Tichy trains ore hoppers
- Thread starter talgo49
- Start date
H...I have two, as yet unbuilt kits. They seem to look OK, but a little on the light side...Will probably need some additional weight. I'll get around to building them one of these days....
I have several of their kits from about 10 years ago. What I found was that the newer the kits, the worse the pieces went together. The earlier ones practically fell together, the more recent ones fit together poorly, locating pins and holes were poorly formed, they were not fun.
I don't know if they've improved any since then, but for the time and effort they required, I figured there'd be better options.
I don't know if they've improved any since then, but for the time and effort they required, I figured there'd be better options.
Molds wear out. These are not the best economic times for investing in new tools, so it may be a while before the product returns to its original quality. A quick note to Tichy, describing the assembly problems may just hasten the correction. It is possible that they are not aware of the defects.
Pete
N
nachoman
Tichey ore cars
These cars are great! Be advised they are not a shake the box Kit, but rather a plastic craftsman kit- I never thought I'd use those words in the same sentence.
The cars build up to very nice looking cars. I have replaced the trucks, as I had problems building them square. However, this is not a loss- the trucks on this kit are very fine, with brake detail and they look good lined up by the car shops.
The cars operate excellently with MDC archbar trucks and JB wheel sets (the blackened brass wheels and axles add some weight low where it does the best. They will run very well with that truck wheel arraingement if they are run in strings without heavier Cars.
My RR has 18 inch radiusses and a 8.5% rade. these cars operate flawlessly in mixed trains with heavier cars with just a few pieces of lead shot glued into the bottom., and the conditions on my mountain division, where mine live are extreme to the extreme (logging in E Tn. On the DG CC & W RR).
I have eight in service on the satandard gauge, and need more. I have four kits (eight cars) unbuilt which I intend to narrow for use on my Narrow gauge operations.
These kits build up into very nice looking cars that operate flawlessly. If you are hauling iron ore in the wooden car era, they are your only realistic option other than wooden craftsman kits that (trust me here) are more expensive, much more time consuming to build, are much more fragile, and whose operating charicteristics will be much more variable.
I built the first of my fleet when they were introduced, and I worked on one for the narrow gauge last night. I see no degregation to the moulds. some of the end bracing had curled some, but that is due to the scale size of the material; that is why the shake the box kits have stuff grossly oversized.
Buy these cars fearlessly! read the instructions carefully. Work slow to start with, once you are used to them they will fall together. If you are serious about Iron ore in the wooden car era, ( and shouldn't we all be?); you will need a bunch of these.
I have heard from some folks who haven't had a problem with the trucks. I've even heard of people cutting the trucks down to make narrow gauge trucks. I have some HOn3 wheelsets so I'll try it,
Bill Nelson
Clarksville Tn
These cars are great! Be advised they are not a shake the box Kit, but rather a plastic craftsman kit- I never thought I'd use those words in the same sentence.
The cars build up to very nice looking cars. I have replaced the trucks, as I had problems building them square. However, this is not a loss- the trucks on this kit are very fine, with brake detail and they look good lined up by the car shops.
The cars operate excellently with MDC archbar trucks and JB wheel sets (the blackened brass wheels and axles add some weight low where it does the best. They will run very well with that truck wheel arraingement if they are run in strings without heavier Cars.
My RR has 18 inch radiusses and a 8.5% rade. these cars operate flawlessly in mixed trains with heavier cars with just a few pieces of lead shot glued into the bottom., and the conditions on my mountain division, where mine live are extreme to the extreme (logging in E Tn. On the DG CC & W RR).
I have eight in service on the satandard gauge, and need more. I have four kits (eight cars) unbuilt which I intend to narrow for use on my Narrow gauge operations.
These kits build up into very nice looking cars that operate flawlessly. If you are hauling iron ore in the wooden car era, they are your only realistic option other than wooden craftsman kits that (trust me here) are more expensive, much more time consuming to build, are much more fragile, and whose operating charicteristics will be much more variable.
I built the first of my fleet when they were introduced, and I worked on one for the narrow gauge last night. I see no degregation to the moulds. some of the end bracing had curled some, but that is due to the scale size of the material; that is why the shake the box kits have stuff grossly oversized.
Buy these cars fearlessly! read the instructions carefully. Work slow to start with, once you are used to them they will fall together. If you are serious about Iron ore in the wooden car era, ( and shouldn't we all be?); you will need a bunch of these.
I have heard from some folks who haven't had a problem with the trucks. I've even heard of people cutting the trucks down to make narrow gauge trucks. I have some HOn3 wheelsets so I'll try it,
Bill Nelson
Clarksville Tn
Attachments
photo
I have one on my bench for narrowing! In the photo is a similar car from a wooden craftsman kit. Note the details in the plastic on the Tichy cars body
Bill Nelson
I have one on my bench for narrowing! In the photo is a similar car from a wooden craftsman kit. Note the details in the plastic on the Tichy cars body
Bill Nelson