Although I haven't gone back through past issues of MR to substantiate , I have a strong feeling that the product reviews either in the mag or Cody's program seem to be lacking in freight or passenger "kits " as compared to rtr. If I am correct, any thoughts as to why so ?
Maybe I missed it, but there are very few new kits being produced these days. Kind of hard to do reviews of things that don't exist. New products are almost always RTR only and the market seems to reflect what people want to purchase.
No grand conspiracy to kill the kit, so no need for tinfoil hats and such.
In fact, if you go looking, there are new kits, but they tend to be for more arcane subjects, unlikely to ever be offered RTR. Lots of goodies in narrowgauge, for instance. Then there are structures, which is the sort of kit you'll most likely see reviewed in MR nowadays and that's not often.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Oh deary me, Bruce, this has the propensity to turn into one of those storm-in-a-teacup threads.
Here's a link to NP2626s reasonably up to date list of kit manufacturers.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/211105.aspx
Plenty to choose from, fill yer boots.
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
BEAR,
Glad You got Your ''clicker'' working.
Frank
I would think the major reason is that to review a kit, you have to build the kit (you're not just going to pull the parts out of the box and point out details) which is time consuming. A RTR car is easy and quick,pull out of box and then review. They can then spend the time saved to make new how to videos, articles for the magazine, work on project layouts, review more products, all of which are more appreciated.
Many of the kits available today have been around for years - some for decades. If you search through back issues of MR you can find reviews of many of them when they were new. The 75 year collection search function turned up some for Accurail as an example.
Given the ratio of new rolling stock kits to everything else that's new each year, I would guess that a random selection would not include many rolling stock kits.
Enjoy
Paul
Kyle,
I for one, do not agree with Your statement. But you are entitled, to your opinion.
The only new "kits" I can think of are undec RTR cars and locomotives when they are release..Most Accurail kits been around for several years.
Atlas bought all of Branch Line car kits and those will probably be release as RTR and may include a undec "kit".
The happy news is there's still thousands of kits available on e-Bay and at train shows.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Hi!
Ok, I've been playing with trains since the 1950s, building kits all the way to the present. There are few things as satisfying as "I built it myself", be it model trains/cars/planes/boats or backyard decks or furniture or whatever.
While that (IMO) was a fairly common mind set "back when", it is of a minority these days. It seems like so many folks want everything ready to roll, and have little interest in putting anything together.
So, the manufacturers obviously will cater to the market, and the market wants their stuff "ready to run".
Ok, I have no problem with that, for that is out of my control and does not affect me.
But you know what is ironic? Those RTR cars are, more often than not, in need of adjustments or replacement couplers/wheelsets or whatever, to truly be "ready to run".
Ha!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Well, I like kits, and I do have many waiting their turn at the assembly line. But I think what the OP is stating is that kits are not promoted any more, in the product reviews, and the magazines, although there are many manufacturers that still produce them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can remember some of our favorite magazines like MRR, and MRC, etc., all used to have a feature where a kit would be assembled. I don't think it would be so bad to have a kit featured, show the box and parts, then show the car assembled, and the different detail items that came with the kit, and what products you could add to it, and which would promote more manufacturers of detail parts, decals, paint, etc.
When you walk into any hobby shop, the first thing you see as you walk down the isles is RTR's, because thats what the major manufacturers are pushing now..."Look! buy me ! I'm RTR on YOUR train! Grab irons and all!" I can understand the pressure on the magazines to push RTR's, because that's whats popular with todays modelers, as they don't want to mess with putting something together, leaving kits to be found in catalogs, on line suppliers, auction sites, and classifieds.
I also think the magazines have to fill up most of the space with adds, as that's what pays the bills, and I also think that a lot of the print magazines cater more to the newer modeler, who want the RTR's, and the endless stream of track plans, and "how to get started" content, and the adds for the products "they need" to get started. Look at all the new members that come to the forums on a daily basis, looking for track plan ideas, how to build the benchwork, etc., etc.
OK, I'm done for now. Off to my favorite HS. I'll pass by the RTR's for now, and spend my money on detail parts, paint, etc., to enhance what I already have, and projects that are on my bench.
Mike
My You Tube
mbinsewi...I think what the OP is stating is that kits are not promoted any more, in the product reviews, and the magazines, although there are many manufacturers that still produce them...
New product reviews tend to be just that -- new items. I understand there's been some blurring of that line when old kist get reissued as new RTR, but the changes made in that process are often noted as part of the review.
mbinsewi...I can understand the pressure on the magazines to push RTR's, because that's whats popular with todays modelers...
Just read between the lines here. MR publishes lots of reviews of RTR because that's what's selling in quantity these days. Even if MR did a whole year of nothing but kit reviews, I doubt it would change sales of kits by 1%.
What might change is interest in RTR because of perceptions among some that RTR is priced too high. I don't think it is. After all, when a kit is produced, shipped to halfway around the world for assembly then shipped back the same distance, guess what? It's gonna cost you.
It's also the case that there is a huge mass of unbuilt kits out there, stockplied by modelers over half a century or more. As they die and their assets are dispersed, those com onto the market and are built or hoarded by new generations. This backlog is being whittled away slowly. Someday, demand for kits will rise again and they'll be back. But when they do, they won't be cheap.
It is easier to review a RTR item than a kit. Unless someone actually builds the kit it's like reviewing a stack of lumber compared to a finished home. The outcome of a kit depends on the time & experience put into the assembly.
You can be pretty much assured that most of the well known kit mfg. will put out a good well detailed kit. As far as Hobby or Train shops go, they will use the available shelf space for items that move & generate the most profit. Can't remember a post that complained about too many kits in the Train stores.
Way back in the glory days of rolling stock kits and reviews of kits in MR, remember that that is when the editorial staff wrote their copy but then there was a floor full of typesetters who would actually create the physical look of the magazine under the direction of a managing editor. (If you ever visited Kalmbach in the 1960s you'd remember the strong odor of printer's ink.)
I am not saying the staff had a lot of leisure time, but with fast workers like Gordon Odegard and Linn Westcott on the staff a complex kit could be assembled in fairly short order. I do recall many product reviews where the photo of the kit of not complete. And there were a fair number of "Trade Topics" product reviews that were written by modelers to whom the kit, and the job of writing the review, had been farmed out. Back in the 1950s and 60s there were several modelers in the Milwaukee area who served this function, such as Carl Traub and Joe Kunzelman.
I even recall one review of a sand casting kit of O scale passenger cars (long after that type of construction was no longer used) where they reported that they could not find anybody who wanted to build the thing, probably because most old timers had bad memories from the 1930s.
I think in recent decades the editorial staff also has to do work that in some ways is not purely editorial; in essence they are their own typesetters these days. What with 2 special annual issues, project layouts, a video series and this website to work on, it is unlikely that the staff has the job time to assemble many really complex kits anymore. My hunch is that it is not a matter of bias but a matter of time. It is likely also true that in the old days there was no learning curve -- when a staff member opened a kit box, even a complex FSM kit or Ambroid freight car, they knew exactly what they were getting into because they had done it the week before, and the week before that, and the week before that, and so on.
Dave Nelson
The truth is, we review new items that the manufacturers send us a review sample of. If the few remaining makers of car kits don't send us a review sample, we can't review it. Simple as that.
Now that you have the definitive answer, I'm locking this thread.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com