Kits or RTR

[Anonymous]

I prefer kits. [:D] It just seems easier to modify a kit as you built it to make it prototypically correct, than to break down an RTR unit to make it right.
Besides, there is a certain satisfaction that comes from kits that you cannot buy in an RTR item! [^][^][^][^][^]

[Hawks05]

i noticed the samething after putting my new kits together last week. they don't make the hobby fun at all for me. maybe its because i'm a teen and want everything ready to go. i have a pretty short temper when it comes to certain things and models is one of those things so when stuff isn't working i tend to get mad.

i haven't put together any buildings yet. that will probably be a challenge.

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergmiester

I've built kits and to tell you the truth they don't give me a thrill.

Gasp!

[Anonymous]

RTR. I'm getting lazy. Besides, when I get it home I want to run it not build it.

[jrbernier]

I buy both. In the past I bought only kits, as I did detailing/painting/lettering/weathering and most of the typical Athearn & MDC paint jobs were not that good, and there was very little in RTR at the time(70's). I did buy some Bev Bel as they seemed to have good paint jobs and correct numbers.
As better kits became available in the 90's, I migrated to high end cars like Intermountain/Red Caboose/P2K/etc. After spending countless hours putting together a tank car(Intermountain, IIRC), I started buying some the RTR Intermountain cars. I found that a lot of train show dealers had excess inventory and I was able to buy cars RTR cars at a veery good discount.
We are now seeing lots of RTR and very little kits. I heard a rumor that Intermountain sent their inventory of kits to China and had they built/repackaged as RTR. Just about everything they sell now is RTR or seems like it. Red Caboose appears to be going the same way. P2K still has kits & RTR, but also has 'Timesaver' kits. Branchline kits are very good(I model the late 50's), but I suspect that we are going to see more RTR as the passenger cars keep getting released.
What I am leading to is that I will buy RTR if it is 'correct' and very well done. It does save time building up a working roster. I still like kits, but the biggest problem is getting correect decals now. With Champ going out of business(I just ordered about $120 from them), and Microscale always out of stock on older runs - I wind up scouring flea markets and old hobby shops for era specific decals I can use.

Jim Bernier

[Anonymous]

For me even most of the RTR end up being kits as I swap wheels (P2K for cars, Jay-Bee for locomotives), couplers (always KD), add detail (Detail Associates, Details West, Cannon, Keystone, Precision Scale to name a few) and paint.

[Fergmiester]

RTR simply because I can invest more time on other areas of the hobby. I've built kits and to tell you the truth they don't give me a thrill. Kits of buildings now there's another story.

[FThunder11]

Ready to Roll is easier.

[novacoach]

The freight stuff that is genuinely rtr is not really high quality apart from the Intermountain/red caboose and similar level stuff. I have found some with broke grabs though but my supplier had replaced. The Walther RTR is not RTR and the drilling out and painting is a personal choice. I quite like it most of the time especially as I get better at it and the cabooses are a good move. BUT even the high quality cars are not that not good for me because the fitted weights tend to be magnetic and as I switch with under track magenets the cars are normally useless for that. Ditto the couplings except where KDs are fitted

[darth9x9]

It really depends on the manufacturer. Athearn, Walthers, MDC, and Accurail kits are fun to put together. But if anyone has built an InterMountain cylindrical covered hopper, they are worth every penny for the RTR model!!! I have it down to a science and I can build them in assembly-line fashion but they are still painful and time consuming. I really like the RTR cars from InterMountain, Kadee, and Atlas.

[CBQ_Guy]

Actually, I would prefer RTR over the kits because I'm primarily a model railroader rather than a railroad modeler. But since in many cases the RTR stuff costs so much more than a kit, I try to go with the kits. And the simpler the kit the better, too. I'm one of those nasty "good enough" modelers and if it looks like a boxcar, it's good enough for me. I've got a large layout to build here, after all. I need to populate it in an expediant manner.

With the price of kits going up, too, the price of the RTR Athearn stuff doesn't seem all that costly now, so I've been scarfing up some of them recently.

[Anonymous]

double post.... sorry

[Anonymous]

when i buy new i go kits... most. im a broke collebge student, but some how still manage to get a lil money to spend on trains. i mostlay buy uses (kits and alreade built up kits). the few that i have boughten new have all been athearns or MDCs. i just cant bring myslef to fork our more money for a car that is alrealy built when i can get simular for cheeper and have a good time building it. as for specific prototypes, i wish everthing was a kit so that i could get cars such as walthers centerbeam flat cars cheeper. the only advantage that i see RTR having is that they stick more detail on, which i wi***here was a way to do on kits.

as far as engines go i honeslty wish i could save a few $$$ by getting them in a kit. most all the deisel companys either make their engines in RTR or almost RTR. i honelsly would not minde saving a few dollars and puting the whole thing together. i usualy take all my engines apart after i have had them for a month or so anyways.

