First let us look at the facts.
First all of Athearn's RTR and Genesis undecorated locomotives come in "kit" form..I suppose its for the ease of painting a 2 or 3 color locomotive.
Now straight from Athearn:
Greetings.
Although we continue to hear rumors that Athearn no longer makes kits, we make them every day
here in sunny Southern California. And to prove it, here's our production schedule for kits
through May 2007. It's self-explanatory. Find a kit that you want. Tell your dealer that you
want it. They'll order it from the distributor. We'll make it. You'll get it. Simple, yes?
Click This Link to View the Schedule
http://www.athearn.com/Content/PDF/Winter_2006-2007_ATH_KIT_Production.pdf
That's all there is to it!
The Folks at Athearn
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Now a search on the Internet will show you the BB car kits can be had at the better on line hobby shops.
As far as BB locomotives why buy the kit when you can get the BB RTR for around $50.00-54.00? The newer RTR isn't that much higher then the BB RTR. Again check the better on line hobby shops for the BEST price..