I don't know... you probably have to make them yourself.  If you have experience casting resin, then you can have a shot, but they can also be made with paper cutouts as well.

And BTW, the "odd loop" (as you call it) on Percy's chassis is actually called the "crosshead guide yoke."  But yes, the TV series Percy has an inside yoke while the Bachmann model has an outside yoke.

Maybe you should give him "gray wheels!" LOL! (remember Trouble in the Shed?)

But seriously, I don't see anything wrong about Edward having gray wheels and don't comprehend the joke in the epsiode.

I may suggest 8 parts Conrail blue lightened with 1 part reefer white?

Quote from: Sparks on March 21, 2009, 12:19:25 AM
I doubt we'll be seeing any episode sets from Season 1-4. They're all too dated, and most kids won't recognize them. Besides, leave those little action sets for the Wooden Railways and stuff.

Actually, the PBS Sprout Cable Network has rerun the Season 1-4 episodes (S1 & S2 being Carlin re-dubs) on occasion, and these episodes are also available on many cable companies "Sprout On Demand" services.  I have literally caught up with what I missed by watching the older episodes On Demand!

So, little viewers who have watched T&F on Sprout will be already familiar with the older episodes!

Though I am not THOROUGHLY familiar with UK goods wagons (seeing as how I am from the states), I assume that usually fish vans are insulated, NOT ventilated.  Same goes with fruit vans.  Please correct me if I am wrong.

Quote from: derricknscaler on March 18, 2009, 09:23:19 PM
i would like to see



james accadent set (specal edition james with black tar spots two tar wagons 1 troublesome truck and brakevan with 12 caurves 2 left hand switchs and 4 strait tracks )or (james with 2 brake down cranes brake down flatbed four troublesome trucks and thomas)

thomas accadent set ( thomas five troublesome trucks and a specal edition
track that is collapsable in the middle you know like when thomas went to far and the track fell out under his wheels out that old mine)


percy accadent set ( percy brake van and 2 troublesome trucks with specal edition track that has a slop at the end of the track to make it look like water)

Or, more appropriately, the sets could be named for the episodes the scenes were featured in--The "Down the Mine" set, the "Percy Takes a Plunge" set, the "Dirty Objects" set, etc. (the "Down the Mine" set sounds interesting, maybe want to add Gordon with a cable reel attatched to his front buffer-beam, and the trucks would have to be season-one style---where the faces are nothing more than two angry eyes pasted on one end of the wagon). 

Maybe we could even do a "Thomas Comes to Breakfast" set with a special edition Thomas with the mangled front end, bits of fencing, a bush and a broken window frame!

Just a thought...

Maybe what would be nice would be some Troublesome Truck models that depict the way they looked in the first season, when their "faces" were nothing more than a pair of angry eyes stuck on the wagon body (a closeup of their faces can be found in the episode "Edward and Gordon.").

Another piece of rolling stock that would be interesting is the "dragon wagon" from the episode "Thomas, Percy and the Dragon." (anyone remember that one?)

I just had an interesting idea--what if we could add DCC/sound to the TTTE line?  Each DCC decoder/sound card will come equipped with each engine's distinctive whistle sound and appropriate chuff sounds (low-pitched for Gordon, high-pitched for Percy, for example).  Maybe, if possible, we could equip the card with a few lines of dialogue from Ringo Starr (or whoever is narrating now---I forget) in lieu of the "Bell" function (bells are only used on US locomotives BTW). 

DCC won't skyrocket the price THAT much, but it goes well beyond the expectations of the fans, considering that the series was originally made in 1984, before DCC ever existed!

QuoteThings we might find important like classification lights, feedwater heaters, headlight position, etc are not important to your average nine year old.

True enough.  WB had no idea the movie would appeal to us adult railfans.  They left the detail out not thinking there would be "rivet counters" who would be well aware of the missing details.

QuoteWow, I have to ask, do you have Sound files for the various electric locomotives out there, like the E44, E60MA, AEM7s, And Acela locomotives?  I try to get sound for my layout, but being a Northeast Corridor layout (which runs primarily electrics) its tough to find anything beyond a GG1 sound file.