[orsonroy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by twhite
[And while I'm complaining, do you think we could get Walthers to improve their drill-starting points on the RTR cabooses they're producing? Or better yet, I'd be willing to pay a few extra bucks for pre-drilled holes.

Use a dental pick ($2 at Ace Hardware) to poke a starter hole where you need to drill, and let the rest of us pay a little LESS for Walthers cabooses!

[twhite]

Didn't vote on this one, because I use both. I agree with a couple of the writers, though, some of the RTR come with problematic wheelsets--I just switch them over to Proto 2000. Of the kits available, I really like the Red Caboose and Intermountain, they are complex, but go together quite well. Wish I could say the same about the Proto 2000 kits, though. For some reason, no matter how much I try, nothing seems to want to fit. But maybe that's just me. And while I'm complaining, do you think we could get Walthers to improve their drill-starting points on the RTR cabooses they're producing? Or better yet, I'd be willing to pay a few extra bucks for pre-drilled holes.

[sebamat]

I prefer kits as long as they can be built in ca 1-2 hours on the kitchen table. A good trade of between investment (time and patience) and personal satisfaction (I DID something on my own).

My attempts for something more complicated ended with bad results, specially because of missing specialised equipment (a swiss army knife is my tipical tool).

[Hawks05]

ya the price of kits are really good for a high school kid. can usually buy 2 kits for the price of one RTR piece. not much but it saves a lot.

hopefully i can get to the hobby shop sometime this week. buy a building, some kits maybe some RTR stuff, the latest MRR mag, and some other stuff that might pop into my mind while browsing.

[Anonymous]

I buy anything that fits my need. But mostly kits because of the price. Kit's is my vote.
Andrew

[Hawks05]

well when i was first getting started everything i bought was RTR. i was kind of afraid to put together a kit because i figured i'd screw it up and it'd look bad. well since then i've put together probably 10-12 kits. most have been really easy so its no biggie.

i prefer RTR because i want to run stuff right away, but kits are great to. as long as they are really complex, give me a little time before i take on a Walthers or Intermountain kit, i'll stick to the Athearn and Accurail for now. as for locomotives i prefer RTR. on some of the P2K locos i have i haven't even touched the details that came with it.

being 17 i don't have a lot of money. i have a job but haven't been able to work all summer because of baseball. i also have a car that i have to pay for and i might be getting a motorcycle so i won't have much money after any of that.

[Anonymous]

I like kits better, as far as freight cars go. They're more rewarding and you also gain experince in building models. I prefer RTR locomotives because most of the detail is already there.

[Anonymous]

I've made my views on this subject pretty well known. I'm for kits!

[jmozz]

i go with kits I really like to build models jmozz

[Anonymous]

i didn't vote because i like both. i prefer kits but if a manufacture comes out wit a RTR car that i can' t get other then in RTR form then i'll buy it. But buyin just RTR gets alittle bit expensive. I am 17 and i have a summer job 2 pay for 4 things! Trains, girl friend, savings, and the lord. And a large chunk of it goes 2 the trains!! This all said i've racked up all lot of cars. 65 in total[:D], wit 4 Blue Box engines (3 Sd40-2 newer style[^] and 1 older ac4400cw)

[CP5415]

I prefer kits so that I can use the couplers I want instead of the crap that comes with all RTR.
I hate having to change couplers!

Gordon

[CP5415]

I prefer kits so that I can use the couplers I want instead of the crap that comes with all RTR.
I hate having to change couplers!

Gordon

[Junctionfan]

I prefer ready to run on certain model like Walthers and Intermountain which have kits that can be a senior pain in the butt to put together; but athearn and accurail for example are pretty easy to put together so I don't mind them. For engines though, I prefer RTR.

[nfmisso]

Both.

[Anonymous]

Kits in General. I prefer them, and there's almost no accurate 2nd gen power for the road I model, so I need to kitbash my power. Luckily, there's plenty of available RTR 1st gen power for CN, at least in hood units, so that got me up & running, while I slowly build the newer power.

With the decline in Shake-the-box kit availability, I'm moving to Resin as my primary source of Rolling stock. Lots of fun to build. As I'm in an apartment, building rolling stock is my primary outlet for the hobby, I should have a nice fleet by the time I've got a basement.

[Catt]

I prefer kits for cars and RTR for locos even though I voted just for kits.I think you should have had two questions on your poll .