How did you improve your rolling stock?

[disturbman]

Not sure this counts as an improvement as it probably won’t be permanent.

 

I installed the recommended TN couplers to my Tomix KoKis and I’m not happy with the result. The distance between wagons and the look is improved but the couplers are really hard to couple together. They are too mobile vertically. Have to firmly hold the wagons and apply pressure to couple them together. Not worth the hassle.

 

I will order various Kato and Greenmax couplers and see what works best. At least now, I know how to swap the couplers. The metal brackets were easy enough to put back but a few springs kept jumping out of the pocket before I could close it.

[disturbman]

In the same “how did you unimproved your rolling-stock” manner, I started to install small parts on my Railway Collection sets. Let’s say I had mixed results, the Railway collection being what it is, the quantity and quality of the detailing parts are low, I have now two cab-cars that look like that:

 

 

Out of five installations, I lost two antennas. One decided to jump under my floorboards and another crumbled under the pressure of my finger. It would have been alright if Tomytec had provided additional parts like Tomix or Kato does, but they don’t.

 

Not really sure what to do. Will see if I can find assy antennas.

[gavino200]

Can you show a picture of the ones that didn't escape or get injured in action? I bet I have something similar around. You really need to get a good set of forceps for working with those things. 

 

BTW with some of them, it helps to install them while still attached to the sprue, and then snip them free once they're securely fixed. 

[cteno4]

Yeah I have a number of various tomytec antennas. Some of the trains have extras. One thing that could be sent overseas easily and cheaply these days!

 

I will actually use my enormous fingers to install these at times when lazy! Maybe a personal challenge, I dunno. But one way I like is to use my very pointy needle nose pliers to do these tiny installs as I find I can regulate pressure better than forceps when having to hold harder to insert into tight holes. Also does not do the forceps tine twist ping thingy when you are squeezing too hard and try to push an item into a hole. I had a pair of them that I had ground down to an even finer point but unfortunately have misplaced them... time to get a few more $4 micro needle nose to grind down.

 

also the dental root canal files are grand for this as well as you cna ream out the holes very slightly fir just the right fit. I can see if one would survive a regular airmail in an envelope under the radar.

 

jeff

[gavino200]

I almost never use pointed forceps for this kind of thing. Flat or spatula end forceps hold these items much better and don't deform. I use an old pair of vascular forceps for almost everything but ebay and micromark have many good pairs. I also have a nice tiny pliers and tiny plastic pliers that can be handy. 

 

Think about keeping the pieces attached to a piece of sprue during installation. Many items such as 'grab irons' go from difficult to easy with this trick and it prevents you from losing small items. It's not my tip. It's published in every edition of the Kato catalog. 

Edited April 17, 2021 by gavino200

[disturbman]

The crushed one was like that: 

 

 

The missing one, a mix between the one above and the one underneath.

 

Not as low as the Hankyu one, not as tall as the Keihan one.

 

The Hankyu is really thinand fragile. It was half inside the hole when the plastic gave up. I had to drill the base out of the hole.

 

I installed quite a lot of GM and Tomix antennas, I thought I knew what I was doing 😄 I definitely need better tweezers/forceps.

 

[gavino200]

Let the search begin! I don't recognize any exact fit right now, but I'll look in my box of odd bits when I'm downstairs. 

Edited April 17, 2021 by gavino200

[cteno4]

Ha immediately reached over to the little work tray next to the chair and found a pair of the bottom ones. I’ll need to go paw around in some boxes today to see if I have something between the two. This gets me to that topic I started about what to do with all the tomytec extra bits and bobs. I’m on the fence on just tossing extra parts from each train in a bag and labeling it for later potential need or just combining like parts like a single baggie of antennas! I think most all of mine so far are combined by train.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[gavino200]

Some of my favs

 

[cteno4]

The big forceps are nice as they don’t tent to twist and ping like the fine ones do if you squeeze too hard. Yeah my fine needle nose are like your red ones just a bit longer and pointier.

 

I have a pair somewhere that I ground down on the sides so the last like 5mm are only like a mm or so wide to hold narrow stuff well.

 

jeff

[gavino200]

2 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

The big forceps are nice as they don’t tent to twist and ping like the fine ones do if you squeeze too hard. Yeah my fine needle nose are like your red ones just a bit longer and pointier.

