F-UnitMad Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, F-UnitMad said: Just had a look at that photo, and WC 21084 may indeed match, but the prototype is a standard height boxcar, not a Hi-cube, 21584 looks like the simplest number change to make... http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=934232 Edit:- IF, of course, I had some WC decals. 🙄 A whole Microscale sheet just for two number '5's..?? If there is a sheet - I haven't looked. Edited February 19, 2023 by F-UnitMad 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickBrad Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 On 02/06/2020 at 11:30, F-UnitMad said: Class 70!!! As per Skipepsi dropping his CF7 to try & improve it's looks, they did the same with 70 012 at the docks, didn't they.... I cannot remember the yard now, but this loco still exists in the US, still banana shped. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted March 5, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 5, 2023 The CF7 still exists too... My memory is so shot I don't know where. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted March 12, 2023 Author Share Posted March 12, 2023 Yet another MTH HiCube joined the fleet this week, this time a BNSF example. No I haven't checked the car number for accuracy, yet... Here it is partway through "The Treatment" - MTH trucks replaced with Atlas roller-bearing trucks, Kadee 740 couplers fitted, and the New Improved Mk2 "Axle Thingies", which is what we've decided over on WT is the technical name for the 3D printed parts that glue on the spindly Atlas axles to look more like the prototype. Theseare Mk2 as they have a slightly bigger bore than the Mk1, so the two halves now glue almost seamlessly over the axle. In other news I've done a bit more tinkering with the Portway Terminal's shoving platform, the ex-Soo Line Caboose. The Soo plated over the side windows of many, if not all, their cabooses over the years, obviously they did as cheap a job as possible and most of the plating rusted badly. I had plated in the windows a while ago, but today had a bit of a go at rusting them with acrylic tube paint, a bit of sponge for stipling effects & a brush. The observant will note that the car has been tagged again. Who is it THIS time??!!! 🙄😠😡🤣🤣 6 5 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Keith Addenbrooke Posted March 12, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 12, 2023 14 minutes ago, F-UnitMad said: The observant will note that the car has been tagged again. Who is it THIS time??!!! 🙄😠😡🤣🤣 If I hang out with you bunch of vandals for much longer I’ll end up grounded 🤪. I do like the Hi-Cube’s though, whatever the numbers, Keith. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted March 12, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 12, 2023 Nice car it is very well done but I wouldn't choose the graffiti myself too much of that in real life. I am also somewhat of a heathen in that I dont worry about wagon numbers too much as long as it looks numbered. I wonder to myself who wants to spend time checking car numbers. Whoops there goes my finescale cred. Don 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted March 16, 2023 Author Share Posted March 16, 2023 On 12/03/2023 at 21:57, Donw said: Nice car it is very well done but I wouldn't choose the graffiti myself too much of that in real life. I appreciate that point of view, and I'm not a fan of graffiti myself. But it does help define the recent Era, that I'm edging my Short Line towards. I'm not going to go overboard with it, but today I haven't helped myself by making this purchase in the arts & craft section of The Range. A set of paint marker pens. £15.00 Being paint markers they work better than normal marker pens on most surfaces especially plastics. These are 'fine' nibs, so should be much easier to use than the fine brush I've done the previous tags with. I had a quick test tonight with one of the colours. Being water based, it also wipes off easily enough, especially when still wet - this is actually the "after" pic once I'd wiped off the test... It isn't to everyone's taste; I've tried to keep what I've done so far on the caboose quite light-hearted, with the User names of some of you good chaps who condescend to follow this Thread and even comment encouragingly on my comedy bodgings. But now I have a feeling there'll be more to come. 😉🙄🤦♂️🤣🤣 1 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Rich_F Posted March 17, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 17, 2023 11 hours ago, F-UnitMad said: I appreciate that point of view, and I'm not a fan of graffiti myself. But it does help define the recent Era, that I'm edging my Short Line towards. I'm not going to go overboard with it, but today I haven't helped myself by making this purchase in the arts & craft section of The Range. A set of paint marker pens. £15.00 Being paint markers they work better than normal marker pens on most surfaces especially plastics. These are 'fine' nibs, so should be much easier to use than the fine brush I've done the previous tags with. I had a quick test tonight with one of the colours. Being water based, it also wipes off easily enough, especially when still wet - this is actually the "after" pic once I'd wiped off the test... It isn't to everyone's taste; I've tried to keep what I've done so far on the caboose quite light-hearted, with the User names of some of you good chaps who condescend to follow this Thread and even comment encouragingly on my comedy bodgings. But now I have a feeling there'll be more to come. 😉🙄🤦♂️🤣🤣 I don't like the concept of tagging stuff, but I will admit the artwork is fantastic on some US freight cars! I have a couple in my drawer that are canvasses for all sorts of experiments with decals, paint pens & pastels. