Very Nice Indeed! I sure wish that I had the nice long curves to accomodate them! They would probably hang over a "bit" on my real sharp radii turns! Russ
This is way too bizaar! I was just going to e-mail Alan tonight to see what the status was on this project (we had discussed this quite some time ago, at which time I also sent prototype photos of one of these odd units). I was also just looking at some AC channel side flat kits today to see what it would take to retro-in that bulge. But BAMM! Here they are! Way to go, Alan! Russ
About those curves? How tight will these handle? The trailers are in the making by deluxe from what I here. These sure give another reason to spend more money in the old country! Keep up the good work! Bryan
Thanks fellas, and particularly thanks Russ for the photos you sent, they helped a lot during the patternmaking. The "bulge" is slightly wider than scale, to allow a bit more clearance on our tighter than scale curves. I run these around my 12" curves, which is a bit too tight visually, but they run fine and I like 'em Obviously they look better on wider curves, say 15" - 18". Forgot to mention that Russ's photos show that some are fitted with rub rails inside the wheels area of the bulge, but these would best be fitted if desired, after testing on curves with a trailer, to set the optimum distances. [ 15 April 2002, 07:46: Message edited by: Alan ]
Glad to hear the photos were of assistance, Alan ! For those who may be wondering what the red striped area is for (as on Alan's car), it's a landing gear warning area. Should the loader fail to raise the middle trailer's landing gear, it would scrape back and forth on the deck as the car rounded curves, damaging the trailer and the car. The prototype warning label states the "landing gear must be raised above the sidesill" (it would sure have to be a tight curve for the landing gear to contact a sidesill! ). Anyway, this warning zone is included on Microscale 60-747 (Alan lists sutable decals on his site). Also, Alan, what would do you use for rubrail material? I will probably want to add these since I have 20" min curves, and I think they would help to center the trailer once out of the curves. Russ
I would use small brass angle for rub rails, gluing them with CA. Place the flat side of the angle brass pointing toward the center of the car. Glue down with CA. The red stripes are less common than black & white stripes in the trailer landing gear area. There is an article on how to build these in HO scale in an article of Mainline Modeler. The article was reprinted in the book "Intermodal Modelers Guide" Question for Alan, will these cars be supplied with drawbars? I had trouble making a drawbar for my long runners. If so, will the drawbars be avaiable as a seperate part? Brian
Brian, I agree with fine brass angle for the rub rails, and yes, I really should do something about providing drawbars. I guess etched ones would be best, and they could be made available for retro-fitting. Trouble is they would need to be much thicker material than other etches I am having made, so would need a seperate tool, with the associated cost, although a lot could be put on a sheet
To shorten the radius, you might try putting a pivoting piece in the trailer wheels, were it cannot be seen by people. That might help in smoother turns, too. They sure do look nice!
I need to correct my earlier post that stated Microscale #60-747 has the red striping. It's actually 60-579. Both these sheets have decals for varying "long runners" though. #60-579 only has the old "TT" logo, so both may be needed depending on what's wanted. Brian, you're right on the black striping being more common...but I think only on non-"bulge", channel-side units. I did one of these units and made a black and white copy of the red and white decal on a piece of blank decal paper (actually, the white area was painted first then the clear and black decal was applied over it). Came out quite well This model can be seen in the "customer photos" section of Alan's site Russ
