New Vehicle Models at the National N Scale Convention

[Mark5]

No mention of the Atlas N Scale 1973 Ford F100 - is this old news?

[cfritschle]

No mention of the Atlas N Scale 1973 Ford F100 - is this old news?

I thought Paul Graf told me he was not going to announce it at the convention, so I promised that I would not mention it.  Apparently it was announced at the manufacturer's breakfast, but I did not stay for the breakfast, so I don't know who announced the Atlas products.  Paul had a morning flight out of KC, so he was planning to be at the airport rather than the breakfast.

Since returning from the convention, I was able to send Paul some measurements and photos for 1973 Ford F-250 wheels.  I am really hoping Atlas will tool those as well, and give us two trucks instead of one.  I see a lot of 1973 to 1975 Ford F-250s still in use, but seldom do I see a 1973-75 Ford F-100 driving down the road.

Carter

[Catt]

Carter,you need to come to West Michigan we have 73-79 F-100s and F-250s all over the place.Some of them look like they came off the showroom floor and some of them look (but don't run) like they should have been recycled about 20 years ago.

[James Costello]

Trainworx is now offering the parts to build your own trucks.   

I just realised how great this will be to go with the couple of Traincat auto-carrier trailers I have squirreled away! Winning!

[cfritschle]

Carter,you need to come to West Michigan we have 73-79 F-100s and F-250s all over the place.Some of them look like they came off the showroom floor and some of them look (but don't run) like they should have been recycled about 20 years ago.

Johnathan,

Most of the 1970s vintage pickups in southern Idaho wound up on farms, and that certainly took a toll on the F-100s.  The F-150s on the other hand have been about as durable as the F-250s, but those basically are built on what had been considered an F-250 chassis.  I still have three F-250s from the 1970s, one 1974 model and two 1976 models, that would still run if the rock chucks (ground hogs in the east) had not eaten the rubber fuel lines.

Carter

[cfritschle]

I just realised how great this will be to go with the couple of Traincat auto-carrier trailers I have squirreled away! Winning!

James,

If you mean building the tractor from the Trainworx truck parts, that is my plan as well.  The Peterbilt 379 with 61.5 inch flat top sleeper, custom grill/headlights and full fenders.  I just need to figure out the color.   

Carter

Edit:  The catalog lists 13 colors for the decorated truck cabs!

[peteski]

The Peterbilt 379 with 61.5 inch flat top sleeper, custom grill/headlights and full fenders.  I just need to figure out the color.   

That is the only downside to these models: the cabs are molded in clear plastic and the super-fine paint and trim details are Tampo-printed. This results in "flush-mounted" windows but also precludes doing your own painting.  Even if you managed to mask the glass areas, all the fine door lines, window gaskets, etc. will be lost on a repaint.

What makes this the best and most realistic N scale model vehicles, also makes them almost impossible to customize.  The only possible solution I see is to decorate them with decal wraps.  But even with my Alps printed I don't think I can print the silver door outlines and door handles as fine as they are done at the factory.

[cfritschle]

That is the only downside to these models: the cabs are molded in clear plastic and the super-fine paint and trim details are Tampo-printed. This results in "flush-mounted" windows but also precludes doing your own painting.  Even if you managed to mask the glass areas, all the fine door lines, window gaskets, etc. will be lost on a repaint.

What makes this the best and most realistic N scale model vehicles, also makes them almost impossible to customize.  The only possible solution I see is to decorate them with decal wraps.  But even with my Alps printed I don't think I can print the silver door outlines and door handles as fine as they are done at the factory.

Peter,

There are 13 different colors available, so perhaps you could just print decals to cover a portion of the cab to customize them.  And, only the cab portion is clear plastic on the T800s I bought.  The hood, fenders and roof appear to be opaque.  However, the headlights are clear plastic inserts.

Here is a list of the colors:

Black
White
Yellow
Orange
Red
Burgundy
Purple
Dark blue
Light blue
Dark green
Light green
Tan
Silver

The four cabs kits in the catalog (Peterbilt 350, Peterbilt 351, Peterbilt 379 and Kenworth W800) are available in the colors listed.

