--- In STMFC@..., "Charlie Vlk" <cvlk@...> wrote:

Ed-
Your post is a positive one and I am not jumping on you for your comments..... but I don't agree that "the average model railroader has a hard time assembling kits".

Whatever the reason kits are disappearing from hobby shops.

Going back to our old standbys, the blue boxes, I once recommended that a boss buy better quality equipment for his son for Christmas. His father in law, a retired farmer, managed to screw up a couple of the easy to build Athearn cars. I always thought farmers were pretty handy.

I must confess I've started more than a few kits that I've never finished for various reasons.

I haven't been in there for 6 months but the last time I was at Trainland in Lynbrook it was dead (on a Saturday afternoon no less).

I feel sorry for the small dealers who are trying to "serve the hobby". They are getting killed and have been for the last few years.
Before the economy went south when there were a lot of new items there were too many to stock and they had to decide which ones to sell. Anything which didn't sell would be on their shelves for years.

I agree with you that newly manufactured Northeastern kits seem to be out of place in today's market, but plenty of stupid things are done in business. If I was the average Joe and I wanted one of those cars I'd find someone who I had confidence in to build it, or at least advise me how to build it/loan me some tools. I'll bet men in the know can get the old Northeastern/original Ambroid kits for 1/3 the price of the new ones.

Some of the wood cars recently shown in the magazines are a step back from what was done in past.

If we want to see more kits we've got to get more guys building them.