting them to their places of interests. On the same note, if we want the time with or families we usually spend a lot of time away from home. I don't mean to imply that its bad, only to say that the life style back 50 years ago was a lot different, with the time build kits. Also need to remember that back then we were still recovering from the war and money was really tight for manufacturers and consumers alike, hence a lot of kits, and a lot of those kits meant a lot of file work, sanding and trial fitting to build them. Well, I've rattled on enough here. Everone have a happy Easter.

[Anonymous]

Brothaslide, I didn't take what you re-butted to me as an act of war. We're all entitled to our opinions. Big Boy 4005 is in basic agreement with your position, also. My concern is not the fact that people are choosing to buy RTR, it is the fact that because of this, RTR may eventually supplant kits, which I would view with real sadness! If only kits were available, I would be happy as a lark! To me the hobby is the "modeling"! If my layout was done, I would be looking at ways to change, enlarge or make it better. If the "modeling" aspect of the hobby wasn't there, I wouldn't be here! I don't care that there will still be resin kits as I don't want to pay $35.00 for one.

[Anonymous]

I was just about to start a thread on kit building when I saw this. I just went to the LHS today, and I can't go uot of that place until I buy a Red Caboose, Branchline, or Bowser car kit. When you don't have a layout and no friend's layout to run your trains on, building kits is the funnest thing to do. Not only are kits funner than just pulling a R-T-R model out of the box and putting it on the layout, but they cost less, and the majority (except Life Like) are made in the USA!

[Anonymous]

I prefer kits because the so-called R-T-R stuff isn't. With kits I can build to suit my needs, i.e., a particular prototype. The R-T-R stuff is a model of one particular thing, and does not represent the modifications made over the years.

[IRONROOSTER]

I enjoy scratch building, kit building, and buy a fair amount of RTR. In S scale it is rare to have a choice, so I buy what's available. The time is a factor to me. Until I get the layout a little further along I'm running mostly RTR with a few kits. But I am collecting parts and kits for building later on. I plan to scratchbuild what's not available which in S scale is truss rod cars (I have a real weakness for these, but there are very few kits or RTR).
Enjoy
Paul

[cjcrescent]

Ray;
I agree with what you say about the kits from the fifties. After finishing one of those, you really felt you did accomplish something! Just try putting together an old Ulrich all-metal Hopper kit from that time, and not have access to any adhesives other than Goo, or an epoxy that not only smelled to high heaven but took two or three days to cure. I heard that some modellers soldered these kits together using Salmet, but I couldn't afford a soldering iron then.

[cjcrescent]

I guess you can say I don't understand RTR or as I call it RTMR (ready to make run). With extremely few exceptions, (five to be exact), all of my cars and locos are kit builts or heavily rebuilt and repainted by me. Even the brass I own was never factory painted and all have at the very least recieved new gearing and motors prior to running on the layout. I get more satisfaction from a model when I can say its truly mine, I made it, rather than I bought it. For me it is sometimes disappointing to go on a layout tour at a convention and see basically the same models, cars and locos, all in the same paint scheme and numbered the same, on three or four different layouts, as well as the same structures, these just painted/weathered differently.

But that is why this hobby is so great. What I like may not necessarily be what you like. What works for me, may not work for you. I have never criticized someone whose equipment is all RTR, and I would expect that same respect for my attempts as well. Its just for me RTR is really not an option.