Well, I know that was Benny Hill, but isn't the song called yackty sacks? or something like that?????
Toby, Well on the 3 coaches and the business car. I left the "loop" part as is and removed the "hook" it has 2 holes in it so I cut the back half off and put the front hole over the back hole tab. This gets them close coupled enough that they will still go around curves. For my 3 baggage cars I had to modify both ends by shortening up the hook and loops. The front baggage car has a MT 905 coupler and the rear of the business car has one as well. I could of put working couplers on everything, but this set would not really be switched around. So to save some time and a little money I worked with what was there. Oh did I mention that I lowered all of the cars about 6 Z inches. I put a metal plate on top of the trucks while I filed the bolster(?) down level with the metal. This way all trucks were level and the same height.
It's diecast metal. So a hack job is not an option, at least for most of us. (I wanted to have a go at making an FA out of one.)
I still have some work to do like getting the glass in and painting the undersides, but here are some quick pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/ErieChris333/Models/photo#5099424306600874066 http://picasaweb.google.com/ErieChris333/Models/photo#5099424362435448930 I gotta put a mail catcher on the RPO too : )
Yikes, I was expecting good, or maybe even really good. What you did was great! I would place bets most people would not think it was Z; some might not believe it.
Unbelievable... I just hope mine come out halfway close. I've got them stripped and the holes filled. I just haven't had time to get to the trucks and paint...
I printed those decals! Bah! I printed them exactly, precisely, to the measurements given, with the font recommended. What's wrong with them Mike?
I did overlay the lettering into my CAD drawings for etchings and thought it was the right size, so if that is wrong it is my fault. I still think they are sweet! I think their biggest downfall is that roof vents that would be hard to remove so I lived with them. Robert's truck inserts keep them rolling. The whole thing took some time, but I am happy with the result. If I wasn't trying to catch the last few weeks of summer they would be done already.
Heh, they are almost exactly N scale, so I assumed they were straight off a Microscale sheet. Sorry! Here's a later two-tone car, but the lettering is the same size. Notice how "ERIE" fits in the letter board, and notice how "RAILWAY EXPRESS AGENCY ###" fits between the beltrail and the bottom of the car with some room to spare. If they were 2/3rds - 3/4ths as large, they'd be about perfect. I've done my share of passenger modeling, so it just jumped out when I opened the photos.
