Intermountain Kits Scare? Now I know why.

Yep, it works out for everyone except the frugal and the kit aficionado. There aren't enough of those to have any noticeable impact on sales, though (which is why IM went back and collected the unsold kit stock).

David Thompson

"The humans founded America, mastered the nuclear forces, and destroyed the original Mars about thirty thousand years ago." "So George Washington was there when they split the atom?" "Could have been."

-from "Triumph of the Terrans", copyright 24L1042

I generally won't buy an RTR from Red Caboose, Intermountain, and the like. I've found most are not up to NMRA specs (as all my other rolling stock is), and I enjoy the assembly more than the extra $$ buying an RTR kit is worth.

If the kits fall by the wayside, I guess I'll be building nothing but resin kits.....

Brian

You can order any kit from Intermountain in undecorated form. They also will sell you parts sprues for superdetailing or for kitbashing. Some dealers won't order them, and tell you they can't get them. It isn't true! I just got a bunch recently.

But the days of kits sitting on store shelves collecting dust may be ending. Retailers probably are happy about that -- and they are wishing that Roundhouse and Athearn and Accurail would buy back all their unsold kits.

A few years ago we had something called scratch building" Now that is REALLY fun!

I picked up some yesterday in a different store. Get them while they last.

I don't mind quality R-T-R and "time-saver" kits. However, these usually don't come in undec. Athearn buying-out RPP (and phasing out some kits of their own), and other such actions really hurt those of us who freelance.

I like what some companies have done... offering cars in both kit and R-T-R. It allows folks looking to save time (or with no skills ) to have nice-looking rolling stock, while allowing those that like to build their own, or kitbash, to continue to do so.

MrRathburne wrote: : Was looking for some HO Intermountain Kits. Called a large shop I : know 'had' them. They said they had none. I asked what happened to : all of them they had. They said Intermountain offered to buy them all : back, have them shipped to China and assembled, then released again : RTR! So they shipped all their kits back for some amount of $$. : : I have heard IM say they have a 'warehouse full' of kits. Now I know : why! : : I guess RTR is really here to stay..............

How about a price list for Intermountain kits, current as of July

Nothing discussed in this thread is stopping you from continuing that, if you desire.