I don' know if it's from really bad management, or if Horizon is just into the Collectable craze, but lately it's getting hard to find old Athearn standards that use to be Readily available.
I mean Bay window Cabeese backordered, and impossible to find in most shops..not to mention online, GP 38-2s are a rarity now, and the new units that are produced are usually sold out a couple weeks after they are announced... then quickly discontinued????
We were talking about this at our local Train show this past weekend..it seems like Horizon wanted the Athearn name, but really could care less about keeping stock available to those of us who want to buy. Yeah I know they aren't the only company out there but for a long time now the modeler had three choices for many models: Athearn, Brass or scratch build it.
Maybe Atlas will grab Athearn the next time they are on the Block...which from the looks of things shouldn't be too long.
I too have notice the lack of stock in my area. It used to be there was a good selection at all of the shops that I have been to. It seems that the selection is smaller and nonexistent in some. Ya can't sell it if the customers can't find it. Now that I think about it...the couple of shops I go to localy don't carry Atlas products at all and only a few Proto and Bowser products.
It depends on the distributor your local hobby shop deals with. There's only one shop left in Tucson, Arizona, and it deals only with Horizon Hobby as its distributor, so there are no Walthers products in their store or anything that Walthers distributes. They do have a lot of Athearn, Model Die Casting, and Bowser products, though.
Odd..Most better on line shops have Athearn by the ton.
http://www.firsthobby.com/store1/default.asp
http://www.1stplacehobbies.com/
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/category_s/26.htm
http://www.toytrainheaven.com/.sc/ms/cat/HO%20Scale
A lot of LHS have dropped the BB kits in favor of the RTR since that's the current market trend.
I agree finding Athearn at low prices is getting harder at train shows.The regular hobby shop dealers at these shows is selling at or near full price.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
BRAKIE wrote: Odd..Most better on line shops have Athearn by the ton.http://www.firsthobby.com/store1/default.asphttp://www.1stplacehobbies.com/http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/category_s/26.htmhttp://www.toytrainheaven.com/.sc/ms/cat/HO%20ScaleA lot of LHS have dropped the BB kits in favor of the RTR since that's the current market trend.I agree finding Athearn at low prices is getting harder at train shows.The regular hobby shop dealers at these shows is selling at or near full price.
I like Athearn products and have no problems finding what I need by searcing various Internet shops. Many local hobby shops order from Walthers and so they can no longer order Athearn or Roundhous products through Walthers. I have also picked up some Athearn kits and locomotives, as well as some out of production Roundhouse (MDC) kits on Ebay for less than retail price.
Jim, Modeling the Kansas City Southern Lines in HO scale.
What you find there Brakie and Jamest is a lot of old stock, and buyouts of Failed LHS. A new Hobby shop is hard pressed to stock a Full line of Athearn products because Horizon isn't producing and what they do produce is in such limited numbers only thier larger affiliate stores even have a chance of carrying them, and honestly if you look at Horizons own Athearn store site, a good 75% of the stock is backordered or discontinued.
It almost looks as if Horizon is steering the Athearn line toward the same audience as Lionel and Overland Brass, and lets face it; for HO: The scale modeler trumps the collector two to one, and for every well heeled modeler you find that has no issues plopping down Five hundred for a engine you have ten working Joe's that spend less in one purchase, but stay in the Hobby longer.
I just see it as a idiotic move on Horizons part, as they will "exclusive" themselves right out of the market.
BRAKIE wrote: Odd..Most better on line shops have Athearn by the ton.http://www.firsthobby.com/store1/default.asphttp://www.1stplacehobbies.com/http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/category_s/26.htm http://www.toytrainheaven.com/.sc/ms/cat/HO%20Scale A lot of LHS have dropped the BB kits in favor of the RTR since that's the current market trend.I agree finding Athearn at low prices is getting harder at train shows.The regular hobby shop dealers at these shows is selling at or near full price.
highhood63 wrote:I just see it as a idiotic move on Horizons part, as they will "exclusive" themselves right out of the market.
I haven't been happy with how they're dealing Athearn and MDC either. There used to be a hobby shop here that had an aisle FULL of Athearn kits, and when the shop was trying to sell off all their stuff, just about every Athearn kit they had was sold within a month or two, and there were hundreds upon hundreds of kits there!
