CraigZ Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 I produced an etched body for the CN SD50 (the full-width 'Draper-taper'body) which fitted onto an Athearn 'tunnel-motor' chassis. Sold a few in Canada but the North Americans don't like anything they have to solder. You could glue it but solder construction was actually easier. With the complaints ("you people should supply them ready-assembled") and the time it took to punch out the rivets and fold the body to shape, I wasn't making enough out of it to be worthwhile. My experience was that the British like kits but the North Americans don't. CHRIS LEIGH Â Gads. Wish I'd seen the kit...I've had bought one or two. Â And for your experience about British vs North Americans - sadly, the majority of evidence supports your statement....we keep losing decal manufacturers here as well as some kit makers. Westerfield just closed up shop, and we have to beg and plead with Athearn/Exactrail/others to get them to offer undec kits... Â Â Â Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Lewis Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I still enjoy adding the Cannon parts and detailing up an Athearn shell Thats much more rewarding than just buying a Genesis and slapping some weathering on it, although obviously the availability of such finely detailed locomotives off-the-shelf does up the ante on the hobby as a whole. Â Of course these modern models do make it easier to put together a roster of locomotives at a faster pace without having a whole workbench full of detail-work-in-progress units, and it also means that the extra time and expense is easier to justify for those special cases. Â It would be a shame if the super-detailing and kit building side of the hobby was lost completely, but with all these built-up building kits and rtr wagons, it does feel like that is the way things are going. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
highpeak Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Tichy Train Group make some good plastic kits. The quality of the injection moulding is very good (it was a step forward when the kits first came out more years ago than I care to remember) though some parts are better replaced with brass. But they can keep you busy for a while and the end result is comparable to today's offerings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelmaker87 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I produced an etched body for the CN SD50 (the full-width 'Draper-taper'body) which fitted onto an Athearn 'tunnel-motor' chassis. Sold a few in Canada but the North Americans don't like anything they have to solder. You could glue it but solder construction was actually easier. With the complaints ("you people should supply them ready-assembled") and the time it took to punch out the rivets and fold the body to shape, I wasn't making enough out of it to be worthwhile. My experience was that the British like kits but the North Americans don't. CHRIS LEIGH Â Chris, you're dead right when it comes to the American view of soldering brass bits together and kits. Â I needed the correct style air-conditioner unit for a pair of GE dash 9's I'm building and they are not available anywhere, so I decided to create my own etch kit for these. They're no complete shell but small parts like these correctly designed to the prototype can make a huge difference to the overall accuracy of a model, plus there is no soldering required only CA adhesive. The eye bolts are Plano products, the hand grabs are scratch by me as is the feet on the base. I did this as I know a few of my friends wanted a few and they said "no soldering". Anyhow, this is what I came up with and I'm plenty pleased. Â Â Â Cheers, Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Boucher Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Chris, you're dead right when it comes to the American view of soldering brass bits together and kits.  Not just brass kits, but any kits, imho. Resin, plastic, doesn't seem to matter any more, what the majority wants is to take it out of the box and drop it right on the tracks. Most of the guys in my model railway club are amazed that I build kits at all, so when I bring a partially completed brass kit, they're just amazed...  That's one of the reasons I've been drawn towards British prototype, the challenge of building the kits...  The exception seems to be structure kits. The laser cut wood structure market seems to be pretty strong, and the level of detail in some of the modern structure kits is just amazing. Of course, the prices reflect that.  I needed the correct style air-conditioner unit for a pair of GE dash 9's I'm building and they are not available anywhere, so I decided to create my own etch kit for these. They're no complete shell but small parts like these correctly designed to the prototype can make a huge difference to the overall accuracy of a model, plus there is no soldering required only CA adhesive. The eye bolts are Plano products, the hand grabs are scratch by me as is the feet on the base. I did this as I know a few of my friends wanted a few and they said "no soldering". Anyhow, this is what I came up with and I'm plenty pleased.    Cheers, Tony  Those look great! Where did you have them etched? I'm considering desiging some parts (or a whole caboose) as brass etchings, but places to do it seem to be pretty rare over here in the US Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supaned Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 For modern structures , could I add Summit Models http://www.summit-customcuts.com/home.html to the list? Â Whilst I have no personal experience of the kits, I certainly think they capture the appearance of a lot of fairly modern US buildings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I built the Subway on Alpha from the Summit kit, very simple, very strong, very clever - it feels a bit like scratchbuilding a structure except somebody else has done all that tedious measuring and accurate cutting. Â I wish more kits were like this but people over here keep telling me it's impossible to lazer cut plastic... Â The only bits not included that I used on that structure were the rooftop vent (I think Walthers) and the air conditioners on the wall (Bachmann Scenecraft) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 These look good, does anyone know if they are?http://www.silvercra....com/index.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Ooh!, don't they just? I can see Old Gringo drooling! Some of those shorties would work well on a minimum space layout! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Old Gringo Posted November 28, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 28, 2011 Oh dear Jack, I really like the look of some of these! More things to put on my Christmas list! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Grant 4472 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I have three GP10 kits to build from Kalso shops. Not the crispest resin castings but will make into very nice kits of the Padukah rebuilds http://www.kasloshops.com/  Better link http://www.central-hobbies.com/products/kasloshops.html  Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Thanks for that link to Central Hobbies, Jon. Never heard of them before, sound most useful! Â Cheers, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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