Maybe pre painted kits would sell if PC was there

[up1950s]

I was thinking with all this talk about Prototypical Correctness ( our type of PC ) being never right for all cars , would this work ? A manufacturer makes a kit with separate sides , doors , ends , and roof , all painted and printed from an assortment of molds . Each kit would be more correct to the prototype . The company wouldn't have to assemble them , and the modeler would have a better model and the satisfaction of a build . They could do that to 50' outside braced boxcars too , as many roads had their own styles . Would the manufactures savings of a kit form offset the multi mold costs ? What would people pay for such a kit , 20 , 25 , 30 bucks , more ?

[Philip H]

Depending on the car, I'd go as high as $30 fro such a kit.

[CoalPorter]

Sounds like an Inter. Mountain kit. ???
I only bought IM kits, but their paint often lacked.
All they need was more parts.
(I know you can still get undec kits, but not prepainted)

[TrainCat2]

[wm3798]

Now that I'm into the phase of the hobby where I'm starting to look at such things, it would be nice to have a selection of roof, ends and doors to help us get a little closer to particular car styles.  On the other hand, I'm not above taking a hatchet to cars with parts I need and recombining them with others to get what I want.



While I don't think I can compete with factory paint and lettering, I also don't want to end up a pile of dusty bones waiting for them to come out with a particular car...

Lee

[Philip H]

As I've noted before, when I was starting out, we were lucky to j]have KCS declas in N scale, much less prototype appropriate cars.  Thankfully, since KCS and ICG interchange in Baton Rouge, I could always run the pleuthura of ICG foobies that were out in the 1980's.

Now days I try to be more selective, but in prototype and era, but I still make concessions.  Thanksfully there are more KCS cars in N scale thenthere used to be, and so I have managed to retire the foobies.

All that said, I'd still like to see more of these kinds of kits.

Maybe that can be TRain Cat's next procduct line . . . .

[sirenwerks]

I don't know about pre-painted. But I would like a road specific kit as described to come with proper decals, or one could buy them separately, since decals seem to be harder to find these days.

As for price, depends on how many I need. Maybe said manufacturer could offer a bulk purchase discount plan?

[bbussey]

One reminder that is relevant to this thread:  InterMountain's first venture into N scale was as kits, with the R-40-23 reefer, AAR 40' and 50' boxcars, tank car, etcetera.  When they switched to R-T-R after finding that option not viable, they still offered some of the products in decorated kit form.  They now offer everything R-T-R, even though most of the products are designed in modular fashion to allow for multiple configurations, which implies that decorated kits in any form at mass-market quantities are not viable.

[sirenwerks]

One reminder that is relevant to this thread:  InterMountain's first venture into N scale was as kits, with the R-40-23 reefer, AAR 40' and 50' boxcars, tank car, etcetera.  When they switched to R-T-R after finding that option not viable, they still offered some of the products in decorated kit form.  They now offer everything R-T-R, even though most of the products are designed in modular fashion to allow for multiple configurations, which implies that decorated kits in any form at mass-market quantities are not viable.

It implies only that IM does not feel it was viable at that time. Unless you have insider information that all options were weighed and exhausted then and have been revisited and exhausted repeatedly. From what I remember, it was a breakage issue of kit parts that caused the shift away from kits. So it came down to an argument of packaging versus assembly? Or was it parts design vs. assembler vs. assembly? Certainly, the idea of using etched parts in some instances could help solve the breakage issue. It's hard to think that HO kits don't come up against the same issue and they're available.

[wcfn100]

One reminder that is relevant to this thread:  InterMountain's first venture into N scale was as kits, with the R-40-23 reefer, AAR 40' and 50' boxcars, tank car, etcetera.  When they switched to R-T-R after finding that option not viable, they still offered some of the products in decorated kit form.  They now offer everything R-T-R, even though most of the products are designed in modular fashion to allow for multiple configurations, which implies that decorated kits in any form at mass-market quantities are not viable.

Hopefully gross details and warped roofs won't be the last foray into mass N scale kits by a manufacturer.


Jason

[bbussey]

It implies only that IM does not feel it was viable at that time. Unless you have insider information that all options were weighed and exhausted then and have been revisited and exhausted repeatedly. From what I remember, it was a breakage issue of kit parts that caused the shift away from kits. So it came down to an argument of packaging versus assembly? Or was it parts design vs. assembler vs. assembly? Certainly, the idea of using etched parts in some instances could help solve the breakage issue. It's hard to think that HO kits don't come up against the same issue and they're available.

Etched parts are more costly than plastic parts, which is a factor at the mass-market level, and the manufacturing cost doesn't necessarily drop with larger quantities the way it does with plastic components.

I wouldn't be at liberty to divulge any inside knowledge I may have.  Suffice to say that the kit avenue was where the InterMountain focus was in a major effort for a significant length of time, and then it shifted to R-T-R.  So the premise that marketing kits in N has not been explored in earnest by a major manufacturer is not an accurate one.  And to compare the N scale market with the much larger and more established HO market is akin to comparing apples with oranges ... aside from the fact that Athearn discontinued their HO kits, an indication that the HO kit market isn't as viable as it once was.