If a manufacter came out with o gauge locomotive kit would you buy it?

No thanks! Have plenty of other things I need to assemble.

Gunny

I would as long as it was cheeper ...

This would definitely not be for me.

I think it would be a great thing if kits were offered, especially if they were cheaper.


-

quote:

Originally posted by Lou:
I think it would be a great thing if kits were offered, especially if they were cheaper.


-

I'm one of those guys who likes to build things so I'd like to see a nicely detailed kit in fact several of them .It'd be nice to have a hand built "J" ,Y6B or a challenger running on the layout.

David

I think I would like this. But the loco would have to be something very special and iconic. But it could be fun. BigRail

Yep. Why not. Might be fun. Certainly worth trying once.

I would try it once. Sounds like fun the first time....dunno after that. I think it would depend on what value I felt I got out of it, i.e. was it easy enough or hard enough to be considered fun for me?

Yes ... for sure. Irregardless of the price.

Also, it would be good with the kids. I enjoyed building R/C cars and trucks with my kids.

Jim

I think I'd give it about 2minutes thought and then be ordering it.Poppyscaboose

No.

YES.....been chasing a AHM/Rivarossi 4-4-0 kit for MANY years.....I have the IHB 0-8-0 and ICRR 4-6-0 kits, a number of HO kits built in years past. I'd love a nice O loco kit. But I feel that is a minority opinion. Plus when I was working for a group that was having hobby items made in China said it was cheaper to sell assembled items than a kit would be......

Built kits all the time in HO. I would love it if there was a good selection of kits and I could build and detail using photo's. For an example, I wish I could get a kit for a GP-7/9 and build it following CNJ photo's. I built one and detailed it in HO for a push-pull I built. Even kit bashed the Control Car. Used a lot of Detail Associates and Details West detail parts.

Yes, I love to assemble anything that is a kit.

Thanks guys for your replys.I have put together h.o. boxcars.But because i have aged trying to put together h.o. boxcars.Is a very bad headace in the making.If i tryed any kits it would be o gauge.Hey didn,t a company called intermountain.Have o gauge boxcars in kit.It would bre fun if i could get a sort of genric 4-8-2 or 4-8-4 or f7,gp9.Some locomotives that every rail road had.That way you could get decails.For your favorite railroad.

AH!!!!!!!! NO


Dave

Yes, if it was a Heavy Mikado kit.

Count me in for an O gauge kit locomotive. I would love to put one together.

So would you be willing to complain about your shotty workmanship after it breaks, dies, or what have you? The forum could be very quiet.

NO WAY!!!!!!

Scott

Only if it was something like an USRA engine and decals were available.

It would depend on what locomotive it was. If it was something I want and the price was decent value, I'd probably go for it.

I looked up the David Andrews line of kits. An LMS Duchess (a kit that would interest me) is 359 UK pounds or $556. To that you likely have to add a motor and gear box. Call this another $75 (YMMV), for a total of $633. Another $225 for an ERR kit; now we're up to $858.I suppose you can order it with "coarse" scale wheels to run it on 3-rail layouts. Oops-I forgot-you have to buy wheels separately!
The MTH offering is, what? $1200. You save about $340 over buying the MTH version. Not a good trade for your time, I think.
There are other locos, like the rebuilt Merchant Navy 4-6-2. If I really had to have one, then the kit looks like an interesting project and leaves a bit of money for coaching stock purchase.US-outline kits, like the USRA Heavy 2-8-2, that could be modified for any road (many!) that used them, such a kit could be a viable business, suited for limited production.
Opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by MartyE:
So would you be willing to complain about your shotty workmanship after it breaks, dies, or what have you? The forum could be very quiet.

At least it would be MY shoddy workmanship and not a companys I paid $1500 bucks to and got a piece of junk I had to send back from the get go

David

You could get the 4U.

http://www.mthtrains.com/content/11-6950-0

If the kit cost a great deal less than the fully assembled model.

If it was something like the EMD GP40-2 with many variations in details.

Andrew

Yes, the 700 E kit, in a wooden box just like they did with the Prewar model.

Of course, this is predicated on how good the instructions are.

Come to think of it, I may buy two of them one to build and run and the other to show in it's box.

But, considering how deep my pockets are not at this time I would probably be relegated to drolling at yours.

quote:

Not sure if the ex - All Nation cast zamac 10 Wheeler kit is still available but it surfaces from time to time under a different manufacturer.

