Menards Box Cars: Anyone Else Enjoy The Menards' "Nose Art" Boxcars?

I've got all 10  14 that have been released to date!

I have them as well: (I added the 10th after this video was produced)  

https://youtu.be/Dvu9H7CBVKI

I don't have all of them but the six I do have are great. Menards did it right. 

Dave

As one that piloted many WW2 War Planes, fighters and Bombers for 25 years. Collect Helmets, yes I like the nose art boxcars and buy them all, I onlt collect these for display, rather then putting on layout. Out of town right now otherwise I would post pictures on how I display them. But here are some of my pilot helmets (I have at present 350 Flight Helmets from WW2 to Vietnam era).

ToledoEd posted:

I have them as well: (I added the 10th after this video was produced)  

https://youtu.be/Dvu9H7CBVKI

 

Ed, now that's the way to display them!  Nice memorial for Veteran's Day -- the whole train!  Also, I think there are now more than ten nose art boxcars available. (Hopefully, or, I just ordered four duplicates today! ). 

The four additions can be bought together at a discount, which I wasn't able to accomplish with my original purchases, as the dealer packs that I saw had 4 of the same boxcar.

I also added a Menards army caboose and a matching (mostly matching  -- anyway, good enough for government work.) munitions car with the earlier editions.

bmoran4 posted:

I've got all 10 that have been released to date!

There are actually 14 cars that have been released.

josef posted:

As one that piloted many WW2 War Planes, fighters and Bombers for 25 years. Collect Helmets, yes I like the nose art boxcars and buy them all, I onlt collect these for display, rather then putting on layout. Out of town right now otherwise I would post pictures on how I display them. But here are some of my pilot helmets (I have at present 350 Flight Helmets from WW2 to Vietnam era).

joseph, pretty impressive avocation!  Also, neat collection.  

My father was in the 100th Bomb Group during WW II, stationed in England.  I recall asking him about the nose art on the planes in the handful of photos that he had, one with him climbing aboard the plane.  Some pretty interesting back-stories regarding the nose art, many depicting the sweetheart back home of one of the crew.  Some of the humor is also excellent, as the Menards' "Take-Off Time" boxcar reveals.

Dennis GS-4 N & W No. 611 posted:

josef posted:

As one that piloted many WW2 War Planes, fighters and Bombers for 25 years. Collect Helmets, yes I like the nose art boxcars and buy them all, I onlt collect these for display, rather then putting on layout. Out of town right now otherwise I would post pictures on how I display them. But here are some of my pilot helmets (I have at present 350 Flight Helmets from WW2 to Vietnam era).

joseph, pretty impressive avocation!  Also, neat collection.  

My father was in the 100th Bomb Group during WW II, stationed in England.  I recall asking him about the nose art on the planes in the handful of photos that he had, one with him climbing aboard the plane.  Some pretty interesting back-stories regarding the nose art, many depicting the sweetheart back home of one of the crew.  Some of the humor is also excellent, as the Menards' "Take-Off Time" boxcar reveals.

One of the most heart warming moments came when on tour, a vet would show up. The emotions many would shamelessly show as they patted the planes they flew, and brought them safely home. The stories they shared with us, of the planes, and the men that flew with them, or cared for them on the ground, were priceless. One reason I enjoyed going and volunteering for these tours. My most memorable remembrance was of a WW2 B17 Co-Pilot that came to our show in North Carolina. He toured that plane and patted everything he could and had moisture in his eyes. I asked if he was taking a flight with us also. His son who came along said they couldn't afford one but his dad wanted to come and see and show him what he flew in WW2. I knew we had 3 empty seats for the next flight scheduled and told him to wait. I asked if we had filled the flight and they said no there were still 2 empty seats. I told them I had two people I wanted to fill them seats with. Yup, had father and son fly with us and asked when we were up if his dad would like to sit in the right seat for a while.

After we landed, the father had no longer moisture in his eyes, but tears as he thanked me and the crew and told us for a brief moment, he was 22 again and flying over Europe in 1944.

josef posted:

Dennis GS-4 N & W No. 611 posted:

. ..I asked if we had filled the flight and they said no there were still 2 empty seats. I told them I had two people I wanted to fill them seats with. Yup, had father and son fly with us and asked when we were up if his dad would like to sit in the right seat for a while.

