Kit bashed Microtrains heavyweight.

r_i_straw Jan 13, 2014

  1. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    Joe Cox of Austin, Texas was showing off his latest kit bash at the train show in Houston this last weekend.
    [​IMG]
     
  2. Carl Sowell

    Carl Sowell TrainBoard Supporter

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    Joe - Very nice work.

    Russell - Thanks for posting. Joe does some fine work.

    Carl
     
  3. superturbine

    superturbine TrainBoard Member

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    Very NICE!!!!
     
  4. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    What was the starting point for this car? Kato, perhaps?
     
  5. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    OK, Ken, did you read the title to this thread? ;)

    Yeah, its the Microtrains heavyweight observation car with what I think are Kato six wheel trucks off the El Capitain dining car.
     
  6. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yeah. I did, but am doing six different things here, and elsewhere this morning. Got distracted by a phone call and..... Oh well. :(
     
  7. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    Ken, I know how it goes. Getting old ain't for sissies. But the positive side, growing old is a privilege that not everyone is granted.
     
  8. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Getting old is better then the alternative.

    I want one of those kit bashed jobs. Right on the money.
     
  9. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yeah. So true.

    I had a malfunctioning clothes washer ongoing. One of those digital, low water users. Not even four months old, it does not work right, it does not deven clean the clothes. Today it would not even start to wash anything. Trying to re-wire a door bell and switch which has ceased to work. Doing some stuff here on TrainBoard. A phone call. Some days juggling works, other times, yikes.
     
  10. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    Ken, we also have a "water-saving" washer that senses load size by weight and density before deciding how much water to use. I finally gave up operating by the instruction manual after a repairman visit (under warranty) said it was working as designed in accordance with the EPA water-saving regulations.

    I now allow the washer to fill and start washing a load without soap, then shut it off. When I restart it, this time with soap, it now senses a heavy (wet) load and fully fills the tub with water. Haven't had a problem with poorly washed loads since. Water usage is up slightly, but not as much as it would be if we washed loads twice because they didn't get clean the first time.
     
  11. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Hank-

    Darned thing didn't even want to start this morning! Weird. Thanks. I'll try your method. We'd not have bought it, except the old washer had a leak which was cost prohibitive to repair. Otherwise it worked perfectly. :( Kind of defeats the purpose, but so much of this stuff is pie in the sky flaky ideas anyhow.

    And now, back to trains....
     
  12. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    I just slowly pour a couple of cups of water over the dry cloths before I start the cycle. Accomplishes the same thing. OK, back to trains. Here is what I believe Joe used to kit bash the car.
    [​IMG]
     
  13. arbomambo

    arbomambo TrainBoard Member

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    Great job, Joe!...
    and, thanks, Russell, for posting...
    I'm fortunate... Joe was one of the very first people I met when I started up in N scale modelling back in Austin in the 90's.
    he assisted me with all kinds of advice and info concerning detailing n scale locomotives. I owe him a debt of gratitude for his mentoring.... He certainly helped ignite a spark!... Everyone I've met since then has continued to help keep the fire going!
    -Bruce
     
  14. Randy Stahl

    Randy Stahl TrainBoard Supporter

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    Good god Bruce .. he must have been quite the mentor!! from what I've seen your a fine modeler in your own right. Maybe its time for you to become the mentor?? You are certainly qualified !!

    Randy
     
  15. arbomambo

    arbomambo TrainBoard Member

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    Randy,
    thanks and you're too kind....
    Guys like Russell, Otto, and many, many others here are the one's setting the bar I hope to reach..as far as workmanship and accuracy...(if you've ever seen Russell's "Sugarland" Ntrak modules, you'll be blown away!)

    Russell,
    does observation roof fit any of the other MT heavyweights?
    ~Bruce
     
  16. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    It is the same length as the Pullman Sleepers but would need to be modified slightly. It only has one pediment end that fits over the passageway openings to the diaphragms between cars. The one end over the platform has a "ceiling" piece that would have to be removed and the pediment notch then cut into roof.

    This image shows a roof with a typical pediment end. It is the flat top of the vertical end wall that extends up into the roof.
    [​IMG]
     
  17. SPsteam

    SPsteam TrainBoard Member

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    Since the Kato trucks are the clip on variety, what method is used to attach them? I imagine a styrene bolster that can held on with a screw....
     
  18. jcox3751

    jcox3751 TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks Russell for taking the picture.

    The car is a N Scale Enthusiast special run car (http://www.nscaleenthusiast.com/). I believe the geometry car is now sold out.

    Russell is 100% correct on the trucks and MT body on the car.

    Since ATSF had modernized the windows, that feature was important for the look of the car. I chose to use 3D printing to make an insert for the windows. I had a good friend with a end mill help me remove the stock windows and I glued in the new 3D printed windows. I did pre-paint the insert. I was not happy with the tracking of the MT trucks so I replaced them with Kato trucks. I did have to remove material, add a new floor and I did use a screw for the clip on Kato trucks.

    Car now has a source for track pickup for soon to come lights for the end and interior. A new modern roof will finish the Job.

    Thanks for the nice comments

    Joe Cox
    Austin, TX
     
  19. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    Well, because the MT cars use an offset bolster and the Kato trucks have a center bolster over the middle axle, something has to be changed on one or the other. I did not get to see how Joe did it on his car but I like to move the bolster attachment on the car to the center position. This involves building up a new base/pad and drilling a new bolster hole in the car bottom. I then create a special screw or pin to hold the truck in place. It has to have a broad enough flange to cover the snap pins on the Kato truck yet be thin enough to provide clearance for the center axle. There needs to be a short section of cylindrical shaft the right diameter fit between the central tabs. I usually use a brass screw that I turn in my moto tool and file down to the shape I want. You then have to clip the metal contact pins off the side frames to allow clearance for the truck to rotate under the car.
    If you wanted to keep the same bolster position that comes on the MT car you would have to modify the truck with a new bolster hole at the back of the truck opposite the coupler. There is hardly enough material on the truck frame to create a closed bolster hole but if you started with a small hole you could enlarge it gradually until you have a hole with an open side, yet leave enough plastic to wrap around the bolster pin, it might hold the truck in place.

    I suppose if one was inclined, they could try to somehow replicate the bolster pad that Kato uses to hold these trucks on their cars.
    [​IMG]
     

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