BTS bought out that entire line from Babbitt

http://www.btsrr.com/

And there have been other steam kits about - not sure what's currently active, but here's a LWS PRR H-1 kit built engine lettered up for the CVRR #52



and here's a modified AHM Casey Jones 4-6-0



and I have a LWS kit built PRR A4 but no pctures of it either....

As for shoddy workmanship, shoddy is as shoddy does....

I have too many thumbs - not my fault....

No. I like the plug and play value added already in the engine. I like the sounds, command, etc. To have that in a kit would not be economical.

I rather have some kit cars, freight or passenger available.
Kits that take some assembly with a screw driver, like Athearn had in HO.

Sure. I would love to add it to the piles of stuff that I'm intending to get to someday!!

In a serious vein, I agree with the previous two posters. One, I'm not very handy, all thumbs as it were. And two, I love the "instant gratification" of unwrapping a new diesel and watching it run.

- Mike

quote:

Kit-built engines? I don't see the point. First of all, you surely must realize that if a manufacturer ships a box of parts for you to assemble, they're now 'off-the-hook' when it doesn't work well assembled by you? Thats YOUR problem, buck-o

The point is some of us LIKE to use our hands for more than typing on the internet. Nothing to me is more satisfying then to see something I have built with my own hands, even if it's not perfect. ANYBODY can pull a "Store Bought" model out of a box and place it on the tracks.

If it doesn't work, than the builder did something wrong, don't blame the manufacturer, but in case it was the manufacturers fault, they either fix the problem or they go out of business quickly. Nothing wrong with that scenario.


Martin, I wish BTS would make a move on those kits, but from what I read they're having some health issues and need to heal before getting back to adding on to their building. As of last postings, they still have all the kit parts in storage.

With the RC airplanes I enjoy the building almost as much as the flying. I have no reason to think it would be any different with O gauge locomotives, particularly if the kit was like the Bowser HO kits of yore. Instant gratification is well and good, but there's nothing like the satisfaction of seeing something that you've made yourself in operation.

Pete

quote:

I enjoy the building almost as much as the flying

Pete, you mean like this:



1/6 Fokker DVIII I built back in the 70s.



1/6 cockpit of a Fw189 Uhu, the thing is LARGE!



It took almost a year to complete and that's just the center nacelle. I don't have the room to build the wings or tail boom.

quote:

quote:
I enjoy the building almost as much as the flying

Pete, you mean like this:

If that monoplane flies, yeah. Not sure I could do the greenhouse, wow! No axis aircraft in my hangar, though. In fact, egad, of all the dozens of RC airplanes I've built I've never done a scale one. Not since I built some of those Guillow's "Lafayette Escadrile" WWI bipes. I can't believe that young me was able to put up with the crappy wood and die-cutting. Modern laser-cut kits sure have me spoiled. One of these days I've got to get a laser cut O-scale structure kit to build, just for the fun of it.

Pete

So if you assembled the engine, then took it apart again, would it void the warranty?

By and large, I'd have to say no.

There are a couple reasons previous posters made:

mm00047 makes a good point. What kind of kit? How complex? People have been talking about plastic locomotive kits for as long as I've been a forum member (at least). Haven't seen anyone really try it. Heck, we haven't even seen locomotive customization or super-detailing kits really take off, have we? I think they are big in HO, but not here.

rex pointed out that a kit isn't really going to save you any money. By the time you get everything you want or need, there probably isn't any savings. To me, the only two benefits of a functioning locomotive kit are 1) you get a locomotive that is rare or 2) kit form saves you money. The complexity is also a limitation for me.

dkdkrd is right as well. Kits let manufacturers off the hook for function, fit, completeness - too much opportunity to cut corners. Unfortunately, it's not the 1960's anymore, modeling-wise. (BTW, anyone who tells you they can remember the 1960s wasn't really there. ). Replacement parts would be very difficult to get given the realities of manufacturing in China.

To those who wish to try these, my hat's off to you. But I don't think the market is big enough to support the idea.

As for kits for freight cars, I have one from Ye Olde Huff n Puff that I'm going to build and I've scratch-built my own ingot flatcars. I'm not adverse to freight car kits, but a working locomotive? I dunno...

