:Blue Box Kits, again, from Mike, PLEASE?

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Michael P Gabriel - 18 Jun 2004 00:29 GMT

Hi, If you haven't built one for a while you're in for a very big
shock! This is what I experienced:
If you haven't assembled an Athearn Kit in one or more years, you are
in for some big surprize. There were obvious changes in the assembly
methods, but not reflected as such in the parts or the the plans!!!

The doors included one box car kit are designed to fit in a groove for
sliding. I had to cut them short and glue them flush to the side!!!
They look terrible! BEcause? There were no grooves or material with
whih to form the grooves!!!

I just couldn't install the roof hatches on the reefer. After a
forever long a time I gave up and cut the hinges off with a fine
razor and glued the hatches down. Perhaps, if I had not seen the other
kits, I might have given it another gung ho try!

Along the top of the outside walls of a reefer over the fixed doors
but immediately under the roof edge, in the center, there's an opening
about 1/16" wide and an inch ling. It just makes no sense. Obviously
it was designed for a prior kit and something changed since, and the
parts were excluded from this kit and theplans. Something goes in
that slot...but what? Andthe opening now looks stupid.

Another car had little clips at the bottom of the doors that were to
wrap around a strip beneath the door openings. They fit on the strip,
but did not lock on...thus, no sliding doors. I had to glued them
down.

On the cattle car, the doors were designed to fit in a track. There
was NO TRACK!! I had to cut a few parts below the doors and glue
those down as well. And so far, I have NO WORKING DOORS OR ROOF
HATCHES.

I know that one of the nasties will reply and say that I'm just not a
modeler!! And they'd be right! I could have, myself, fashioned
whatever parts did not fit or were not included.. with a lathe, sheet
metal, plastic strips, sheet plastic, paint, etc. Sure! I'm not a
modeler!

Mike
The trouble with this world is that there is too much apathy. But
who cares, anyway!

Reply to this Message

Edward A. Oates - 18 Jun 2004 15:29 GMT

I've seen some of the problems you described, especially with the movable
doors on box cars and stock cars. I found that the grooves are there, but
the paint and sprue flash are thick and big enough to made everything not
fit. When I took an Xacto and cleared things out, it all fit. I've build two
kits in the last year.

The roof hatches are indeed problematic: I can't make them moveable,
either,so I glued them in a fixed slightly open position. The opening in the
top center of the outside wall of the reefers is supposed to fit a
corresponding tab in the roof. If their was a mismatch, then indeed the kit
bought had the wrong parts.

I've seen many a blue box kit which wasn't taped shut in the store, or on
which the tape had been broken. I think in larger stores, some unscrupulous
folks exchange or take parts which they need (probably for ones they wrecked
putting one together). That may have happened to you, or Athearn might have
just messed up. Some of these kits have been on store shelves for years. If
they came with EZ Mate couplers, they are less than 4 years old; if the old
horn hook couplers, more than 4 years old.

There are other high quality kits if you want to build: proto-1000 and
Branchline Blueprint series make some nice ones. But they are more difficult
and have smaller parts than the Athearn kits.

Again, for an extra $6 or so, you can get the same detail level as the blue
box kits with the RTR models of many of the same cars.

Ed

> Hi, If you haven't built one for a while you're in for a very big
> shock! This is what I experienced:
[quoted text clipped - 38 lines]
> The trouble with this world is that there is too much apathy. But
> who cares, anyway!

Signature

Ed Oates
http://homepage.mac.com/edoates
DCC wiring information is at http://www.wiringfordcc.com
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Pac Man - 18 Jun 2004 18:11 GMT

> Hi, If you haven't built one for a while you're in for a very big
> shock!

I have built at least a 150 of 'em, and there is at least a couple
hundred at my club that I maintain. In the past month, I have built 4 Blue
Box kits of recent vintage: an ice reefer, a boxcar, a mech. reefer, and a
tank.

> This is what I experienced:
> If you haven't assembled an Athearn Kit in one or more years, you are
> in for some big surprize. There were obvious changes in the assembly
> methods, but not reflected as such in the parts or the the plans!!!

The only changes I have seen in the past 15 years have been the addition
of cheap knuckle couplers. What is true is that I have seen more flashing
on the parts these days, probably due to the wear and tear on the tooling.

> The doors included one box car kit are designed to fit in a groove for
> sliding. I had to cut them short and glue them flush to the side!!!
> They look terrible! BEcause? There were no grooves or material with
> whih to form the grooves!!!

Do you mean the oversized "claws" on the doors that slip on the lower
door runner? Or do you mean the runners themselves, top and bottom? Either
way, it's a relic from the old days when all cars had to have operating
doors.

> I just couldn't install the roof hatches on the reefer. After a
> forever long a time I gave up and cut the hinges off with a fine
> razor and glued the hatches down. Perhaps, if I had not seen the other
> kits, I might have given it another gung ho try!

Yeah, they can be a pain. They are also out of scale, and another relic
from the olden days of operating doors. If I have a problem with the
hatches (which are not usually painted, either, like they should be), I use
a small jewelers file to take off the hinge pin on the hatch. Then I glue
it on, either open or closed. Athearn, IIRC, is one of the only
manufacturers that makes reefers that you can prop the roof hatches open.

