Blue Plastic Tracks

Nice haul Super, if a weird and varied mix, bit like what I go for lol!! Not so much always a specific thing, but stuff that catches my eye

Nice haul super, I like the coal filled hoppers - very nice!

Disappointment #1

One of my latest goals was to thin out and complete sets of rolling stocks that I really wanted long rakes of. I thought I was done with the mine cars as six is a nice number for me and I had plans on a little customization on them. I had no idea, and pictures in auction listings really didn't show perfectly but there are two shades of grey when I thought they were all the same color. My mission is not complete with these as I now need 3 more of the dark grey wagons.



Disappointment #2

Same problem with the coal hopper cars, I thought they were all the same color grey but like the mine cars there are dark and light greys. I have two more coming in the mail but I have no idea which color they will be. I am hoping to also have six of these dark grey.

I wonder why the colors are different? Interesting to see the darker colored wagons...

That orange train is very eye-catching, and I am a little envious of all the rolling stock. Good haul!

Actually Super I wouldn't be at all disappointed here, in fact I would consider it an opportunity. My reasoning is that in 'real life' (god forbid) a goods train will rarely have cars that are identical in terms of colour, some will be bright and shiny, some dull and faded, some rusty, some maybe even with grafitti these days.

So you could either run them as they are mixed in order so they look random or and here's the opportunity for you, get some 'weathering' powder or paint and give them a little coat of that. This will tone down the differences in colour and give them that worked grimy feel. If you really wanted to get realistic you can even get stuff that will give them the look of having some rust on them. Applied judicisiously say around the edges/seams of the wagons they could be made to look pretty realistic. If you want something like that of course

I had no idea there were different colour variants of these trucks either. The dark grey ones look more similar in colour to normal Plarail train wheels or the bodies of the Troublesome Trucks. I actually got two HiT Toys ones in this coal loader set (they were not pearl grey as depicted on the box):



I used one of them in my Ivor the Engine remake since I didn't have the coal blocks for regular trucks (Ben was sold here back then, but Bill wasn't). Then again, I once used black LEGO parts and they looked better. BTW, the lack of consistency between the shades should not bother you at all. As Nigels wrote, it adds a bit more realism when they look different from each other.

i can see your disappointment but that's the rough and tumble of the used market, i run two 26 yr old motorbikes and buy spares off auction sites, sometimes you don't get quite what you hoped. you can go back for a bit of a refund usually because sellers don't like adverse feedback. alternatively what about semi matt spray, i haven't much experience of plastic so possibly a suitable primer might be needed.

You should write a book, Fifty Shades Of Trackmaster. Lol

(12-14-2016, 09:51 PM)ROKMAN1445 Wrote: [ -> ]You should write a book, Fifty Shades Of Trackmaster. Lol

ROTFL

or...

"50 shades of grey (train goods wagons) - a filthy tale of all the things that happen to a poor innocent goods wagon during its life time, from its first coupling to its final journey to the knackers yard..."

(12-14-2016, 12:44 PM)DalaGStanator Wrote: [ -> ]I had no idea there were different colour variations of these trucks either. The dark grey ones look more similar in colour to normal Plarail train wheels or the bodies of the Troublesome Trucks. These coal hoppers appear to be the "special" ones that have loads that flip when they touch specific TrackMaster track parts. I actually got two HiT Toys ones in this coal loader set (they were not metallic as depicted on the box):

Thanks for the information. Because of it I was able to do a little checking. I believe the set you referred to is the one with two dark grey hopper cars with the orange tipple. There also was a different set with one hopper car and an green tipple that looks to be light grey and another set with orange tipple that has one light grey car.

Unfortunately for me the two coal hopper cars that arrived in the mail today are both light grey which leaves me with 4 light grey and 3 dark grey. Really need the dark grey and will be looking for more of those. As most of you know our large layout is 99% light grey tracks and 100% light grey risers and the light grey vehicles just blend in too much with with all the grey already there. At least the darker grey will give a little more contrast.