clear styrene rod bent up to 90 degrees in an "L" that goes in a hole in the bottom of the car and a hole in the backdrop
Hot glue a 6mm rare earth magnet to the passenger door. Take a second 6mm rare earth magnet behind the backdrop...and 'click' the car to it from the front. No holes in the background...no fancy 'L' brackets. Car can be put anywhere on the background and the magnet can be easily removed from the car if need be ! I have some of those really small rare earth magnets I can mail to you Richard...JS . JMO....
Time for a sob story, small rant, pet peeve, shortcoming, or whatever you may chose to call it. You are warned to tune out now but come on, at this point you know you are hooked. Well, at least i would be anyway. Several years ago (maybe 20 or so) I picked up some of the old Atlas passenger cars in the SP daylight scheme. Since then they have ridden the rails on the factory Atlas trucks and Unimate couplers. I really do like these cars so during the year we don't speak of, I ordered a few sets of M/T 4 wheel passenger trucks with couplers to begin updating these cars finally. It's rare that I don't like something about an M/T product but one is having to attach the coupler to the truck on these. As recently as 20 years ago it wasn't a big deal but now my fingers are bigger and not as stable so I found that I just couldn't get those tiny screws started anymore so back in the package and onto the parts peg board they went. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when a fellow TB member posted about some tweezers that fit the bill for my problem. I spent some time debating getting them because sometimes I can be cheap and the shipping was more than the tweezers but I finally bit the bullet and ordered them. They arrived Friday evening and I was excited to head down to the work bench Saturday and get started on those passenger car trucks. When I got to the workbench, I grabbed the package that I tried before to start with. Last time I had it out, everything was in good shape and it's been hanging on my parts pegboard ever since. Upon opening it, I found one of the couplers had blown apart. Ouch and not good Oh well, that one is toast and moved on to the other coupler. I fiddled and fiddled and it took me a bit but with the new tweezers, I got that tiny screw started. Then I picked up my small screwdriver and started tightening the screw. Just as I finished, disaster struck. This coupler fell apart. No idea why it did that, I am 99% sure I didn't bump it or hit it at all. I buy these couplers assembled because I have never once been able to assemble a M/T coupler from a kit, never. I have immense respect for those that can and do. So now what..... all the parts back in the package and it went back on the peg board hanger. I shouldn't have let it but it did get to me. I turned off the lights walked out of the train room and went back upstairs. Thinking now that I probably left a half full cup of coffee behind as well. Very fustrating. M/T makes great stuff and I know they probably have their reasons for not selling these 4 and 6 wheel trucks with the coupler assembly already attached (probably the cost to do it) but wow do I really wish they came assembled so that all you really had to do was loosed the screw to adjust the length of the coupler. Looks like my SP Atlas passenger cars will retain their Unimate couplers for a while longer. Just don't see myself revisiting this again any time soon................
You mean Accumates. So they say but I have never experienced one doing that myself. Ok, now that I've said that...
Wait? What? I didn't type that wrong or I'm blind enough I can't see it. Cars actually came with horn hook couplers which were immediately changed to Unimate couplers so they would at least work with other knuckle style coupled. If I said it wrong then oops and sorry but I meant that in the process of trying to add M/T's, the M/T's fell apart. Accumates are another story for another time.
That's a combo DVD/VCR recorder and player. Old school stuff. Oh, and the silver land line cordless phone and the On Air sign on top of the TV
Having recently installed m/t four wheel and six wheel passenger trucks on seven passenger cars (six rivarossi and one concor) I understand your frustration. My magnifying headset helped me a lot, but obviously at 45, my hands still work normally. Not looking forward to when that starts going. A trick I found can help is to use some masking tape, doubling it up to make double sided tape, and stick the truck/coupler down. Leaves your hands free to mess with the screw. For the coupler explosion, all I can say is the curved needle tweezers help me a lot, but that spring is really tricky. I celebrate each one I manage to assemble!
Just for clarification. Unimates are one piece couplers which were made by Caboose Industries but was bought out by Fox Valley Models a few years ago. Since it's one piece, it really can't explode. You would remove the Rapido coupler horn, keeping the spring, and insert the Unimate. No self coupling or uncoupling but once coupled it ain't letting go!
I use a hobby knife with a plain, ol' #11 blade to handle the spring. As if to slice it, place your blade approximately in the middle of the spring, and press down slightly to "seat" the spring around the blade. Insert one end into the coupler box, compress into one end sufficiently to slide the opposite end into the box, cover and press down with your thumb, remove blade, and place your coupler box lid. I bought the MT coupler tweezers, and that helps keep the works together while placing the spring.
I use two knives. One holds and compresses the spring and the other hopefully keeps the spring from flying away.... I've had good success with the simple jig shown above but since I have a 3D printer... I designed and printed the one above. It and the wood block work great but for the .... ....occasional spring or other part that wants to leave the work area I use the bib above when I remember to put it on 'before' the part takes off. More on using both models ( HERE ) along with a link to the print files. Sumner
