George S posted:This was described as C-2 on eBay. The post said it was missing both doors and the roof needed repainting.
I could tell one door was there. I had a replacement brake wheel from Port Lines. The roof had some paint specs that cleaned off and then I polished it. The Litho is very good and there is no rust for a 90 year old car. It is missing one door and door handles, but this is the car I was missing. Thanks to Robert for telling me to pass. With patience, I saved $300 as the price dropped over subsequent weeks of not selling!
I will add a fake litho door to the other side with a card stock photo, and I will enjoy this car in my AF large litho box car collection.
George
By the way, this is my problem with TCA grading standards. C-2 is "restoration required". It's one step higher than "poor". The problem is that the standards are not MICE "mutually exclusive collectively exhaustive" and they are too subjective given the large variation in manufacturing techniques used in making toy trains. This seller was way too conservative in grading this piece. With only a little surface rust on a small part of one side and very minor scratches, this should grade much higher, but it is missing a door and a handle. Does that mean restoration is required? The roof did not need reprinting, so he was wrong there, and I have seen roofs in much worse condition. My non-expert opinion is that the grading is almost useless. Two grades would be sufficient, collector grade and not collector grade. You could add one more, mint or new. Just an observation from a not so experienced "collector"...
George