Although my Microsoft Train Simulator (or "MSTS" as it is more commonly abbreviated) consists of steam and classic diesels/electrics, I can search the Train-Sim.com file library to see what I can find.

One other note: When using MSTS sounds for QSI sound cards, QSI prefers the sound to be at a sampling rate of 44100 Hz (CD Quality), while in MSTS's maximum sampling rate is 11025 Hz.  This compression causes an irreversible loss of high-frequency tones . 

I use Magix Music Editor 2 ro edit my MSTS sounds, and they have a utility called a "Brilliance Enhancer" which computationally adds high tones that were originally lost during compression, so we can create a 44100 Hz version of the sound so clear it's like it was recorded from the original source (which QSI normally expects) .  More info? See here: http://www.qsisolutions.com/products/techinfo/record-sounds.html.

Did you know?: The Acela Locomotives (Acela Express and HHP-8) were two of the four "default" electrics that originally shipped with MSTS.  The HHP-8 was the only default electric not permanently coupled to its trainset.

Also: On our PE project for MSTS, I got the opportunity to repaint an EMD F7A (with a B unit and a second A unit on the way) into a "What-if" PE scheme and figured out the proper colour pallete.  Although I am working strictly with RGB values (which are included), I have translated them into modellers' paint formulas  Anyone who wants to experiment can tell me the correct, more accurate formulas.  Note, the colours reflect their values during daylight:

Polar Express Blue:
R: 6 G: 73 B: 109
Conrail Blue + a touch of Pullman/Coach Green.

Polar Express Maroon:
R: 79 G: 9 B: 4
PRR Tuscan Red

Polar Express Gold (faux):
R: 255 G: 255 B: 0
or R: 100 G: 115 B: 24
Any Gold-Coloured Paint you can find!

Hope my advice helps those kitbashers/scratchbuilders out there!

Oops... on the S3 Berkshire reference I meant the Lackawanna-less Erie.  That's the trouble with we west-coasters, unfamiliar with east-coast fallen flags

I am a fan of the PE movie myself, and I want to point out some details that may aid the modeller:

1. Look at the PE loco's front end in the movie and you'll notice the following details:

A. Lack of Number Boards and Classification lights

B. Headlight housing is seemingly embedded in the smokebox door (a common practice on the Delaware and Hudson's 4-8-4's and 4-6-6-4's BTW)

C. No MARS light like on the NKP 765!

D. No Worthington S(A) Feedwater heater (does the movie engine have a Coffin FWH?)

BTW: The kid with the glasses in the movie said the locomotive was "A Baldwin 2-8-4 S3-Class Berkshire-type Steam locomotive."  Is he referring to the Erie-Lackawanna's Baldwin S3 2-8-4's http://www.steamlocomotive.com/berkshire/erie.shtml?

2. The PE heavyweight cars are what I call "bantamweights" or "shorties":  They are about half the length of a typical heavyweight.  To make these, take an ordinary off-the-shelf model, cut the body so the car is about 40 scale feet in length and exchange the 3-axle trucks for 2-axle trucks.  It is my theory that the decreased car length was required to compensate for the loss of two axles (a heavy, long car requires more axles to hold it up, a lighter or shorter car requires fewer!).

BTW: Just to spice things up, add a diner and a few sleepers, after all the PE is an overnight train!...Maybe even RPO/baggage/mail/Express (well how'd you expect those letters to Santa got to the North Pole?)...and don't forget the rounded-deck observation car!

3.  Assuming the movie takes place about 1954, very late in the steam-diesel transition try repainting a set of Alco PA1's or EMD E7/8/9's or even F3/7's to match the cars to give a sense of "Christmas Yet to Come."

4.  Those wanting DCC/Sound equipped locos and want an accurate PE-style whistle should record a loop of the PE whistle and send it to QSI http://www.qsisolutions.com/ to have a custom sound card made.  I personally got to produce sound effects and an interactive cab for a potential release for Microsoft Train Simulator and have a sound file of the PE's whistle on my computer.  Maybe I could provide it for anyone interested.

Hope my advice helps!