11-702 assembly tips and US suppliers

[kmcsjr]

I just rec'd my first 11-702 couplers. If they work as well as expected, I will need a bunch of them. I'm looking for 2 things

1) Assembly tips, if any.

2) US suppliers. While I wasn't unhappy with the price I paid, I found the shipping ridiculous. The items were USPS first class in a small envelope. The postage was about $7. Considering the size and price of a bag of couplers....

Thanks

[qwertyaardvark]

Can't help much on couplers since I've only used Rapidos thus far, but I can help with some US suppliers

 

Out of curiosity, what place did you buy at and are you just looking at US-available items? Regardless, that envelope costing 7$ did seem a bit bit steep... if you are buying from ebay, the shipping price can be as important as the auction price. Some US places I get stuff from are as listed to help you get started:

 

http://www.linsjunction.com/ - I got my Peco flex track from here, though plenty of other stuff

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/ - Various; can get track, turnouts, cork roadbed, and more here

http://myatomic.com/catalog/viewcat/Trains - Another good cheap place; plus free shipping on domestic orders over 25$ which is easy to do :P

 

Those websites will mainly provide you with US/UK stuff, though I'm not sure about Japanese items like the couplers you got. When getting Jap stuff from ebay, I always get in bulk to save on shipping. If you are lucky, you might find some stores in US that sell some Jap items (there are none that I know of outside of the Ebay outlets).

[disturbman]

Assembly tips? They really are very easy and straightforward to use. First you unsprue them and put them together. To take the rapido off you need to turn the head to 90° and then pull. You then insert the new couplers the same way in reverse order.

[kmcsjr]

Assembly tips? They really are very easy and straightforward to use. First you unsprue them and put them together. To take the rapido off you need to turn the head to 90° and then pull. You then insert the new couplers the same way in reverse order.

Yup, call me an idiot on this one. OK, call me an illiterate frustrated assembler of MTL replacement couplers (harsh, but seemingly appropriate). ie: If I'd read the instructions last night, I wouldn't have asked :) Thanks for taking the time.

[disturbman]

I can but I won't and you're welcome.