George

The only true advantage to a kit nowadays is if you're going to modify it in some way, then you don't have to take it apart.

Rusty

Pete,
Take a look at this 1:1 DVIII this German fellow has built:

FOKKER DVIII

Now that's some handy work gentlemen!!!

When what you want is not available off-the-shelf in R-T-R form, there's not much else you can do but roll your own or modify an existing model.

Personally I'd like to see kits of all the USRA engines. Basic boiler shells and separate domes, piping, generators, headlights, pumps, and handrails so a model could be built of any RRs prototype. i don't know about the other RRs, but Seaboard seemed to always be moving things around on their engines after they purchased them from the builder or another RR.

I have a kline c&o mike that I convert to a cnw J and it went well. used brass parts from presison scale. got the engine for 300.00 buck so it was well worth it. i would like a mullet river cnw caboose but fear it is a little hard.

quote:

Originally posted by Texas Pete:

quote:

quote:
I enjoy the building almost as much as the flying

Pete, you mean like this:

If that monoplane flies, yeah. Not sure I could do the greenhouse, wow! No axis aircraft in my hangar, though. In fact, egad, of all the dozens of RC airplanes I've built I've never done a scale one. Not since I built some of those Guillow's "Lafayette Escadrile" WWI bipes. I can't believe that young me was able to put up with the crappy wood and die-cutting. Modern laser-cut kits sure have me spoiled. One of these days I've got to get a laser cut O-scale structure kit to build, just for the fun of it.

Pete

Hey Bob & Pete,

You mean like this? I built this around 1998






Had the wheel pants off in these photos for flight testing
Took me about a year to finish but it was worth every second of it
David

I think a diesel loco kit makes sense.
It could start with a basic generic GP-7/9 shell with a bunch of add on parts/options such as:
Dynamic brakes
Winterization hatch
Roof top air tanks (torpedo tubes)
High or low nose cab
Different horn and headlight arrangments

This way the model buyer can configure it to look like their favorite RR prototype.

Two cases for sure...

If it is a N&W locomotive not previously offered, absolutely.

Or if it offers a savings on the finished model.

Gilly

I would be happy to be able to just buy unlettered engines along with a line of decals. I think this would be a winner.

Sure - just as long as the word "LEGO" is all over the outside of the box - Theirs are pretty close to o gauge, too.

David,

Now THAT takes nerves of steel. I wouldn't mind the build, but having to get in it and fly the thing is another story. I did fly that 1/6 Fokker once and even that was touchy.

Putting together a couple hundred dollar steam engine is not a tall hill to climb. If it doesn't run the first time, so what? Now that plane...another matter

Man, if I had to be inside the airplanes, the way I fly I would now be a skin bag of protoplasmic fluids and bone fragments... or worse!

Sure would like to see an O gauge locomotive kit. A docksider, like the old Varney HO kit, might be a good way for a manufacturer to test the kit waters.

Pete

quote:

I think a diesel loco kit makes sense.
It could start with a basic generic GP-7/9 shell with a bunch of add on parts/options such as:
Dynamic brakes
Winterization hatch
Roof top air tanks (torpedo tubes)
High or low nose cab
Different horn and headlight arrangments

This way the model buyer can configure it to look like their favorite RR prototype.

You mean like this?

Red Caboose kit

No drive train, plastic frame, primarily intended for two rail. Kit was very nicely done and includes most of the features you requested. You needed to be fairly skilled plastic kit builder to assemble and it was not easily adapted to three rail. Probably why they stopped selling them.

AHM used to make very nice and easy to assemble "kits" for HO. They stopped. The cost of the kit was higher to produce than assembled cars and the interest in the kits was waning. Remember, this is HO, the primary venue for model railroad enthusiasts. If kits are becoming a niche market in the biggest market for model trains, why would any company want to jump in and try to make O gauge kits?

People that are not satisfied with off the shelf products already engage in kit bashing or scratch building. This isn't every ones cup of tea but it is an option.

Bob& Pete,

Honestly it flew hands off the first time not like the several spam cans and tail draggers I flew.there's nothing in the world like the feeling you get when you can say I built that about any project.

Some people go thru life and never get that sense of accomplishment and I'm very sorry for their loss.

I built the plane in the photo and a 2 seater side by side called a Kit Fox(Looks like a Piper J4) and restored a Lake Bucaneer amphibian and each time I landed after the first flight I thanked God he gave me the skills to be able to build things with my hands.

