Tomytec Cow train Y000

[cteno4]

So my cow trains showed up today and went to pop the TM-14 chassis in and I could not get the front end to seat all the way down flush. Lots of fiddling al looking inside for what was sticking. Turns out the driver’s seat that sits off the little driver’s compartment wall was just a tiny bit too long to let the chassis sit in. Trimmed about 1mm of it and pop perfect fit! So if yours doesn’t seat, trim the seat! 
 

btw the antenna needs a 0.9mm hole.
 

Fun train! 
 

cheers

 

jeff

[railsquid]

Oooh, thanks for the reminder, ordered one before they all go. It will amuse the Squidlet.

 

[roadstar_na6]

Are those Dr. Yellow shoes? 😄

[railsquid]

They are, or were (got too small), as did the E5 pair before them.

[cteno4]

I tired to get some dr yellow shoes but they didn’t make them in adult men’s size 15...

 

man the little squidlette is not so little anymore! He’s shooting up there!

 

jeff

[railsquid]

On 2/26/2021 at 4:07 AM, cteno4 said:

I tired to get some dr yellow shoes but they didn’t make them in adult men’s size 15...

 

man the little squidlette is not so little anymore! He’s shooting up there!

 

 

"Squidlet", puhleeze! That photo was taken last summer, so he's shot up some more since then.

 

On 2/25/2021 at 2:50 PM, cteno4 said:

So my cow trains showed up today and went to pop the TM-14 chassis in and I could not get the front end to seat all the way down flush. Lots of fiddling al looking inside for what was sticking. Turns out the driver’s seat that sits off the little driver’s compartment wall was just a tiny bit too long to let the chassis sit in. Trimmed about 1mm of it and pop perfect fit! So if yours doesn’t seat, trim the seat!

 

Confirmed, this fixes the problem.

[chadbag]

The -lets do eventually grow up.   My rail companion -- was a little guy --  is now basically my height, driving, and graduating from HS this spring.

 

[cteno4]

Yeah they do grow quickly! Empty refrigerators are thought to be the cause as they seem to occur when they grow fast.

 

glad it worked for you squid, it frustrated me for 10 minutes! It when you want one of those super expensive like 2mm dia fiberoptic endoscopes to see what’s going on inside! 
 

what is it now squid jr instead of squidlette?
 

jeff

[railsquid]

On 3/3/2021 at 3:52 AM, cteno4 said:

what is it now squid jr instead of squidlette?
 

 

Still "Squidlet"  for now ("Squidlette" would be the female version, for which we have no plans).

 

On 3/3/2021 at 3:52 AM, cteno4 said:

glad it worked for you squid, it frustrated me for 10 minutes! It when you want one of those super expensive like 2mm dia fiberoptic endoscopes to see what’s going on inside!

 

Being aware of the issue was most helpful, it's obvious when you know what you're looking for, glad I didn't have to work it out myself.

 

On 2/25/2021 at 2:50 PM, cteno4 said:

btw the antenna needs a 0.9mm hole.

 

Says 1mm on the packaging, not having a 0.9mm bit I tried with 0.8mm, which was way too small; after opening it out with a 1mm bit the parts fitted just nicely.

 

Almost complete, just missing the replacement pantographs:

 

TomyTec Y001 "Cow Train" by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

The front detailing on these is suprisingly nice, pity the side window glazing is a bit thick around the edges (typical Tomytec), but doesn't stand out from normal viewing distances.

Edited March 4, 2021 by railsquid

[cteno4]

Sorry I’m dyslexic and I will spell things funny and never notice it. Spell checker sort of helps (although every fifth misspelling it can’t even figure out what I’m trying to spell), but of course squidlet is not in the dictionary yet.

 

I use the 0.9mm as many times if you use the 1mm when they call it out it’s a tad loose and requires gluing. The 0.9 makes it just right or at worst case (I think perhaps tad of flashing on stem) just a little swipe with the root canal reamer and it pops right in with a really nice pressure fit. I recently tricked out 7 or 8 tomytecs here out of the pile that had built up and most did perfect pop in at .9mm and a couple needed just a light root canal... It could also be I usually use pcb drills to poke most holes like this and they have pretty aggressive fluting so they may make a tad bigger hole. I use the pcb drills as they’re much sturdier drills sub 1mm and way easier to grab and toss into a pin vise as you can just use and adjustable chuck pin vise to grad the 1/8” shaft really easily (lazy but simplicity and you easily know the size of each drill. They are also super sharp (and stay that way if you just use them on plastics) and make a clean exit when you have to come thru from the bottom like these on tomytec shells. Small wire twist drills many times are just not super sharp on the ends and many can be really brittle, just had spottier luck with them. A 0.1-1mm set of pcb is $2-3 of bucks on ebay.

 

I’ll try the experiment with a twist drill and a pcb drill and see.

 

jeff

 

 

[maihama eki]

Anyone know the right Tight Lock TN coupler to use for the Cow? It looks like a knuckle coupler.

[disturbman]

The front ones are knuckle couplers. So, 0374.

[disturbman]

For those who want, these trains seem to be run in consists of two from time to time. I have seen a few pictures online.

[railsquid]

5 hours ago, cteno4 said:

Sorry I’m dyslexic and I will spell things funny and never notice it. Spell checker sort of helps (although every fifth misspelling it can’t even figure out what I’m trying to spell), but of course squidlet is not in the dictionary yet.

 

No worries, I just get a bit antsy for personal/historical reasons about correct spelling of names (having been blessed with an ambiguous one by my parents which has caused no end of confusion over the years) 😉

 

5 hours ago, cteno4 said:

I use the 0.9mm as many times if you use the 1mm when they call it out it’s a tad loose and requires gluing. The 0.9 makes it just right or at worst case (I think perhaps tad of flashing on stem) just a little swipe with the root canal reamer and it pops right in with a really nice pressure fit. I recently tricked out 7 or 8 tomytecs here out of the pile that had built up and most did perfect pop in at .9mm and a couple needed just a light root canal... It could also be I usually use pcb drills to poke most holes like this and they have pretty aggressive fluting so they may make a tad bigger hole. I use the pcb drills as they’re much sturdier drills sub 1mm and way easier to grab and toss into a pin vise as you can just use and adjustable chuck pin vise to grad the 1/8” shaft really easily (lazy but simplicity and you easily know the size of each drill. They are also super sharp (and stay that way if you just use them on plastics) and make a clean exit when you have to come thru from the bottom like these on tomytec shells. Small wire twist drills many times are just not super sharp on the ends and many can be really brittle, just had spottier luck with them. A 0.1-1mm set of pcb is $2-3 of bucks on ebay.

 

FWIW I use these:

 

Pin vise bits by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

which despite their thinness are quite sturdy (I have yet to break one). Exit hole was admittedly not so clean, which is another reason for starting off with a smaller size; opening the hole out with a larger bit going the other way neatens it all out.  Note to self: find a set with 0.9 and 1.mm variants, knowing my luck next time 1mm will be just too big.

 

Is that "PCB" as in "printed circuit board"? Do you have a link for those?

[cteno4]

Yep plain wire bits are pretty sturdy at 1mm but getting smaller than can snap easily. To keep them sharp they really harden them, but over hardened and tiny means very brittle then. 
 

yep printed circuit boards. Used in CNC machines to drill component connector holes in the boards. Very sharp and nice flutes. When hand drilling the last bit will corkscrew on you and pull the but thru (regular wire bits can do this to), but if you then just carefully twist and pull back it cuts off the last little bit very flush which is really good when drilling inside to out like this on tomytecs as but tip break thru can damage the edge outside your hole.

