Hey all. So I am growing tired of waiting for the cars for my Via Kato P42's I bet will never come! I am thinking about undertaking my first kitbash, making these cars? Has anybody done them before? What would you recommend as a good starting car for these? Any help or thoughts would be appreciated!
Seeing as these cars were originally built for the Eurostar sleeper, logic would suggest the Kato 4 Car Add-on Set for the Eurostar. But IIRC they're articulated units but I don't know if the Renaissance cars are. Chances of finding the add-on set? Slim to Remote.
Josh, I have much more than an idea for you... I have THE solution.... I'm at work but i'll post pics of my renaissance cars today... You won't be disapointed....
Ok you have my attention too! I was looking at Graham Farrish MK3 coaches which have the closest resemblances...but that's a stretch.
I too have a Kato P42 awaiting coaches. Does Via not also run the P42's with corrugated coaches? Could we not use ConCor coaches or Kato corrugated coaches decorated for VIA? Does VIA not run the old LRC cars with the P42? Some options maybe . Maybe I must try some car modifications. Any comments? Dave B. PAT Montreal
Yes they do although it's somewhat rare. usually the older units handle the lightweight equipment in the corrador while the P units have ren equipment..... but nothing is "locked in stone" with VIA Rail.
We rarely see Renaissance cars on the Toronto Montreal corridor, they run east mostly towards the Atlantic provinces. The three trains I waited for today in Coteau-Du-Lac, Quebec were 2 Ps with LRC coaches and one corrugated. I rarely ever see Renaissance cars on the CN line except for once in a while on the CP line running towards Ottawa. Cheers Adam
They are rare; I have, however; been in two Ren cars since January on the Coubourg-Dorval run (Tor-Mont)....Mostly Budd's or LRC's.....I took the Ocean twice and had Ren's... pity; I prefer the Budd's........
Folks, Here's the solution. It's not as good as factory painted cars but it's fairely good. The cars used for the Renaissance fleet (ex-starnight) are UK type MK4 coaches. Graham Farishe makes some in N scale. http://www.electrarailwaygraphics.co.uk/ Makes some stickers (YES, stickers !!!) to fit the MK4's and they have just released some renaissance stickers a few month ago. Here's the idea : - get some Mk4's in UK. - Strip them. They're made of clear plastic so no problem with windows positioning. - get some Renaissance stickers and apply them on the sides. the windows are pre-cut. and voilà !!! Pros and cons : Pros: Only easy solution to get what you want. nice looking cars no need to think about windows size, and positions. 4 type of cars available (sleeper, seating, service and bagage car) Cons : Graham farish cars are VERY lihgt. Graham farish cars are built at 1:148... stightly too big! you'll have to convert all the cars to knuckle coupling. first sticker release did not had stikers for the rear of cars (i've asked Adam at electrarailwaygraphics to add this part to his future release) No 3D details. It's all printed ! Here are some pictures of the cars i've done so far (much more on order) I've also asked Adam at electrarailwaygraphics to do a special TELUS Wi-Fi "On line on Board" car but have no answer at the moment. If you have any other questions... Ask:thumbs_up::tb-biggrin:
some more pictures : You can see on this last picture that due to the small oversize of the MK4 coach there's no height difference between the P42 and the coaches... for the moment i've mounted a rapido coupler on the P42 for testing...
Nice job! I was hoping that Rapido trains would do an n scale of their LRC cars. Unfortunately they told me that they have a lot on their plate and it would be awhile before they could do such a thing. Dave B. PAT Montreal
Thanks Bourkinafasso for those pictures! I am very temped to get them. So how much is the set? I am a little confused about the price list. Also, where is the cheapest online store that sells MK4 coaches?
Try Hattons in the UK. They have them in the GNER scheme for GBP7.50 a piece inclusive of VAT. Take the VAT off and that saved will cover the shipping.
I paid 18£ for a set of four cars + 2£ for S&H. concerning the cars, as gary wrote it's Hatton's that as the best prices ! When you strip the cars be very careful with the striper as it may attack the clear plastic. You need to keep the plastic as clear as possible, You don't want the windows to be blurry...:tb-wacky:
Thanks for all the help guys! I will look into getting myself some of those MK4 cars. Instead of stickers I would like to paint them. Also, yes Via does use P42's to pull LRC and Budd cars, but LRC's are not made yet, and budd cars aren't available from anyone besides con-cor. I'll let you know how the MK4's are if I get them!
Josh, If you'd like to paint the MK4's once they're stripped remember that the windows are not removable. The car body is made of a single piece of clear plastic. You'll have to protect the car body with some kind of adhesive strip for EVERY SINGLE window...:tb-wacky:
:thumbs_up: LOL !!!¨ Any paint stripper will do ! For my first car, I decided to drop the car in a full glass of striper. 15 minutes later, the paint came of VERY VERY well and quickly. Then i realised that some liquid was in the shell.. I wasn't able to open the car (it's a one piece shell). So i had to wait for the stripper to dry inside:ru-confused:. The liquid did a good job on the clear plastic... the plastic wasn't clear anymore...:thumbs_down: You can imagine how the windows looked when i applied the sticker... I now suggest to dip a smooth tooth brush or a Q-tip in the stripper and very gentely remove the paint. Once the paint comes of, dry the plastic with a paper towel. I takes some time but the result is good. If you paint the cars, you'll have to behave the same ! and prepare enough windows covers (masking tape cutting...) for each windows. You will also have to place them correctly on the car....:tb-sad:
