Improving LGB US stock

[supagav]

Hi,

I`m not working any new locos at the moment, but I thought I would share some of tweaks and improvements I`m making to our rolling stock.

On the workbench is a series of LGB center flow hoppers. These are nice models at the core, and not really offered by any other manufacturer. Sadly LGB designed these for durability and the moulded on detail is crude to say the least! It sadly spoils what is actually quite a nice car.

Anyway, I decided that with a little work I could turn these cars into more authentic scale models. The first step was to tackle the trucks as the LGB chunky plastic ones just don`t really make the grade! I sourced some Aristocraft roller bearing freight trucks on ebay, and fitted them with some Aristo metal wheels that we already had. The following photo shows the new trucks with the wheel faces painted:



These were a straight swap and luckily didn`t need any cutting or modifications. They lowered the car to a much more believable height and instantly helped to improve the look.

The next step was to start removing the old LGB grab irons as these are just a major eye sore! I used 1mm brass rod, bent around a small scale rule which luckily for me was exactly the right width! I tapped the ends of each grab with a small pin hammer to get a nice corner shape to them:



The next photo shows the drilling and fitting of the new grabs. Before drilling I carefully marked out the positions for the holes using the old grabs as a guide:



I used a little Squadron putty to fill any slight gaps, and completed each grab iron with two Titchy Train 0.05" rivet heads, glued flush with each end to simulate the bolt detail on the original. (Apologies as it still looks a little crude but I wanted to share the progress so far!):



It is a little slow and time consuming but I enjoy just doing a little here and there each day, then its easier to handle! (Especially as I have another 4 cars to do after this one!) The thing I like about this project though is that I`m trying to use up what we have, and turn them into the models that I want. Money is tight for many of us in this hobby, so this type of project pleases not just my creativity but also my bank balance!

Thanks for looking,
G

 

[viaEstrecha]

Amazing how just a couple of changes can already make this look so much finer. But I would hardly be able to see those rivet heads, let alone be able to glue them neatly, so how do you handle them - fine tweezers under a magnifying glass??

 

[Riograndad]

Look sooo much better already quick question,what glue do you use Gav,LGB plastic issues,I tend to use cyanide based for LGB bashes but think there are better alternatives? Rio

 

[supagav]

Thanks for the comments The rivets aren't all that small, I do use a little pair of tweezers but thats all. I put a wee dab of CA on with a fine cocktail stick which also helps, but the main tool needed is just some patience!

Rio: my personal preference is Gorilla Glue. It is still CA but it gives just a little bit more time then conventional Loctite Superglue. I really don't like superglue as it sets so quickly that you have no time to position things, but with the Gorilla stuff you have a few seconds more to move things around before it sets hard. I find with superglue that I just end up with a mess, both on the model and on my fingertips, but the Gorilla Glue is so much more pleasant to work with, and it is every bit as strong if not more so. It seems to work fine with the LGB plastic, but to be honest I'm not really doing anything too major to require anything stronger.

I know that some of the plastics that LGB use can be difficult to glue, such as the removable hand rail pieces etc, as in the past these have posed a problem, but for the body of the car a regular CA such as the Gorilla Glue hasn't given me any problems yet. For anything that needs a more stronger bond I tend to use two-part Arildite which gives a really solid bond that can take a bit more strain than a CA joint.

Best wishes,
G

 

[Riograndad]

Thanks for that Gav,seen the Gorilla adverts but did'nt dawn on me to use,might just give it a go,thanks again

 

[supagav]

Hi,

To continue on with this thread, I wanted to share with you a couple of photos of my current experiments with LGB`s 53` flatcars.

These cars were lowered using replacement USAT truck frames to help it sit at more believable height off the rails, and all now have body mounted Kadee #830 couplers. Like the center flow hoppers before, these are nice cars and are the only ones like that available in large scale, but sadly the details are just not up to scratch when viewed alongside some of the newer Aristo or USAT cars.

I cut off all the grabs and detail, and have filled all the holes with styrene tube to accept the new smaller 0.8mm wire grab irons I`m making. I removed the deck and painted it with Tamiya Wooden Deck Tan. This is still maybe a little too cream in colour at the moment, but after a few weathering washes it will darken down nicely (i hope!!!):





I was mulling over my progress when I had an idea! I want to be able to fix a load of stacked lumber boards to the flatcar deck, with all the tie downs etc in place, yet I wanted to be able to use these flatcars for other service if necessary. As I`m doing 3x of these cars at the moment, I decided I would cut off the tabs that clip the deck in place, that way I can swap them around between the cars, allowing me to vary wether they are loaded or empty for example. Thus I can make two with loads and one empty, then swap the decks around between the cars depending on what we need for our operations.

The ideal situation would be if I could find the deck pieces as spares from LGB, then each car could have its own loaded and unloaded deck, but that can be for further down the line I think...!

Anyway, I know these photos don`t show much but I will post more shots of all the new grabs and steps as they are finished and painted.

Best wishes,
G

 

[beavercreek]

Velly itneresssting......

 

[supagav]

Here are a few more shots of progress on the LGB 53` flatcars.

