Loads, Loads and more Loads

Hi,

Well I recently got a box full loads for n scale cars. They are almost all Hay Brothers and some are finished and some are still raw, meaning they are just the cast resin, no staining of coloring. This is my first dabble into loads so some of the questions may be too simple. My brain is wired for electronics and I am a complete beginner when it comes to painting etc. About all I know is that after it is all done, I need to add a diluted wash of black India ink to bring out the definition of the load.

I have a wide variety of loads from scrap metal, aluminum bales, tires, wood products and gondola loads.

The first question, does the raw resin need a coat of primer first, and if so what is the best to use?

Second question, what is the best coloring products for these, is it paints, powders, stains etc?

Third question, what is the way to hold the loads in the cars? I was thinking a drop of rubber cement so I could change them out, or is it better for a permanent installation?

Thanks for your help!

 

Can't speak to the finishing of the loads, as I haven't got that far yet..........I bought an assortment of "Hay Bros." loads, but mine are pre-finished, so all I did was weather with "Bragdon" powders. (LOVE THEM LOADS!!!!)

I adhered mine with rubber cement, some months back, and so far, perfect adhesion and performance.

 

If the loads are for gondolas, hoppers or ore jennies, they do not need securing. If for flat cars, I have found that they will stay on the cars if you run your freight trains at speeds less than thirty SMPH. Most of my freight trains run at twenty-five SMPH or slower. A few dots of modelling clay might hold the loads on flat cars at speeds above thirty SMPH.

 

dave
soak the resin in bleach for a half hour then scrub with a toothbrush
and dawn soap. This is to get rid of the relase agent,After dry a light
primer coat will stick

 

Wash the loads in warm soapy water to remove any oils. Then dry. Thereafter spray paint with gray auto primer.

 

I use either rubber cement to fasten loads or added thin wire with hooks to the load which fits in the stanchion hole of the flatcars.





These hooks are the easiest to remove the load, but the load is then dedicated to a special car type (here the MTL flat car). Using rubber cement works well if you have a rather large surface between the load and the car. If you use wooden blocks to put the load on, the surface is rather small and I think the hooks are better. Glueing the wire to the wood is not always so easy. I also used scrap parts of brass sheets under the loads.

Thanks for the hints to paint the loads. That's something I have to do, too.

 

Hay Brother Loads Are Junk

 

I like these junk loads very much. The only thing that bothers me is that these massive castings are quite heavy. I have already tried to drill holes in the bottom of the load to reduce the mass.

Another thing I might add to my previous post about fastening loads: Some of my flat cars have magnetic floors caused by a steel weight. In this case I glued small round magnets in holes at the bottom of the load, which fix the loads on the car. This only works when the load is sitting directly on the flat car, without lumber raisers.

 

Thanks for the kind words folks.

A couple of things.....:
--We don't use release agents in our process. So wash em if they are dirty/dusty but that would be the only reason to do so.
--We don't recommend primers.... they just clog up the detail in the castings.
--The vast majority of our loads are sold painted and sealed with Testor's Dullcoat. But to really bring out the textures, detail painting is recommended. We like Model Masters paints, but are finding the cheap water based paints (like a $1 a bottle) from the craft stores are just as good when thinned a little....
--We like the 3M (or similar) poster mounting putty for holding lumber and covered loads to flatcars. It's removable and reusable (to some extent)..... Available at Lowes/Home Depot and Wallys world...

 

Hi Bill

Any chance of some loads for the BLMA gondola?

 

got 3 pipe loads from the Hay boys, very nice, i'll be back for more....thanks

 

Hi James,

We have them available.... but due to some computer issues we are experiencing they are not listed on the website yet.

There are pictures available on the web (ebay) under sellername: haybros