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Kato F40PH (N-scale) Here's my current N-scale Metrolink livery (I only need one F40PH painted): • Athearn F59PHIs x3: #881, #882, #882 (need to re-number): 1988-1994 • Kato F40PHs x2: #800, #800 (need to re-number to #840; re-paint to early-scheme): 1974-1992 EMD; 1988-1996 MK/MPI...

I bought a Kato Portram from a third-party Amazon seller, and about a month later the Portram inexplicably stopped working. The lights turn on, but the motors are silent (i.e., the loco is receiving power through its wheels, but the motors won't run). I've cleaned the wheels to no avail. Does...

Matte-medium + surfactants: Which ones? I was experimenting with gluing my non-sanded grouts that I use for dirt and some ground foams and tried Woodland Scenics' scenic cement. I was impressed with its performance. The scenic cement didn't discolor my grout, and everything sealed up nicely...

Building modern concrete freeways: Both BLMA and Rix highway products are simply too small to mimic modern multi-lane freeways, so I think I'm going to attempt to build my own. I think it'll be one of those "cross-section" models where the roadway bisects the layout, beginning with a...

I need to craft some rolling hills to model a hilly section of Los Angeles which contains a field of oil derricks. I'm trying to think of a "dry" process which doesn't involve using plasters. My first idea was to construct some kind of framework onto which I could drape Woodland Scenics'...

N-scale: Busch 160:1 vehicles vs. Kato vehicles. I know that some Tomix models N-scale in 150:1, but despite the original thread title, I'm unsure if Kato models their vehicles at 1:150 or 1:160. I'm about to buy some N-scale vehicles from Busch (Germany). I'm assuming that most or all European...

I chose a brand new Kato SD45 as my test loco. So far, I've only used burnt sienna from PanPastels' "Rust & Earth" weathering kit, and black, titanium white, and Paynes grey from the "greys" kit. Without first looking for an appropriate prototype photo to work from, I just dove in and gave it a...

I see most here using the pink stuff, but for whatever reason the only Home Depots which carry pink stuff is further away. The blue stuff is available much closer. Why do you pick pink over blue? • Owens Corning FOAMULAR • R-Tech INSULFOAM Also, the Owens Corning product is "scored." Is this...

Boy, do I love these (not my photos). These are the light-rail cars used in the Los Angeles Metro system which includes ground-level, subway, and elevated track, some running down the center of major freeways. I wish someone made N-scale models of these! I found some Kato and Tomix models that...

Dulling spray is an industry-standard removable spray used in film and TV production to reduce reflections. Has anyone used it in a modeling application? I want to dull certain scenery items, but I may also want the option to change my mind and "un-dull" it. I've read that Testors' Dull-Cote...

As I've mentioned in other threads, I recently bought a pile of used Kato and Atlas EMD/GE locos. Most run great, but one older Atlas GP35 is noisy as hell. It sounds like, "Whhhrrzzzzzz . . . " Is this due to motor age, gear-lash, bearing-wear, etc.? Is it fixable? I bought a variety of track...

Hey, guys! I could really use your help here: I bought a used InterMountain SD40T-2, and the shell won't "click" onto its chassis! I set the light-blocking piece where I thought it should go (I don't know if that's placed correctly or not), but even when I removed it, I still can't get the front...

I live in Los Angeles, the land of freeways! In the past, I've used #400-grit black waterproof sandpaper for asphalt. To me, it looks and feels just like the real thing. Although I just made a $99 investment in a fairly large Kato Unitram street scenery piece, I would like to eventually build...

N-scale Kato Unitrack + Unitram layout: Small-build layout progress thread [revised]. I finally decided to go N-scale! After wracking my brain as to where to construct a layout, I just went into the garage and measured my Home Depot-built workbench cabinets. It runs most of the width of the...

I have some fairly long locos, including the Bachmann EMD DDA40X "Big Boy." I was planning on adding multi-loco trains using three to six SD-40s, SD-90s (or a combination of both) in tandem. My current freight inventory includes only a five-car stack-container car that I just ordered. I was...

Among the major manufacturers, I was just looking for your general impressions. I would guess that most are close enough to be about the same. Since I don't own any of my own stock yet, I'm basing my observations solely on the small .JPG catalog photos from the major online resellers. •...

I just bought a pile of Tomix (Tomytec) and Kato N-scale buildings and structures from both Amazon and ModelTrainStuff (available inventory varies wildly among vendors). All of the Tomix buildings I bought from ModelTrainStuff says, "built-up" in the product description which I assume means...

So, I've made the decision . . . I'm going with the "big" 'N'. I'm thinking of running both Southern Pacific and Union Pacific since I see both roadnames used quite a lot in the Los Angeles area. My preferred roadname is Southern Pacific, but going with N-scale leaves me fewer selections...

I live in a house, but I'm fairly space constrained (living in Los Angeles, unfortunately, we don't have basements). Also, I have a number of other space-consuming hobbies: A full-blown music studio with a drum kit, three half-stack Marshall amps, a ton of keyboards, etc. I have a living room...

I'm looking to build an all-new DCC HO system from the ground-up, eventually converting to 100% dead-rail. I've already chosen my rolling stock (initially, a bunch of RTR 31K tank cars). Now, I'm trying to decide on my locomotive power. These are the three DCC-with-sound locos I'm considering...