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Welcome to my Car & Loco Mods page. Here you will find modifications to Large Scale Locos and Cars that I have developed, modified, or just stolen from others! The following modifications are presented on this page:
Adding R/C to the Accucraft Open Cab Shay
Check back often as more will be added as they become available.
Track Weathering Tutorial - Marty Cozad's simple method to quickly and effectively weather your track. | ||
I love Aristo
Craft's Stainless Steel rail, it's a breeze to keep clean with only a
quick wipe with a terrycloth pad. It looks better than yellow brass rail,
but it still doesn't look right with bright sides. Fortunately there is a
fast and simple method to weather the track to make it look much more
realistic.
I can't remember when Marty last posted his method on myLargescale.Com, but I have been using it for a while and really like the way the track looks when finished. This method is fast and easy. It can be done before laying track, or after the track is in place. On each of the following images you may click them for a Super Size image (1024 pixel wide - aprox. 100K) |
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The first step is to gather your tools and select a place to work. If you will be painting on a table, cover a large area to protect from over spray. You will need Krylon Ruddy Brown Primer, Krylon Semi-Flat Black, Lacquer Thinner, 1 Inch Masking Tape and the beverage of your choice. The screwdriver is used to open the safety top on the lacquer thinner. If you are working outside and there is any wind at all, be sure to protect or move any valuable items nearby that you don't want to paint, like your car :( | There are 5 basic steps to
this method...
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Masking is easiest if you
weather prior to laying track.
First run a line of tape down the outside of one rail. Butt the tape up tight to the tie plates. After you have laid the tape down the entire length of the track section, fold it down over the ends of the ties.
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Repeat taping outside the rail
on the other side.
Next run a line of tape down the inside of one rail, butting the tape tight against the tie plates. |
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Repeat taping inside the rail
on the other side, overlapping the tape in the center. This completes
the masking. Your track should look similar to the picture in the center
and is ready to paint.
Shake your Ruddy Brown Primer for a few minutes then lay one even coat along the inside of one rail, keeping the can about 8-10 inches from the rail and at a 90 degree angle to the rails. Repeat for the outside rail. Paint the other side the same way by going to the other side of the track, or turning the track on your table. One coat might be enough, but I never skimp on paint. After 30 seconds or so I go back and repeat the process for a second coat. Application of Ruddy Brown Primer is now complete. |
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Next, shake your Semi-Flat
Black for a few moments and consider wind and other conditions like
humidity and temperature. You are trying to achieve a light, slightly dry
spattering of black paint over the top of the ruddy brown. You want to darken
the primer, but not make the track black.
I spray quickly from a distance at least twice normal, like 18-24 inches. Notice that the color is now more brown-like but it still has some oxide color. I sometimes go back and hit it again in short random bursts to simulate oil drips. It is not important to get an even color. Color can, and should, vary over the length of a section. Remove the tape soon as the paint is dry to the touch, about 5 minutes. |
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The next step is to remove the
paint from the tops of the rail. Please resist the temptation to use
abrasives, especially with Stainless Steel rail.
Lacquer Thinner will dissolve Krylon in just a few seconds. Use a cotton cloth and wet it (don't soak) with lacquer thinner. Work in small sections, about 8 inches at a time. Get the rail top wet with thinner and keep rubbing lightly, turning the cloth to a clean spot often. Within a few seconds the paint will dissolve and wipe right off. Don't rub hard and don't scrape. Let the thinner do the work. Wet the cloth again if it is working too slow. Once you get the hang of it, the job goes quickly with very little effort. For sidings or "dead" track you may want to leave the tops painted, or only remove some paint as in the photo on the right. |
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This picture shows how the
application of black can have a significant effect on the final color.
These 5 strips are the center masking from different parts of a 20 foot section I painted at
the same time.
Click the Super-Size link and notice the wide variety of colors you can achieve. For fun, I keep an old rusty spike handy as a color reference. On the right is a before & after comparison. Quite a difference, No? |
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I decided to weather my track
after I hade a little over 100 feet down. I was going to pull it all up,
but I need to be in good shape for guests in two weeks, so weathering in-place
is my only option.
For masking I am using Butcher Paper because I have a roll. You could use newspaper or any other kind of paper that isn't absorbent. I roll out and cut a length of paper, then run tape down one edge, leaving some adhesive exposed. |
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The tape and Paper are used
outside the rails to cover ballast, bridges or landscape features that you
don't want to paint. Butt the tape up tight against the tie plates and
press down firmly.
Tape between the rails tape as we did above, using two lengths of tape butted against the tie plates, as shown on the right. |
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Repeat the Paper/Tape on the
outside of the other rail.
If there is any breeze, put some weight on the paper, and tape down as needed to keep it in place. I chose to mask a hard line at the end of this section to photograph the before/after. Normally I would mask a foot or so beyond where I was going to stop, and next time just blend with the previous section. If you do mask a hard line this the black will be very difficult to match. Similar to painting sections, you will need to blend the joints later.
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Apply one even coat of Ruddy
Brown Primer along the inside of one rail, then repeat for the outside rail.
