ModelRailroader.com Reader Poll – February 12, 2003

[PistolPete]

4 yesterday at a train show. Of the 12 kits I can see from here 9 are blue box.

[fiatfan]

I put one together last week and have about 25-30 more to assemble. They are great for building your inventory, as was mentioned earlier. After raising four kids and putting my wife through college, it looks like I will finally be able to afford some of the better kits. But for overall durability, you can't beat Athearn.

If it's true that the dummy engines are going away, that's a shame. I would like to double head some trains but since I have a small layout, I don't need two powered units at the head end. A powered and a dummy unit makes the train look bigger than it actually is for very little extra. Stick about 10-12 cars and a caboose (it's just not a train without one!) behind them and it looks pretty impressive on my small layout. The trick is to run it a little slow from one tunnel to the next. The distance is such that the engine disappears before the caboose appears. Makes the train seem much longer.

[Anonymous]

I've never been in HO before. I think they're to small to put on the track.[tup][tdn]

[Anonymous]

I voted "last month" - has been a while since I last built one - think my most recent was a dummy GP50 in SF livery. I have to say the "Blue box" kits are some of the best I've found, in any scale. Admittedly they don't have the detail of the latest Kadee cars, but on the other hand they are about 1/3rd of the price. They are also far tougher, which is handy if you travel to exhibitions. The only minor problem is that sometimes the finished car will not go back in the box for storage. Fitting Kadees can be a little interesting sometimes, but I've not yet found an Athearn model requiring major surgery to fit Kadees. I hope the blue box kits stay in production for many years to come - surely they're a superb way to encourage new people into the hobby?

[Anonymous]

My LHS did have an isle about 30 ft. long of nothing but blue boxes.In about 2 years the Blue Boxes have been shoved in the corner, being replaced by Genesis RTR.

[cp1057]

Another good application of the good ol' Blue Box kits are the custom paint jobs offered by smaller operations and the souvenir kits offered by tourist railroads. On Father's Day last year my family toured the South Simcoe Rwy, a steam powered train in Tottenham Ontario and my Father's Day gift was a good old blue box lettered for the South Simcoe.

Charles
Hillsburgh Ontario

[MrDxer]

Started out in this very fine hobby with the Athearn 'Blue Box' some 30 years ago, both for cars & locomotives. For a long while, IT was the main source of all my rolling stock. Lately went on a shopping spree and acquired a fleet of 54' covered hoppers (all RR's available) and some undec cupola cabooses to be painted in the CN wet noodle scheme. It would indeed be very sad for all modelers to see the 'Blue Boxes' exit the market. For the price, quality & availability, they're pretty hard to beat!!!

[Anonymous]

all most a good runner if you add more weight, and weather them. just put about ten for my cal. zypher. look real good. hope Athern did not make a mistake.

[Anonymous]

I picked last month but I just finished a PRR box yesterday.
I am very sad to see the Athern Blue box fade away.
I don't like the RTR's so I guess I will switch to Accurail or Roundhouse.
Sad it is solone good friend I will miss you
Dave

[Hawks05]

how about 7 hours ago. before i went to work i put together a 57' Bangor & Aroostock mech reefer. i boguht 4 Athearn kits today and 2 roundhouse.

Athearn blue box kits are the greatest thing i think i've found so far in the hobby. they are so easy for beginners to put together and they look great even if you just leave them as is when completed. i hope they stick around so i can keep buying and buying and buying.

i'll vote for last week as to when i last put one together.

[curtisporky]

I have around 400+ cars, and 97 percent are Athearn. I wouuld say about 95 percent of them are repainted cars, and I don't see why I would want to buy R-T-R just to disassemble them and re-paint them. I won't buy any more Walther's and MDC cars because you can't buy kits anymore at my LHS. I have a few factory Athearn paint jobs, but prefer to do custom-paint on my stuff.
Pat Curtis

[Anonymous]

I buy Athearn's "blue box" kits all the time and love them. Like others have said, they are an excellent way to build one's fleet. I would hate to see them terminated, as I am still mourning the loss of the Chessie System 18 years later. ;-)

[Anonymous]

I have been modelling railroads since the early 1950's. I remember the days of some of the more difficult kits, like Ambroid and Silver Streak. I have enjoyed building the Athearn Blue Box kits for over 30 years...first with my son, and now with my grandson. Sure...there are kits and RTRs with greater detail, but the Blue Boxes are great for starters and those of us who enjoy railroading on a budget. I hope they are still around for my great-grandchildren.

