How did you improve your rolling stock?

[Madsing]

I have used .55mm chains meant for 1:700 scale ships before. I got them from AliExpress and they are not expensive at all. This is the link:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002942018738.html
Check the photos in the post below, but I think that they look good at N scale.

Marc

 

 

[Kamome]

Thanks @Madsing I actually was perusing my local hobby shop yesterday to see if anything would be suitable. I did pick up some of the finest (as in small rather than quality) 1/700 ship model anchor chain which was very inexpensive. The actual loads use a cable and ratchet mechanism, which is ideally want I want to recreate.

 

I am slightly swaying towards the metal etched 1/12 motorcycle chain parts as the size and rough shape is pretty close to the tensioning equipment and glueing it on to some brass or steel wire.  

 

The pack comes with upgrade parts for the drivetrain for their Honda RC166 model, which for someone not into bikes, looks pretty awesome. It’s only the chain plates I’d need but I believe it also comes with a jig to assist in putting tiny pins and plates together. 

 

https://www.tamiya.com/japan/products/12633/index.html

 

I will probably utilise the ship chain by replacing the plastic moulded one of my HO DE10, DD51s and DF50 or attaching to the air hoses to add some extra realism

[Nick_Burman]

Haven't touched my JP stuff for awhile, however...

 

 

Being the owner of two 3D printers I decided to crank a couple of pilots for some Tetsudo Collection cars.

 

Cheers Nicholas

[JR 500系]

Not mine, but this does seem like an excellent idea!

 

 

[cteno4]

Very cool!

 

jeff

[Kamome]

Just a quick update on my ongoing military equipment train. Have now finally finished all of the painting on the loads themselves and will still contemplate a number of securing detail options. 

 

Decided to bite the bullet and emptied my local shop of Tomix blackened wheels. Not sure why they’re sold in packs of 4 so needed 10 boxes but they look way better than the silver and especially the painted ones, which if slightly chipped, had the metal shining through. 

There’s also no way they’ll go back into their relevant boxes so will need to procure a storage bookcase to house them.  They will have a place along the shelf until then.

 

Edited June 4, 2022 by Kamome

[disturbman]

Busy train weekend, during which I managed to detail the Tomix GV-E400 I recently received.

 

The whole process felt a bit stupid. Tomix made the node so one has to remove the light units to drill the holes to fit the satellite radios and place the destination stickers. The holes are drilled from inside, without guide. Unlike any other Tomix set I ever owned.

 

Which incidentally helped placing the running numbers on the front windows, since the angle between the window panel and the door makes it impossible to correctly place the rub-on sheet to transfer the running number onto the window.

 

In the end, the solution was to remove the whole front of the train; which is made of two pieces, the top one for the windows and the bottom one for the door. Once removed, the piece with the windows can be placed almost perfectly flat under the transfer sheet for an easy transfer.

 

 

I have no idea how Tomix expected us to place those rub-ons, but it was, from my perspective, the simplest solution.

[disturbman]

More upgrades, this time on a Tomytec Kobe Railway. The train received a fresh motor as well as pantographs, TN couplers, antennas and gangways. The gangways really do a lot to make the model look more finished.

 

[disturbman]

With the holidays looming, I had too much free time and decided to waste a few hours on a slow and probably unnecessary task.

 

 

 

[Kamome]

The ongoing saga of the military train. The recon vehicles have had securing cables fitted. I will use finer wire for the howitzers as they’re a little chunky when you see them close up on camera but not too bad when running. The tensioners were made using Tamiya 1/24 photo etched motocycle chain parts. They are actually spare so you could still make the motorcycle chain if you wished. 

[cteno4]

Very nice! The chain link works as a come-along quite nicely.

 

a 1/144 miniaturist friend recently got some 1/350 etched brass chain that she said looked very good but forgot to bring to our last lunch. Even though still a tad over scale for a tie down but she said it was very light looking so didn’t feel big. I’ll check it out next lunch!

 

jeff

[Kamome]

I found some 1/700 ship model chain, I assume for anchor chains etc.. It came pre blackened but the paint or coating comes off relatively easily but could be touched up again. 

 

It could probably be used on larger loads for n scale. I used on the HO gauge axle loads.

[ED75-775]

The doctor is in, and today's patient is already on the kitchen table:

 

 

My venerable Kato 3009-5 finally returned yesterday from having some internal roof modifications made by my grandfather, and today I decided to finish the job. A big thanks to @railsquid who provided the article showing just what modifications needed to be made to the roof. I probably should have pointed my Papago translation app at the rest before time to see if that wasn't the only modification needed though. Spoiler alert: it would have saved heaps of trial and error.

 

 

The finished product: now a real Frankentrain of 3009-5 and 3028 bits. Apart from its chassis, the 3028 donated two cab windows, its headlight prisms, and possibly some of the roof garden equipment to the cause.