When Walthers had MDC products, the steam engine kits were hard to keep in stock, because those MDC kits were popular.
My LHS has plenty of Athearn RTR and Genesis stuff in stock, but because they're expensive, they seem to take a while to get sold off.
_________________________________________________________________
I was just talking to the owner of a HobbyTown USA. They use Horizon and Walthers chain wide. He said the chain is talking about switching to Tower Hobbies instead of Horizon. He told me Horizons dealer pricing is a joke and they never have anything in stock.
I know MB Klein has real time inventory, but I wonder how much stuff is actually in stock at the other shops Brakie listed? Some of the stuff they're showing hasn't been available for a couple years.
jerryl wrote: Many smaller Hobby shops no longer carry Athern because of a minimum order requirement. They have to order a certain dollar amount per year to carry thier product. They also insist that they be the only distributor. It's true that most I've seen at train shows are old stock items. Really think they made a mistake not letting Walthers distribute. Also, the choice of the MRC sound decoder isn't helping.....Time will tell.
Right they are basically having peeing contest with Walthers and they are losing big time, and hurting the Hobby in the process. In this economy a Requirement based company will fail. Walthers I think is biding it's time, when Horizon goes chapter 13 they will be there to bail them out, ending up with the whole shebang in the process.
Athearn 'BB' is available - the production schedule is posted on their web site. Even before the Horizon buyout, the 'BB' kits were batch production and many items were 'out of stock' until the next production run.
I have been able to find 'BB' stuff with no problem, but the old 'MDC/Roundhouse' kits do appear to be in short supply. Much of the 're-issued' MDC stuff has been 'upgraded' and is only available in the 'RTR' line. Most of my purchases have been through 'train shows' and there is good discounts(25% and up...).
I just picked up some MILW SD40-2 engines(RTR), and these are much better than thier original 'BB' SD40-2's. Great paint jobs/really 'DCC Ready'/correct fuel tanks/etc and they have the new 'hex drive line' - What an improvement! If they redo the GE 'Dash 9' and AC4400CW with these upgrades, I am sure they will sell well. BTW, the SD40-2 is available in 'undec' for the folks who want to paint their own.
The only part of the 'new' Athearn I do not like is the MRC sound decoders in the Genesis line of engines. My new MP15AC will not program on my Digitrax programming track, and I will be forced to buy a 'programming booster'. All of my P2K/Soundtraxx/BLI sound engines will program with no problem!
Jim Bernier
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
After reading this, think I'll go put those 2 Athearn's on lay-a-way at my almost LHS.
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/4309
I do agree with you on the Quality of the RTR products, the Southern High Hood SD 40-2's and the NS High Hood GP40X are nothing short of incredible, problem is the GP40X in that Road name is as Rare as Chicken teeth as only a very limited Run was made..seriousley That Model was a Money printer, and they made it a limited Run? And the SD 40-2's are marked as Discontinued as is The GP 40X..meaning no more of those thank you very much.
That is where Horizons is messing up, I could give a fig if they went completely RTR as long as they get off this limited Run BS.
jrbernier wrote: Athearn 'BB' is available - the production schedule is posted on their web site. Even before the Horizon buyout, the 'BB' kits were batch production and many items were 'out of stock' until the next production run. I have been able to find 'BB' stuff with no problem, but the old 'MDC/Roundhouse' kits do appear to be in short supply. Much of the 're-issued' MDC stuff has been 'upgraded' and is only available in the 'RTR' line. Most of my purchases have been through 'train shows' and there is good discounts(25% and up...). I just picked up some MILW SD40-2 engines(RTR), and these are much better than thier original 'BB' SD40-2's. Great paint jobs/really 'DCC Ready'/correct fuel tanks/etc and they have the new 'hex drive line' - What an improvement! If they redo the GE 'Dash 9' and AC4400CW with these upgrades, I am sure they will sell well. BTW, the SD40-2 is available in 'undec' for the folks who want to paint their own. The only part of the 'new' Athearn I do not like is the MRC sound decoders in the Genesis line of engines. My new MP15AC will not program on my Digitrax programming track, and I will be forced to buy a 'programming booster'. All of my P2K/Soundtraxx/BLI sound engines will program with no problem!Jim Bernier
highhood63 wrote: jerryl wrote: Many smaller Hobby shops no longer carry Athern because of a minimum order requirement. They have to order a certain dollar amount per year to carry thier product. They also insist that they be the only distributor. It's true that most I've seen at train shows are old stock items. Really think they made a mistake not letting Walthers distribute. Also, the choice of the MRC sound decoder isn't helping.....Time will tell. Right they are basically having peeing contest with Walthers and they are losing big time, and hurting the Hobby in the process. In this economy a Requirement based company will fail. Walthers I think is biding it's time, when Horizon goes chapter 13 they will be there to bail them out, ending up with the whole shebang in the process.
