BLMA Trucks

[tom mann]

The vertical streaks on the 2nd GN photo would be interesting to replicate.

(Torn?) cosmetic sponge, maybe?

Or cheesecloth, or a gauze bandage?

or bacon!  ;D

[jsoflo]

Here they are on a Walthers Thrall wellcar set I shortened to 40' wells:

[shawnleon]

Thanks for sharing the pics. Looks great, would love a larger image if available.

Shawn

[jsoflo]

This better? ;D

[ednadolski]

This better? ;D

Yes!    ;D

[shawnleon]

This better? ;D

Very nice. That's a fine looking truck!

[TiVoPrince]

Rolls
eye toward several Walthers sets hiding nearby. Your shop dates are coming soon, boys.  Craig, multi 'bulk pack' me please...

Were Thrall cars 33 on ends with 36 in middle?  2004 couplers to body mount and complete the task, just until we get proper BLMA couplers...

Perhaps if we all whine for couplers in every single post...

[Hyperion]

Rolls
eye toward several Walthers sets hiding nearby. Your shop dates are coming soon, boys.  Craig, multi 'bulk pack' me please...

Were Thrall cars 33 on ends with 36 in middle?  2004 couplers to body mount and complete the task, just until we get proper BLMA couplers...

Perhaps if we all whine for couplers in every single post...

They should be, in most applications, actually 38" wheels on 125T trucks on the joints.  But only Kato makes a 38" wheelset.

[Craig Martyn]

This better? ;D

That looks AWESOME!  Thanks for the support!

[womblenz]

Which of the fox valley wheelsets fit these trucks

I to would be interested in bulk packs

cheers Warren

[bobcat]

Which of the fox valley wheelsets fit these trucks

I to would be interested in bulk packs

cheers Warren

Why would you want FVM wheels, at least until you see first hand how good the BLMA metal wheels are?

[GaryHinshaw]

Jan - the BLMA's look great in those well cars.  They fill the space much better than the MT trucks do.  The chop job turned out really great too!

Of course 125/38" would be most welcome in this context too, Craig...  And I really can't wait for those Sargent-style BLMA couplers with all those draft gear box styles that will make body mounting any fleet a snap.  (Oops, I did it again...)

[jsoflo]

I am a big Fox Valley wheels fan and I will say without hesitation that the wheels on the BLMA trucks roll just as well and look great, my 2-cents would be to keep the FVM wheels for other projects with MT or Atlas trucks, the BLMA's do not need them.

As for the 40' cut-downs- Gary, I do not recommend this job, its way harder than I thought it'd be, as the upper and lower articulation positions cause MAJOR headaches with the angle of cut (even micro-millimeters off will cause trouble) when they are re-attached. What I mean by this is, you flush cut both sides of the well where it meets the end walls, than flush cut at the 1st rib of the remaining well on each side (4 cuts per car). Every cut must be perfectly straight (mine were slightly off resulting in metal filing). The problem is that in the construction these were set at a particular angle that is hard to re-establish when you re-attach the ends. You realize this (or rather the extent of it) when you attach the trucks to the articulated ends. I had to go back at them with a file, and had to bend the angles on the circular articulated attachments (broke one off doing this which has had to be glued back on in the perfect place). A real pain. Someone needs to make a kit of these bastards!

My best,
Jan

[TiVoPrince]

Wouldn't
be so bad if I could break any of those sample couplers...

*too bad they are still imaginary...

[ednadolski]

And I really can't wait for those Sargent-style BLMA couplers with all those draft gear box styles that will make body mounting any fleet a snap.  (Oops, I did it again...)

Rumor mongering again?   ;D ;D ;D

Actually, I'm not sure if N scale is quite ready for a Sargent-like coupler.  IMHO, it's hard enough in HO scale to get in there and manually line the couplers.

Ed