Building old Roundhouse & Athearn 'Blue Box' type kits

[John M Upton]

One thing I have always enjoyed is building the old style HO scale wagon kit in a box that has been produced by Athearn (the legendary 'Blue Box' kits) and Roundhouse.  They are not up to modern standards, many of the kits are half a century old if not more and many have sat gathering dust in peoples cupboards for years.

 

This morning I came across an unbuilt Roundhouse 50 foot box car in Southern Pacific colours and decided to chart its construction.

 

The Box:

 

 

Standard Roundhouse generic box, no idea how old this kit is (mid 1970's?) with the correct details printed on the end. It is polite enough to say it looks a little shelf worn...

 

What's Inside:

 

Inside you have the complete decorated body shell (I believe undecorated examples were also available at the time) in Southern Pacific Hydra-Cushion livery, number SP 670006.

 

 

Along with the body shell is a bare diecast chassis and the plastic bag containing the small parts.

 

 

And of course, the all important instructions....

 

The Small Parts:

 

The small parts consists of a sprue which has the coupling covers, handbrake wheel and underframe air brake parts.  Also included are four small slotted screws, the trucks (wheels already fitted) and the then standard horn hook couplers that I am pretty certain nobody uses anymore.

 

Assembly - The Chassis:

 

The three underframe air brake parts should be a push fit into pre-drilled holes in the chassis but the casting is old (I suspect when this was cast, the mould was nearing the end of its life) so a bit of opening out with a small round file was required and a tad of glue to hold them in place.

 

 

The only modification to the kit at this stage is to replace the couplings with something a little less primitive, in this case a pair of Kadee (or the Chinese knockoff version, not sure which as they were loose in my spares box) have been substituted before the trucks/bogies were screwed into place into the precast holes.

 

 

Whilst the trucks/bogies fitted well, the originally supplied coupling box covers did not, they are either rotating all over the place or so tight that the coupling arm cannot move!  This will need correcting in Phase II.

 

Assembly - The Body:

 

The only thing needed to be added to the body was the handbrake wheel on one end, push fitted into the hole provided.  The roof walkway was already fitted when I opened the box, not sure if that is as it was originally supplied as I do recall Blue Box kits normally having this separate in the box.

 

 

The body clips to the chassis by way of four small tabs, two each side on the chassis casting which clip into corresponding holes just beneath the doors.  The age of the casting shows here as the edges are rather rough with some flash that needs attention, this lends further evidence to my theory that this was one of the last of these made by Roundhouse as the mould was showing signs of wearing out.

 

The Final Model:

 

So, the final assembled model, construction time less than five minutes (two of which was spent searching for my small round file!).  The unpainted chassis casting stands out, the coupling covers are an issue and it does have those plastic wheel sets but overall for a kit that cost me about £3.50, whilst it will not stand up to the expensive all bells and whistles models now being produced today, it does look the part and was probably top of the range when it was first made all those decades ago.

 

The Next Stage - Phase II:

 

The next stage for this box car will be some improvements, painting the chassis frame will be the first priority.  That is for another time...

Edited April 4, 2022 by John M Upton
Restoring Pictures

[Nearholmer]

The thing you don’t mention is that they run superbly, and with kadee couplers shunt/switch perfectly. I’m not sure that even now U.K. models have caught up with them in terms of sheer practicality.

They were genuinely exceedingly good, fantastic value, and the only problem I found when I was into US modelling c30 years ago was that it was too easy to collect too many, and get tempted by snazzy liveries!

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Very nice - and a good explanation for anyone finding an old, unopened box who may wonder what the word ‘kit’ implies,

[davknigh]

The Roundhouse and Athearn kits were almost universally known as “shake the box” kits as that was about all that had to be  done to assemble them. There was a lot of cast on detail and they were generic at best when it came to details. But they were cheap and quick to build so you could assemble a roster of cars with a variety of road names without breaking the bank. And to be fair most of the locomotives available at the time these kits were popular were also generic except for the Japanese brass. Given the popularity of “freelance” modelling only a minority were really fussed about details. These kits were a good way to get young people started in the hobby. IIRC I built my first one back in the late ‘50s.

 

Cheers,

 

David

Edited September 11, 2021 by davknigh
Afterthought

[John M Upton]

First improvement, rattle cans for a coat of primer on the chassis followed by a coating of sleeper grime brown:

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by John M Upton
Restoring Pictures

[Alcanman]

MDC Roundhouse kits along with Athearn 'blue box' kits were the starting point for freight cars when I began US modelling back in the 1990s.

 

They were cheap, reasonably detailed and easy to build. This SP boxcar is a more modern version (no roof walkway) of the one you have just built. It survived to make any appearance on my CSX Palmetto Spur layout in 2011.

 

My favourites Roundhouse car was the FMC covered hopper , which I still use on my current layouts.

 

 

[friscopete]

Some decent weathering and they lose the "toy "image  and look fine on long trains.

