Well, the new American Flyer waffle-sided boxcar has arrived. A friend of mine bought this car and loaned it to me for a quickie review.
So, first impression... It's better than I'd thought it would be.
Right out of the box I noticed that it was taller than the traditional American Flyer boxcar. Perhaps slightly under 1/8" taller, but noticeable.
Over all, with the exception that the trucks appear to be a tad too far inward (at least for my tastes,) it's a pretty nice looking car for the Flyer Folks. It hunkers down nicely over the trucks leaving no unsightly gap. The underfame is stamped sheet metal with no underbody details. The waffle embossing is well defined and molded in details are aren't clunky.
4-rung ladders all around and no roofwalk clearly establish this car as a contemporary style boxcar. The Waffle is a victory of Selective Compression.
The Waffle is also about 1/4" longer than a traditional Flyer boxcar and just a tad wider.
It holds up well to its traditional cousins. A little taller as befitting a contemporary car:
So, your about to ask: "How's it stand up to other manufacturers cars?" Well, here's a small sample.
American Models 40'boxcar:
SHS/MTH 40' boxcar:
Plus, the Waffle is essentially the same size as the old Lionel O27 "Scout" boxcar. I wouldn't be surprised if the body eventually shows up in some of the lower end O gauge sets.
But, you guys probably figured I would apple and orange it to a true 50' contemporary boxcar and you'd be right...
A model for the fine-scale S Scaler the Waffle isn't. However if one were to want to do a scale 40' fantasy waffle sided boxcar, a scale conversion isn't out of the question. I could almost consider doing one...
Currently the American Flyer waffle-sided boxcar is available in Chicago & North Western, American Flyer Lines and New Haven. A BNSF version is also available for NASG members.
Rusty
