Large Scale Central

Are these trucks any good? How to make Boxcar siding??

Modeling Rolling stock
#1

I figured Id ask two questions in one post ;- )

I want to try to scratch build a couple of Flatcars (and maybe some boxcars) and was looking for some affordable trucks to purchase and keep seeing these “Bachmann 1:20.3 Finescale Die Cast 4’ Arch Bar Freight Trucks” for sale on ebay for a reasonable price.

Are they a good value?

I like the fact that I don’t have to put them together, I am currently building a kit that requires the trucks to be put together and am not happy with the quality. And I’m ok if the Bachmanns aren’t 100 percent the right year\scale\style\rivit counter version for early 1:20.3 rolling stock. My friends and family wont notice.

Also, is there a way to make boxcar siding with all of the scribing on the sides in a home workshop or do you all purchase the siding with the scribing?

For the Flatcar planking I am planning on using coffee stirrers or popsicle sticks, if you have a better idea please let me know.

Thanks

Dave S

If this is the wrong forum please move to the correct one.

#2

Dave, I measure the size board I need for the correct spacing (use a boxcar you already have), set up a straight edge that you can set you siding piece edge against, and use a square and knife or scribe to scribe your lines.

#3

The Bachmann 1:20 archbar trucks should work for you. They have opening journal lids that tend to get lost. Probably a good idea to glue them closed. Just watch the pricing - don’t bid more than you can buy them from a retailer.

#4

Watch out for the shill bidder that drives up the price, I suspect it to be the dealer himself. t***g

Andrew

#5

Jon Radder said:

The Bachmann 1:20 archbar trucks should work for you. They have opening journal lids that tend to get lost. Probably a good idea to glue them closed. Just watch the pricing - don’t bid more than you can buy them from a retailer.

I don’t know why anyone buys new items on eBay. Those freight trucks sold for $65, and Tower Hobbies will sell you them for $59.

#6

Or, get some even nicer trucks from Rodney for even less money. Custom All Metal freight trucks with axle roller bearings.

Freight Trucks - pair

I’ve got quite a few of his trucks and they roll VERY nicely. Much better than Accucraft or Bachmann. They come assembled, but you do have to glue the journal lids in place. They are also easy to take apart for spray painting, plus go back together very nicely. They come with Sierra Valley wheels.

Great trucks.

#7

Responding to a couple of things you bring up…I would say that coffee stir sticks are very useful. Unfortunately early on I bought quite a but of balsa hobby sticks before I realize they were EXACTLY the same size as stirrers. Wow, my bad. I’m still kicking myself over that one! Not only that, stirrers are FREE, have natural variations in grain, color, and slight size differences that make them much more realistic than my store-bought ones. Here’s a recent example of how I’ve used them:

Second, and this is only my own personal opinion so take it for what it is worth, but I never use popsicle sticks for anything without changing their dimensions. My reason for this is that the size and shape of popsicle sticks is ingrained and forever imprinted into our culture from our childhoods onward and there’s no getting around it. No matter what you do to a popsicle stick it still looks like a popsicle stick. Like my boy scout popsicle projects my mom saved!! (It’s rather like the cat litter phenomenon; I never use it because no matter what you do to it people look at it and say, “Is that cat litter?”)

Finally, I scribe soft wood myself. It’s cheaper, but to me the main thing is that it looks much more natural since nevermind how mechanical and accurate you try to be there will always be little variations that create a better illusion of reality than a machine-scribed piece.

#8

I like to use USA Trains trucks for projects. You can buy a set of ArchBar or Bettendorf style for under $10 without wheels.
I also like to use the coffee stirrers or craft sticks as they are called. You can get a package of 100 or so at Walmart for about $4.00. I have used them to wrap a peanut butter jar to make a water tank, as door frames, window frames, decking on cars, battens on a board nd batten building and currently I’m using them ot build 4 doors on my build challenge entry.

I think you would do well to scribe the lines into your boxcar siding. Of course at 10 feet away the scribing tends to disappear from view and it is much easier to paint graphics and stick decals onto a smoothe sided boxcar.

If you want to scribe a bunch of pieces I wonder if you could set up some type of a press with nails in a line that would scratch a 4" or so swathe with each pass.