Simple,intermediate and advanced kits the guy who does that may be very smart indeed

Pete,
Man who fly upside down have crack up (think about it)
Not my saying that was Confucius

David

quote:

Some people go thru life and never get that sense of accomplishment and I'm very sorry for their loss.

So true, although I have NO desire to jump out of an airplane.

I took my lessons in a Cessna 150 back in the early 70s before I got married. Back then flying was cheap ($14 with instructor, $10 solo), I'd do it again if the price was the same, now gas costs that much!

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Delbridge:

quote:

Some people go thru life and never get that sense of accomplishment and I'm very sorry for their loss.

So true, although I have NO desire to jump out of an airplane.

I took my lessons in a Cessna 150 back in the early 70s before I got married. Back then flying was cheap ($14 with instructor, $10 solo), I'd do it again if the price was the same, now gas costs that much!

Bob funny you should say that,

My buddies and I (The three amigos) went to jump school.It was one of those places where you paid your money and they gave you some half a**ed lessons then took you up in a cessna 182 in the afternoon and you jumped out.

Mo and Larry went ahead of me which gave me time to say to myself "David, you're gonna jump out of a perfectly good running airplane" I was 18 and already had my Pvt. pilots license.

So I yelled to the pilot and asked how much flight time was.We flew around about 2 hours and buzzed Radford University which was an all girls school at the time , flew over Va Tech and back to New River airport .So I'm like you if the props turnin and it aint on fire ...I'm not leavin

David

I wish Williams or Atlas would do this, offer an unassambled locomotive that you could put together yourself . Since a lot of people change the electronics or add command control anyway, these kits could just be a frame, shell and chassis with trucks and motors, add your own lighting and electronics and you'd have a great looking locomotive with the guts you want.

quote:

Originally posted by Sullyman626:
I wish Williams or Atlas would do this, offer an unassambled locomotive that you could put together yourself . Since a lot of people change the electronics or add command control anyway, these kits could just be a frame, shell and chassis with trucks and motors, add your own lighting and electronics and you'd have a great looking locomotive with the guts you want.

Maybe Jim Walter will get into the O scale engine building business


David

I'd buy, as long as it was already painted.

nty

Not a chance in **** for me! Having to install all that electronic crap? Not my cup of tea. I would rather modify an existing complete model for what I want.

There are a lot of kits out there. Its just that most 3-railers are not aware of them - they are mostly 2-rail kits.

The biggest problem is that most 3-railers don't want to give up their electronics and these will add a lot to the cost of a kit... IF it were available. Based upon the policies of Lionel and MTH, these would not be except through a 3rd party, an authorized repair facility. So to the price of a kit, add the cost of that.

So at best we are looking at a conventionally operated model. And there goes a chunk of potential market.

Next take away all the folks who simply won't buy a kit - they want RTR.

Then take away any who are dedicated post-war or other era collectors.

And also don't forget to eliminate those who won't buy one unless its exactly the type they want.

Finally, take away those folks who think a kit will be CHEAP and want to save money. IT WON"T BE A LOT CHEAPER. It will be maybe 10-20% less than RTR, BEFORE adding time and materials to build it. Modern hobby kits aren't intended to save money as much as they are intended to provide recreation.

Face it, if 3-Rail kits were viable options, you don't think that folks will be making them? There are all sorts of 2-Rail kits but they are mostly not locomotives unless you want to buy a kit that was designed 50 years ago and needs tons of detailing to bring them up to today's standards. But no 3-Rail kits. I think anyone who tries to supply that non-existent market will lose their shirts.

The market will be small which will mean small runs which will mean high prices which will mean small sales. Get it?

quote:

Originally posted by jd-train:
Given that the average Chinese worker makes about $1 an hour, I don't see a considerable cost savings for something offered in a kit form instead of fully assembled.


Jim

History has proven you right. Intermountain HO kits used to retail around 15 bucks. The RTR cars retailed for around 22 bucks. Similar price differences for Walthers kits. Walthers would then discount RTR models for less than the old kit prices.
That said I would be very interested in a steam loco kit and am seriously considering this one.



Pete

Norton,

You prove my point in several ways. First you note that kits waaay back when were cheap. But so was RTR. As we both know, those days are gone forever along with the nickel candy bar.

