My LHS just got its first shipment of the new Athearn Blue Box kits in this week. Even though the first batch didn’t have anything in my favorite road name, I still had to reward the Hobby Shop by making a purchase of one of these new kits. This is quite a relief because I had stuck to my guns and never purchased a RTR Kit. This is a hobby, and half the fun is feeling like you just built something with your own two hands. People need to take notice of this and help support some of these companies that still produce kits. Just FYI and my 2 cents.[8D]
That’s great! Who is making them. What do they cost?
Walter - Columbia, TN “Route of the Appy Sou”
I get an E-mail from Athearn with new products, and occasionally I get one with which kits are currently being produced.
Hmmmmm.
I’ve had Blue Boxes since 1977. I stopped buying them years back as I encountered the same old nagging problems. Coupler box ears that were tiny nubs that wouldn’t hold coupler plates in place, coupler boxes that sit too low, modern boxcars and reefers with roofwaks, and 54ft hopper cars—covered and centerflow that had tabs so tiny that the car bottoms would fall out.
Sorry to be complaining but…putting together a kit is a fun activity…but having to repeatedly FIX factory defects in brand new kits is downright annoying after so many years!
I will keep an open mind though. I’ll take a look at this new batch when they arrive at my LHS.
I’m with Antonio. I really enjoy putting together a blue box kit… but all he said… especially those dopey coupler covers. Oh, one more… coupler boxes that are just a smidgen too narrow to hold a copper Kadee spring. Oh, and one more… trucks that are just a smidgen too tight to hold a Proto 2K metal wheel set.
The BlueBoxes were never taken out of production.
When Horizons bought Athearn a few years ago, people started panicking because rumours started flying around the WWW stating that Athearn was discontinuing the BB line.
My LHS has been getting new BB’s all along.
If your LHS doesn’t have BB’s in stock, then it’s your LHS not getting any for you to buy that is the problem.
Gordon
The Hobby Place in an Ace Hardware store in Tucson, Arizona, has had a continual supply of Athearn Blue Box kits all along –
The problem with many local hobby shops not being able to get them is probably because they didn’t have an account with Horizon Hobby after the buyout of Athearn, not because Athearn was no longer making them. Any shop that wasn’t already a Horizon dealer stopped receiving Athearn and Roundhouse products.
Just so your opinion doesn’t scare people off, everything Antonio complains about is easily fixed. That is what is called modeling. First, there is noting inherently wrong with Athearns coupler box system although screw covers would be better. The cover has to be correctly made, and they always are not. The cover sides must be exactly 90 degrees so sometimes they have to be tweaked a little. Sometimes the covers are not punched correctly so the center whole for the pin is not in the center in which case you have to throw them away and buy new ones. They are very expensive (NOT).
In every case I have found of the “boxes being too low” it is because the floor is warped, almost always because the weight is not straight. You have to buy a very expensive hammer to straighten them out.
Don’t know what the problem with the roof walks is, but the real railroads had to take them off too. Somebody even made kits to plug the holes (another difficult modeling job).
As far as the floors falling out, yes, the latches weren’t great and the warped weights accented the problem. Once the car is finished, you have to buy some expensive glue.
Remember if your not part of the solution, your part of the problem. If it weren’t for Irv Athearn, model railroading might not be what it is today!
I don’t think they are making many blue box locomotives anymore, because they are very hard to find except on e-bay.
The BlueBoxes were never taken out of production.
When Horizons bought Athearn a few years ago, people started panicking because rumours started flying around the WWW stating that Athearn was discontinuing the BB line.
My LHS has been getting new BB’s all along.
If your LHS doesn’t have BB’s in stock, then it’s your LHS not getting any for you to buy that is the problem.
This is what I like about this site, we never lack for opinions. Yes I prefer to but car kits - I like to assemble them and as I get better I will redo them and add more detail. No , I don’t like the stupid clip on coupler covers and I think after a million years of production it should have been changed to a threaded hole and screw like the rest of the civilized world. Who hasn’t had one of the stupid clips fall off(usually in a tunnel - right)? Yes I drill and tap the center hole because i can, but why after all this time should i have to? I know “We always did it that way” . That said, i will continue to buy and enjoy building blue box kits and anything else that strikes my fancy - it is my railroad after all. Thanks for reading and may you all have high greens or a nice day or both. [:D] J.R.
The blue box holds a special place in this hobby for me. Yesterday I took the boys to the LHS. They each picked a freight car (roundhouse as it happens, but often a BB). We came home and spent an hour or so round the kitchen table getting them assembled. I love the look of concentration on my 6 year olds face as he tries to get a Kadee to stay in place while he gets the cover in place. Today they will weigh the cars and weight them accordingly and then they will get weathered. The BB may be low on detail and perhaps not the best car on the market, but they have given me and my kids many hours of fun together.
No no, Antonio your taking the wrong attitude, just think, now you can model a real RIP track.
They never stopped making blue boxes, and they never stopped making BB locos, either. Check www.athearn.com on the HO homepage for a list of all the BB locos in production.
I have not seen any store want to spend their money on these.
Nobody is buying these anymore. Why should they? Ready to roll version are not much more at shows and you don’t have to fix the defects in the kit versions.
Those who freelance their own roadnames or want to kitbash/superdetail locos to a specific prototype definitely still want Athearn BBs (I’m one of them). You simply can’t beat the undecorated BB loco for those purposes.
I don’t know what store you go to but Blue Boxes sell quite well here.
started with BB will end with them. I like RTR but i rather have a kit anyday.
Do B-B kits have metal wheels?
No they don’t.
But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to buy them.
Gordon