I would hate to see that scenario unfold. One company then would be in the position to control the majority of model railroading buying.
I myself would opt for competion between the brands.
highhood63,Welcome to the forum, tho' you've picked an interesting way to say hello here by slamming a manufacturer.
Athearn has been doing batch production for decades. I remember back in the early 1990's that one could not find Athearn 200 Ton cranes or RDC's anywhere. Today, they are merely doing the smaller batches because, quite frankly, old blue box kits just aren't selling like they used to. And last I checked, they are in business to make money, not to keep everyone happy all the time.
Today, when Athearn says "discontinued", it only means that the latest batch was run and sold out. It doesn't mean that they won't run them again.
Horizon has every interest in making sales. That they don't keep all Athearn blue box kits in production 100% of the time is probably more of an indication that they aren't selling that well, rather than the incompetance of Horizon's ownership.
Limited runs (or batch productions) are here to stay because it allows the manufacturer a quick return on investment and eliminates storage costs. Atlas, BTW, does the same thing as Athearn. So if you think Atlas buying Athearn is going to change anything, you are mistaken.BTW, it would be best if you did not issue facts without some kind of evidence. The NS GP40X high-hood was a money printer? Says who? I'm in a 60+ member club, and no one has bought one that I've seen. SP GP40X's, yeah, I've seen a couple. NS gets no love around these parts. To base your entire argument on that is rather weak. Oh, and these limited runs is what allowed Athearn to make such an oddball loco in the first place. If they did nothing but constant productions runs, you'd only have loco models available that could sell constantly. IOW, GP9's and F-units.
Paul A. Cutler III************Weather Or No Go New Haven************
Paul3 wrote: Limited runs ... are here to stay
Limited runs ... are here to stay
Paul:
Speaking as one who detests limited runs and the consumerism they tempt us to, I am glad to see you write this. I am glad because, as G. K. Chesterton wrote, when somebody, anybody, says that something is "here to stay", then it is about to become completely and utterly obsolete. :)
Now, regarding Athearn...
One LHS still stocks a lot of BB kits. The other, which I actually prefer, often has no cars of any kind, and at other times has dozens, but few Athearns...mostly Bowser, Accurail, and other low to medium-priced kits.
I think we are going to see these other lines take over Athearn's place as the supplier of the modeler who wants economical equipment that runs and looks better than the trainset lines. Horizon seems to be attempting to do something with the line, but I'm not sure what...take it upscale? Make it harder to find? Take it in multiple directions at once? I don't know for sure. I do think that Athearn is not the Ford of model railroading that it was once.
(This has happened before, too...Varney was the "Ford" of its day, and so was Mantua. Varney seems to have found the early plastic age as digestible as tainted tuna fish, and the cheaper bits of this legacy enjoyed rather great success in the Life-Like trainset line, judging purely by number of units sold. Mantua was hauled to Fresh Kills on a Super Bowl Express and buried under a coat of Southern Green paint. There is no one way to succeed in business, hobby or otherwise, and likewise there are many ways to fail...)
Not exactly true. Horizon doesn't have a minimum order requirement. However, larger orders, and more volume per year does get the shop a deeper discount, free or reduced shipping, etc.
Exclusivity of products is not unusual in the hobby industry.
Who distributes Walthers or Life-Like products? Not Horizon, not Great Planes, only Walthers.
Likewise, Horizon is the exclusive distributor of Athearn/Roundhouse.
I owned a hobby shop for several years, and there is NO WAY you can have what you need by using only one distributor.
I actually had close to a dozen different distributors I dealt with on a regular basis, just to have the items my custumers wanted.
Rotor
Jake: How often does the train go by? Elwood: So often you won't even notice ...
I don't think it's a problem.
When Athearn releases a model that you want, you should either order it from them right away, or order it through a hobby shop. They will not be around forever.
