Athearn Blue Box


I found the job of fitting the stanchions for the handrails went easier, if I drilled out the holes in the loco body first. Using a photo of a real locomotive hepled too.

Ron
 
I slide the required stanchions onto their rails and then place each stanchion in its hole on the frame. Put the ends of the handrail into the cab side and step area next. Then I align each stanchion straight up and down and when it is I then pinch the loop of the stanchion with a pair of flat needle nose pliers. Once all are done and standing straight a apply a tiny drop of ca at the loop where it meets the rail. When the ca has set I remove the assemblys and paint them then reinstall.

Note there are usually 2 lengths of stanchions on most of the Athearns.
 
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Gotta agree with Mike on how he does it. Never had any trouble after assembling them that way. As for paint, airbrush, brush, doesn't matter. Just remember to seal them with either dull or gloss coat when you've got your final finish on them.
 
staanchions

To prevent bending the stanchions when mounting on the locomotive, use needle nose pliers. To finish the installation task, remove the shell from the frame. Then use a set of regular pliers to squeeze the stanchion foot into the mounting hole. Be careful since a little sqeeze on the pliers handles goes a long ways

Gardner
 
Gardner said:
To prevent bending the stanchions when mounting on the locomotive, use needle nose pliers. To finish the installation task, remove the shell from the frame. Then use a set of regular pliers to squeeze the stanchion foot into the mounting hole. Be careful since a little sqeeze on the pliers handles goes a long ways

Gardner
Click to expand...

Never had the need to use anything but my thumbnail for that.
 
I've had a Conrail GP38-2 once and had problems getting the stanchions in due to the holes being undersized (and having the stanchion stab me in the finger! ouch!). Eventually, I just gave up on it in favor of locos with better detail (call me nitpicky, but those pilot mounted stanchions really bother me!) and sold it to a fellow club member who promptly patched it for CSX.
 
csxdiesel007 said:
Thanks guys, any suggestions on paint? spray, airbrush? brush?
Click to expand...
I brush paint mine after they're in stalled. Usually the rails near any steps were painted a different color than the rest of the rails for safety, so check any photo's you might find of real units.
 
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