Train Layout (Part 2)

Over the weekend I bought an artificial turf rug. Amazing what a difference it made. 

The Joe that started it all

My first GI Joe was the straight arm Short Fuse. This Joe started many many year of enjoyment in Joe collecting. But like most Joes owned by little kids he did see ruff times. I still have the figure but sadly he has a broken pelvic along with both thumbs broken off. Over the weekend I did some trading with a friend and ended up with another straight arm Short Fuse. I am very excited to get this figure again.

Train Layout (Part 1)

4' x 7' layout on the floor of my collection room. There will be more pieces of rolling stock adding in the future. Maybe a couple more gondolas, flat cars and rail command center that will be a scratch built project.

Railroad Track

Got to have track if you are going to run a train. For this I went with LGB G scale brass track for a couple reasons. Eventually I like to do a couple outside dioramas and LGB brass track is relative easy to find. This track is made to be used outside and easy to work with and handle. There are quite a few manufactures out there for G scale track so this is really something you can chose what you prefer to use. A little advice don't mix tracks from different manufactures.

There are different sizes of curve track and different lengths of straight track. I went with a 4 foot radius curve and 1 foot lengths of straight. 

I also have 2 switches a left and right hand. These match the sectional track that I am using. There 1 foot long with a 4 foot radius curvature. 

GI Joe Crane

A crane was something else I figure that would be handy for the train. How else will they unload equipment and material from the gondola. This is and LGB crane that was painted yellow. I only painted the chassis of the crane leaving the boom and motor yellow.

GI Joe Gondola

One car that has multiple uses in a gondola. These are basically flat cars with low sides that can haul anything from vehicle and equipment to any type of supplies and material.

This car was relatively easy to take apart and paint. Only removed 2 screws and that dropped the wheels off. A cleaning in warm soap and water and then painting with the same olive drab as the locomotive and the car was done.

GI Joe Engine (Part 2)

The engine was hard to disassemble. There are 4 screws and the couplers holding the chassis on the body of the engine. Once the chassis is off there are 8 tabs holding the body together. I had to use multiple small screw drives to get the body disassembled. Took close to an hour to get everything apart.

Next I washed and cleaned the parts in warm soapy water. This will remove any oil or grease and give the paint a clean surface. I use an olive drab color on the engine. I only painted the yellow portion of the shell. I sprayed multiple lite coats, and making sure all the areas that will be seen was covered and now yellow showing.

I let the paint dry for a around 12 hours before reassembling the locomotive. Reassembling was much easier the taking it apart.