Paint the other side the same way by going to the other side of the track.
Break the work up into 4-5 foot sections and just blend each section together. One coat might be enough, but I always do two. After 30 seconds or so, go back and repeat the process for a full second coat. Apply a spatter coat of Semi-Flat black using the technique in the first section of this tutorial. The photo on the right is the result of my ' short burst splatter' technique to simulate oil drips and stains. |
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Remove the masking as soon as
the paint is dry to the touch.
Clean the rail tops with lacquer thinner as described in the first section. WOW. Doesn't that look one heck-of-a-lot better :] |
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Don't forget to clean up and
put away your tools. I suggest you put away several of your favorite liquid
refreshments while enjoying how much you have improved the look of your
track.
You may have noticed that this method gets some paint on the ties (and ballast if you paint in-place). I feel that this is a minor trade-off for the simplicity of the masking technique. Most of it will disappear in the ballast and the rest is barely noticeable from a few feet away. But of you are a real rivet counter, it will bother you. In that case you should carefully mask your track, before it is hand laid. You'll have superb looking track when you are done, but I will have been running trains for months while you paint and lay track. |
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A big Thank you to Marty Cozad for explaining this method so many moons ago. I hope you can use and enjoy his method on your railroad. |
Bachmann Annie Power Mod - A simple Power Switch Modification for the Bachmann Ten Wheeler (all versions with the NMRA/Large Scale power Switch). |
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Most
large scale locomotives sold today are equipped with a motor power switch.
These switches can come in handy if you need to double up locos on a
siding, or just need to stop a loco from moving on powered track. |
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The
top switch on the smokebox cover is the Polarity switch. Bachman decided
to allow the user to choose between the polarity that all other Large
Scale locos use - or the NMRA Standard. Unless you run all Bachman locos
switched to the NMRA Standard you probably have this switch set to Large
Scale already. Once you have cut or
unsoldered the jumper wires reverse the disassembly process. |
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I hope you find this modification as useful as I have. Back to Top |
Bachmann Coupler Mod - A variation on TOC's simple method to improve Bachmann coupler reliability. |
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Over in a myLargescale.com Forum thread, TOC mentioned how he fixes Bachmann couplers with a simple modification. I tried a variation of his idea and it greatly improves the reliability of the Bachmann Couplers on my road. My modified cars can now be run at the head end of long (15-20 car) trains with no uncoupling experienced. I was so happy with the results that I decided to document it here with photos and share TOC's ideas along with my variation in a format that is simple to understand and apply.
TOC's method is to replace the plastic pin at the pivot point with a 1/2" #4 pan-head sheet metal screw and flat washer driven up from the bottom through a #50 hole drilled in the truck tang... quote: Originally posted by Curmudgeon
Occasionally I get a Bachmann that has a problem.
Rather
than use the sheet metal screw, I
decided to use a 3/8" 6-32 machine screw, nut and flat washer, with
the screw head hidden in the coupler pocket. Both methods require some
minor trimming of the coupler pocket, which I will detail below. The
result of either fastener is to reduce the slop and droop in the coupler
head at the pivot point, thus reducing uncoupling due to load stress.
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Side and
Bottom View of Truck Mounted Bachmann Coupler. Note the plastic pin at the pivot point. |
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First,
Remove the coupler from the truck and locate the underside of the
plastic pin at the pivot point. |
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Squeeze
the slot in the pin with pliers from the underside and push through the
coupler shank to remove. |
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Remove the
plastic pin and the coupler head. Note the half collar on the coupler
pocket. |
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Trim off the
half collar and any excess on the coupler pocket so that the
collar is flush with the coupler shank as shown at left. |
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Ready the parts for assembly: 1 ea. 6-32 x 3/8 inch Machine Screw, Nut and Flat Washer. I use Locktite brand Threadlocker to hold the nut in place. | ||
Push a
6-32 x 3/8" machine screw down through the collar hole from the top
of the coupler pocket until the threads are exposed as shown at right. |
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Place the coupler shank back over the coupler pocket collar. Be sure the coupler head is oriented as shown. The fat end of the lift pin should be up when the threads of the screw are visible. | ||
Install the
Flat Washer. Coat the threads lightly with Threadlocker then install the
Nut. To be
sure the screw head is seated in the coupler pocket, screw the nut on
tight, then back off checking the head pivot until there is only slight resistance.
When properly adjusted the coupler head pivots with very light resistance. |
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Add a drop
of Threadlocker on top to help hold the Nut in place and replace the
coupler assembly on the truck.
This completes the modification for Freight Cars. |
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Installing the modification in Passenger Car trucks requires an extra step. Note the Collar on the end of the Coupler Tang in the left picture. This collar must be removed by trimming the Coupler Tang on the truck as shown on the right. | ||
When the
Coupler Tang is properly trimmed, the mod works equally as well on
Passenger Cars. |
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I want to add a
special Thank You to Dave Goodson (aka The Old Curmudgeon -or- TOC) for
developing the original idea for the modification and his quick response
to my email questions. Once this mod is installed on your Bachmann Couplers you should experience no uncoupling problems due to coupler droop. |