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 (edited) On 08/02/2023 at 20:58, F-UnitMad said: Sorry for the recent lack of updates; there is some work 'in progress' involving the aforementioned Atlas F9 I didn't know I wanted, will post something soon. In the meantime I found this model railroad on YouTube.... It took me a few listens to work out he wasn't saying 'For more than four decades, aggressive virgins of the HO scale Sue Line railroad have been entertaining operators' at 1:06 Edited March 17, 2023 by Talltim 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted March 20, 2023 Author Share Posted March 20, 2023 Little bits of progress continue as & when I get chance. I have made a start on the infamous "£8:50" Soo Line boxcar kit that I got at the G.O.G. Stafford event... It wasn't £8:50, of course, but some 'creative accounting' with a felt tip pen was carried out in case of Interrogation by the Household Authority when I got home. The resin kit boxcar is taking shape. I like the way the castings have tried to replicate the rippled body panels. I have also lettered the Portway Terminal's heritage coach, using Woodland Scenics dry-rub lettering, sheet #DT506 RR-Roman white. Also, remedial work has taken place on the track in the Transload yard. The Atlas Plymouths were stalling almost as soon as they got on the inset section, even though both rails were clear and clean. Even the RS3 was struggling. Closer inspection showed that the plaster to the one side was sloping up away from the rail, lifting the wheels clear of the rails. I must not have smoothed the plaster skim away from the rail properly. A good scrape with a wide chisel has done the job, and I also dug out the flangways a bit more to make sure the wheels weren't being lifted up that way either. The locos all now traverse this section without incident, the plaster just needs staining to blend back in to the rest of the surface. 10 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted March 21, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 21, 2023 A lucky find at that price then 😏 Don 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted March 21, 2023 Author Share Posted March 21, 2023 2 hours ago, Donw said: A lucky find at that price then 😏 Don Even the actual price of £85* - whilst rather higher than I would usually countenance - was actually not that bad for that kit, which IIRC was around the $140 mark in the USA, so plus shipping & VAT for getting it to the UK pushed that up even further. Obviously somebody must've paid it!! Clinching my decision was that it is a specific Soo Line-designed & built boxcar type, so it edges itself into "must have" territory. So although I realise Don's comment was tongue-in-cheek, it was, in fact, still a lucky find!! 😉👍 * The Atlas trucks included in the kit would account for about £25 - £30 of the cost. I just checked the Gaugemaster website, where their price is an eye-watering £49 a pair!! 😱 ...but then Gaugemaster always seem to charge full RRP, and have hiked their prices massively in recent months. An Atlas Depot kit that was £73 on their ebay shop last year is now £105. 🙄🤦♂️ 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted March 21, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 21, 2023 (edited) Tongue in Check yes but I did think £85 quid was lower than you would have paid brand new. Mike Stanley used to do the Executor job for the guild. He was assessing the value of someones collection and realised his window didn't seem pleased at the high valuation he was putting on a lot of his stuff. He also became aware that a lot of furniture etc was looking rather shabby and realised he had spent a lot on trains and perhaps had been rather tight elsewhere. Personally I think dont quibble with what your wife spends and then she can hardly complain at what you spend. Mind you I am lucky she doesn't buy designer gear just lots of plants. Don Edited March 21, 2023 by Donw 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Rich_F Posted March 23, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 05/03/2023 at 19:07, skipepsi said: The CF7 still exists too... My memory is so shot I don't know where. York Rail #1500. Last one in regular freight service I'm led to believe. https://www.thedieselshop.us/York.HTML 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 6 hours ago, Weeny Works said: York Rail #1500. Last one in regular freight service I'm led to believe. https://www.thedieselshop.us/York.HTML Last one for York Rail? They had two others as well. Or last one in the whole USA? #1500 was the last rebuilt CF7 as far as I know, in 1978. Work progresses on the Soo Line 7-post boxcar... Underframe is detailed -which involved a little bit of guesswork as the instructions/photos were small & presupposed an intimate familiarity with the underside of boxcars that I am sadly lacking, & painted which hides it all anyway.... 🙄 Note painted truck wheels & axles, with Mk2 Thingies in place!! (cheers Rob!!) 😉👍 End details are mostly in place, the etched nickel-silver treadplates will be fitted over the couplers after painting, as will the door roller bars. Ride height is good although some work was done on the bolsters to lower it. Even then the couplers needed plasticard shims to get them at the right height, but we're getting there. It'll soon be time to make a ham-fisted attempt at painting, lettering, and - as is my usual bad habit - weathering just on one side.... 🙄🤦♂️🤣🤣 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixionmodels Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 (edited) Further to my question of a while back about O scale availability in the UK, I thought I'd share what happened then. Just as I had decided it was too hard to find US O scale things anywhere, let alone at home here in Australia, a gent named Chris Corton appeared on a Facebook group I'm a member of with a ton of contemporary US O models to sell. His collection was huge, by my standards. I picked up a Reading Lines MP15 and a Vermont Railway GP60, both Atlas O DCC & Sound fitted for AUD $500 and $800 respectively, plus a corn syrup tank car from the same manufacturer for $120. A chance find of four older 40' & 50' boxcars at AUD$25 each has seen my 5' x 2'6" micro fully stocked! Chris is only getting to some of his collection each week, so there's more to come. I don't know if he would ship to the UK but you could ask him if any of his collection appeals. The Facebook group is called "Aussie Larger Scale Model Train Trading Post", and if you join you could scroll back and see what's already been posted. I've posted some pics of what I bought, plus other photos he sent me of the collection, to whet your appetites... I'll have to add the pics over a few posts as there are so many. Enjoy! Edited March 24, 2023 by ixionmodels 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixionmodels Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 And more pics of Chris' collection which will all be for sale. (See my previous post.) Road trucks and track has started to appear in his recent posts. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixionmodels Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 (edited) I co-own two companies, Ixion Model Railways (which you might have heard of), and West Edge 3D (which you probably haven't) 😀. The latter has recently produced these North American loco crew figures, which are made from our own colour scans and printed in full colour on our Stratasys J55 colour polyjet printer. No painting required! They will look good on my shortline cameo layout alongside the MP15 and the GP60. We can print them in any scale, and orders from HO modellers in the USA have been particularly strong. You can see them and more at www.westedge3d.com.au/shop. PS - I know the second Reading MP15 is sold - sorry! Cheers from Oz, Lindsay. Edited March 25, 2023 by ixionmodels Extra photos 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted March 24, 2023 Author Share Posted March 24, 2023 That's quite a collection! I like the Brenner road tanker rig, very well detailed. I suspect prices might be a bit higher than in the UK, the $120AS equates to about £65, & the $800AS GP60 to about £435, so not much in it to be fair. I suspect shipping to UK could be a fair bit, and no idea if VAT would have to be added for a private sale, as opposed to from a Retailer, but it probably would be, the same as a lot of purchases from the USA via ebay. Your 3D printed figures suddenly make ModelU look like old technology!! VERY nice!! I can't see the figures you posted above on your website though? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixionmodels Posted March 24, 2023 Share Posted March 24, 2023 3 hours ago, F-UnitMad said: Your 3D printed figures suddenly make ModelU look like old technology!! VERY nice!! I can't see the figures you posted above on your website though? The American loco crew figures are the first two sets on this page: https://westedge3d.com.au/shop/ (American Loco Crew 1 and American Loco Crew 2.) Click on one, and you'll find a drop-down menu showing all the readily available scales and the relevant price for the chosen scale. Postage options are shown in the checkout. We can also print in any custom scale, like 1:24 or 1:64 - we're jolly helpful and flexible chaps. 😀 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted May 28, 2023 Author Share Posted May 28, 2023 Welcome back everyone, long time no update, to the extent that I'd quite forgotten about the last few posts above!!! No update because not much has been done - Life, The Universe & Everything toblame as usual, but last week I accepted an invitation from Sir Northroader (a.k.a. Bob) of this Parish, and I'm very privledged to be the new custodian of - amongst other things - Bob's U.S. buildings from his Englefield layout. They will fit right in to my own layout. They're just placed in position for now. The Portway Terminal Railroad has a 'new' Depot. "North Bend" is now renamed - I will keep the Englefield name in honour of Bob & in memory of his cracking minimum-space U.S. O layout... All pretenses of 'perspective' modelling are being swept away, with the removal pf the last HO buildings from the layout. The Walthers HO Elevator is replaced by Bob's Feed & Seed mill. As this is located at Portway Center, I really need to rename it. But Bob's hand painted lettering is amazing & would be tough to copy. Downtown Portway (which was never too convincing) has been replaced by the lumber Factory. Sorry Bob, but that name will have to go - that pun is terrible!!!! 🤣 There is also the slight dilemma of which way round to position it..... I think I prefer it this way to the backscene. Any thoughts, anyone? Once again, Thanks, Bob!! 👍👍🙂🙂 7 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Moxy Posted May 28, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 28, 2023 16 minutes ago, F-UnitMad said: Downtown Portway (which was never too convincing) has been replaced by the lumber Factory. Sorry Bob, but that name will have to go - that pun is terrible!!!! 🤣 There is also the slight dilemma of which way round to position it..... I think I prefer it this way to the backscene. Any thoughts, anyone? Once again, Thanks, Bob!! 👍👍🙂🙂 Definitely second way round, IMO. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Northroader Posted May 28, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 28, 2023 (edited) The one snag about the second way round is that the arrangement for supporting the chimney was never intended for public viewing, as being a bit of a blacksmith’s job, so was always tucked away in the corner. I think they do come over better than the HO buildings. I’m thinking with all the changes, I might need to start a new American thread. Anyway, glad you’re enjoying them. Bob. Edited May 28, 2023 by Northroader 3 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted May 28, 2023 Author Share Posted May 28, 2023 59 minutes ago, Northroader said: The one snag about the second way round is that the arrangement for supporting the chimney was never intended for public viewing, as being a bit of a blacksmith’s job, so was always tucked away in the corner. Nothing the Portway Bodgers - erm, I mean Camouflage Department can't deal with, I'm sure. 🤣👍 2 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted May 28, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 28, 2023 I think it helps not having the chimney so close to the ceiling. The buildings look quite at home. Don 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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