I can think of certain examples:
Maersk GP60M -- Last one on eBay went for $220 brand new, another with DCC for $140 (most modelers may not want the loco 'tinkered' with, and want it standard DC). I, amazingly, picked up one yesterday for $65. I now have the Maxi I cars on order.
Athearn/Walthers ADM-103s -- Look at them on eBay. $150 is the norm. There were 9 roadnumbers produced I believe. The reason for them not being released by Athearn, I heard, was because Walthers has a special trademark agreement through Amtrak, where that they have to be made through them. I currently am trying to get 2 of them for my (on order) Walthers superliners
SP GP40X -- I never got a chance at the first run...they sold like hotcakes. I know plenty of people that aren't SP modelers that snatched some of them for their details. Athearn saw this, and released a limited re-run. I snatched all 4 roadnumbers.
What other engines are highly prized????
Phil
Hi!
I've first bought Athearn back in the early '60s, and still buy them occasionally. The move of the Company to Horizon has been a bummer (IMHO) and the LHS agrees. I think they are more interested in high dollar locos and ready to run cars, and the ol blue box kits are becoming fillers to their production line.
May I suggest that Ebay is the best place for specific cars, and then I would do a Google search for specific cars as well. There are a lot of hobby shops out there that probably have what you want, but that's the only way to find them (online).
Wish you luck!
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
The local hobby shop in town where I live informed me that they will not be carrying Athearn because Horizon wants its retailers to be able to support $250.00 worth of sails per month, and have a $15,000.00 supply on hand at all times. The guy running our shop is trying to restart his shop after a hiatus and just can't afford to keep all that stock on hand running a shop out of a down town basement.
highhood63,You better recheck your facts..All of those shops I linked to are top of the line hobby shops and not a dumping ground like e-bay.
Again your comments is baseless.
As Paul3 pointed out Athearn is a batch producer just like the other manufacturers.
Fact: Athearn has monthly new product news releases has does Atlas.
Fact: Athearn products can be easily found even on e-Bay.
Fact:Back ordered means some road names are sold out including the NS GP40X.
Fact: if a locomotive or car is "discontinued" that doesn't mean it can't be found by looking for it.
my05hammer wrote: jerryl wrote: Many smaller Hobby shops no longer carry Athern because of a minimum order requirement. They have to order a certain dollar amount per year to carry thier product. They also insist that they be the only distributor. It's true that most I've seen at train shows are old stock items. Really think they made a mistake not letting Walthers distribute. Also, the choice of the MRC sound decoder isn't helping.....Time will tell. The local hobby shop in town where I live informed me that they will not be carrying Athearn because Horizon wants its retailers to be able to support $250.00 worth of sails per month, and have a $15,000.00 supply on hand at all times. The guy running our shop is trying to restart his shop after a hiatus and just can't afford to keep all that stock on hand running a shop out of a down town basement.
That's why hobby shops fail by the dozens..Not carrying all brands and not having the cash flow to do so...
Its his lost and his competitors gain.
Paul3 wrote: highhood63,Welcome to the forum, tho' you've picked an interesting way to say hello here by slamming a manufacturer.
Slamming? I would call it lamenting their poor production and their exclusitivity jag..but whatever.
Paul3 wrote: Athearn has been doing batch production for decades. I remember back in the early 1990's that one could not find Athearn 200 Ton cranes or RDC's anywhere. Today, they are merely doing the smaller batches because, quite frankly, old blue box kits just aren't selling like they used to. And last I checked, they are in business to make money, not to keep everyone happy all the time.
Yes Irv started the batch job philosophy, but never in Athearns History have you had so much of their product out of stock, in the past you might have had three or four product lines out of stock waiting for the next batch...cruse over to the Athearn store on Horizons site and look at the amount of product that isn't in stock. Further.... right now they aren't keeping very many people happy with lack of product...that isn't really the most intelligent way to make money.
Paul3 wrote: Today, when Athearn says "discontinued", it only means that the latest batch was run and sold out. It doesn't mean that they won't run them again.
Not really seeing any evidence that they will guy...perhaps you have some inside track us mere mortals lack?
Paul3 wrote: Horizon has every interest in making sales. That they don't keep all Athearn blue box kits in production 100% of the time is probably more of an indication that they aren't selling that well, rather than the incompetance of Horizon's ownership.
