All, Just received my first two E&D ACF 2 bay hopper. Any tips, hints and pitfalls regarding assembly are more than welcome! Regards, Frank
hi frank, these are great kits. i have a few tips to pass on, since you asked. first, that you center the sides with the ends as you attach them. you will find that there is a slight overhang once the sides are attached. for a better fit of the end rails, it is good that you CAREFULLY sand or file the ends so the sides are flush with the ends. because the etched end rails go against them, they will be more secure (with less glue) if they touch cleanly from top to bottom. second, think 4 times before you bend the end rails! there is a right and wrong way to bend them. ladders on the left, but don't bend two lefts or two rights! especially with the new stainless endrails that have the platform that over hangs the couplers. they will tend a bend once, but probably not twice. so think through this carefully. third, and MOST IMPORTANT -- MAKE SURE THE BOTTOM OF THE END RAILS (with the coupler step that overhangs) is FLUSH with the bottom of the base/floor. if the endrails hang below the floor then your couplers will be impared and the trucks will not swivel or may not sit level (that leads to derailments). as long as there is a clean, clear bottom surface at both ends your trucks/couplers will swing nicely and fit properly. it's not easy to file these down if not done right to begin with. believe me! so, in my opinion, it all comes down to attaching the end rails right. that will make or break your model. have fun, these are just superb kits and a great value! forth, use thick CA with a little on a tooth pick to attach the roof grate. i start with the center two (on both sides) and when fit, centered and stuck then move a couple at a time outwards. the roof walk grates can be tricky. thick CA gives you a minute to manuever them. work slowly and patiently. oh ... one other thing: use a tiny square of styrene under the brake wheel to set it off from the end rails. this is a recommendation from E&D models. be sure the brake wheel goes on the end where you attached the brake details. ok, that's it. dave f.
Another tip, DO NOT put the hatches on as per the instructions, they should be the last thing you glue to the car or you will break them for sure.
does anyone have a high resolution picture instruction ? I've e-mailed twice but no reply. The one included is extremely low resolution. I am mostly concerned about the alignment of the sides to the top section. It appears that they go literally edge-to-edge, no overlap ! Thanks for the other details as I want to finish these up. I have lots of airbrush weathering and graffiti waiting on them. .
Jeff, I align my to the top with no overlap. After cleaning up the parts and making sure they fit. I use thin superglue to glue the parts. First, I place the parts in the correct position, then I let the thin superglue flow into the gaps. For some reason, David's technique doesn't work for me. Its always a little off. I would also suggest getting MTL's tapping set. Its very useful for this kit.
The most annoying thing are the hatches at the discharge chutes, just not fit for purpose. My friend Gunnar and I put some thoughts into this fragile pieces and come up with some etched metal hatches. Looks the same and is much more robust, it's a 2 piece assembly, one is the frame and one this thicker bit, can be glued or soldered together. Sorry have no picture handy. Haven't etched this myself, work down by Andreas in Germany.
Guess I'll put an interior square strip in so there is solid surfaces rather than the razor's edge. .
All, Thanks for the encouraging words. I will try to document while building and share the outcome with you guys. Maybe we can create our own assembly instruction when putting all tips and hints in one document. Regards, Frank
I have a question for David f, What would be the best way to apply the DRGW decals to the 2 bay ACF hoppers? cut each part of text and apply all parts seperately or apply the whole decal sheet (cut into left and right side) it as it is. Regards, Frank
on the two bay, the decal is made to fit as one application. be sure to clear coat the car before adding the decals (let the clear coat dry, of course). i've been using micro-scale (decal company) gloss coat for all my cars now. it's water soluable and dries quickly. the advantage to the quick drying is that is resists airborn dust collecting on the car. easy clean up and no fumes. (i just did a locomotive with it a few minutes ago). there's something about the decals E&D sells that they have a bit of an orange peel texture to them. once to put dull coat over the finished decals that mostly disappears. it's not objectionable, just different than other decals, like micro-scale. the only time i split the Rio Grande decals was when i fitted them to my 3-4 bays. E&D has made it easy with all their decals. show us pictures, ok? congratulations! nice kits, aren't they! dave f. p.s. when you put on the decals align the small print along the bottom with the bottom edge/boarder of the car. everything will line up right from there. df
David, Thanks again. Got Micro set to apply the decals. Since I do not yet have an airbrush, I had to brush paint the model. I have chosen color identical to the MTL hopper. I will show some pictures later. It is fun building these kits. Somehow I can't attach pictures, my browser shows an error. Regards, Frank
Frank, you need to reduce the size of the file. If you still have problems, let me know. You can always email the pictures to me, and I will post them for you.
Looks good, Frank. You got the hard part done. The rest is easy. Just make sure the trucks dont hit the coupler platform.
Thanks for the encouraging words. Yes, these are great kits, fun to build. And kit building is more fun than buying rtr. Hopefully E&D will expand their models. Like a 4 bay ACF (will be less expensive compaired to cutting 2x 3 bays) and an open hopper would be great kits . Regards, Frank
