How did you improve your rolling stock?

[Tony Galiani]

Tomytec JR Shikoku 1500 - This turned out to be much more of a challenge and a struggle than I expected but I finally completed (or almost completed it) this weekend.  Story of how I ended up with some JR Shikoku rolling stock deleted!

 

I purchased a Tomytec power unit for it and expected a relatively easy conversion - which it wasn't though part of that is due to my doing some extra detailing.  Some was due to a tough fit for some of the parts.

 

Using a web site that purports to have a picture of every JR DMU I went through the pictures and noted the weathering and relevant details.  I like the modern with retro elements color scheme but it turns out that the air dams and light green color don't weather all that well so I scaled back my weathering plans to make it look like a relatively new unit.  In looking at the second batch of 1500 series, the lower air dams were painted dark green which works much better.

 

So ... I drilled out the holes to place the two roof pods and installed them, painted the couplers and underfloor equipment to get rid of the plastic look, added curtains to hide the mechanism (and should have added more), painted the shiny metal weights of the Tomytec power unit grimy black so that they stand out less, used Tamiya panel accent of the fan housing, painted the bogie dampers grimy black, added just a tough of black paint and chalk by the exhaust and added some brown weathering chalk to the bogies and underfloor gear.  Photos show that axle boxes and springs get pretty dirty while the central portion of the bogie does not seem to pick up as much dirt.

 

The rooftop housing should not be as shiny as it is but my first trip with clear flat did not work well.  Have some ideas to improve that but want to take a break from the model for a bit before I try them.  Also, there is a diaphragm piece at one end - I have trimmed it per the instructions and painted it but it is not installed yet.  The front air dams fit will on the static model but not so much on the powered chassis so after installing them - multiple times as they no longer fit well - I decided to call the model done for now.  From other posts on the forum I see that going back to add more touches to a model is common so maybe a touch more work in the future.  But for now, I have plenty of projects in the queue.

 

Ciao,

Tony

 

Edited March 17, 2024 by Tony Galiani
removed duplicate picture

[Tony Galiani]

Back in January I did some weathering on one of my Tomix KoKis but struggled to get the brake wheel installed.  Finally decided to try again this weekend and succeeded in placing it on.  I thought the hole in the railing was a poor match to the brake wheel so I opened it up with a small drill bit.  And - wonder of wonders (!) - I actually wrote down which one it was - #71 / .026 - as I have several more in the queue which I will work on as time permits.  I used PVA glue to fix it in place.

Ciao,

Tony

[ED75-775]

Today’s hobby project:

 

 

Because OCD (and @cteno4!) says slots must be filled, and because I need room to store trains. So far it looks like my Keihan 800-series and Hikari Rail Star might be put away in storage to make room for all the other stuff, at least in the short to medium term. All three are either longtime un-run or don’t fit in with my plans for now (but I also don’t want to sell them either).

 

Also done today:

 

 

All of my Tomix Yo 5000 brake vans got their cosmetic battery-box-thingummy bits attached. Not hard to do, just a lot of procrastinating on my part. They do look good though so I’m happy with the effort.

 

Last night I also had a stab at fixing some Tomytec tram models; my customised Hiroshima 1907 had its power chassis the wrong way round so that had to be sorted out, and then one of my Iyotetsu MoHa 2000s had the wrong truck frames, dating back to a previous Japanese owner who either lost the original truck frames, or decided that they preferred Nissha C-series trucks over Hitachi KL11s. Either way, a set of KL11 frames was drawn from the Big Box of Trams under my desk, and all was put right.

 

Alastair

[Tony Galiani]

More work on my JR Shikoku 1500 and started on my Tomytec DB-30 shunter.

 

I did not like the shiny roof unit (which wasn't all that shiny in any photos of the prototype I could find) so came up with an idea to improve it.  Took some clear flat and added one drop of Tamiya Sky Grey to make a slightly tinged wash which I added to that part.  It subdued the shine and looks better, at least to me.  This unit has been hard to work on for some reason - definitely more difficult than other Railway Collection items I have modified.  At some point, I may add a driver and more window shades though getting this particular car body off the chassis is difficult.  I saw a lighting kit for it but don't think I am up to the challenge for that.

