I have what I have always presumed to be an Athearn metal UP flat car where the stake pockets pop up through openings in the car side. However, it is a 53'6" length car that someone in the past has

James Lackner asked: “And did any of these (in this advertisement), ever match a specific prototype? All that I have ever seen is "similar to, but not an exact match to...." The issue with these

Champ had two sets: BRH-32 Generic Wrecking Crane set in white (also in Black as BRH-33). Champs description: "This set contains SUPER DETAIL lettering for many, many wrecking train cars,

After receiving a request from a friend I have added a new post for West India Fruit & Steamship Company (W.I.F.) Box Car 323 to my blog. If you are interested in viewing photos of finished car and

Bill, Supposedly, but I understand it is so bad that I didn't mention same. I seem to remember the roof panels are backwards. Some features on most Athearn cars are prototype,

Garth, Wasn't Athearn's stock car based upon a Union Pacific prototype? Cheers, Bill Keene Irvine, CA

Jim, Some but not many. The 40' flatcar (a hold-over from the metal kits, by the way) only has a Rutland Prototype. Their 40' tank car is similar to SP, WP and UP 12K tanks, but

Irv Athearn lead a rather frugal lifestyle, just he and his wife in a double-wide trailer a few miles from the office. What made me remember that was seeing the Cadillac's in the Blue Box auto carrier

And did any of these (in this advertisement), ever match a specific prototype? All that I have ever seen is "similar to, but not an exact match to...." Jim Lackner

This is why I laugh when I see panic over the retirement of Athearn Blue Box kits...some of them were in continuous production for over 50 years by the time kits were discontinued in 2009. If you

Ya knows, your opinion is always welcome here in these USofA. So is counter opinions. It always amazes me when I see people slamming anything from, in this case, Microsoft. It also happens with

Jerry, Jim is correct, the Tichy set #9310 has text that reads "The Buycrus Co." in text that looks right for the boom of their derrick. The way I've spelt it here is the way it is on the sheet, so

Thanks Jerry

Andy, it happens. The best thing to do is to contact an administrator AFTER first checking the web site to make sure you are still subscribed to the mailing list. A lot of email services are

I received this email this morning from Group io. It said to resume subscription to click there. I have not received any STMFC emails since, though I complied with their instructions. Do I need to

I have used epoxy to attach parts to brass with excellent results - including a trip through the 150 degree oven to "bake" the Scalecoat paint. I would never trust CA for this application. For tiny

Tichy might have something you can use in their set for their wreck crane kit. Jim Kubanick Morgantown WV

Thanks Tim. Curious. I tried a Google search and did not find this site. Oh well. Sorry to take up time, but I thought someone might have used Bucyrus decals before. Jerry Michels

Jared, I don’t foresee any major problems. We all wash and grit blast CA applied details all the time. As Paul noted, make sure the surfaces are clean. I would consider grit blasting the brass

Thanks Jerry, the decals are from Speedwitch and are beautiful.