How interested in kits are you?

[Anonymous]

The "truth" is, the only thing RTR stands for is "Ready To Re-build".

If it ain't a kit, it ain't worth spit!

[wctransfer]

I voted number 5. Because first of all, and there are a few exceptions, but RTR;'s are crisper, nicer, more detailed, than a lot of kits or customs( now im not bashing, just telling the truth) And i know ill get a few who get mad at me because they paint em, or built them, and dont like me putting down their work, but you all know its the truth. But im not saying kits cant be nice, just dont look as great as RTR stuff.

Alec

[Anonymous]

Wi***here were more of them.

Bob DeWoody

[Pruitt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dgwinup
I read all the time in the hobby press about the 'sameness' of many model railroads because each layout has exactly the SAME kit-built structures on it!

Things were a lot worse back in the 70s, I think - there wasn't nearly the selection of structure kits there is now, and when I would go to see a layout, I would try to see how many structures I could recognize (of course, I never shared that with the layout owner). It was a lot, and I had those same structures on my layout, too.

One of my big quandrys in building my layout now is how many of the structures to scratchbuild. I have a pretty specific goal in mind for the layout - for anyone who has been through the area I model, the towns, though very compressed, should be recognizable. That won't happen if I use too many kit structures - at best I may get a generic western America feel to the layout. So specifically-modeled towns will have to have scratchbuilt or heavily-bashed kit structures. My town of Lander, Wyoming is a good example of that - the structures are very specific (grain elevator on the way into town, the Fremont Hotel, the C&NW depot, etc.). My town of Laurel, Montana, on the other hand, is not someplace I'm trying to make recognizable in miniature. So some Walthers engine terminal kits (roundhouse, sand tower & drying house, etc.) are the order of the day (though I will try to "adjust" them so their pedigree isn't quite so obvious). Any way you slice it, built-up structures and unmodified kits are not going to find much of a home on my layout - I don't want people doing what I did when visiting - "Theres one of those, and he's got that one, and .... Oh! one of those!"

[dgwinup]

QUOTE: Originally posted by joeh19012

[2c] One of the things that keeps me interested in the hobby is kit building, but I prefer building the structures over building freight cars and/or locomotives.

I used to build plastic models of just about anything--airplanes, battleships, superheroes, tanks--when I was a kid, so I guess that's why I like assembling the structures. Just guessing, I would say about 90% of my structures are kits while somewhere around 50% of rolling stock are kits.

I'll go along with the opinions that it's great seeing something that you yourself built--or at least customized in some way--on your layout. I especially like highlighting cast mortar lines on brick structures and changing the paint schemes around from what the box shows. I've also changed some really simple kits to give them an art deco look, for example, just by using black and white paint. My infatuation with structures is no doubt part of my wistful wi***o really have been an architect instead of in the computer business, but oh, well...

Also, I sympathize with the folks who lament having to use the magnifiers. I recently became the "proud [:P] " owner of a pair of reading glasses. For models, I sometimes use a stronger pair.

Bottom line: I'll put together just about anything. The World's Greatest Hobby has given me the opportunity to figure out how many, many things are assembled, and that ability alone has saved me countless dollars on everyday household items whose life I've extended. Kids and other people who dismiss this hobby as simply "playing with trains" just don't get it.

Enough soap box for now. [8D]

I read half-way through this and then checked to see if I had written it!!! I, too, am an old kit builder. As a kid, anything would do, as long as it was a kit! Nowadays, I still enjoy building kits (mostly structures), but I hardly ever build them according to instructions and I always paint them, even if it's the same color the parts were cast in!

My particular gripe is the sameness of so many kits. I haven't done the research, but I believe that the structure kits that Walthers sells now were once made by several other manufacturers. I think one manufacturer uses the dies for a few years, then sells them to another company, who sells them on to yet another company, and so on. I think the same kit has been made by Pola, Con-Cor, Heljan, Walthers and maybe others. I read all the time in the hobby press about the 'sameness' of many model railroads because each layout has exactly the SAME kit-built structures on it! Maybe that's why I ba***hose puppies all the time - I want indivuality![soapbox]

OK. I'm done.

Darrell, quiet...for now

[GN-Rick]

Kits are essential. I build most of my rolling stock from them. When
modeling the GN, you need kits because there is so little available
in RTR. And I, too, enjoyand appreciate craftsmanship.

[Anonymous]

Still looking for the one......
Intermodal shipping yard kit?
Lumber shipping yard kit?
O scale

[on30francisco]

I like building simple kits. I find scratchbuilding, especially with wood, a lot easier and much more enjoyable than assembling a complex kit with many small parts. I also use some RTR items like locomotives and rolling stock trucks.. I feel I can always modify or superdetail them at my convenience.

[Darth Santa Fe]

HEY HORIZON!!!!!! LOOK AT THIS TOPIC!!!!!!!! PEOPLE STILL LIKE KITS!!!!!!!! Oops, sorry. I forgot, they're deaf and can't hear us say "let MDC make kits again".[:(]

[skiloff]

Boy, I'm defnitely in the minority. For locos/rolling stock, I prefer RTR. My addition is the weathering and, depending on the model, some extra detail parts. I have limited time, and I don't enjoy building rolling stock for some reason. I've found also that by the time I add metal wheels/trucks and couplers to the kits, I'm almost at the price of the prebuilt ones that have those pieces included.

