10-16-2009, 09:01 AM
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
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Another era comes to a end..However,this one doesn't surprise me since Athearn has release very little in the way of kits...I know of a hobby shops that has the same BB kits on its shelf that been there for years and another still has lots of BB locomotive kits..
Many of us cut their modeling teeth on these simple car kits and learn the secret behind building these kits,while many struggled building these kits-mostly in achieving the correct coupler height.I suppose the majority of us will moan the passing of this era while many will applaud it.
I dunno but,I haven't assembled a BB kit since 2005 since I preferred the better looking RTR cars-including the former BB kits...
So,in a salute to another fallen flag and with taps softly playing I present:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PIgARem7VI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PIgARem7VI</a><!-- m -->
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
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
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another era comes to a end..However,this one doesn't surprise me since Athearn has release very little in the way of kits...I know of a hobby shops that has the same BB kits on its shelf that been there for years and another still has lots of BB locomotive kits..
Many of us cut their modeling teeth on these simple car kits and learn the secret behind building these kits,while many struggled building these kits-mostly in achieving the correct coupler height.I suppose the majority of us will moan the passing of this era while many will applaud it.
I dunno but,I haven't assembled a BB kit since 2005 since I preferred the better looking RTR cars-including the former BB kits...
So,in a salute to another fallen flag and with taps softly playing I present:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PIgARem7VI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PIgARem7VI</a><!-- m -->
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
Larry
Engineman
Summerset Ry
Make Safety your first thought, Not your last! Safety First!
Engineman
Summerset Ry
Make Safety your first thought, Not your last! Safety First!