Jerry, I suppose I could but I'd much rather collect the factory version. Decals just don't look like factory heat pad printing but I have heard of using vinyl decals as a mask. First paint the color you want the lettering then apply vinyl decals then give your model the finish color/s you want. When done remove the vinyl decals and there you have painted lettering. New decals to me are printed on too thick of a clear paper...they don' like settling down over rivets and such...maybe it's the way the ink is built up that causes problems compared to the old way of say MicroScale made their decals via silkscreen?? I just don't know.
Very nice work on the rolling stock & awesome modular layout you folks have! Those RC trucks & equipment send it right over the top as one can never have too much animation!
Larry, You do have me thinking about that too! I do know of a few dealers that are selling MTH cabooses at a reasonable price...like in the $60.00 range...Hmm
Nick Jr., I'm sure interested in any new loco...live steam or sparkie version!
Well another ECLSTS came & went with nothing new from AML except a drawing for a "new" GP60..Yeah that makes me want to run right out and pre-order a few!!?? I'd much rather see Accucraft make a 1:32 F40PH because then I could justify buying some of the GAL Line commuter car kits
Still no AML stainless steel track though a dealer is advertising it for a winter 2013 delivery...seems like it was also promised for a winter 2012 delivery date?? And folks complain when MTH misses shipping dates??
Sales must be bad for AML as Accucraft has distanced themselves from that line...Gave them their own website...And they're blowing out rolling stock...again. I see where one of their "subsidiaries" named Custom Model Products is closing the doors...hmm...Not good
I just finished painting my Southern Pacific bay window caboose. After moving most of the windows, I've had enough filling and sanding to last awhile. I used the stock MTH interior, just rearranged to fit the bay window configuration.
Actually the load a decoder will handle is normally expressed in amps, because if you chose ohms, the amount of current will vary according to the supply voltage.
For example, a USAT smoker actually runs at about 5 volts, and so does an Aristo. The transistors in decoders are really rated in amps.
In the QSI, it gives you a PWM output for the heater and it's good for at least one amp, but if you don't set the unit up, it will provide full track voltage, not the approximately 5 volts that will give you the right current.
Many people just don't know that you cannot simply hook up the heater element without making some settings. All the DCC decoders made have this same situation. People may also be used to buying a smoke unit that already has a voltage regulator built in, like a stock aristo, or the USAT with the regulator board, or a Massoth, or a TSA.
No doubt that MTH units smoke like crazy, and that's mostly due to running at a higher wattage than others (and having all metal construction to withstand the heat)
By the way, there is no difference in the smoke output capability between the 2 different QSI models, the only difference is in the sustained motor current they can handle.
FR
Just more techno babble from a jerk who doesn't know his ass from his elbow.
Anybody else notice that he doesn't provide any info?? He explains in theory how it SHOULD work with his limited sized pea brain...he apparently can't prove it works otherwise he would have posted how to do it here.
MTH has been and always shall be the king of smoke..The way it is after all they patented the microprocessor controlled in-sync with driver revolution toy train smoke unit.
QSI can't do it..that's one reason why MTH booted them and their inferior design out in 2000.
I don't think any of the old USA design, LGB design, Aristo design, etc.. was 'stupid'. They are natural progressions based on available engineering, materials, and resources (money). Look at the history: Narrow gauge = short trains . As things evolved, we, the users, demanded standard gauge models, and then we demanded they haul prototypical length trains. I am as guilty as anyone, but the toy train moved in the direction of model, while still being an electric train, there's a lag. And I believe the manufacturers chose to spend more money on the details of the model than what was going to move the model. Let's forgive them for that motivation and move on.
I do as USA Trains uses all metal gears in the Hudson, GG1 & Big Boy. The first 2 engines came out way before the SD70's but USA stuck with using plastic gears. Natural progression of design?? I don't see it.
Here's a pic of wore out Aristo Dash-9 gear & axles. The small grooves are from the little ball bearings that pick the power from the wheels and the bigger grooves are where the axle bearings ride. Both bearings & balls are hard steel but the axles are made of brass...no wonder why it all wears out.
I finally found a MTH One-Gauge BN caboose to go with my Lionel GP20's. I wasn't aware that MTH actually made a BN version as it was first cataloged in the O Gauge 2002 Vol. 1 and also in the 2003 RailKing One-Gauge catalog. Back when these came out I was helping St. Aubins' on a as needed basis...and they had tons of MTH One-Gauge stuff but I never noticed these cabooses..and I'm a BN paint scheme fan!
I thought the BN exclusively used the wide vision caboose..that is until I ran across this photo...close enough as far as I'm concerned
Well Ro has been at it for 20 years now but seems to refuse any change in design?
What I thought was really funny is about 10 years ago when Aristo announced the "new & improved" prime mover gearbox that was "engineered from the ground up"....thing is it's a direct copy of the high end O Scale brass engine modular gearbox design that goes back to the 50's?? Only mistake is that Aristo made everything out of plastic which doesn't last...worm gear internal hexes that strip out and axles made out of brass which wear out...axles that mount onto plastic spur gears by 3 teeny tiny screws...junk.
I have lots of 20 year old Lionel Large Scale locomotives and 2 in particular have many hours of run time. Upon inspection of the drives after a thorough cleaning the white plastic drive gears that are pressed on the axles look brand new! No cracks or stripped teeth...just some very slight normal wear. If Lionel can do it then Ro can to.
I've tried that "fix" on numerous USA loco's and to be quite frank about it I wasn't impressed. Since the plastic can't expand when the axle is pressed back it has to shear the id of the hole. Usually that shearing effect happens only to one side which ends up throwing the whole axle/ wheel assembly off center which makes for bobbing or swaying from side to side drive block.
Yes it works and will "fix" a cracked gear assembly but IMHO it's only a temporary fix until the proper replacement parts can be obtained. If the gears are in new loco's then USA will send replacement parts for free. If buying from the used market then just have to figure on replacing the gears and add it onto the purchase price.
USA is well aware of the problem but just like any other problem with there products they ignore it. I quit buying USA Trains because of this. When the S4 was introduced USA Trains held off shipping them until all the drives were checked and any or all gears replaced.
All USA would have to do is change the way the gears are made. Instead of using cheap injection molded gears use machinable engineering grade plastic and machine the gears. Or re-design the drives and use metal gears. Insulate the wheels from the axle then use all metal gears but that would screw up the electric flow from the axles to the side frames. In other words USA Trains has a crappy drive block design period and it seems that Chucky refuses to acknowledge it. As long as he's making a ton of $$$ by selling replacement parts at extortion prices he's happy..good for him.
Like Mike Wolf of MTH said years ago.."Why use cheap plastic gears when metal ones only cost a few cents more?" (at the manufacturing level).
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Jerry, I suppose I could but I'd much rather collect the factory version. Decals just don't look like factory heat pad printing but I have heard of using vinyl decals as a mask. First paint the color you want the lettering then apply vinyl decals then give your model the finish color/s you want. When done remove the vinyl decals and there you have painted lettering. New decals to me are printed on too thick of a clear paper...they don' like settling down over rivets and such...maybe it's the way the ink is built up that causes problems compared to the old way of say MicroScale made their decals via silkscreen?? I just don't know.