The first photo shows all the detail pieces I`m using for this bash. The first packet are some Grandt Line 1:24 scale steps which luckily we had lying around in our parts box. They seem to be a close enough match scale wise, and are a vast improvement on the oversized LGB steps that were moulded on to the car. The second pack shows the small rivets heads I`m using from Titchy Train Group, to replace some of the detail around the new grab irons on the car sides and ends:



The next few photo shows the new grab irons, made from 0.8mm brass rod, as well as the new side steps, glued in placed and painted:



Here you can see the new painted deck:



The last photo shows the new coupler lift bars which made from 1mm brass rod, and new brake hoses, both of which are added at both ends. (The Kadee coupler also got a quick couple of coats of light rust):



The last detail to add is an upright brake stand at one end, using a more in-scale brake wheel, and of course a tasteful dose of weathering to suitably age this car!

Best wishes,
G

PS: I`m still mulling over the options in terms of removable loads or interchangeable decks, so I will post more on this when I come to a firm decision! ...and only another 3x of these cars to go

 

[supagav]

Hi,

I know this might not be the most interesting photo in the world but I thought it might be helpful if anyone is considering doing something similar! I`ve started on the second of three cars so I thought I`d show a quick progress photo to help better explain things.

Here I`m using 2mm hollow styrene tube to fill the holes where the old LGB grabs used to be. This allows me to reduce the overall thickness to accept the 0.8mm brass rod that I`m using to make the new grab irons. The original holes were widened slightly with a 2mm drill bit, but its still a nice tight fit, needing a few taps with a small pin hammer. I can then trim off the excess tube flush with the sides of the car and sand smooth. The tube is held firmly and can be drilled inside with 0.8mm drill if the holes are too tight for the new handles:



Also you can see the original steps have been cut off too! My cutting round the coupler box was also a little on the crude side, but all these sins will be hidden with a healthy spot of Squadron putty

Best wishes,
G

 

[PhilP]

Always good to see a 'how-to'..

Not having 'bashed' to any great extent, all ideas are useful..

 

[Riograndad]

Watching with interest as usual

 

[supagav]

Another quick update on progress...

Here is the GSC 53` bulkhead flatcar I`m working as part of this set of cars. This particular one will be re-painted for the GM&O. The prototype for this car was re-built in `59, with bulkheads added, specifically for carrying wallboard (plaster board for us in the UK!).

Here it is with the details finished and a light coat of Tamiya grey primer:



and another shot showing the prototype I`m trying to follow (apologies for the poor quality of the scan!):



Thanks again for keeping up!

Best wishes,
G

 

[stockers]

Plasterboard - on an open wagon - weather must be good!

 

[supagav]

Its always wrapped up in plastic! At least all the photos I have ever seen show pallet sized stacks wrapped tightly in plastic sheeting, usually adorned with the producers branding and logo. I`m guessing they are on open wagons as it makes for faster unloading with a fork lift or similar device, instead of the need to navigate around a fixed door such as in a boxcar. Not entirely sure though, but that`s my (un)educated guess!

G

PS: Here is a quick photo of loaded flatcars at wallboard plant in the US, protected from the elements in plastic wrap:

 

[supagav]

Hi,

Just another quick update on progress with the LGB flatcars.

I`m working on the decal proofs for the bulkhead flatcar at the moment with the kind help of Stan Cederleaf. He very kindly produces proofs as PDF documents of the decals that we are working on. This allows me to print them off, scaled off at 100%, and test fit them on to the car to show up any problems or issues before they are printed. This allows me to ask for very fine tweaks of a millimetre here and there, as well as font size and spacing, to make sure everything looks just right!

Theses ones are almost there, just getting the font size and spacing right to fit around the stake pockets on the side of the car:





Stan is a real gentleman and I cannot recommend him highly enough! Also once printed, his decals are fairly easy to work with and are not too fragile, plus he always included spares for when things don`t quite go according to plan!

Thanks for keeping up with this

Best wishes,
G

 

[supagav]

Another quick progress update!

The weather was good so I was able to make it outside to finally test and take some photos.

2 out of the 4 cars are now completed, weathered and ready for service! All that is missing are some suitable loads of freshly cut lumber to complete the look. I`m still trying to source new deck pieces as I mentioned before, so that I can swap them around and change them from loaded to empty as our operations sessions progress. This would allow us to make a set of nice looking loads that are properly fixed down to the flatcar decks, yet they are still flexible and can moved around as needed. I found one set on Ebay so fingers crossed, and I`ve also contact Maerklin/LGB to see if I can get hold of these as spare parts.





Thanks again,
G

 

[viaEstrecha]

Looking even better in natural light - one has to look carefully to check they are model sized!

 

[beavercreek]

Your bashes always make me smile Gav.
You will have some very fine workhorses for your line when the set is complete.

I too have been doing some 'bashing' and weathering of stock, but the results are not for viewing by the populous!

 

[supagav]

Thank you for your kind words gents, very much appreciated!

It's funny as I often feel that I have so many projects on the go, that it ends like painting the Forth Rail Bridge: you finally get to one end only to look back and see how much more you need to do! I like projects like these as I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere, and can cross a few more lines off the ever-increasing to-do list!

Thanks again,
G

 

[supagav]

Another quick update on progress with these LGB flatcars:

I finally finished one of the 53` bulkhead flatcars. This one was the same as shown previously and is lettered for the GM&O, specially marked out for wallboard (US equivalent to plaster board) service:









Thanks again for following my progress!

Best wishes,
Gavin

PS: for anyone who finds themselves in sunny Scotland this weekend, or at least who fancies making the trip, our annual open day is taking place this Sunday, 14th June, from 11am till 4pm. All are more than welcome! Just let me know if you would like any more details.