[John M Upton]

Needs weathering but the resprayed chassis certainly improves things:

 

On the subject of running qualities, even with the manufacturer supplied wheels, it glides effortlessly.  Compare that with what Hornby were churning out at the same time in the late 1970's and into the 1980's which were basically crude toys and embarrassingly or UK outline, some are still being made to this day.

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by John M Upton
Restoring Pictures

[Regularity]

On 11/09/2021 at 18:53, davknigh said:

The Roundhouse and Athearn kits were almost universally known as “shake the box” kits as that was about all that had to be  done to assemble them. There was a lot of cast on detail and they were generic at best when it came to details. But they were cheap and quick to build so you could assemble a roster of cars with a variety of road names without breaking the bank. And to be fair most of the locomotives available at the time these kits were popular were also generic except for the Japanese brass. Given the popularity of “freelance” modelling only a minority were really fussed about details. These kits were a good way to get young people started in the hobby. IIRC I built my first one back in the late ‘50s.

 

Cheers,

 

David

Also, as long as the basic dimensions etc are correct, cast detail can be removed and replaced with finer or more correct components, which encourages people into actually modelling things.

[F-UnitMad]

On 11/09/2021 at 18:53, davknigh said:

There was a lot of cast on detail and they were generic at best when it came to details.

Huh, wagons - schwagons Who cares too much about 100% accuracy on freight cars - not me, not even in O Scale - although to be honest, given the current state of scale 2-rail O in the USA at the moment, I take what I can get!!

Pretty sure Roundhouse also did freight cars in N which I used to like back in the day; the cast chassis added a nice bit of weight to the cars. Molded- on detail wasn't such an issue in N, either. Not 30 years ago, anyway.

"Shake the box" - a phrase that always made me smile!!

[brossard]

That boxcar looks really good considering...  The thing that I was thinking, because I have a fetish for such things, is improvement to the underframe by adding brake gear and piping.  I like to do that with my 0 gauge (UK) models.

 

John

[friscopete]

I have some lovely Tangent ,Atlas ,and Walthers high end tank cars .Keeping them intact on a switching hands on fiddle  layout can be taxing when bits break and fall off .Some times I wish I had some blue box ..

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by friscopete

[Alcanman]

5 hours ago, friscopete said:

I have some lovely Tangent ,Atlas ,and Walthers high end tank cars .Keeping them intact on a switching hands on fiddle  layout can be taxing when bits break and fall off .Some times I wish I had some blue box ..

 

I have the same problem. I seem to be constantly breaking and losing stirrups on Athearn rtr boxcars. 

[John M Upton]

And now for a classic Athearn Blue Box!! 

 

 

Probably dating from the 1980's (so at least thirty years old) this is a Denver & Rio Grande (D&RGW) 40ft Hi-Cube Box Car.

 

 

The Contents:

 

One pre-painted body shell, a chassis moulding, weight, floor (not shown above) and the classic Athearn little yellow paper envelope containing the small parts.

 

The Body:

 

Considering this dates from the 1980's, the standard of decoration is nothing short of excellent, almost all the small markings are legible including the EXCESS HEIGHT CAR lettering on the ends.

 

The Instructions:

 

Your simple one side piece of paper with useful part numbers listed and the type of car printed so large that a blind man could see it from orbit....

 

The Small Parts Pack:

 

The small parts are all contained in a classic Athearn Blue Box yellow paper envelope, the opening of which is one of the fun parts of the assembly process, there is just something about it....

 

Inside you find...

 

Two trucks with wheels already fitted, two securing screws, a pair of couplings, one hand brake wheel and the metal retaining clips for the couplings.

 

The Chassis:

 

Unlike the one piece unpainted metal casting that Roundhouse example I started this thread with has, Athearn Blue Box kits feature a separate plastic frame section, this one however arrived damaged with one piece knocked off but fortunately a clean break and the piece still present.

 

The Floor:

 

A single piece plastic moulding forms the floor of the car, one side has a ridged indent with two prominent pegs, the other side has a moulded representation of the wooden planked floor of the car interior which would be visible if this was a version with opening doors.

 

 

A hefty flat weight (unusually for an old Blue Box kit not excessively rusty) fits into the floor moulding and sits in the ridged indentation with the pegs poking through the holes.

 

Assembling The Chassis:

 

The chassis frame (now with the broken part reattached) fits over the protruding pegs and holds the weight underneath the floor.

 

 

Tip at this point is to fit the couplings BEFORE you attach the trucks.  The only modification to the kit I am doing at this initial assembly stage is to swap out the supplied couplings for Kadee's.  As per standard Athearn Blue Box design, these are held in place with metal clips which may need a bit of bending/fettling to get them to fit and stay on properly.

 

 

The trucks simply fit over the protruding pegs in the underside of the chassis.  The securing screws hold the floor, weight, frame and trucks together all rather neatly.