 

The Tomytec shunter is a work in progress helped along by Susukuma's video of his conversion.  I don't have the near vision and skill to do as much as he did but have made a start:  rail brown on the wheels, grimy black for the chassis and Tamiya cockpit green for the interior.  Pending a trip to an area hobby shop, I plan to add safety decals and a sill stripe, an exhaust stack, shunters' grabs and additional handrails as well as extra weight to be followed by very light weathering.  I also plan to paint over the plastic orange with Tamiya orange X-6 which I like much better.  The cab will be a challenge as I cannot figure out how to remove the glazing without breaking it.

Not sure what to do about the couplers.  Susukuma installed MicroTrains Z scale couplers and that is certainly not happening for me!  I have a variety of couplers in my parts box so will be reading a bunch of the Forum posts on the various couplers to see what I can figure out.  I would like to do some shunting on a small layout so need some that I can uncouple with a small tool.  No need for automatic uncoupling which should make things easier.  Once I sort out the couplers, I may add a blanking plate to reduce the size of the coupler opening.

 

To be continued ....

Ciao,

Tony

 

[cteno4]

Nice wash Tony! Well, err, dirty wash!
 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

The (mis)adventure continues.  Started work on the Tomytec shunter - grimy black underframe, cockpit green for the interior and orange for the hood.  Only it turns out that I had gloss orange, not flat orange.  My local shop has the Tamiya paints all together and I did not catch the difference between Tamiya X and Tamiya XF until after I painted the model.  Not totally with the program I guess.

 

Anyway, I was not happy with the results so stripped off the orange paint and started redoing it with Tamiya's matte red.  I checked some videos as I realized my painting technique left a lot to be desired.  This time I thinned the paint and used a different brush and I am happier with the results.  I need to add at least one more coat of red then redo the grimy black on the frame.

 

The cab is going to be a problem as well.  Can't quite figure out how to get the glazing out without damaging it so thinking of using some liquid masking.  Watched a video on that as well.  But need to find something to practice on first.

 

After that, still a bunch more to do - adding weight, exhaust stack, warning stripes on the end sills, handrails and weathering.  But stretching the project out as I learned that rushing things seems to produce poor results.

 

Ciao,

Tony

[beakaboy]

7 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

The (mis)adventure continues.  Started work on the Tomytec shunter - grimy black underframe, cockpit green for the interior and orange for the hood.  Only it turns out that I had gloss orange, not flat orange.  My local shop has the Tamiya paints all together and I did not catch the difference between Tamiya X and Tamiya XF until after I painted the model.  Not totally with the program I guess.

Tony, you can use dullcote or matt clear spray over gloss paint. sometimes have to test it first to make sure the product won't react with each other. I am  working with models that require decals and for decals to adhere to paint properly, you need gloss paint. Then once decals and weathering applied you require clearcoat and this is when I use the matt. I used to use Testors ? dullcote, but it got pretty expensive here and only a small spray can, so now I use the big spray cans from plasticote or rustoleum. One of them has clogless nozzle which is brilliant. no holding can upside down and spraying till clear. I also store all cans upside down as it prevents them from completely blocking up when stored for periods of time. (at least in our climate). I have tried humbrol liquid mask on windows, which kind of worked, but it is really hard to apply as it gets rubbery quickly. there is a better product available from another manufacturer, but can't find the information at present. Plactic kitset builders probably use one. 

[Tony Galiani]

@beakaboy - Thanks, I will check out those spray cans.  I had used Dullcote in the past but found the spray heavy (or my technique not too good) so have been avoiding that.  I have watched a few videos and see that my methods could definitely be improved.

Cheers,

Tony

[cteno4]

At times rattle cans can leave large droplets leading to a very thick coat for a small piece. Short bursts from a bit of a distance helps and doing a couple of very light coats is better than a single heavier one. Clear coats are hard as you do t tend to see the coat until it’s pretty heavy, not like a colored coat where you can see the paint showing up right away. Airbrushing is a better route, but some equipment, learning, and practice, but none of those are very bad.
 

Other thing is just practice. Grab some small plastic bits and paint them and then practice with clear coats on them. My learning and practice on stuff like this has been old cheapo and used train cars from the train shows. Harder to find but still around. Great to practice stripping, painting, decaling, weathering, and clear coats.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Steve]

Modified the KATO Set 10-1893 (JR West Event Train) and turned it into Mid Showa-Era JNR Rolling Stock.

