The Enduring Popularity of Lionel Trains

When Joshua Lionel Cowen started his business of building Lionel trains as model toys for children and adults all over the world, his aim was twofold. As these toy trains and each Lionel trains set were targeted primarily at young boys, his first aim was to provide a medium for both father and son everywhere to form a relationship and communicate through the time spent together building and playing with model train sets. It has always been well documented throughout history that males bond well together through common activity, and as toy trains hold a global appeal for males of all ages, it was a great way to achieve this objective. The second objective was to show people everywhere the kind of careful detail and ingenious invention that went into these post war American trains, which were a testament to the leap in innovation and invention from the country during its formative years.

During that time, trains were also one of the premier methods of travel, especially over long distances. With that came huge coverage and media interest in everything about trains. Cowen decided to leverage on that, as well as his own passion in the subject, to produce toy trains of such detail and quality that they quickly became popular with children and men of all ages, and were often a favorite choice as gifts. Lionel trains sets also became the choice for collectors and it was often that you would see individuals from that time who had amassed huge personal collections of toy trains which primarily consisted of Lionel prewar trains, which were a popular choice.

Till now, you can often find someone making a Lionel trains purchase as the continued passion in collecting of toy trains and railroad model paraphernalia remains strong, especially in the United States. This is entirely expected with the long and fabled history of the mode of transport which reached its height of strength in post war America. Despite the advancement of technology which has resulted in high tech trains that can now travel at supersonic speeds or speeds which easily overshadows their aged counterparts, there remains an affinity amongst collectors for the antique designs of both prewar and postwar Lionel trains. Part of this is due to the mystique which lends itself to the highly detailed craftsmanship that was invested in building those model toy trains, which was the result of Cowen constantly hiring skilled model locomotive builders who spent long hours making sure that the replicas were true to the original designs.

Along with the consistent number of model railroad collectors worldwide, the tradition of toy train collecting also continues to be spread down from generation to generation. The fact that these toys still hold a fascination with men of all ages and diverse backgrounds, lend them to being timeless mediums for bonding between family members. It is quite a sight to behold when a railroad set is completed and a toy train is seen chugging along the tracks with both father and son, or sometimes the entire family, smiling and cheering on their efforts. With other accessories including scenic landscapes that come with these railroad sets, it is not difficult to understand why Lionel trains remain close to the hearts of train collectors everywhere in the world.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/hobbies-articles/the-enduring-popularity-of-lionel-trains-386916.html

About the Author:

Greg Howard is a collector of Lionel trains set and often provides insights on making your Lionel trains purchase. For more info on Lionel model train sets, please visit Greg's site.

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A Look at the Hulk Vs Marvel Universe Gods: Hulk Vs Hercules

We've seen the headlines: Hulk vs Superman, Hulk vs Wolverine, Hulk vs the Thing, and, basically, Hulk vs other superheroes. Classics that piqued our imagination. Who's the strongest? Who's the best fighter? Who'll win?

Time and time again the Hulk has proven that he's more than a match to most, if not all, super heroes. But how does he fair against gods? Lucky for us, there are two gods in the Marvel comic book universe, one from Olympus and one from Asgard, who walk among mortals and they've scuffled with the Hulk on a few occassions.

Let's take a look at some of these matchups between Marvel powerhouses:

HULK vs HERCULES

Only a handful of characters symbolize strength. Throughout history, no one is more famous for strength than the Greek demigod, Hercules. His feats of strength, the 12 Labors of Hercules, are passed down from generations to generations. In the Marvel universe, however, Hercules, an immortal from Mt. Olympus, has had to contend with other powerful beings to earn the title of "The Strongest". And he doesn't always win.

Indeed, the Hulk and Hercules have met in various issues with mixed outcomes:

- AVENGERS #267. Comic book fans first saw the Hulk and Hercules battle it out in Avengers No 267. In this issue, Hercules and the Avengers were trapped in limbo by their nemesis, Kang. Upon their first arrival, the Incredible Hulk came out of nowhere to attack the Avengers. Hercules stepped up and delivered a single knockout blow to the Hulk. Puzzled over the quick outcome, after examining the unconscious giant, the Avengers concluded that the Hulk was under a trance which rendered him less of his usual threat. And then the Hulk faded away into thin air. source: The Big DataBase of Comic Books (comics-db.com)

Perhaps Avengers 267 should not count as an encounter, but it nevertheless gave comic book fans a sneak peek of future fights featuring Hulk vs Hercules.

- HULK #316. Many Hulk and Avengers fan still remember the big clash in Hulk No 316 when the Banner-less, rampaging Hulk took on four Avengers, namely Iron Man, Wonder Man, Namor and Hercules. The fight was interrupted by Doc Samson who felt responsible for removing Bruce Banner from the Hulk in the first place. source: LeadersLair.com

- HULK-HERCULES UNLEASHED. If you're a Hulk fan, you'll thoroughly enjoy this one. After the superheroes went missing because of Onslaught, Hercules tried to convince the Hulk, the lone survivor, in helping to find the other heroes. Hulk was not in the mood and a brawl ensued. Hercules was beaten so bad that he would have died had Zeus not intervened to save him.

Hulk and Hercules have scuffled in a handful of other issues. The latest being HULK VS. HERCULES: WHEN TITANS CLASH published on April 2008.

The complete article can be viewed at Planet Comic Book Radio. It includes part two listing Hulk vs Thor with pictures of cover pages and comic strip panels.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/literature--articles/a-look-at-the-hulk-vs-marvel-universe-gods-hulk-vs-hercules-474600.html

About the Author:

Planet Comic Book Radio is a weekly talkshow and blog on everything comic books.

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