for which I would be grateful for some advice.
A visiting ankle-biter, who has now been taken away before something terble happens to him, was observed by his mom to poke in ALL the %$""£$£*&$ windows on my AccuCraft long caboose.
There seem to be no obvious way of getting into it - unless one of you gentlemen can offer me advice on the ‘how-to’.
tac, ig and The V. Annoyed boys
“Observed by his mom.”
Apparently, someone needs to explain that “supervising” involves more than observation where would-be Godzillas are involved.
The AMS caboose comes apart from underneath … four screws release the superstructure from the floor, and then four more release the roof … at that point you can get at the four that hold the walls together … but I suspect the brass one’s assembled differently.
Sorry…
Matthew (OV)
Send her the MSRP and suggest she should offer to buy you a new one, she can of course keep the damaged one based on the you break it you bought it principal. That applies to children who break things in stores due to bad supervision.
My thorts prezackly and yes, I have one of each of the AccuCraft vans AND the beautiful Bachmann version - the brass one [sans windows] is quite different - in fact, I can’t actually SEE any screws holding it together. Guess I’ll give Cliff a call and ruin his weekend over in Onion Town.
Best to all, and thanks for the suggestions.
tac, ig & The Yaquina Head Lighthouse Boys
tac,
I would definitely follow Vic’s advice and send her the bill to purchase a new one for you. She can keep the one her child fondled and both she and her child will have a constant reminder what “supervision” actually means!
Good idea to send her the bill and when paid she gets the broken caboose to display as a constant reminder to her and the boy to be careful.
Who knows if the kid looks at it long enough he might grow up and get into large scale trains.
tac,
if Cliff gives you any idea of how to take the caboose apart, please post here–my brass short caboose shed its windows by simply running it in the sun.
While at train shows (I set up a temporary floor layout at local shows), the MTH Big Boy goes on the outermost track with a long string of Bachmann freight cars…the Accucraft equipment stays on the inner loops. It’s a pity not all of us can do such things when dealing with the younger generation. I for one am happy to say that in my younger years I never damaged anyone else’s equipment.
Gary, that may not be possible–I’m not sure but I don’t believe Accucraft makes the long brass caboose anymore.
Ah! the mysteripus non-existent window glue. Accucraft use a glue I believed guaranteed never to stick on their clear window material on the brass models. While care and supervision are a prerequisite to maintaining a model in pristine condition, I have found that those qualities alone are not sufficient to keep one’s windows intact. My three geese suffered a similar malady simply by attempting to gently wipe the cars. The windows just fell inside the car. I think that Accucraft got their glue from the same company Charlie Ro used on his Overton coaches. Purchasing an Overton was basically getting a coach full of rattling windows loose inside the car.
With Accucraft the issue is with adhering the windows to the brass interior. I believe they use a contact type glue and then very sparingly.
Sorry Terry, I cannot help with disassembly, but do comiserate you on your feelings, particularly when the loss is a malicious intent on the part of a minor who you were giving up your time to entertain. I also have observed parents watch while their offspring, derived from the loins of the devil himself, cause mayhem and the parents seemingly are ignorant of the mischief their delinquents are causing. Intervention usually results in a verbal stouch between the adults involved.
Robbie Hanson said:
tac,if Cliff gives you any idea of how to take the caboose apart, please post here–my brass short caboose shed its windows by simply running it in the sun.
While at train shows (I set up a temporary floor layout at local shows), the MTH Big Boy goes on the outermost track with a long string of Bachmann freight cars…the Accucraft equipment stays on the inner loops. It’s a pity not all of us can do such things when dealing with the younger generation. I for one am happy to say that in my younger years I never damaged anyone else’s equipment.
Gary, that may not be possible–I’m not sure but I don’t believe Accucraft makes the long brass caboose anymore.
The Accucraft e-Store has them in stock at $183.60 apiece.
Robert
Ah, yes… Time for my sesquicentennial contribution! Micromark sells a vacuum/suction tool that, with a lot of cursing and staggering, can be used to pull those windows either out, or into position to be reglued— this from my bitter experience with a brass PSC long caboose. It is obviously a hell of a lot easier if you can get the body off, but if all else fails…
They also carry many fine edged tools which could be used to prevent any further conception among the family in question…
john