Death of the Blue Box

[sirenwerks]

I just got an email from Athearn that they are discontinuing their blue box 'kits'. It seems like a bad omen when folks can't snap a few basic parts together and screw on some trucks.

[Philip H]

so true.  Even though I've been in N scale since 1979, I've done a couple of Blue Box kits over the years.  Keeps me on my toes, so to speak.  And I don't buy thier cost of production argument - Blue Boxes can't be more expensive then any of their other product lines to make.  More likely, the profit margin is shrinking . . . .

[asarge]

Correct, the profit margin was so low as to make it more vulnerable to amterial and labor costs. As they said,

"due to increased manufacturing and labor costs it has been determined that we are no longer able to continue offering kits at competitive price points as compared to our already assembled products."

How much more would people be willing to pay for a kit. I am surprised they lasted this long.

I still believe and have seen it fist in in our LHS and others all over. People are still buying kits in HO, but not many rolling stock kits. They are buying structures and other kit items. Heck, building a model railroad is the basically nothing but building a kit anyway.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I think one of the OTHER things to consider is that at that low pricepoint they were in direct competition with second hand equipment and the vast existing numbers of these that have been produced over the past 1000000 years.

[sirenwerks]

Not sure how others feel, but I happen to enjoy InterMountain's N scale kits. And the modular design of their box cars, reefers, and stockcars lends itself to some excellent kitbashing opportunities. I really wish more manufacturers would emulate IM's modularity and separate grabs, ladders, and tackboards so it would be easier to customize rolling stock. This is especially true considering no manufacturer will release detail parts, such as roofs, car ends, box car doors, etc. One of the fascinations of a train going by for me is all the variation, which is especially true for earlier eras. I know many people don't see the differences, but I appreciate them, and I think this is one of the failing points of N scale.

[Mark5]

When I was in a HO club back in Cro-Magno days, I had some HO equipment, mostly the blue-box.

I kinda hate to see them disappear, but then again I'm not in HO.

I have kits from 1st Atlas, then Kadee, and finally IM. Oh yeah some PM kits too.

[Sokramiketes]

I think one of the OTHER things to consider is that at that low pricepoint they were in direct competition with second hand equipment and the vast existing numbers of these that have been produced over the past 1000000 years.

Bingo.  Any swap will have tables of these things for the next 15 years. 

[John]

Greetings,

Effective immediately, we here at Athearn have made the difficult decision to discontinue the production of our Blue Box line of kits.  There were several factors that contributed to this extremely challenging decision however, the primary issue revolved around affordability and ensuring that our Blue Box kit pricing remain aligned with what the market can bear.  Unfortunately,  due to increased manufacturing and labor costs it has been determined that we are no longer able to continue offering kits at competitive price points as compared to our already assembled products.

For over 50 years the Athearn Blue Box kits have been sold worldwide, bringing happiness, joy and excitement to thousands of model railroad enthusiasts. Your passion for these products has allowed us to thrive and grow into the industry leader you still support today, and for that we are eternally grateful. Moving forward this will allow us to dedicate more resources to new and exciting projects in our Ready To Roll, Genesis and Roundhouse lines for another 50 years, or more.

We will continue to support all service and warranty needs on Blue Box kits from our headquarters in Long Beach, California. You can find our contact information here.

The Folks at Athearn

[sirenwerks]

Not sure why this was moved. My discussion of the InterMountain kits was pointedly about N scale.

[John]

Not sure why this was moved. My discussion of the InterMountain kits was pointedly about N scale.

I didn't see that .. sorry ..

[davefoxx]

I think one of the OTHER things to consider is that at that low pricepoint they were in direct competition with second hand equipment and the vast existing numbers of these that have been produced over the past 1000000 years.

Bingo.  Any swap will have tables of these things for the next 15 years. 

Except now they will be considered limited edition, out-of-production collectors' items, and the prices will soar. 

DFF

[cv_acr]

Not sure how others feel, but I happen to enjoy InterMountain's N scale kits. And the modular design of their box cars, reefers, and stockcars lends itself to some excellent kitbashing opportunities.

I've got a whole bunch of HO Scale Intermountain 40' boxcar kits that I'm working on and building into various configurations.

I suppose another factor that could be killing the old blue-box kit is that the modellers who actually are building kits these days are going to be the ones that actually care about the cars and their details, and let's face it, a lot of the old Blue-box staples are pretty crude, especially the old boxcars with their nasty door tracks and claws.

Some though, could still be useful kitbashing/upgrading fodder.

[tom mann]

I think that the problem is competition from Athearn itself.  For those of you that are primarily in N scale, Athearn has divided up their HO offerings into the Ready to Roll and Genesis lines along with the Blue Box (kits) line.  The Ready to Roll line is very good, and a lot of its offerings are Blue Boxes that have better stirrups and grab irons.  The prices are great too, and really not much more than a Blue Box kit.  So, in reality, Athearn's Ready to Roll line is a already-built Blue Box kit, with more detail parts, for a few bucks more.

I also think their Ready to Roll line is getting closer to the Genesis Line.  There latest RtR SWs are close in detail and performance to the Genesis MP15s, but with a $40 price difference.

I like Athearn a lot:  their products and prices are great.   I have more Athearn items than anything else.

[wm3798]

I can understand the thinking behind dropping the line, but what troubles me is the further denigration of model railroading from a hobby where there's something to DO, into one where there's just something to HAVE.

The Blue Box was the classic "entry level drug" for HO, much as the Bachmann N scale train set was our first dose.  And like those Bachmann cars we have in our junk boxes, a little extra effort on a Blue Box, and you have something that still works well amid your new expensive RTR jobs.

Another consideration, though, is that since MDC is under the same wing as Athearn, that perhaps the kits will get focused under that banner, and Athearn will provide the better RTR stuff...

Lee

[Dave Schneider]

I can understand the thinking behind dropping the line, but what troubles me is the further denigration of model railroading from a hobby where there's something to DO, into one where there's just something to HAVE.

Lee,

I agree completely, and it is going on in many other areas as well. For example, my Craftsman lawn mower wasn't running well this summer. So, I went to Sears to find a part....well they don't carry parts. I asked the guy why the heck they have all these tools for sale if they didn't sell you the parts you need to fix things. He kinda just moved away slowly rather than trying to come up with an answer. I had the same problem with my Ariens snow blower purchased at Home Depot. How are kids today going learn how to fix stuff if they can't witness their dads cursing a striped bolt.  : They really do want to learn how to do things. I put on the winter tires a couple of weeks ago and my 7 year old daughter wanted to help. She was so happy to jack the car up and I had her running the impact wrench. When we we done she said "Thanks for showing me how to do that". I'm not sure what this has to do with Blue Boxes at this point....but I do have some unbuilt ones somewhere! Rare and out of production.

Best wishes, Dave