 

The Completed Model:

 

The body only needs to have the hand brake wheel fitted to the pre-drilled hole in one end (glue it thought, they do have a habit of falling off and becoming food for the carpet monster) and then all that is needed is to carefully clip the chassis into the underside of the body, there being some moulded locating ridges inside for this purpose.

 

And there you have it, now for some improvements!

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by John M Upton
Restoring Pictures

[BR60103]

I find that the coupler covers tend to remove the little plastic nubs that hold them on if they are removed again. I really preferred the screw on ones from my first Athearn kits (ca. 1959).

The trucks of that period came in pieces. The "springs" were a rubber blob with two nubs on the outside to look like springs. The bolster and the side frames had little pointy bits that would take actual springs (available separately in big cities) but were very hard to get the rubber bits past. I think I only had one or two kits like that. The real springs were like Kadee knuckle springs but a stiffer metal. They were so stiff that the trucks might as well have been cast in one piece. They added nothing to the ride. 

 

[John M Upton]

The metal sprung coupling covers are notorious for pinging off, sending both it, the coupler and the flat metal spring part off into the darkness at the mercy of the carpet monster!

[John M Upton]

I have modified the constantly springing off coupling cover on the Athearn 40ft High Cube simply with a narrow strip of black insulating tape wrapped tightly round.

 

Meanwhile the chassis of the High Cube has received a rattle can coat of sleeper grime:

 

I took the opportunity to do the same to the trucks of the Roundhouse box car too:

 

Overall the weathered look to the chassis and trucks seems to work:

 

I have a couple more on the way to continue the series!

Edited April 4, 2022 by John M Upton
Restoring Pictures

[davknigh]

One added suggestion, swap out the plastic wheels for metal ones. Plastic wheels deposit crud at an astonishing rate and somehow manage to accumulate it at the same time!

 

Cheers,

 

David

[John M Upton]

10 hours ago, davknigh said:

One added suggestion, swap out the plastic wheels for metal ones. Plastic wheels deposit crud at an astonishing rate and somehow manage to accumulate it at the same time!

 

Cheers,

 

David

 

Already in hand hopefully...

[Barclay]

I hope you don't mind me hi-jacking your thread, but I've found it very interesting as my entire boxcar fleet (not many) is made up of cheap old timers like this. I bought this old Athearn R50-6 reefer at an exhibition for a few pounds. It was in an improbable livery so has had a re-paint and Microscale decals, which are so lovely, but they always seem to miss something out. In this case the large numbers, (perhaps they were rare?) which I have made myself. The quality of this decal is nowhere near as good as the Microscale so I've only done one side in case the carrier film remains too visible after varnish and weathering !

 

Based on an example from the very useful www.Railgoat.Railfan.net

 

[John M Upton]

I am working on a Roundhouse 2 Bay Covered Hopper now but have discovered a problem.

 

The spine of the chassis is supposed to slot between the two pairs of hopper outlets on the underside but it doesn't fit!!!!

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by John M Upton
Restoring Pictures

[doctor quinn]

When I built a Roundhouse New Haven 2 bay covered hopper a few years ago the center beam of the chassis needed some filing before it fitted between the hoppers

[Allegheny1600]

I’ve built a few of those vehicles, I always found the entire exterior of the chassis casting needs filing to make it fit the body moulding freely.

Use a big file, it’s much quicker!

I’m enjoying the thread very much, thank you.

 

[John M Upton]

I actually have two of the Two Bay Hoppers.  I am building the first one to see how it goes together (which was when I discovered the chassis fit problem) and will use the second one to write up its review later.

 

I also have a still sealed Walthers 53 Ft gondola kit on my to do pile as well.

[John M Upton]

Athearn Blue Box SW1500 Switcher Locomotive

 

Continuing my series of Blue Box adventures, I could not resist this little bargain, an unbuilt, complete and boxed Athearn SW1500 series switcher, probably dating from the 1980’s.  Twenty quid and two days rattling around in the Royal Mail later…

 

Open it up and nestling inside is CSX SW1500 number 1126 in its earlier Seaboard System grey livery.

 

Much like the wagon kits of the same era, the induvial parts consist of the body, chassis and the small parts envelope.

 

The body shell is a nice crisp moulding, consisting of two parts, the cab being a separate moulding but supplied already fitted in place.

 

This an unpowered version back in the day when they still made such useful things but the chassis (supplied with the trucks already fitted) is the same as the powered version but minus the traction gubbins and featuring plain wheel sets.

 

The small parts pack comes in the usual little paper envelope except the for the long side handrails which won’t fit in it.

 

Plus there is the usual one side A4 assembly diagram sheet

 

Open up that little paper envelope reveals the small parts.  Three sprues, two in black carrying the brake cylinders, one in clear carrying the light lenses. Plus the coupling clips, horn/hook couplers, horn, bell and handrail parts.

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by John M Upton
Restoring Pictures