Then you show a nice, modern kit and the price is $650. Most posters on this forum would never consider paying that much for a kit. They complain about paying half of that for a nice RTR switcher with electronics!

The answer to that question depends on a lot of different factors: Would the kit be available at a lower price than a comparable completed, painted and RTR locomotive or whatever item the kit is in reference to. Is the particular model only available as a kit or can you readily purchase it all built up. What is the degree of difficulty involved in building the kit?

For me, if the model is only a kit and if it is of an item (say an engine) that I particularly want, and if the price for the kit is reasonable (hard to determine that) I would be delighted to give it a try. And if I found that it was beyond my capabilities, I would have a friend of mine give it a try.

Right at the moment, I bought a Mullet River wooden caboose kit of an early Milwaukee Road design, that I, just looking into the box, realized that it was beyond my limited capabilities. So, I contacted a friend who is an excellent model builder, and he is working on this caboose kit. You can't be in any kind of rush for the item, doing it this way, because I've been waiting some three years, already. I fully believe that I will have the caboose, and it will be unique for 3rail, HiRail layouts, because I can't imagine that anyone else would have waited for it as long as I have. But, when completed, it will be a masterpiece, the kind that I could never get from a RTR item from a basic manufacturer.

How proud I will be to show off and run a one-of-a-kind item on my layout!

Paul Fischer

I would love scale plastic kits of EMD locomotives, especially GP35s, GP38s and SD40-2s

I would love it!

One of the best aspects of my r/c car racing hobby is that you build the vehicles from a kit.

My grown kids, 17 and 18, are seriously into this, and moved away from trains years ago.

They love taking the kit for a Team Associated off road racing truck and building it up. Adjusting the gears, the shocks, getting different tires to mount and so forth. Then, watching their creation go to work at the Saturday morning races makes it that much better.

I would love to be able to have some steam or diesel offerings in kit form. Even with electronics... the stuff is NOT that difficult. I am not concerned about any type of cost savings. That's not why I would buy a kit. I would buy a kit simply for the fun, to me, of building it.

Some company called Lionel had some success with a product called Bild-a-loco and Bild-a-motor, that taught many a young/old boy basic electronics, magnetism, mechanical skills.

Would I be interested in locomotive kits? Uhhh, NO.

I seem to remember hearing something about the road to *somewhere* is paved with unbuilt kits.

Rusty

quote:

Some company called Lionel had some success with a product called Bild-a-loco and Bild-a-motor, that taught many a young/old boy basic electronics, magnetism, mechanical skills.

How cool is that?!?!?!

If that would drop the price a fair amount I'd go for one in a minute.

Do the instructions say how long it should take to put it together? At $100/hour for labor it would be easy to calculate how much they should drop the price of the engine.

quote:

Some company called Lionel had some success with a product called Bild-a-loco and Bild-a-motor, that taught many a young/old boy basic electronics, magnetism, mechanical skills.

The operative word here is "some". Apparently not enough since they stopped doing it 80 years ago.

I have a lot of various kits in my basement. They range from Rivarossi 0-gauge locos to plastic cars/ships/aircraft to wood buildings and fancy sailing ships. They all have the same characteristic: not built.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Delbridge:

quote:

Some company called Lionel had some success with a product called Bild-a-loco and Bild-a-motor, that taught many a young/old boy basic electronics, magnetism, mechanical skills.

How cool is that?!?!?!

If that would drop the price a fair amount I'd go for one in a minute.

Do the instructions say how long it should take to put it together? At $100/hour for labor it would be easy to calculate how much they should drop the price of the engine.

I will have to look, but I think some of the Build A Loco kits cost almost as much or even more than their ready to run counterparts.

Gosh, yes! (Depending upon everything, natch.) Heck, I scratchbash locos anyway; a kit would be a relief.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Delbridge:

quote:

I enjoy the building almost as much as the flying

Pete, you mean like this:



1/6 Fokker DVIII I built back in the 70s.



1/6 cockpit of a Fw189 Uhu, the thing is LARGE!



It took almost a year to complete and that's just the center nacelle. I don't have the room to build the wings or tail boom.

That Fw189 looka like a Nazi version of a P-38 Lightning.

techie,

it wouldn't stand a chance against the Lightning.