 

jeff

 

 

Those are from the beading tools section in Michaels/Joanns!! I'd recognize that weird green latex anywhere!

[disturbman]

29 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

Ha immediately reached over to the little work tray next to the chair and found a pair of the bottom ones.

Nice!

Not wanting to end the day on such a pitiful defeat, I decided to install the detailing bits on my GM Kintetsu Tsudoi... Which appears to have two different sprues of similar radio antennas. The ones that do not fit the model are the perfect replacement for the destroyed and lost antennas. Only issue, now, I need one more to replace the one I already fitted as the GM model is very slightly bigger and darker than the Tomytec version. The difference is barely noticeable but this is going to drive me crazy if I do not change it.

Anyone as a spare sprue of radio antennas from a GM model? I know @JR 500系should have two somewhere, as he has two Tsudoi. Sprue is labelled 4064-11.

 

Edited April 17, 2021 by disturbman

[cteno4]

Yep beadalon! They make nice quality stuff and use to be 50% off coupons at ac Moore! They are about the sharpest you can find w.o going to really expensive stuff. Widget supply has similar ones for $3-4 that are not quite as sharp but what I used to grind down custom ones.

 

another great one are buccal tweezers. They are great at holding parts at a perpendicular but offsetting the item a bit to keep the tweezer out of the way more.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dental-Orthodontic-Buccal-Tube-Tweezers-Surgical-Dental-Instruments/120962062191?hash=item1c29e6976f:g:L1MAAOSw76dbhj52

 

cheers

 

jeff

[cteno4]

12 minutes ago, disturbman said:

Anyone as a spare sprue of radio antennas from a GM model? I know @JR 500系should have two somewhere, as he has two Tsudoi. Sprue is labelled 4064-11.

Man vincent, go buy a lottery ticket! On the other side of my chair was my painted Tsuido 50662 awaiting detail attachment! They show using the extra sprew of three antenna (these are a bit bigger and large slot to install into not a round hole) not the on on the 4064-11. Does your model need the one of the larger 4064-11 sprew?

 

jeff

[disturbman]

Yes! That's the ones, the ones on the larger 4064-11 sprue. Incredible, too bad it's already 10:35pm, that lottery ticket sounds like a great idea.

That fish is trying to eat your insulators.

Edited April 17, 2021 by disturbman

[cteno4]

Ok pm me your mailing address and I’ll post them in a card! Should evade customs! Part cost ten cents, gst two cents, customs collection fee €12, payment fee...

 

man you really scored on what was in arms reach here w.o even getting up!

 

jeff

[JR 500系]

7 hours ago, disturbman said:

Anyone as a spare sprue of radio antennas from a GM model? I know @JR 500系should have two somewhere, as he has two Tsudoi. Sprue is labelled 4064-11.

 

Haha yeah i do have 2 Tsudois, with the painted one being just delivered! Do you still need the extra sprue? Let me know if you do, i'll mail it over ~

 

 

[disturbman]

Thank you guys! It's really heartwarming to receive so many help proposals.

[cteno4]

Hey what the forum is all about!

 

Cheers,

 

jeff

[JR 500系]

Yeah we are one big wordwide family!!  🙂

 

PM sent on the sprunes ~  🙂

[JR 500系]

Did some work over the weekend, yet again, more interior decals... 

 

 

 

 

 

Only the true train fans can appreciate the minute details!! *My Mrs was wondering why i would strain my already poor eye sight further by doing something so insignificant ~  X-X

[JR 500系]

And i love this way of reducing the horrible spacing between carriages the rapido couplers without spending too much (and probably a non-reversible way) of changing into Tomix TN couplers:

 

 

Just slap on some extra gangway pieces from Kato, and change the rapido couplers to the Kato close couplers 

 

 

Pretty neat if i may say!

 

 

The spacing is reduced to the gangways almost touching each other, and the piping details below adds a little more details for the keen eyed ~

[disturbman]

Very nice 🙂

Changing to TN is a bit radical indeed. I do not like the fact that you need to cut into the boggie covers of the motor car to install them. Kato couplers might make more sense. Which couplers and gangways did you use?

[roadstar_na6]

52 minutes ago, disturbman said:

couplers

11-704

[disturbman]

I'm sure seeing the other thread, but can you let the man speak for himself? 😘