Athearn Boxcar improvement

Despite the many beautiful ready-to-run rolling stock available nowadays, I am still a big fan of the old Athearn Blue Box and Roundhouse (Model Die Casting) kits. Many can still be found unbuild, but at swap meets or from various Facebook Sales Pages, some are already built and more or less refined.

Recently I happened to acquire a 50' boxcar, among others, which was already assembled and upgraded with Kadee couplers and metal wheelsets, probably from Intermountain.

The car had been assembled following the instructions with the horn hook couplers replaced with Kadee's and the original wheelsets with better running metal sets. I must admit, on this car the metal coupler pocket clips had been mounted correctly. I simply hate them, because, for whatever reason, I never managed to get them on straight. After a while, the clip always fell off or the coupler did not sit correctly and drooped. 

Anyway, I disassembled the car into its basic components, which are only a few (body, floor, underframe, weight, and trucks)

With a small screwdriver, I unclamped the metal clip and the coupler came loose.

These early kits always have a lot of flash from the molding process, which prevents the parts from fitting flush. This was the case here with the underframe. A few passes with a sanding stick is a quick remedy to this.

Next, the coupler pockets had to go. This is quite easy using a razor saw.

Another step I always do on boxcars, turning the floor. Normally the boarded side goes up into the body. On boxcars with opening doors, this might be a nice detail, but as the boxcars usually run with doors closed, this isn't visible either. On the 50 footers I bought, the doors cannot be opened. By turning the boarded side down, the floor really looks like the real thing, because that's what you normally see from underneath. I simply screw the underframe to the turned floor and for a permanent fix, I also glue the frame to it.

Then I glue the lid of the Kadee draft gearbox to the floor, taking care to center it. After the glue has set, using the center hole as a guide, I drill and tap for a 2-56 screw.

Then I assemble the draft gear box and secure it with a screw.
 

I attached the metal weight to the floor using double-sided tape. This is no permanent fix, believe me. A small piece of leftover styrene, drilled to fit over the "original" bolster pin and then secured with a few drops of cement will keep the weight in place.

I will never open this car again, so I glued the floor assembly to the body. The clamps make sure that the bond will be permanent.

A final detail, which is quickly added consists of replacing the oversized steps. I simply snapped the original steps off using a small sprue cutter. Don't bother to drill into the sides! Chances are that your drill slips. I drilled immediately behind the side, next to the floor and inserted A-Line wire steps. These are not only smaller, but also sturdy.

Remember, this is not a contest model. My primary goal is to have a reliable car intended for operation. Nevertheless, some of these tips may also be a base for a better-looking model.

Stay tuned. In a future installment, I'll show you a quick weathering technique.