The Fw189 was basically an observation plane but could carry a bomb or 2 and had some MGs for defense.

They found one a few years ago that had been shot down in Russia:

FW189 FOUND

To top it they even located the pilot (alive in 1996, see link).

I'd like to find a 1/48 model of it to put on my train layout, KIT of course!

US hobbyists would be LUCKY to see $50.00 off the MSRP on a diesel kit than a R-T-R model. Just look at the waining years of Athern "Blue Box" kits compared to the R-T-R. Don't cound on a significant price difference such as the MSRP of a "non-Powered" unit compared to a "powered unit"

No. I learned how to upgrade a PS1 engine to PS2, and that's enough for me. I admire people who have the time, eyesight, skill, ability to replace the part that's always missing, can troubleshoot electronics and patience to deal with this.

I don't.

Gerry

Red Caboose GP9 was and still is a decent kit. It just needs a decent drive.
It's my understanding that P&D once offered a real drive for this loco, but
I have no idea if they, or it is still available.

You guys do know that those things with the wings aren't trains, don't you?

Heck yeah!

That way if someting needs fixing, I can do it, since I put it together. No need to bother the mfgrs unless I need parts.


cc

Maybe for freight cars, I have done that when I had HO. NO WAY for an engine. I work part-time in the parts department of Lionel-Ohio. I know there are hundreds of parts needed to make a modern day engine. The instruction manual would have to be perfect, and we know that will never happen.

Probably not. I would rather build one from scratch. I consider kits as kinda cheatin', anyone can put together something that someone has already built the parts for???

Neil

I have long said that I would like a loco kit along the lines of car models like AMT's 3-in-1 kits. Something that I could build the way I wanted it built.
N&W and USRA locos would be perfect for a build-the-era-you-want type of model kit.
Heck, I would even spring for a Hudson, but, only if it could be built without that ugly sheet metal covering the appliances (turret, etc.) in front of the cab.

I'd like a 700-K, made in USA, with sufficient spares available, and detailed instructions written by people for whom English is a first language...

"oh...and World Peace."

Just out of curiosity:
How many of the OGR's who have said in this thread that they'd like diesel kits have purchased Atlas' "undecorated" locos ?
Anybody else who has purchased these "kits" ? Your thoughts ?

Best, SZ

Here ya go:

http://www.mthtrains.com/content/11-6951-0

And it's O gauge, too!

Coming soon to a dealer near you. Have at it!

Oh, sure. I dis-assemble ready-made locos and modify them, so absolutely. I've scratch-built one steamer (above
the waist, at least; running chassis from something else).

"Kit" can mean anything from a box containing plans, a block of balsa and a knife, to a complete loco or car
that is ready to assemble and paint (or maybe already painted). These assembly kits can be the best of
both worlds - everything fits, all is drilled and tapped and shaped, and what you are essentially doing is
taking the place of final-assembly workers. A "screwdriver" kit, as I think Varney called them.

But you get the satisfaction of not only knowing that your hands put it together, but that you know the
thing from soup to nuts, and will never find it intimidating to fix or modify. You OWN it, baby.
It will be cheaper, apples to apples, also. If it's not, well, shame on you.

I think that they call that being a "model railroader".

quote:

Originally posted by Allan Miller:
Here ya go:

http://www.mthtrains.com/content/11-6951-0

And it's O gauge, too!

Coming soon to a dealer near you. Have at it!

Allan, this is pretty neat. It would even be cooler if it brought "Armature, field, brushes, and other parts were assembled into the famous "Build-a-Loco" motor using tools supplied in the kit."

If one had the chance to assemble the motor and then the rest of the locomotive, this would make for a great primer for someone (like me) who would like to learn to restore pre-war engines!

Jim

After enjoying putting together a pair of die cast HO scale locomotive kits recently, I would say that I'd be very interested in seeing an affordable (inexpensive) O gauge kit. A die cast 0-4-0 would make for a terrific starter kit if priced in the $75 - $100 range. Can or open frame motor makes no difference to me.

I'm for it. It would cut out the step of tearing it down and rebuilding it anyway. Not to mention it would be great to be able to customize from various options.

I love building kits. Most of my experience in HO scale, but I built and super detailed a Bowser K4 and built an Alco models P70 from a flat of several hundred parts at age 16 and still enjoy a good kit.

