RMC Product Reviews

Reviews of great new products for the scale model railroader, presented by the staff Railroad Model Craftsman staff and updated monthly. To have your products considered for review, please send samples to:

Railroad Model Craftsman MagazineRailroad Model Craftsman

Attn: Harry K. Wong
P.O. 16673
San Francisco, CA 94116


Bar Mills  Over-Nighter Series Kits

April 3, 2024

Bar Mills Over-Nighter Series Kits

Bar Mills Scale Model Works has taken the classic laser-cut kit and combined with modern printing techniques to develop an easy-to-assemble series of structure kits.

Athearn Genesis 2.0 EMD SD59M-2/SD59MX

April 3, 2024

Athearn Genesis 2.0 EMD SD59M-2/SD59MX

Athearn has completely reengineered its Genesis SD60M models from the wheels up with a higher level of detail and a host of other improvements.

Rail Conductor AniLight DCC Lighting Decoder

March 1, 2024

Rail Conductor AniLight DCC Lighting Decoder

RailConductor LLC is a new company that has released the AniLight Lighting Decoder as its first product. As its name implies, this is a lighting circuit controlled by DCC commands.

Rapido Trains HO Scale Northeastern Caboose

March 1, 2024

Rapido Trains HO Scale Northeastern Caboose

Rapido Trains has brought us an HO model of the Northeastern caboose, and while it’s not the first time this prototype has been represented, it is the first model where the manufacturer has been attentive to the variations in appliances and equipment.

Otter Valley Trains’ HO Scale National Steel Car Gondola

February 6, 2024

Otter Valley Trains’ HO Scale National Steel Car Gondola

Following the release of its National Steel Car 6,400 cu. ft. gondola in HO scale, OVR Trains has followed this up with the same builder’s 6,000 cu. ft. variant.

Rapido’s HO Scale RS-18u and RSC-14

January 29, 2024

Rapido’s HO Scale RS-18u and RSC-14

Produced until August 1968, 351 RS-18s were constructed by MLW. Now Rapido is offering two unique versions: The RS-18u and RSC-14. 

PIKO America N Scale  65-Ton Whitcomb Switcher

January 24, 2024

PIKO America N Scale 65-Ton Whitcomb Switcher

Between 1943 and 1944, 167 65-DE-19As were produced at Whitcomb’s plant in Rochelle, Ill. Now it’s available in N scale from PIKO.

Walthers Cornerstone Vintage Gas Station

January 5, 2024

Walthers Cornerstone Vintage Gas Station

Over the years, Walthers has produced models of several styles of service stations of varying sizes that reflect different eras.

Tangent Scale Models’ Wide-Vision Cabooses

January 5, 2024

Tangent Scale Models’ Wide-Vision Cabooses

International Car Company built cabooses for all of the “Hill Lines,” including Burlington, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Spokane, Portland & Seattle.

Banta Modelworks  Foley’s Barn

November 28, 2023

Banta Modelworks Foley’s Barn

While not following any particular prototype, Foley’s Barn is representative of the many common barns that can be seen nationwide.