Looks exactly like the old blue box kits. For good reason too. Scale trains did say a couple years ago they would be doing those kits again. Nice to see the follow through
shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Thanks for the review, Mike! The assembly looks on par and perhpas a bit easier than an Accurail kit. And what I thought was ingenious is how you were able to modify it from a Burlington to a Soo Line gondola in only a 1/2 hr.
It would be nice to see kits make a comeback. While I like and do purchase RTR rolling stock, I still prefer kits and am grateful for manufactures like Accurail who have decided to stick with kit building over RTR. At last check Accurail made up 47% of my roster and I'm generally happy with the quality of their product.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
OK, I know many of you are old enough that you know exactly what a kit is. But seriously, there's some effort required to even find kits for many things that were common in the past. Kit building has become a niche part of the hobby, with folks like narrowgaugers and 1/4" scalers being blessed with relatively large selections of kits. Here's a kit from a manufacturer that still believes there's a place in the market for kits for standard gauge Class One prototypes, ScaleTrains.com, with its Kit Classics line.
While it looks like someone didn't quite pack it right, this is how the kit calls attention to itself as something needing YOUR intervention to set it right. Don't be intimidated, assembly is easy. Let's take things out of the box and get started. The gang at ScaleTrains.com thoughfully included something to carry you through to the next meal. They even knew my favorite Dum-Dum flavor was pineapple!
Held securely inside the plastic clamshell is everything you need except a few basic tools. The box indicates all that is needed is a small Phillips head screwdriver, but I'll indicate a couple of others that will come in handy that you'll likely have on hand.
The metal weight is sandwiched between the deck casting and the underframe. 4 of the 6 Phillips flathead screws are used for this. Once the two major pieces are asembled, the next step is to mount the couplers. These at first glance look like dummy couplers, but these are actually an ingenious new design used by ScaleTrains.com. The only trick is to mount them so they face the right direction to couple with your other cars when they are asembled upside down.
The last 2 flathead Phillips screws are used to attach the coupler box covers. There is a top and bottom to these, so be sure to attach it so the cone of the screw opening faces up. There is a small bent brass spring that goes into the coupler box first, followed by the coupler, then the cover.
After that, you're ready to attach the trucks. This is where I ran into a small issue. There are 2 washer-head Phillips screws supplied to do this. I found that these screws, which are supposed to be self-tapping, are actually a little too large for the holes in the bolster that mounts the trucks. I managed to strip the heads on several of these, even after taking care to try to drive them home carefully. Instead, find a drill bit that is slightly larger than the holes and open it up by drilling. Be careful to not go too far and pierce the decking unrealistically or to make such a larger hole that the screw won't seat securely.
Once the trucks and couplers are in place, there is a small bit of brake rigging that needs to be oriented properly so the pointy end of the brake cylinder points toward the end of the car which mounts the brake wheel. A air tank and valve assembly complete the underside. These parts seem like some might be self-retaining, but I used just a tiny bit of glue to assure this.
Here's the brake wheel end of the car.
The brake wheel needs a little glue. but then you're all done and the car is ready for track testing. Time needed to assemble, even working slowly and carefully, is about a half hour. Not quite as quick as taking RTR stuff out of the box, but more satisfying in its own way.
Speaking of the box, ScaleTrains.com makes the clamshell so that it also fits the assembled car and then goes back in to protect it. Remember how frustrating many kit cars could be in the past where the couplers on the assembled car meant it would not fit back in the box? Problem solved.
This is the Havelock Shops 52' 6" gon kit and a few are still available with info on them here: https://www.scaletrains.com/product-category/kit-classics-ho-scale-cbq-havelock-shops-52-6-gondola/
A previous Kit Classic was a RBL. Both of these cars were priced under $20 retail, so are quite affordable if you're looking for new rolling stock.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL