Trying to rebuild after the theft.

[Hiroe]

Now that i've finally got a decent house and shop to work in, i've started sorting through the damage from when the 12-year-old kid stole all my N-scale stuff. (My parents were prepping the house for sale, he broke in before i managed to get my stuff out, and helped himself to all my trains. We prosecuted, i recovered about 80%, and got a $10k check from the insurance co for the remainder. Unfortunately my former roommates not paying rent/bills meant that the money went towards the "i don't want to get sued by the landlord" fund, and now it's gone. Man, would i have loved to go on a multi-thousand-dollar shopping spree at the timoniom show, or something. @%$#&^!)

Anyway. When he swiped the trains, he didn't bother taking them *in* the custom foam storage trays. Oh no, he had to dump all the models out into a big box, put the trays back where he got them (like i wouldn't notice), then root through the damn box when he wanted to play with one of my "toys".

So there's a lot of stuff that has detail damage to it. This also wrecked a good number of scratchbuilt award-winning models, as they weren't designed for that sort of abuse.

If that wasn't bad enough, he even trashed a bunch of custom-painted atlas/kato locos, either by ripping them apart to see how they worked (maybe he couldn't get the decoder-equipped locos to run on his el-cheapo powerpack, which would explain all the cooked/snapped decoders), or spraypainted them brown, as his attempt at 'weathering'. I used to have six SD35's in various early-CR custom paint schemes; i got two of them back, with my ex-PC black bleeding-worms unit now more brown than black.


So some questions: Does anyone know how to remove matte spray paint without taking off my work underneath it?

Alternatively, does anyone have a spare Atlas PC SD35 shell available? Even if i recover the original paint job, i'm still going to need a full deck/handrail set and the fuel-tank casting.

I also need a full truck assembly for a Kato GP35, a handrail set for an atlas B23-7, and about 20 locomotive horn castings.

Would an 8-car Maxi-stack III look strange? I originally had two of the 5-car Sea-Land sets, but one of the B-end cars got wrecked. (Unless someone has a spare DI Maxi-stack III b-end car, which i doubt.)


More questions to be posted as i come to them.

[Guilford Guy]

That royally f'in sucks. Depending on the type of paint, I'd use an appropriate thinner and a q-tip and lightly rub at the brown paint. I'm assuming a Q-tip will be soft enough and small enough to not remove the underlying paint job or scratch it.

[Hiroe]

A q-tip and everclear took off *most* of the brown spraypaint, without disturbing my decal job underneath. What's left of the spraypaint can probably be muted down further with black washes, and maybe this unit won't look too bad.

Found a source of SD35 sills, handrails, bells, fuel tanks, and horns (are these even close to prototypical for CR?).

Also found the B23-7 handrails.

Does anyone know if the Atlas GP38/GP40 trucks will fit the Kato GP35?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

The horns depend on if it's an ex PRR or ex CNJ unit. Since yours is ex-PC, you should be good. We CR fans are lucky that they used 3 chimes. And generally, the Atlas 3 chimes are good. I like the look of the Kato ones a slight bit better, but it's really splitting hairs.

As far as the trucks go, I'm not sure. I won't be able to check tonight, but if nobody's chimed in by tomorrow evening, I'll try and check them at home.

[Hyperion]

Check to make sure the parts you need aren't available from Atlas themselves.  They sell almost all parts for their models on their own web-store at very reasonable prices.  Many eBay sellers just re-sell parts available from Atlas at a mark-up plus higher shipping costs.

[Hiroe]

Check to make sure the parts you need aren't available from Atlas themselves.  They sell almost all parts for their models on their own web-store at very reasonable prices.  Many eBay sellers just re-sell parts available from Atlas at a mark-up plus higher shipping costs.

Wow, you are indeed correct; this stuff *is* a lot cheaper through atlas themselves. Thanks!

[cv_acr]

Anyway. When he swiped the trains, he didn't bother taking them *in* the custom foam storage trays. Oh no, he had to dump all the models out into a big box, put the trays back where he got them (like i wouldn't notice), then root through the damn box when he wanted to play with one of my "toys".

So there's a lot of stuff that has detail damage to it. This also wrecked a good number of scratchbuilt award-winning models, as they weren't designed for that sort of abuse.

If that wasn't bad enough, he even trashed a bunch of custom-painted atlas/kato locos, either by ripping them apart to see how they worked (maybe he couldn't get the decoder-equipped locos to run on his el-cheapo powerpack, which would explain all the cooked/snapped decoders), or spraypainted them brown, as his attempt at 'weathering'. I used to have six SD35's in various early-CR custom paint schemes; i got two of them back, with my ex-PC black bleeding-worms unit now more brown than black.

Wow. The "intelligence" of some people really defies description.

[Walkercolt]

Hiroe, would you like an Okie-boy to "visit" your ex-room-mate and the thief? I don't know you, you don't know me, but us Okies are quite good at gettin' blood outta turnip. USAF taught me some ways to work on people's "tender parts" and I've recovered a couple of vehicles several dozen firearms and stereo equiptment from various people for "freinds". Juevvies are easy. You just put the parent(s) on the "rack" for the money. When you put a lien on their house or cars/trucks, money magically appears.   

[Hiroe]

Hiroe, would you like an Okie-boy to "visit" your ex-room-mate and the thief? I don't know you, you don't know me, but us Okies are quite good at gettin' blood outta turnip. USAF taught me some ways to work on people's "tender parts" and I've recovered a couple of vehicles several dozen firearms and stereo equiptment from various people for "freinds". Juevvies are easy. You just put the parent(s) on the "rack" for the money. When you put a lien on their house or cars/trucks, money magically appears.   

Believe me, i've considered it.

The juvie isn't so much the problem here cash-wise, as the insurance company did cough up the check for the restitution due (although in retrospect, i'm remembering a lot more items i owned that i couldn't recall at the time, so i never got reimbursed for those). What is the problem is that the former room-mates simply stopped contributing, and i couldn't move out without still being on the hook for all the rent. My fault for signing a lease with such sh&**y terms? Maybe, but then those roommates had promised to maintain good jobs, which never happened. So all that train-restitution money went *poof* into the land of "Bills that don't belong to me, but have somehow become my problem anyway".

I wouldn't mind putting the hurt on them for it, but it needs to be in such a way that there's not going to be any legal fallout for it. If i have to just walk away and eat my losses... well, no one ever told me life was going to be fair.