Bandai B-Train Shorty

[Andrew G]

Hello Folks, I'm trialling these magnetic couplers from the British manufacturer Westhill Wagon Works. The magnetic couplers are on the left.  https://westhillwagonworks.com/14-hunt-couplings-elite-n
They appear to be OK for 183mm radius curves on the Bandai B Train Shorty units, and I think that 150mm radius should be OK also.

Edited December 16, 2023 by Andrew G

[SwallowAngel]

Quick question: Anyone here got the measurements for the old Bandai Diesel Chassis?

 

I was wondering wether or not I could just trim a KATO 4-axle Chassis to fit a DD51/DE10. While some heavy modification on the chassis seems neccesary, going off of pictures, it seems possible...

[Dinosbacsi]

Based on this video, it should fit I guess. Though it does seem to sit a bit high, but that might simply be because of the smaller bogeys used in the Kato chassis.

 

 

[Dinosbacsi]

So... is this a very good idea or a very bad one, lol?

 

(might make a proper thread for it in the layout planning section if I ever make it a real thing)

[cteno4]

Super something  to keep me entertained behind you at the stoplight! Looks good to go. Just need to run the controller up to the front see so you can run it via the rear view mirror (well I guess I was running a train won’t be an excuse when you rear end someone though…)

 

jeff

[lighthouse]

@cteno4

 

The controller could be the radio knob in the car or the centrifugal forces of cornering like a roller coaster?! In any case, you'll get a lot of attention, even from the police 😅 🚔🚨👮‍♂️👮‍♀️ If you're lucky, you can convince him of the idea and he'll play with it himself...

Edited May 17 by lighthouse

[Kingmeow]

Need to figure out how to magnetize the wheels or tracks or both so you can run it WHILE driving.  🤣

[cteno4]

That’s what T scale trains do. But then you need steel wheels and rails. It is effective with tiny T scale as you can even run the trains upside down hanging from the rail. That won’t happen with n scale unless the wheels are made from rare earth magnets! There’s a thought maybe put some rare earth bar magnets in the bottom of the chassises and some plate steel under the track roadbed.

 

jeff

[MeTheSwede]

There is already a large and convinently placed plate steel located above the engine of the car, so there's need to stare at the rear mirror any longer. The Traffic police should be happy about you looking out through the windscreen at all times. The windscreen wiper engines operate at 12V, so this is a perfect place to hook up the power for the model railway on the hood and the train can then be operated using the windscreen wiper switch on the steering wheel. 😁

 

 

Edited May 17 by MeTheSwede

[Dinosbacsi]

20 hours ago, cteno4 said:

Super something  to keep me entertained behind you at the stoplight! Looks good to go. Just need to run the controller up to the front

I suppose having the trains set up on the track while on the go can't really work. Even if they are just stopped and not running, they would fly all over the place on bumps, lol.

 

About the controller, it is 12V for N scale, right? In that case I could run the controller off the power of the cigar lighter.

 

7 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

Need to figure out how to magnetize the wheels or tracks or both so you can run it WHILE driving.  🤣

That would be cool, lol.

[Zeether]

It looks neat, but I'd be really concerned if it got extremely hot in the car.

[Dinosbacsi]

On 5/24/2024 at 10:26 PM, Zeether said:

It looks neat, but I'd be really concerned if it got extremely hot in the car.

Yeah, I wonder how the plastic would hold up inside on a hot summer day.

[Zeether]

4 hours ago, Dinosbacsi said:

Yeah, I wonder how the plastic would hold up inside on a hot summer day.

I wouldn't want to test that theory lol, I think it'd at least fade the colors from the sunlight

[mags_minibuilds]

I added a motorized chassis to a tram and a 485 series Limited Express. So thankful to @lukewang01 for the 3D printed chassis to hold the Kato trucks. The tram required the 11-110 motorized chassis. It took some heavy modification to fit the unit inside, not only did the bumper ends needed to be clipped off but also the truck covers were shaved down as it protrudes too much.

 

 

A question about pantographs...I have been getting the Kato 11-403, 11-404 and 11-420. Are there any other pantographs from Kato and Greenmax (or other manufacturers) that are out there that's suitable for the shorties? I have 14 more boxes of shorties to assemble (at some point in time) so it'll be nice to have a stockpile of motors/trucks/pantographs.

 

[Kamome]

If your shorty collection doesn’t look like this, what have you been playing at?

[bill937ca]

Ah yes, space management techniques for B-Train Shorty collectors.

Edited August 19 by bill937ca

[cteno4]

Yowza! And only end cars to boot!

 

jeff

[Junech]

That's a lot of Shortys! Does anyone know if that Shorty from the Tarumi Line is an original one or self-painted?

[bill937ca]

A quick search of HS shows nothing listed under Bandai for the Tarumi Line. That doesn't mean it couldn't be a special release with limited circulation.

Edited August 19 by bill937ca

[kami_illy]

14 hours ago, Junech said:

That's a lot of Shortys! Does anyone know if that Shorty from the Tarumi Line is an original one or self-painted?

Seeing the rest of the collection, I'd say that none of these are 'real' Shorties. They seem to be moded / kitbashed full scale models... looking really good!! That leaves me with so many more wishes for Shorties to be made by Bandai or any successor -highly unlikely though- 😢 

Edited August 20 by kami_illy

[Junech]

Thank you for your help @bill937ca and @kami_illy.

So I guess it is 3D printing for me when I want to make one for myself.

[mags_minibuilds]

I’m putting together this B-Train Shorty kit and using Kato trucks. When I lift the train off the tracks one or two trucks just falls off. Are there any tips/tricks on how to keep them from falling off? Seems like the hole is too big so the truck only holds on very slightly. I have spare boards that I can modify but before I resort to that I wanted to see if I can use the original  

[cteno4]

Have you tried using a screwdriver blade to see if you can bend the prongs out a tiny bit? But it may not last.

 

other option is to use small screws or bolt to hold the truck onto the chassis. you could see if like an m2 pan head screw could be used from the top to provide a stop to not let the truck drop out.
 

You could eliminate the truck clips and use a bolt or screw to hold the truck but this will require some engineering like filling the current truck and chassis with epoxy to drill out new holes

[mags_minibuilds]

@cteno4 Thanks Jeff! I used my fingernails to bend the prongs out a bit and it seems to be holding better. Good to have the other options in my back pocket in case that previous fix doesn't last.

[cteno4]

Another brain fart popped out a memory of this stuff just now! There was a set of Tomytec chassis that had holes way too big and what worked was to glue a small washer onto the chassis that had a hole the same size as the truck clips wanted. Could have just glued a small piece of thin (like 010 styrene) and drill the proper size hole, I just had a washer that was perfect for the job.

 

jeff