Having seen several times over the decades how RRs would sometimes put boards through truss rod turnbuckles to prevent the vibrations from running loosening them I finally got around to doing that to my Bachmann freight cars - all 6 of them, 3 reefers, 1 box, 2 gons.
Photo is the 3 reefers and 1 box, from a kit Robbie Hanson gave to the cause, down at model train club.
Wood is 1/16 thick basswood cut 3/16 wide. Friction fit, hopefully, holds them in. We shall see.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa309/FSW4picts/G%20gauge%20projects/Freight%20cars/th_IMG_1044_zps4xrrrhtl.jpg) (http://s196.photobucket.com/user/FSW4picts/media/G%20gauge%20projects/Freight%20cars/IMG_1044_zps4xrrrhtl.jpg.html)
Oh, wood is stained with either, I forget which, strong tone or dark tone, "Quickshade" gaming figure shading wash from Army Painter.
And, yes, I have this thing about painting the wheels a hue close to the body. No, I don't know why I began doing that. However, as an added bonus at no extra charge, there is little doubt which cars are mine! Box will be, (hopefully will be) getting metal wheels in August.
Let's see, how many freight cars do I have? The 6 Bachmann cars. And 5 which I'm slowly poking along at scratchbuilding out of balsa and basswood, 4 box and one flat. Have about 7 cardboard 15in by 3.25in tubes a friend brought home from his job at grocery store, plan is to get trucks and turn them in to tank cars. Shrink wrap for the meat department or something was what they came from. None of my scratchbuilds are going to be run in the rain, but since I don't have my own garden railway anyway ...
Great Idea and a simple way to add a neat detail. I too like to paint my wheels and couplers, but use a rust color acrylic from craft stores, or brown spray primer from rustoleum on the couplers. I also paint the truck sideframes to get rid of the plastic shine.
Is Army Painter a brand of Hobby paint?? Where can you find it?? I'd like to check it out.
Thanks for sharing.
Bill
My HO and On30 trucks get painted more realistically; the garden railway stuff is to me sort of its own universe ;D
"Army Painter" is a brand of acrylic model paint for the miniatures gaming market. Quickshade, which I think is an ink based product, comes in model paint sized dropper bottles or larger cans.
Hobby shops catering to miniatures gamers are the most promising places to find the product. The company headquartered Denmark, which is kind of cool, but they also have a US website.
A person could easily and less expensively use the time-honored home brewed washes but I was working with what supplies I'd taken down to model train club. My body does not tolerate much carrying things back and forth, so a bunch of my supplies have migrated to there. It is easier to carry the models than the tools and paint.
Thanks! I found the US website.. Interesting products, whole new world with those fighting figures. I had no idea.
Think it was H. G. Wells who wrote the first commercially published rules.
The way I see it, operating your railroad by railroad rules is another kind of miniatures game, one where most of the miniatures move themselves.
Something I want to do on open house days at club is let members of the public do some industrial switching - on my modules on the HO layout, have done some already and they get a kick out if it - and - have a brakeman figure they have to move to where turnouts need throwing, cars need uncoupling or coupling - to make them see the need to work smart so the brakeman doesn't have to walk a mile in the rain to switch adjacent spurs.