MMI and B-man are completely different categories. MMI is essentially the same level of detail as a $1000+ brass import...for around $400. Not all brass models are perfect either. Many Rio Grande fans want a level of road # specific details which are not possible for B-man to come close to offering. They are apples and oranges.
Tender work 1 I started to work on those problems of the tender. It turned out MMI or their manufacturer put in some extra problems! For one, there is a most inconvenient position of two of the screws that need to be loosened to get the body off from the base. The rerail frogs attached to the sides partly cover the screws with the inside portion of the attachment. Thus one needs to grind away parts of those protrusions first. Everybody who wants to install a speaker must do this. In addition, one of those screws would not loosen up. From the looks of its head, there was already a problem when they tightened it. I had to drill its head off to get things undone. At least I then managed to unscrew the rest. There is no easy way to get the wire below the bottom of the base. My solution was to drill and then widen a hole in the bottom plate and a second one into the front cover of that plate. One has to best remove it for this. See the attached pictures. The holes need to be wide enough for the connecting plug. I also filed the misshapen back plate of the coal compartment into what seems right for my model. See the before and after pictures attached as well. I selected the shape following one of John West's fine pictures. But there were obviously various shapes; just not the one the model comes with, it seems.
Yikes! Major work just to get access. What did you decide, for correcting that light lens? Boxcab E50
I decided to try to paint the rim black. I have very fine (00 and 000) paint brushes, so I hope I will be able to do a decent job eventually. But I need to be in the right mood and nobody around when I do something like that.
You're doing enough of a disassembly, I think you should get yourself one of these... They are something like 5 for the price of a single Berlyn version of the car ;-)
I have one of the expensive Berlyn ones, but the couplers are way too high up. Any suggestions what to do? Are the Grandt Line models OK regarding coupler height? At this point, I'm not into assembling lots of cars. I used to do HO scale Intermountain models when their cylindrical covered hoppers were only available as kits. At the beginning, it must have been one car a day, later I assembled some in series which made it a bit faster. But doing around 25 of these cars stilled my hunger for car or any other kits for a while. And I'm still reluctant to get back into it. Though I recently bought two HOn3 PSC plastic kits, hoping to rekindle some hunger, so to speak.
Yes, the coupler height is fine. I have one which my dad built around the time I was born. I'd love to build a string of them. They offer both 700 and 800 series cars. Grandt rolling stock and locos Would you post a picture of the Berlyn so we can see what is wrong? Possibly installing an HO Kadee or a coupler pad would do the trick.
Here are two pictures. They show the difference and the fixed coupler pocket on the Berlyn model. The provided Kadee coupler assembly fits in there but it results in the non-standard height. I'd hate to do too much altering on the expensive model which is why I have not done anything yet. If I try to adjust the height by reducing the distance between the trucks and the body, the trucks can't turn any more. That massive center beam is a rather effective block.
I have Sloan's article in the Gazette on those cars and I'll check it. I can also post pictures of my car....which does mate fine with my other cars.
I have the first edition of the book by Sloan (A Century + Ten of NG Freigt Cars..) which may contain similar info? It would be of particular interest, however, if he said anything on models.
Yes, it's like if the gondola had been built to a different scale. I have also been thinking about using smaller wheels. But they would have to be so much smaller that they would look strange.
I have the folio in front of me...from Rob Sloan's piece in the Jan/Feb Gazette, 1982. The floor height should be 38 3/16" above the top of the rail. I believe that the center of the coupler should be 26.5" above the top of the rail. The top of the side should be 6'6.25" above the rail. The wheels are 26".
Improved looks of that backup light Well, I was actually not alone in the house, but the mood was right. So I decided to give that lens a try. And I think it really does look much better now. Needless to say I needed a magnifying system similar to an Optivisor. And I happened to have a brand new 000 paintbrush. The dirt on the lens is on the inside, but originals were hardly ever clean anyway. The doghouse is not back on yet, but the coal load can be seen in the background, including some "spilled" in the corners on this side of that rounded back board .
Thanks John! Yes I'm very pleased to have got this done with such a nice result. In hindsight, I could even say it was easy. But as I said before, I have to be in the right mood for such delicate stuff.
I understand about that...too many times I have tried to force myself to something delicate or intense when not in the mood and the result is never good!