After we landed, the father had no longer moisture in his eyes, but tears as he thanked me and the crew and told us for a brief moment, he was 22 again and flying over Europe in 1944.

 

Thanks joseph,

I'm moved just reading this touching story, knowing how grateful my father would be for such an invitation.   This was obviously a very kind gesture by you in the midst of a thoughtful undertaking with the flight itself.  My father would have been thrilled to join you that day, as he regularly addended the annual 100th Bomb Group reunions with my mom, even those in England.  

With this series, Menards is allowing many of us to periodically celebrate those men and women who served in the U.S. Army Air Force during WW II.  The nose art boxcars provide an uplifting way to do that on our layouts or with a wall display.

I HAVE THEM ALL PLUS AND I LIKE THE LIONEL WW II CARS OH AND MY U.S.A.F CARS GG1GUYY

GG1 - 

Beautiful displays!

This should be the product info for the four newer cars: Heavenly Body, Yellow Rose, Victory Girl, and Hard To Get

     4-Piece O Gauge Military Commemorative Boxcar Dealer Pack

GG1GUYY posted:

I HAVE THEM ALL PLUS AND I LIKE THE LIONEL WW II CARS OH AND MY U.S.A.F CARS GG1GUYY

Great collection Sal !!

milnyc posted:

bmoran4 posted:

I've got all 10 that have been released to date!

There are actually 14 cars that have been released.

Yeah, apparently I couldn't count this morning... I've got all 14!

I have them all plus I have made 10 of my own

With the help of MTH’s new U.S. Army 44-tonner, the boxcars were on the move.

Some wonderful stories here, being born not too long after WWII, I can remember seeing many WWII planes come thru the armpit of Texas (El Paso).  My dream as a youngster was to hitch a ride in a P-51, its never happened but its still a dream.  While working as a lineman for one of the general aviation businesses one year, we had a B-17 come thru and spend the night, after refueling it and shooting the breeze with the guys who were flying it, they offered me a ride to the Confederate Air Force Air Show.  Unfortunately, my work at my daytime job would not permit me to take the time off to be able to fly down in that beautiful plane.  To say I was disappointed was an understatement.

Are these boxcars special releases only or are they available all the time?  I'd like to collect them also as they would make a great display as previously mentioned. 

JEM,

Too bad you couldn't take that ride!  I'm not 100% sure as to whether all of the nose art boxcars are available, but many of them are.  The newest set of four that I described above look really nice, and, I ordered them yesterday to be delivered to my house, since the local Menards is a comfortable, but longish drive.

Here's the website, or, you can "click on" the Menards logo above ( I think!):

       http://menards.com/trains

You would then scroll through the "boxcar" section.  The price for four was only about $89.96, plus a few miscellaneous extras, sales tax, and shipping.  Yesterday, the order also included a plug and play item for free.

These are really neat cars with great art, and they are very sharp looking. But from what I understand (relying on posts from others with more expert knowledge), the art is fictional and that is what prevents me from purchasing any.  I would just prefer a more historical representation.

Jim, here is, "Take Off Time".  I'm not sure as to the history of the artwork on this plane, or, on the others though:

Ah, that is cool--even if if it is recent art on a vintage plane, that's cool! Thanks for finding the photo.

Thanks Jim.  "Take Off Time" is  the only photo text that I searched.  Even before collecting the nose art boxcars, I had purchased a book on WW II nose art, and the Menards boxcars looked like the exact same style as the art on the original WW II planes, and, therefore very realistic.  

I have to agree, they have done a great job capturing the vibe.

The Memphis Belle would make a memorable "Nose Art" Boxcar, if possible.

Dennis GS-4 N & W No. 611 posted:

The Memphis Belle would make a memorable "Nose Art" Boxcar, if possible.

Offered, but probably unavailable/out of stock at this point:

Thanks, BMoran4, good point!  The coloration and art work is a bit different; I missed it.  Still a very attractive car.

It is out of stock online, but you may be able to locate a store that has it, call them, and have them ship it to you. They were so popular, you unfortunately may have missed out leaving the secondary market as your only option.

https://www.menards.com/main/h...247170236&ipos=1