Carter

[peteski]

Peter,

There are 13 different colors available, so perhaps you could just print decals to cover a portion of the cab to customize them.  And, only the cab portion is clear plastic on the T800s I bought.  The hood, fenders and roof appear to be opaque.  However, the headlights are clear plastic inserts.

That is a pretty wide selection. of colors.  Sounds good! I did notice that it is only the cab itself (because of the windows) that is molded in clear plastic.

[Denbitt]

It's pretty common on the the real trucks,that just the fenders and the upper portion of cab are painted a different colour for a two tone effect.This would be a little easier to do than a whole repainted of the model.

[cfritschle]

I managed to get one of my Trainworx dump truck "kits" assembled this weekend.

First, the chassis with all of the parts attached.


And the finished truck.  I damaged the right air horn while fitting the cab to the chassis.  The air horns and mirrors should be the last items added to the cab.


And, I also updated a Kato Volvo with Trainworx 10-hole aluminum wheels.  Here is a before and after view.


Carter

[peteski]

The wheel upgrade on Kato Volvo makes a huge difference in appearance. I already knew that as I tried to do that a while back (using different set of wheels which I couldn't really keep on the Volvo.  It is really nice that those wheels are now available. It is puzzling that Kato messed those wheels up (although I seem to recall you tried to explain that the smaller wheels would be a feasible representation of 1:1 scale option on those trucks).

[Mark5]

Nice work Carter!

For the curious, I guess this is a preview of the F100's coming to N eventually:

http://www.atlasrr.com/Cars/ho-f-100.htm

Mark

[cfritschle]

The wheel upgrade on Kato Volvo makes a huge difference in appearance. I already knew that as I tried to do that a while back (using different set of wheels which I couldn't really keep on the Volvo.  It is really nice that those wheels are now available. It is puzzling that Kato messed those wheels up (although I seem to recall you tried to explain that the smaller wheels would be a feasible representation of 1:1 scale option on those trucks).

Peter,

The stock wheels on the Kato Volvo are simply wrong for a North American Class 8 truck.  The wheels depict 8 lug nuts, and are the same wheels Lemke uses on their Mercedes L322, which is a medium duty truck.  While low profile tires could be used on the prototype Volvo, they should still be on 22.5 inch wheels with 10 lug nuts. 

However, in Kato's defense, most Japanese "heavy duty" trucks do use wheels with 8 lug nuts instead of 10.  They may have not realized that North American heavy duty trucks use wheels with 10 lug nuts.  Plus, it is my understanding that Kato contracted the making of the Volvo with a Chinese company, and they may not have had a lot of input into that part of the design.   

Nice work Carter!

For the curious, I guess this is a preview of the F100's coming to N eventually:

http://www.atlasrr.com/Cars/ho-f-100.htm

Mark

Mark,

Thank you!  It sure makes one appreciate the assembled models.   I will get some more Trainworx "kits" over time, but they will not be a substitute for the factory assembled models.  

And yes, I was told the N scale models will follow a similar release plan as the HO models.  I do see some definite problems with the HO model in the photos.  The cab appears to be a bit too tall for the body, and that silver bar above the parking lights is too tall/thick.  On the prototype that part of the grill is only 1.125  inches tall, with a 2 inch gap below it with the letters F O R D in the gap.  I hope these "details" get corrected on the N scale model.

Carter

[peteski]

Peter,

The stock wheels on the Kato Volvo are simply wrong for a North American Class 8 truck.  The wheels depict 8 lug nuts, and are the same wheels Lemke uses on their Mercedes L322, which is a medium duty truck.  While low profile tires could be used on the prototype Volvo, they should still be on 22.5 inch wheels with 10 lug nuts. 

However, in Kato's defense, most Japanese "heavy duty" trucks do use wheels with 8 lug nuts instead of 10.  They may have not realized that North American heavy duty trucks use wheels with 10 lug nuts.  Plus, it is my understanding that Kato contracted the making of the Volvo with a Chinese company, and they may not have had a lot of input into that part of the design.   

Thanks for refreshing my memory Carter.    The packaging of the Kato model does indicate that the model was made in China.  For all we know, they were made by the same Chinese manufacturer which makes the Lemke vehicles (some of which aren't all that good). Or maybe just the wheels were sourced from the same subcontractor which supplies Lemke vehicle manufacturer.