Structures are a different story. I quite enjoy building structures and detailing them (especially with lighting - Miller Engineering has and will continue to make a lot of money off me). I can hardly wait to try a craftsman kit, but I have to find one that would work for me.

[Darth Santa Fe]

It is pretty stupid of Horizon to stop MDC from making kits. The MDC steam engine kits were probably some of the most popular steam engine kits around.

[randybc2003]

I have absolutely love kits. Good quality kits are a joy to build, easy and effective to modify, customize, and kitbash. The POWERS THAT BE should visit a PROLOTARIAN POX upon Horizon Hobbies [}:)] for what they have done to Roundhouse/MDC, and Athern.

[Anonymous]

I love kits, I just finished a Walthers CSX 65' Mill Gondola last night.

[cheese3]

Love kits, build them all the time

[chrismay]

If kits keep the cost of the hobby down...I'm all for them. I'd rather spend more time and less money, than spend more money and less time. The pride you get from building a kit is a very welcome bonus as well.

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by timthechef

I hope to get a bowser kit one day.

I hope you don't have a short attention span. It could take hours to get the valve gear right and working properly.

[pcarrell]

When you model a lot of early steam in N you have to love two things....Kits and Scratchbuilding!

[timthechef]

All of my rolling stock are kits, all my buildings are kits, and I've just started working on a Mantua 0-4-0 Pony engine kit. I hope to get a bowser kit one day. I would also like to try scratch building. My other two engines are RTR,

[Billba]

I checked the first option because I've turned some completed models back into kits to add my "touch".

[West Coast S]

I just aquired two kits over 50 years old, no scale measurements are used in the instructions and the line drawings are vague in the details. Several nights spent with dividers and calipers and a new detail parts list and i'm ready to assemble this pile of lumber into some 3/16 scale reefers, in addtion I have over 30 other wooden reefer kits awaiting assembly as well as other kit rolling stock. So yes, I confess to enjoying a good kit.
Dave

[joeh19012]

[2c] One of the things that keeps me interested in the hobby is kit building, but I prefer building the structures over building freight cars and/or locomotives.

I used to build plastic models of just about anything--airplanes, battleships, superheroes, tanks--when I was a kid, so I guess that's why I like assembling the structures. Just guessing, I would say about 90% of my structures are kits while somewhere around 50% of rolling stock are kits.

I'll go along with the opinions that it's great seeing something that you yourself built--or at least customized in some way--on your layout. I especially like highlighting cast mortar lines on brick structures and changing the paint schemes around from what the box shows. I've also changed some really simple kits to give them an art deco look, for example, just by using black and white paint. My infatuation with structures is no doubt part of my wistful wi***o really have been an architect instead of in the computer business, but oh, well...

Also, I sympathize with the folks who lament having to use the magnifiers. I recently became the "proud [:P] " owner of a pair of reading glasses. For models, I sometimes use a stronger pair.

Bottom line: I'll put together just about anything. The World's Greatest Hobby has given me the opportunity to figure out how many, many things are assembled, and that ability alone has saved me countless dollars on everyday household items whose life I've extended. Kids and other people who dismiss this hobby as simply "playing with trains" just don't get it.

Enough soap box for now. [8D]

[pastorbob]

I used to build a lot of kits, in fact, at one time I built mostly all kits or scratchbuilt, which helped me earn the MMR from the NMRA. Today, I hardly ever build a kit, simply because of arthritis in my hands, fingers, etc, I would not be able to tackle some of the new cars if they were offered in kits.

Age has a way of modifying things quickly.

Bob

[tstage]

Unfortunately, IM is going/has gone the way of RTR. That's all that is available at my LHS - sad. You can probably still find some IM kits around but the supply is dwindling.

Tom

[orsonroy]

Plastic, resin, wood...I love 'em all.

I realize that most hobbiests are voting with their wallets and buying more and more RTR stuff, but it'd be nice if manufacturers would at least keep undec kits in stock. Intermountain and Red Caboose generally do; now if we can only convince Athearn to keep the old Roundhouse stuff around as undec kits (especially the cabooses and passenger cars!).

[Anonymous]

I must be interested in them, I probably have over 100 yet to build and I've already put together 100's over the years. Since I have so many to do, I prefer to find RTR's when I can, especially in the old 50's metal HO stuff that I like to collect. It seems that many were handier than myself in putting these together. Also, most of them already have Kadee's and metal sprung trucks when I buy them which saves alittle time and money. I recently sold off all of my duplicate roster numbers (mostly Athearn BB) to shrink the collection a bit. Storage was becoming an issue.
I really don't know when I'm going to do all of this, I better retire soon.
Bill

[Darth Santa Fe]

Wow, so many kit builders. You'd think the model railroad manufacturers would figure out that people still like kits. How else would Bowser, Hobbytown, Kato and Athearn stay in business? (Kato engines are just as much of a kit as the Athearn BBs)

[alstom]

[#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto]

[ClinchValleySD40]

Are we just talking about freight/passenger cars? If so, I stay away from RTR and only do kits. That way I make sure it is properly weighted, wheels, couplers, etc.

[alstom]

Kits are something I like to do when I want to take time with my hobby. Most of the time I buy stuff already built though.[8D][8D]