> Along the top of the outside walls of a reefer over the fixed doors
> but immediately under the roof edge, in the center, there's an opening
> about 1/16" wide and an inch ling. It just makes no sense. Obviously
> it was designed for a prior kit and something changed since, and the
> parts were excluded from this kit and theplans. Something goes in
> that slot...but what? Andthe opening now looks stupid.

Yet another relic from the operating doors era. See, the original kit
from waaay back had operating side doors. These always broke off, and were
a huge pain in the butt. So, Athearn reworked the old tooling a long time
ago to eliminate the doors, but had to keep the oddball roof and ends piece
(or otherwise spend a lot of money getting all new tooling made).
You absolutely should not have a gap above the molded on doors. If you
notice, the roof has a tab that goes in the slot on the side of the car.
The best way to assemble this part is to put the roof on, and spread the car
sides, allowing the tab in the middle of the roof sides to drop behind the
open slot. When the tab is lined up behind the slot, squeeze the sides on
either side of the slot. It should snap in with a click. Sometimes, there
is some flashing that needs to be filed off, but it may not be that
critical.

> Another car had little clips at the bottom of the doors that were to
> wrap around a strip beneath the door openings. They fit on the strip,
> but did not lock on...thus, no sliding doors. I had to glued them
> down.

Ok, these are the door "claws". Sometimes, these need a little work
with a sharp knife to get them to fit properly. No doubt due to the wearing
of the tooling.

> On the cattle car, the doors were designed to fit in a track. There
> was NO TRACK!! I had to cut a few parts below the doors and glue
> those down as well. And so far, I have NO WORKING DOORS OR ROOF
> HATCHES.

Did you buy these used? Or new? These runners come on the model
straight from the factory these days...

> I know that one of the nasties will reply and say that I'm just not a
> modeler!! And they'd be right! I could have, myself, fashioned
> whatever parts did not fit or were not included.. with a lathe, sheet
> metal, plastic strips, sheet plastic, paint, etc. Sure! I'm not a
> modeler!

If you are not a modeler, then why are you buying kits? I don't get it.
It'd be like buying a 1:32 scale airplane kit and expecting not to do a
little work on it getting it finished.

Paul A. Cutler III
**************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
**************

Reply to this Message

Mark Newton - 18 Jun 2004 22:10 GMT

(snip)

> Athearn, IIRC, is one of the only manufacturers that makes reefers
> that you can prop the roof hatches open.

Intermountain, Red Caboose, Branchline Blueprint, C&BT Shops and Tichy
reefers can all be built with the hatches propped open. The Blueprint
models include a representation of the ice bunkers, so that you dont
just see an empty car when you look inside the hatch!

(Much easier than building your own out of Evergreen scribed siding.)

Reply to this Message

Pac Man - 19 Jun 2004 03:28 GMT

> (snip)
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> (Much easier than building your own out of Evergreen scribed siding.)

News to me, as I have never bought any of the above cars in a reefer.
That's good to know, thanks.

Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************

Reply to this Message

Michael P Gabriel - 18 Jun 2004 23:29 GMT

> > Hi, If you haven't built one for a while you're in for a very big
> > shock!
[quoted text clipped - 87 lines]
> Weather Or No Go New Haven
> **************

>>>>>>>Hi Paul! I really didn't realize they were kits; rather than

return them I decided to try my hand at it. Not good! I love to design
and scratch-build my own buildings. For this I will do ANYTHING to
complete a building. I am a modeler, I just can't deal with abject
frustration!; Well, I could deal with frustration, it's just not in my
person to stuggle days, maybe weeks over one kit! I hope you can
understand!.

Reply to this Message

Pac Man - 19 Jun 2004 03:32 GMT

> >>>>>>>Hi Paul! I really didn't realize they were kits; rather than
> return them I decided to try my hand at it. Not good! I love to design
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> person to stuggle days, maybe weeks over one kit! I hope you can
> understand!.

Oh, sure, I understand. These kits can be frustrating if you don't know
the tricks, which is why groups like this exist (the directions, such as
they are, are not all that comprehensive). Ask specific questions, and you
will probably get specific answers. If not here, than somewhere else.
Almost every model railroader has built at least one Athearn blue box in
their life, and therefore has at least a little knowledge for a newbie to
pick up...

Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************

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Dan Merkel - 21 Jun 2004 21:39 GMT

Paul "Pac Man"

I've been doing blue boxes for probably twenty years, but I still found your
post to be very helpful. It just goes to show that everyone can learn
something from someone somewhere along the line.

One thing that you didn't mention that recently gave me fits was the plastic
window inserts on some of the "blue box" passenger cars, both standard &
streamlined. The windows themselves have to be cut apart into smaller
strips as they don't all fit perfectly right out of the box. That was just
one of the little tidbits that I learned in assembling about a dozen of
these cars recently.

Thanks for the very informative post.

dlm

> > Hi, If you haven't built one for a while you're in for a very big
> > shock!
[quoted text clipped - 51 lines]
> The best way to assemble this part is to put the roof on, and spread the car
> sides, allowing the tab in the middle of the roof sides to drop behind the

> open slot. When the tab is lined up behind the slot, squeeze the sides on
> either side of the slot. It should snap in with a click. Sometimes, there
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
> Weather Or No Go New Haven
> **************

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Model Forum / General / Railroads / June 2004

:Blue Box Kits, again, from Mike, PLEASE?