Batch-building freight cars - 4
5
5: This Red Caboose boxcar has separately applied
grabirons, great rivet detail, and scale doors and
ladders. The car has been weathered with powders.
The kits in this group run from the time-tested Athearn “blue-
box” to more modern kits such as the Branchline “Yardmaster,”
and Kato kits. These kits all feature molded-on grabirons and
other details. Many of us started with these kits and have fond
memories of putting them together. Kits in this category are
easy to build, and are perfect for beginners and kids. For more-
experienced modelers, they offer a quick way to fill out a roster
without breaking the bank.
Group two – highly detailed kits
Walthers Gold Line
Branchline/Blueprint
Red Caboose
Intermountain
Proto 2000
Kits in this group offer finer details and more-accurate rendi-
tions of specific cars. They often have lots of parts and build
up into “contest quality” cars. Individually applied grabirons,
ladders, and stirrup steps are the norm here. These kits pro-
vide fine detail without having to fabricate parts, apply decals
or paint car bodies. Certain aspects of building kits in this cat-
egory take some getting used to such as drilling out grabiron
holes, cutting delicate parts from sprues, and gluing fine parts.
If you are comfortable with “shake-the-box” kits, give one of
these a try.
Group three – craftsman kits
Tichy
Sunshine
Westerfield
Funaro and Camerlengp
Rio Grande Models
6: Here are all the parts in a Proto 2000 stock car - 78
to be exact. These kits build up nicely into well-detailed
models that run well.
6
MRH-Mar 2014
