I recently put together an approximately 1:29 Utility car. I decided to use bits and pieces left over from other projects and other stuff from round the house. The wheels are 2 sizes of metal washers glued together, the window glass is microscope slides and bits of brass wire, and dowels. For the roof I used some actual tar paper left over from our roof replacement.
5 Likes
Nice work Carl. That would have been a perfect entry for the MIK Challenge, Are the trucks scratched as well?
1 Like
Thanks Bob. Yes the trucks were made from brass wire, wood, and the wheels were 2 metal washers of different sizes glued together.
I think that is just ingenious, but begs some questions. What size diameter holes are the washers and are they all tight fitting to the axle or are the washer wheels rolling on the axle. Did you se like a fender washer for the larger one and standard washers for the others. I am just trying to wrap my head around this in case I decide I want to try that.
Oh and the rest of the car looks fantastic as well. Very nice scratch build.
1 Like
That’s a neat looking car. Great work.
1 Like
Thanks Devon. It was a fun build. I especially liked trying to figure out what materials I could use. I originally going to order some actual train model wheels online, but I got impatient and decided I didn’t want to spend any more money. Since this was going to be a static model, I wasn’t too fussy that the wheels would actually be functional on a model RR track. So to answer your question, I have attached a photo of the washers showing size - the larger one about 1 " in diameter and the smaller one about .9". It’s true the holes are too big. I would need an axle about 8 or 10 mm in diameter. So I glued the washers together and also glued a scrap bit of wood on the back (you can sort of see it in one of the photos). I then drilled a smaller diameter hole to take a 3 mm dowel. Since the undercarriage would obscure the wheel fronts, I wasn’t fussy about what they looked like. Photos to follow
Devon’s right, those wheels are ingenious.
1 Like
I’m curious to know how well the trucks and wheels stay on the track and run through the switches. Good job, myself being a modeler I’m always looking for parts and junk cars on eBay to get my modeling parts, etc. at a good, reduced price.
Hi John. This is a static model, display only, so I didn’t bother configuring the wheels and trucks for actual placement on a track. The only thing that “works” is that the wheels turn on the axles.
1 Like
Well, that makes sense now, it would really look great being pulled by a loco on the rails.
I think you could make the washer-wheels operational. The inner washer rim is on the thick side, but it should work OK.