 

[Tony Galiani]

Kato JR KiHa 40-2130

 

I am trying to do more work with my collection while my layout plans drag along so I pulled out this Kato KiHa 40 for a bit of detail work and some weathering.  I had been graciously gifted this unit when I purchased some items from a fellow Forum member.  Though it did not fit into any of my nascent layout concepts it is a very fine runner so I decided it would join my Heritage fleet for visits to whatever layout I did.

 

First off I needed to disassemble the unit to remove the roof insert with the goal of installing the GPS antennas.  Of course, this was a bit of a struggle but I got the body off the motor chassis and partially dismantled but then could not get the roof insert off.  Nor could I figure out a means to do this.  I was loath to try and drill the four holes in the roof needed to mount the two antennas.

Searching for a solution, I remembered that fellow Forum member @Kingmeow had told me that he did a lot of DCC conversions so I reached out hoping he was either familiar with this model or had some ideas as to how to get this done.  After some pictures and conversation, he made some constructive - or to be precise, deconstructive - suggestions and - - Success!

Roof insert off, drilling dimples located, pin vise out and in short order the holes were drilled and the previously painted antennas were in place.

Thanks @Kingmeow!

 

Today I completed the next steps - light weathering, mainly of the roof and underframe, as well as the pilots and diaphragms to show a used but well maintained unit.  I used some Tamiya Panel Accent Color and weathering powders then a touch of Tamiya Transparent Orange to represent some rust on the diaphragm faces.  (This barely shows and I may do some further revisions on them at some point.  It worked a lot better in the video I saw using this method on some concrete pilings.)

 

Then reassembly.  I had taken some pictures to aid this - but not enough.  Took me about half an hour to get it sorted out but I finally did.  The weathering was meant to be subtle and it is - so much so I am not sure it really shows that well in the photos.  I am thinking may add a touch more but need to get some better powders first as the Tamiya powders I had were not the right colors and the chalks I used were not so great either.  But I am reasonably satisfied considering I am still learning and weathering in N Gauge is not quite as easy as one might think.

 

Ciao,

Tony

Edited January 23 by Tony Galiani

[RS18U]

@Tony Galiani looks very nice.  I like the subtle weathering and the way it looks in the photos.

[Kingmeow]

Hey, I only offered the advice!  @Tony Galiani did all the work!!!  🙂  Great job!  I can now see the final results in its entirety.  BTW, that's some pretty nice scenery!

[bc6]

Ive been playing with my new Shiki1000 and added a 3D printed resin HVAC unit. I'm going to add some chains to secure the load to the Shiki. 

Edited February 15 by bc6

[tripel7]

Crammed a kato knuckle coupler into my tomix EF66, also fitted the seperately fitted details. 

[bc6]

@tripel7 This is so timely as I just got a EF66 thanks for sharing. 

[Kingmeow]

Doesn't the loco comes with knuckle couplers in the little plastic parts bag that the user can install?  Or are these knuckle couplers different?

[tripel7]

13 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

Doesn't the loco comes with knuckle couplers in the little plastic parts bag that the user can install?  Or are these knuckle couplers different?

Those only work with other Tomix knuckle couplers, whereas I use the Kato ones

[Kamome]

On 2/5/2025 at 1:13 PM, bc6 said:

 

Ive been playing with my new Shiki1000

 

I also added blackened wheels as it irritates me that Tomix are still putting shiny wheels on their wagons. 

[bc6]

@Kamome What did you use to blacken the wheels on your Shiki 1000 or did you replace the shiny wheels??

Edited February 9 by bc6

[Kamome]

I replaced with blackened Tomix wheels but this can get expensive, especially as you’ll need so many. You can also use a metal primer and paint yourself. Just need to mask the area that will make contact with the rail heads. 

[Beaver]

Some hobby suppliers sell chemical blackening solutions, in some cases especially intended for model train wheels. In the UK you can get them from Phoenix Precision Paints and they work very well on a wide variety of wheels. Not sure about US sources.

[disturbman]

That's interesting. I would love to easily blackened the wheels of my Tomytec trains. They can take Kato wheels, but I have been hard press to find how to blackened the wheels of the motor bogies. I always wondered if I could swap them for Tomix blackened geared axles, but they are so often out of stock that I put that idea aside.

[Kingmeow]

https://micromark.com/products/neolube-2-fl-oz?keyword=neolube

 

$5 cheaper on Amazon.

[bc6]

I also decided to work on my TOMIX EF66 and added a bunch of details to it. I added my KATO EF510-10 to my list tonight.

 

 

Edited February 15 by bc6