 

0.6-1.5mm is a very handy set and cheap.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-0-6-1-5mm-Mini-Circuit-Board-PCB-Drill-Bits-Tungsten-Carbide-Bits-SMT-CNC/383888850251?hash=item59618efd4b:g:h60AAOSw2vpfl41S

 

Other ranges available as well

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PCB-Tungsten-Carbide-Micro-Twist-Drill-Bit-Set-Jewelry-Circuit-Rotary-Milling/184575479930?hash=item2af98e507a:g:1~cAAOSwrEJf0ut5

 

for the mini drill press I got a 0.1-5mm set of 50 bits in 0.1mm from a chap on ebay years ago that resharpened used ones for like $12. Nice as the bits are actually shorter in the fluted region so like a jobber bit they tend to not be as prone to breaking if tweaked at all.

 

these little handles are nice as very fast to pop these pcb bits in and out of. While my large ape fingers are still very nimble (I actually find it safer to put the antenna in with my fingers than tweezers) it’s nice to not have to concentrate fishing out little bits and proper pin vise chuck. The pcb I can write the size on the ring and no having to measure bits if they get mixed up and so easy to grab, use, put away.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Drill-Pin-Vise-High-Carbon-Steel-Hand-Twist-Hand-Push-Drill-Hardware-Tool/254713691800?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=554492903209&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

root canal reamers then are nice final touches if a tiny tad if enlargement is needed. But you can also do this some with the pcb bits as their flute edges are usually wicked sharp. 45-80 set of K files usual range of small holes, but you can also get larger and smaller ones if needed. They are super expensive like 99 cents for a set on ebay, probably the best tool bang for the buck, I’ve found them super handy. Longer ones give you a more gradual taper.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dental-H-K-Files-21-25-31mm-Endodontic-Instruments-REAMERS-Root-Canal-Hand-Use/183540287304?hash=item2abbda8748:g:9HkAAOSw4Vpb77pN

btw I’ve learned to keep a set of bits I just use on plastics. These will never get dulled and always give nice clean holes. I have another set for wood that take a long time to dull and don’t have to be uber hardened/expensive ones as wood is soft just drills that are on spec and straight. Then I have the nice metal bits that are expensive hardened ones that will stay sharp with my small bits of metal work and are on spec. These days bits can be really horrid trash, even more expensive ones being out of round, not straight or not the right sized, so it can be hard to get good ones!

 

Cheers

 

jeff

[maihama eki]

The drill machines that drill those tiny 0.2 mm holes in PCBs are always amazing to me. They operate at super high speed with air bearing spindles - 100,000 , 200,000 , 300,000 rpm and more. They have multiple heads - 4, 6, 8 - in parallel drilling several holes per second in laminated stacks of copper and fiberglass with microns accuracy. The machines count the number of holes drilled and automatically change the bits after a predefined number of holes. The PCB shops send the drill bits out to be re-sharpened several times before they are retired.

 

 

[railsquid]

A bit overkill for modifying Tomytec trains, methinks 😉

 

6 hours ago, disturbman said:

For those who want, these trains seem to be run in consists of two from time to time. I have seen a few pictures online.

 

https://www.train.chokopy.net/y-report/kd_takyaku2019.html

[cteno4]

That’s moooving.

 

jeff

[roadstar_na6]

A light unit is also already available for this.

 

@railsquiddidn't you have some of these kits? Any of them fitted yet? I'd like to read something in terms of a review or thoughts on it if possible 🙂

Edited March 5, 2021 by roadstar_na6
Link added

[railsquid]

Oh, that looks quite good.

 

Yes I do have some of those kits, and yes they're still on a shelf waiting fitting... Somewhere I have a magazine article which details each step for a typical kit, while it looks very doable, there were something like 38 steps and what free time I have tends to go on simpler things.

[disturbman]

Going by the installation pdfs, sets are more or less difficult to adapt. At first glance, this one looks relatively easy. I might try my hand on it.

Edited March 5, 2021 by disturbman