I do sometimes see ads where undecorated models sell for less, but it's less common than it used to be years back.
My pet peeve as a free-lancer is buying an undec diesel locomotive or caboose or passenger car and finding out the windows are all glued in place! If they aren't installed at the factory, or are designed to just snap in place, it's much easier to paint the model without having to either mask all the windows or end up breaking something trying to remove the glued in glazing.
This is the viewpoint of a modeller that NEEDS undecorated models.
1: Please do not start to respond by telling me stripping paint is an option, it is not. Sure, you can remove the paint and lettering from a Stewart F7 if you need to, but a modern hyper-detailed Chinese made Rapido FP7, never. I challenge anyone to strip the paint off of one of those in any sort of practicle fashion.
2: Yes, the best kits are only available undecorated: Tichy, Yarmouth, Funaro & Camerlengo, Sunshine, Westerfield, all undecorated and are beautiful models.
3: Accurail still makes undecorated models available, so, if you are happy with "shake the box" kits, then you are good to go.
4: Kadee is a godsend. The selection is limited, but what they have is the best. Kadee undecorated kit cars do cost less than assembled decorated models.
5: Tangent and BLI have both made undecorated models of their freight cars.
To the OP's question about price now... and I am going to talk mainly about locomotive models.
I would gladly pay a PREMIUM to get undecorated models of the models I need. Same price is actually costing the manufacturers money. These models are mass produced and prepainted as they are assembled. An undecorated model would basically gum up the entire assembly process, possibly needing the whole line to be reset. That costs money.
Then, would it be a kit or not. If a modern locomotive model is offered undecorated, but assembled, that would be a major pain to take apart enough to paint it and all the sub assemblies. If it is a kit, that needs instructions & special packaging, and that costs money.
Watch the Rapido videos of their factories in China. I doubt my ability to assemble a Rapido locomotive like those people can do it. They are amazingly skilled.
It was the undecorated freight car kits from Life-Like Proto-2000 that convinced me to switch to HO scale in the 1990s. I believe the undecorated models were the same price as the decorated kits back then.
Given the market today, I think we are lucky if an undecorated model becomes available, and I am thrilled if it does not cost extra.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
You'd think they should be the same cost.
Another thing is my ability to paint and decorate a car is far worse than a decorated model. For a structure, I'd happily pay to build it myself.
Think of it this way...you pay X dollars for a painted, detailed model Now you have to disassemble & strip it so you can repaint in color/ roadname etc of choice Selling you one undecorated at the same price saves you that time in labor
So why not buy the undecorated
either way you still paid X dollars
The marginal cost of the painting and lettering both in materials and time is likely a relatively small part of overall production and distribution. One might as equally see a price difference between simple 'dip' and more ornate paint schemes... we certainly saw a price difference during the evil times that certain railroads tried charging for 'licensing' certain liveries.
As Rapido points out, there is a relatively limited market for undecorated units in the current market. And where there are variants in configuration or equipment -- a common selling point today being rivet-counter correctness of phase and detail by road name and even cab number -- deciding what goes in the box for an 'undecorated' unit may involve a full range of detail parts and options, which have to be handled separately in the boxing-up with an increased chance of error.
I have occaisonally seen them cheaper. But with most production in China I suspect most of the cost to decorate is in the set up. So the incremental difference in decorating is probably is probably too low to be worth the hassle of 2 prices for the same product.
Paul
You would think. Maybe the manufacturers want to "encourage" the custom modelers to go RTR - i.e. to throw a conspiracy theory out there for fodder.
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Why are they the same price? One should be cheaper no?