#9

Bruce Chandler said:

Or, get some even nicer trucks from Rodney for even less money. Custom All Metal freight trucks with axle roller bearings.

Freight Trucks - pair

I’ve got quite a few of his trucks and they roll VERY nicely. Much better than Accucraft or Bachmann. They come assembled, but you do have to glue the journal lids in place. They are also easy to take apart for spray painting, plus go back together very nicely. They come with Sierra Valley wheels.

Great trucks.

Are those the trucks you used on the box car you had at Bob’s?

That car rolled beautiful.

#10

Pete Thornton said:

Jon Radder said:

The Bachmann 1:20 archbar trucks should work for you. They have opening journal lids that tend to get lost. Probably a good idea to glue them closed. Just watch the pricing - don’t bid more than you can buy them from a retailer.

I don’t know why anyone buys new items on eBay. Those freight trucks sold for $65, and Tower Hobbies will sell you them for $59.

The Favorite Spot sells them for $29.11.

The Ebay Favorite Spot has them for $26.13.

He is a great guy to deal with.

Tom

#11

I can’t complain at all about the Bachmann trucks under my rolling stock, so if the price is right, go for it. There’s also a guy on ebay selling old Delton freight car trucks. They lack wheels and springs, but you can get 5 pair for $25 or less if he’s having a sale. Hartford Products’ small truck springs drop right in, and then you can use Sunset Valley wheels or Bachmann wheels. Total cost ends up under $25 per pair. Not as detailed as the Bachmann die-cast trucks, and not as smooth-rolling as Rodney’s ball-bearing trucks, but certainly adequate and the price is right.

For the siding, I use Evergreen “V” groove siding, with 3/16 spacing. A little 60-grit sandpaper gives it a touch of grain, and it’s easy to work with, and doesn’t swell or shrink like I’ve had the Midwest wood siding do.

Later,

K

#12

Vincent D’Agostino said:

Bruce Chandler said:

Or, get some even nicer trucks from Rodney for even less money. Custom All Metal freight trucks with axle roller bearings.

Freight Trucks - pair

I’ve got quite a few of his trucks and they roll VERY nicely. Much better than Accucraft or Bachmann. They come assembled, but you do have to glue the journal lids in place. They are also easy to take apart for spray painting, plus go back together very nicely. They come with Sierra Valley wheels.

Great trucks.

Are those the trucks you used on the box car you had at Bob’s?

That car rolled beautiful.

Actually, that is Bob’s car! He just lettered it for the J&B. Nice job, of course…

#13

I used skinny stick from WalMart for the decking on my flat cars. They have a thinner width then Popsicle sticks.

As for siding, scribed siding always looks like scribed siding to me. I prefer individual boards. But then again, I am just crazy.

#14

Kevin Strong said:

For the siding, I use Evergreen “V” groove siding, with 3/16 spacing. A little 60-grit sandpaper gives it a touch of grain, and it’s easy to work with, and doesn’t swell or shrink like I’ve had the Midwest wood siding do.

Later,

K

Yep!

#15

Dave

A few years ago I built a couple of boxcars. The cars sides and ends are 1/8" Baltic Birch plywood. I scribed the siding with a square and a home made scriber. Here is a pic of the process.

The scribe blade is just a piece of hacksaw blade ground down to fit in the knife handle and all the teeth except for the last three ground off, ( later decided this wasn’t really necessary). I then put the blade on an anvil and took the set out of the teeth. To scribe, just mark the spacing desired and using the square pull the scribe across the wood carving the groove as deep as you want. Just be careful when cutting the ply that the grain runs vertically.

Here is a pic of the completed car.

Ron.

#16

Thanks for all the great replies, I ordered 4 pairs of trucks from The Favorite Spot on ebay with the buy it now feature and they cost about $31.00 a pair with tax and shipping.

I will look into and experiment with the siding ideas above. I have a bunch of balsa wood, basswood strips \ sheet and hobby plywood (12" X 48" X 1/8 or a little larger ) that I inherited from my Dad when he passed that I want to try to use up. I wont use the balsa on the rolling stock but am going to try to use it as siding to make some structures down the line.

If anyone has additional ways to scribe plywood please don’t hesitate to post.

Thanks