 

The whole reason I undertook this was because this was one of two ED75's snagged at the Popondetta Kyoto Aeon Mall in 2019, and even though I'd borrowed some bits off it for the other ED75 in my collection at that time, I didn't want to have to completely junk it (besides which I had played with it in my hotel room on my last day).

 

 

And just 'cause I can, a family photo with five delightful little boxes of AC joy on wheels - oh, and a slightly bigger box of AC joy on wheels which decided to pull a photo-bomb on me. I swear these things have a mind of their own sometimes.

 

Alastair

[Englehart]

Where can I buy detailing parts for the front part

for Kato 103

 

[Kamome]

The final piece of the puzzle. The insert for the case was Casco YP-059 designed for WaKi 10000, ReSa 10000 or Koki 200. 

 

Tie-downs are fine EZ Line and metal etch 1/12 motorcycle chain parts. 

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by Kamome

[Englehart]

Changed the cab window pane of my old Kato Kiha using .2mm acetate film

 

 

Edited September 23, 2022 by Englehart

[railsquid]

Indirect rolling stock improvement by reducing the size of the Tomytec Berlin tram box:

 

 

to something more convenient, if incorrectly branded:

 

Edited September 23, 2022 by railsquid

[cteno4]

Nice squid!

 

jeff

[ED75-775]

Are those the Side Cutters of Doom I see... inching towards one of my new Hoki 800 hoppers? Oh no you DON'T!

*THWACK*

Owwww ... they bit me ... 😭

 

 

OK, so that didn't happen, but I started assembling my HoKi 800's and making them look a lot less naked which was a very fiddly and time-consuming task. So far four of the eight have been done and (so far) only one bit has needed gluing because one of the little pegs on the bottom broke off.

 

 

Plus, I finally stopped procrastinating and set the Side Cutters of Doom to work giving my second C11 its identity after it sat on my 'round tuit' list for about a month or so after arriving from HobbySearch. It now carries the identity of C11 193 and looks very smart. Next job on my 'round tuit' list, give this a good run when I get my N-scale stuff out next week after attending the local Model Train Show this weekend (where hopefully there will be some Japanese trains to observe).

 

Alastair

[railsquid]

Had a crack at sorting out the various bits of Tomytec stock I've acquired over the years, matching up the existing stock of parts and acquiring anything missing.

 

First up, the Choshi Dentetsu DeHa 1000s in revival Eidan livery:

 

Tomytec Choshi Dentetsu DeHa 1000 (Eidan revival livery) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

These were an early acquisition, and having acquired them I found the market was swept bare of the matching motor unit; I eventually acquired another Tomytec model with the same motor unit, but that meant the red one ended up running for years with the incorrect bogie side frames. I have since located the correct ones and another motor unit, and have added a proper coupling at one end of each so they can run as a pair, which they were wont to do.

 

Annoyingly, during my investigation into the prototype, I noticed that the Tomytec chassis detailing parts don't appear to be prototypical, I suspect this might be common among some older models.

 

Anyway I hope I can win the lottery or something so I can find the time to detail them up properly.

[railsquid]

Fujikyu 1000 series in Matterhorn livery; a train I have been on:

 

Fujikyu 1000 series "Matterhorn" by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Paint job not the best; I can see how it can be improved (painting the rear wall of the driving cab a more normal metallic green for a start)... Some day maybe.

[railsquid]

Ueda Kotsu ex-Tokyu 7200 series:

 

Ueda Kotsu 7200 series by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Haven't been on this one, but I have gone past it. Annoyingly I can't find the correct bogie sideframes, theoretically they must be somewhere.

[railsquid]

Back to more familiar stock, another Chuo Line 101 series, this one with experimental air conditioning:

 

Tomytec JNR 101 series (Chuo Line) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Was an absolute bargain, came fitted with the Tomytec N gauge parts except motor *and* the proper TN couplers, all 10 cars of it. Just needed motorizing. I will need to go and snip the original Tomytec coupling attachment off all the bogies, as they catch against the TN couplers which leads to derailments.

[railsquid]

It says "103 series" on the label, but it started out as a 72 series, was refitted with a modified body in 103-series style while on the Senseki line, then further refitted with surplus 101 series underbits for use on the newly electrified Hachiko/Kawagoe line:

 

Tomytec JR 103-3000 series by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Note external door handles and the raised square with the JR logo which covers the former tablet catcher.

 

I think a couple of cars from these units later found use on the Ome Line mixed in with proper 103s.

[railsquid]

And finally something that started out as a 101 series, was converted to a KuMoYuNi 147 post/luggage vehicle for use on the Iida Line, then was converted back to passenger usage as a 123 series for use on the Minobu Line:

 

Tomytec JR 123-40 series (Minobu Line) by Rail Squid, on Flickr