I fully understand that this is simply a personal preference, but there is a satisfaction to having the work come from your own hands over the same factory version everyone else has.

Now ... the number of un-built O kits in my collection is not something we'll talk about at the moment ...... They do take time!

However that Walthers Doodelbug is calling to me from the train room.

You bet I would. It would have to be 100% Tinplate.
God Bless,

quote:

N&W and USRA locos would be perfect for a build-the-era-you-want type of model kit.

So true!

There's just something special about building with your own hands, even if the end product doesn't look like it came off a factory floor.

Better yet, if a SINGLE company had the parts available, wouldn't it be great if you could order from a list of parts to make ANY steam engine you desired, even one of your own design? Steam engine boilers could be made with a standard straight core, then slide tapered sections over the core as required to make it look like a particular boiler. Sure the "built-in or cast-on" detail wouldn't necessarily be there, but it could also be yet another piece of the parts ordering a person would have to go thru so that steam lines, piping, rivets, etc could be bought and applied by the builder.

Well, I learned on here what happened to the Babbitt kits
I was about to suggest. I have one around here somewhere, when I find a
round tuit. In my transition from tinplate childhood to
HO models, and before backsliding to tinplate and high rail
modeling, desperately trying to hold on to that childhood, I
built HO engine kits, and kitbashed a 2-4-4-2 Little River
logging Mallet, in HO using a couple of 0-4-0 tank engine kits, that I keep hoping somebody will build in 3 rail. I guess I am going to have to hack up a couple of 2-4-2's to get one. (several years ago I overheard a dealer
complaining that everything had been built in three rail and
he had too much stock...I almost burst out laughing for I still
have the old 1940-1960 MR's and RMC's full of branchline and
other rolling stock that still has been ignored in O 3r,and that once
was available in HO) The list of stuff I WOULD buy goes on and on...I
just hope MTH actually does produce the McKeen car..not sure how many
different variations of that exist in HO brass, and I think I recently
saw an HO kit on eBay. (sometimes I feel like I am in an orphan guage
with so little variety) I have a fleet of combine, side door, and drover
cabooses, s few old O scale brass on 3R trucks, one new from 3rd Rail,
but some built from old O scale kits and many scratch built. In
addtion to a McKeen car, I want a Baldwin and a Unit-Stanley steam
coach, and accurate models of Brill and other gas electrics (without
having to repower expensive brass O scale models). In the RR station at
the museum in Shelburne, Vt. there is a photo of a boiler fronted steam
coach (similar to but different from an inspection engine), and I want one.
If I had to, I would kit build all of these.

No I would not buy a kit as it would not have LIONEL Legacy.

I have built the All Nation 10 wheeler, Atlantic, and Mountain. All are 3 rail and have TMCC installed. As stated above the English have 100s of steam kits available but very few in US prototypes. I'd love to see a new steam kit of a standard Baldwin 2-8-0 or 2-8-2.

I've been building RC car kits since I was 12 (1988), and I can tell you this. The RC kits are light-years above & beyond the ready-to-run stuff. That being said, they also cost 2 to 3 times as much. I wouldn't expect to save much money by having Locomotives come in kit form (unless you could pick & choose features).

As for the assembly itself, it all really depends on the company producing the kit. One major factor is the quality of the instructions. With good enough instructions, even a 12 year old can assemble a fully functional kit in only a few hours.

Here is an example of one of my high-end 4WD touring car kits after a complete rebuild for an upcoming season of racing:

It would depend on the skill and resources required to put it together.


Probably NOT.

I bought a kit at a recent train show and had a great time with it. Pullmor motor, magnetraction, and operating couplers. I assembled the motor, e-unit and all parts and ran and had the aroma of postwar. All I had to do was disassemble, clean, rewire and paint this old runner. VERY low cost. Lots of fun. It is now one of my favorites. Made and re-made in the USA.

Before the days of all the high tech items and gizmos people had the time to build things and assemble hobby kits of all types. In todays cluttered world most people just don't have the time nor the incentive to build a kit. In the 1940's before I was born, locomotive kits were available and had superb detail. A company by the name of Scalecraft made some very nice kits.
Curently all of my winter spare time is being spent working on the layout. The trains in the basement already fall between "too darn many" and a level of insanity. At the present time, I buy select model RR items but I need to refrain from buying any new engines, let alone a kit.