[tankertoad70]

Well over 50% of my rolling stock is good ol' Uncle Irv.[:D] However, lately, instead of assembling the puppies as is, I have been kitbashing 'em into something a lil' bit different, like taking the 50' double door boxcar and converting it to a 50' combo door car.[}:)]

[Anonymous]

Good Day Everyone,

I do agree with everyone, that I would hate to see Athern discontinue rail kits that one gets to assemble. The Genisis line are nice but way too pricey for me especially when you have to buy in Canadian dollars. Besides, I get great satisfaction assembling kits rather that open the box and away you go sort of thing. Also, one is able to kitbash with an undecorated kit rather than messing around with a $30.00 kit.

CNtrainman [#welcome]

[Anonymous]

I haven't built an Athearn kit since last year,since our LHS doesn't carry a whole lot of rolling stock. But in the last 4 months I've bought two Athearn SD-45s(both powered), which are very nice DC locos(big pulling power,since I added 2oz each,bringing them up to 19oz.).I hope that Athearn/Horizon will make pc boards for DCC or, at least for directional headlighting for thier popular DC locos!!

[rambo1]

The blue box cars are what I started with. They are great with children and run great. But then I learned about Intermountain, Redcaboose and Proto 2000 and I prefer them . Athearn are good for clubs they don't destroy easily. rambo1.......

[Anonymous]

I've been building undec 2-bay hoppers I got from SHS a few years ago. I have a good size stack of unbuilt Athearns and will be looking for more at swap-meets as my hobby shop won't deal with the new owners because they won't discount to dealers. My favorite kits are Accurail then Athearn.

[Anonymous]

I have used athearn kits for over thirty years. The new superdetailed kits available are great but do not fit into my budget. I will continue to use athearn until they stop making them.

[JoeUmp]

Ok, so my last kit was last year, I still have a number to put together yet.

Joe

[eastcoast]

I like the Athearn products. I don't want to see them go away.
I buy mostly undecorated kits so I can custom paint them.
When it gets warmer here, I will be back downstairs on my
workbench doing projects. I love the "Blue Box" !!!!!

[Anonymous]

This not a true reflection as to my building trend. At this point I'm building scenes not rolling stock. When building rolling stock it will be several cars at a time.

[Anonymous]

I moved about 2 1/2 years ago and started room prep during the sumer of 2001, with layout construction stating 10/13/01. this time I installed a lighting system first and finished the room. The layout is almost operational with only a few more connections to the A-B bus of the DCC system. My club is "round robin" style and we will be operating sometime this summer on my layout. In the near future, I should be building out of the whole bunch of "little blue boxes" I've accumulated. So the two year answer is not so bad. GLEN

[easyaces]

I like the Athern "blue box kits" since most of my locos and rolling stock is comprised of them, over 250 so far. And for the value they are good kits, easy to put together, well marked(painted). I'll continue to buy them as long as they stay available at my local hobby shop.

[IRONROOSTER]

Haven't been in HO in over 20 years, but I built some when I was. Still have some kits and just bought a few more in case Athearn quits making them and I decide to return to HO.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

I prefer the Athearn kits because you have to build them, thus weighting a car is done to your own satisfaction. With the pre-built cars so popular now, you have to be concerned with them not being heavy enough (by NMRA standards), and figuring out how to add the additional weight without destroying the car-you don't have that problem when you build it yourself. And of course, the kits are less expensive than r-t-r's.

[Anonymous]

I built 1 last month a reefer and put a sound system in it,so now it keeps things cold.

[Anonymous]

FYI


I voted Never, I'm not in HO scale, because I've never built one not because im not in HO.

[ngfred]

Do you remember Varney? Great plastic kits. Had to eat ?????? and then send in the box? tops and get a car for 25cents. Yes, I am older than some of you. And I have blue blue boxs, and lots of cars. How about Binkely, Kemton, in HO n3. Varnwy made so very good kits. Also some I do not remember. Silver Streak?? and??? Does any one have the Main Driver Gear set for the Varney Birk. 2-8-4. Mine took a nose dive ane , Well!!![:(]
BLUE BOXES YES. $30.)) kits RTRS NO. Can not aford the $ on SS.
Fred in NC.

[Anonymous]

I had to vote for 2 years or more, not because I don't like the kits they're great. I moved last year and knew about it well before that. The old layout became scrap save for some of the basic benchwork, and a new one is rising from the ashes. I look forward to when new kits will be purchased and some of the older ones (unassembled) find their spot.