# Silver Bullet



## imatt88 (Jan 31, 2010)

Hey all,

Just got this in the mail today. Its in pretty good shape...








Its been hand painted silver at some point...









But its made of plastic! Didn't see THAT one coming...:laugh:

Yet another project for yet another day....

Cheers, Ian


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Plastic?

Any idea what vintage? I thought all of the AF Royal Blues / Bullets were cast metal, but clearly I'm mistaken.

If anyone knows more on the history, please chime in!

TJ


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## imatt88 (Jan 31, 2010)

Yup, plastic. 

I thought all those shells were cast metal as well. 

It was a surprise to me


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

Whoa -- I'm with you guys, thought they were all metal. Anyone hear from Reckers? He would probably know.....


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hmmm ...

Apparently, if I'm reading this chart correctly, all of AF's Silver Bullets (1953-1954) were plastic ...

354 4-6-2 AC KNC Streamlined Pacific - Silver Bullet - Plastic Boiler, Metal Tender 1954 

356 4-6-2 AC LNK Streamlined Pacific - Silver Bullet - Plastic Boiler, Metal Tender 1953 

356 4-6-2 AC LNK Streamlined Pacific - Silver Bullet - Plastic Boiler, Metal Tender 1953 


http://www.americanflyerexpress.com...r-products-directory-steam-locomotives-03.htm

TJ


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Silver Bullet was built in 1953 and 1954..#356 has 2 variations, built in 1953. and the #354 was built in 1954.I had a chance to pick one up for $18 but passed...Dumb me..


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## imatt88 (Jan 31, 2010)

Too bad there wasn't pictures of the Silver Bullet. It would be nice to see what it looks like.


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

I'm surprised that Gilbert built two versions under different numbers. Doesn't that seem unusual compared to how they handled other items?


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

The items that come to mind are the #302 Atlantic offered in both die-cast boiler and plastic, the electromatic crane given an "A" suffix, as well as Sam the Semaphore. I'm sure there are other examples.

Also -- does anyone know what the difference(s) is/are?


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Nuttin But Flyer said:


> The items that come to mind are the #302 Atlantic offered in both die-cast boiler and plastic, the electromatic crane given an "A" suffix, as well as Sam the Semaphore. I'm sure there are other examples.
> 
> Also -- does anyone know what the difference(s) is/are?


Yep... There's actually 3 variations of the 302 that I'm aware of; 4-piece boiler,(cast) 302AC (cast),and the bakelite 302 with bakelite tender... Why?? lol.


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

The point I was trying terribly to make was that they stuck with one item number for all those variations. Why not with the Silver Bullet??

Anybody know the differences between the different Silver Bullet variations?


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Some info ...

Per my post (and link) above, the 354 had knuckle couplers, whereas the two variants of the 356 had link couplers.

TJ


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

tjcruiser said:


> Some info ...
> 
> Per my post (and link) above, the 354 had knuckle couplers, whereas the two variants of the 356 had link couplers.
> 
> TJ


Could be that's the difference.


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## mike costello (Aug 22, 2012)

Nuttin But Flyer said:


> The point I was trying terribly to make was that they stuck with one item number for all those variations. Why not with the Silver Bullet??
> 
> Anybody know the differences between the different Silver Bullet variations?


The 354 Siver Bullet came out in 1954 and was painted silver. In 1953 AF produced the 356 Silver bullet which was chromed. However, the chrome plating process presented problems and AF returned to silver paint. All had link couplers unless converted to knuckle coupler via aftermarket owners. The shells were plastic. Hope this info helps, Mike.


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