And your proof of this is where? Every LHS I go to, every Train swap I attend the BB kits are in big demand, Ebay sales are brisk..sounds like a market to me.
Paul3 wrote: Limited runs (or batch productions) are here to stay because it allows the manufacturer a quick return on investment and eliminates storage costs. Atlas, BTW, does the same thing as Athearn. So if you think Atlas buying Athearn is going to change anything, you are mistaken.
Not really Atlas only limits about 30% of it's product line at any given time, and that is usually relegated to new product that hasn't been proven sales wise. Standards (The RS units for example) are always readily available.
Paul3 wrote: BTW, it would be best if you did not issue facts without some kind of evidence. The NS GP40X high-hood was a money printer? Says who? I'm in a 60+ member club, and no one has bought one that I've seen. SP GP40X's, yeah, I've seen a couple. NS gets no love around these parts. To base your entire argument on that is rather weak. Oh, and these limited runs is what allowed Athearn to make such an oddball loco in the first place. If they did nothing but constant productions runs, you'd only have loco models available that could sell constantly. IOW, GP9's and F-units.
And you might want to consider that the world doesn't revolve around Massachusetts just because that unit doesn't pop in Bean town doesn't mean that isn't the case in ten other states. Those models were pretty much impossible to find a couple months after release. Except for the SP Road name which you can still grab on Ebay. And the 40X was a precursor of the 40..hardly oddball considering many major Roads like Santa Fe, SP, SOU SCL, and CN&W all had units on their roster.
Anyway thanks for the warm welcome..and the stream of Hyperbole. :)
highhood63 wrote: Paul3 wrote: highhood63,Welcome to the forum, tho' you've picked an interesting way to say hello here by slamming a manufacturer. Slamming? I would call it lamenting their poor production and their exclusitivity jag..but whatever.In other words, slamming Paul3 wrote: Athearn has been doing batch production for decades. I remember back in the early 1990's that one could not find Athearn 200 Ton cranes or RDC's anywhere. Today, they are merely doing the smaller batches because, quite frankly, old blue box kits just aren't selling like they used to. And last I checked, they are in business to make money, not to keep everyone happy all the time. Yes Irv started the batch job philosophy, but never in Athearns History have you had so much of their product out of stock, in the past you might have had three or four product lines out of stock waiting for the next batch...cruse over to the Athearn store on Horizons site and look at the amount of product that isn't in stock. Further.... right now they aren't keeping very many people happy with lack of product...that isn't really the most intelligent way to make money.Maybe that's where Athearn went wrong. Too much production, not much development. When it's gone, it's discontinued...sold out. This is not the old Athearn where there were plain engines in the same box. All of these new engines are taylored to the demands of US. Some are more popular than others.I cruse over to HH's site, and see them not in stock. How about crusing over to Athearn's web site, and see that it is discontinued. Paul3 wrote: Today, when Athearn says "discontinued", it only means that the latest batch was run and sold out. It doesn't mean that they won't run them again. Not really seeing any evidence that they will guy...perhaps you have some inside track us mere mortals lack?What was that called when Athearn re-ran those SP GP40Xs and just recently the GOtransit Bombardier commuter cars.......hmmm Paul3 wrote: Horizon has every interest in making sales. That they don't keep all Athearn blue box kits in production 100% of the time is probably more of an indication that they aren't selling that well, rather than the incompetance of Horizon's ownership. And your proof of this is where? Every LHS I go to, every Train swap I attend the BB kits are in big demand, Ebay sales are brisk..sounds like a market to me. Paul3 wrote: Limited runs (or batch productions) are here to stay because it allows the manufacturer a quick return on investment and eliminates storage costs. Atlas, BTW, does the same thing as Athearn. So if you think Atlas buying Athearn is going to change anything, you are mistaken. Not really Atlas only limits about 30% of it's product line at any given time, and that is usually relegated to new product that hasn't been proven sales wise. Standards (The RS units for example) are always readily available. Paul3 wrote: BTW, it would be best if you did not issue facts without some kind of evidence. The NS GP40X high-hood was a money printer? Says who? I'm in a 60+ member club, and no one has bought one that I've seen. SP GP40X's, yeah, I've seen a couple. NS gets no love around these parts. To base your entire argument on that is rather weak. Oh, and these limited runs is what allowed Athearn to make such an oddball loco in the first place. If they did nothing but constant productions runs, you'd only have loco models available that could sell constantly. IOW, GP9's and F-units. And you might want to consider that the world doesn't revolve around Massachusetts just because that unit doesn't pop in Bean town doesn't mean that isn't the case in ten other states. Those models were pretty much impossible to find a couple months after release. Except for the SP Road name which you can still grab on Ebay. And the 40X was a precursor of the 40..hardly oddball considering many major Roads like Santa Fe, SP, SOU SCL, and CN&W all had units on their roster.C&NW had GP40Xs?????? The SP sold out right away on the first run. The SP ones on there are re-runs. None of the other schemes have been re-released. The GP40X IS oddball. Only 23 were built, and it was meant to be an experiment with new technologies that were put into other later locos...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_GP40X Anyway thanks for the warm welcome..and the stream of Hyperbole. :)
In other words, slamming
Maybe that's where Athearn went wrong. Too much production, not much development. When it's gone, it's discontinued...sold out. This is not the old Athearn where there were plain engines in the same box. All of these new engines are taylored to the demands of US. Some are more popular than others.
