For the past six months I have noticed the the BB Athearn 7 Round House kits are drying up at train shows, LHS, and Ebay is starting to show les of them. There are allot of used ones out there on ebay in the original kits unbuilt, but is it me or are the drying up?
I think production has been none since Horizon has taken over both Company's, I could be wrong on the production factor. As I am seeing these fading away the price on them seems on the rise to.
I wonder how many the 2 company's made over the years in kit form.
ICRR1964
One of my hobby shops is FULL of them with a walkway featuring a rather complete line.
In fact I have 6 BB's on Back order and one or two waiting for my next visit.
I buy these things and equipt them with 148's and Metal wheels at a very competitive prices against thier RTR stock which is a little more expensive and require the same upgrades.
Last year I had a stack of frames, weights and doors delivered; enough to repair or replace for the next 10 years my small group of 40+ BB boxcars.
Hardly the sign of a dying line.
Now I do see them at the trainshow and expect to see alot of them again in April at the 819 shops....
The only issue I have with these is price. They routinely ask 10.00, 15.00, 20.00 etc for kits unbuilt. I just buy the ones I want cheaper at the hobby shop.
Finally but not last, China produces these kits now. All of them... hopefully. Thier factories must either be behind with all of these production orders yet unfilled. Some of the BB backorders are approaching thier first anniversary on new production kits.
Sometime last year Athearn issued a production schedule for Blue Box kits for 2007. It was posted here on the forum, but I can't find it. If you look at www.athearn.com You can search their product range and there are dozens of BB kits still available. Freight car kits have MSRP's in the $8 range. They are not making any more Round House brand kits under that name anymore. Any of the Roundhouse kits that continue in the product line are being sold as BB's I believe.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
If you check the website again you will notice that Roundhouse sells the 'old time' cars and locos, while Athearn sells the more modern models.
Due to the current RTR market a lot of LHS are not stocking kits.However,the better on line shops still carry the kits.As far as Roundhouse kits they are currently being offered as RTR.
As a side note Athearn does show some MDC cars as kits on their web page.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Was at a train show Saturday and there were plenty of Athearn BB car kits and locos available.
Tilden
Tilden wrote: Was at a train show Saturday and there were plenty of Athearn BB car kits and locos available.Tilden
Same, every year people cry about Athearn BB and MDC kits drying up but at the big Syracuse "junk show" er, train show, there are still quite a few to be seen. It must be a "selective" drying up.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983