Made an account here just to share this, I picked one up at a train show recently and I’m detailing it as a Norfolk Southern maintenance truck. I’m not really into die cast so this is a first for me.
Mine too was bowed upward, however not as badly as in the photo above. I took it apart, slightly bent upward the tab that is connected to the cab casting, and added #2 machine screw washers between the two castings before reassembling (one on each screw). This solved the problem nicely.
I’ve added a few details to this truck. Paint work included painting the bed black, as well as the blank front license plate just to hide it a bit. I made a beacon light out of steel rod and styrene rod, which was painted white, followed by a coat of Tamiya clear orange. I also added an antenna made of the thinnest steel rod I could get at the hobby store. The decals are made by CMR products, the Norfolk Southern logo is from an S scale NS hirail truck set (CMR’s stuff tends to be oversized), and the striping is from the corresponding O scale Conrail truck set.
Yet to come is the railgear, more accurate hubs (as mentioned earlier in this thread), and possibly simulated LED lights on the front and rear bumpers as normally seen on hirail trucks. These will all be 3D printed.
I could really do without the lift gate, but this model will be on my train layout in such a way that the back won’t be visible, so I can live with it. Keep in mind I’m not going for absolute prototype accuracy on this model, just a good generalization of what their hirail trucks look like. I’m sure there’s an example out there that’s close to what I’ve made.
Here are some pics!
544790B0-3292-4AB2-B684-BAC6E2226F7C by
Steven Michael, on Flickr
CD6BD0FA-8660-4DF6-A615-2555C1A4CAAE by
Steven Michael, on Flickr
525EE03E-CFF3-4406-A5CE-342AE44B44D9 by
Steven Michael, on Flickr
69F67920-2933-46EC-863F-A7F3FEB89E8C by
Steven Michael, on Flickr