I cruse over to HH's site, and see them not in stock. How about crusing over to Athearn's web site, and see that it is discontinued.
What was that called when Athearn re-ran those SP GP40Xs and just recently the GOtransit Bombardier commuter cars.......hmmm
C&NW had GP40Xs?????? The SP sold out right away on the first run. The SP ones on there are re-runs. None of the other schemes have been re-released.
The GP40X IS oddball. Only 23 were built, and it was meant to be an experiment with new technologies that were put into other later locos...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_GP40X
Phil (in the red...)
After a 20 year absence from the hobby, I found 2 things that were very disturbing when I got back into the hobby this past Christmas.
1) The Athearn I grew up with is not the Athearn we have now, it seems that they are always out of stock or backordered.
2) The extremely high prices we have to pay for locos, rolling stock, and structures.
I am combatting it all by;
1) purchasing older BB Athearns on ebay,
2) building my own locos out of old shells, home made brass frames or machined Athearn BB frames, and old Athearn trucks, (so far I have purchased/built around 20-25 locos since Dec. of 07)
3) I purchased 21 coal cars directly from Con-Cor for 6.44 each, (yes I had to wait for 6 weeks for the next batch, but heck they were $6.44 each)
4) I will be scratch building all of my structures using the Modelbuilder suite I have.
These are just some of the ways I had to re-adjust and become more resourceful with my money and the hobby.
Yes I complained at first but complaining wasn't getting the layout built.
I think part of the selection at the LHS is how much the LHS owner/manager knows about the modeling likes of their customers. My LHS which finaly went out of business, had tons of stuff that he would never sell in this part of the country, and he would not keep in stock the ATSF, BN and UP stuff that was selling as fast as he could put it on the shelf. He also had an over abundance of cheep train sets. He did carry a good supply of paint, wood, styrene and brass for scratch building.
I and many of my MRR friends always tried to support the LHS eventhough he never offered a discount. I was excited a few years ago when he said that he would be offering DCC. He had four MRC Command 2000 in his display case which were still there, at full retail price when (last Fall) he went out of business. Most of the modelers in this area use Digitrax or Easy DCC.
I was working out of town when the LHS closed. I was informed the decision to close was based upon excessive increases in rent and utilities and not lack of customers. I wish I would have known about the closing, because the guy had a nice selection of old Athearn BB and Roundhouse kits.
I can not find any SP MP15AC. It is on order since weeks at my German dealer.
The dealer is optimistic because Athearn did accept the order. He thinks that is an indication the engine is still in production in China and we have to wait until a new batch comes from China to USA to my German dealer to my layout.
I'm not so sure I'm young enough to wait for that kind of supply chain
Reinhard
mobilman44 wrote: I've first bought Athearn back in the early '60s, and still buy them occasionally. The move of the Company to Horizon has been a bummer (IMHO) and the LHS agrees. I think they are more interested in high dollar locos and ready to run cars, and the ol blue box kits are becoming fillers to their production line.
mm44:
I am inclined to agree with this. The kits are still available, but they seem to be letting them "coast"...and even if somebody now steps up to show that this is objectively untrue, the existence of this perception in so many modelers seems to tell me that there has been some sort of failure, at least, in promotion of their cheaper line.