Just bought my first Kato locomotive and was a little shocked to see the detailing is all plastic and has to be applied by me. Are there metal wire replacements for the grab rails and railings or has anyone made their own and, if so, how is it done?
Smokey valley makes handrails but you have some work to do to make them work and other detal parts will work with some extra drilling and gluing, been there done that, Jim.
I’ve actually found the Kato plastic rails to be very sturdy compared to others. But, I too like metal better and have used smokey valley with success.
Thanks for the input. I will try Smokey Valley.
I guess I wouldn’t assume that plastic handrails are necessarily not as good as metal ones. I have a couple of Kato engines and the handrails look quite good to me. One nice thing is Kato drills the holes for you, so it’s just a matter of putting the handrails in place. Normally they fit so well you don’t need glue. Plus the handrails are pre-colored. I’d try the plastic ones first before deciding if they’re good or not.
I guess I’ve always had the mindset that metal is better than plastic. If I can attach them without glue I will try them. Then if they don’t work out I can always retrofit the metal ones later. Thanks for the input.
Many years back most diesel engines had plastic handrails that were quite a bit oversized, and freight cars had cast on plastic grabirons. Some modellers while detailing / decorating the models would replace the plastic handrails / grabs with thinner metal handrails. The metal handrails were only “better” because they were thinner than what was then available in plastic. In the last 10 years or so, most model manufacturers have used plastic handrails that are very thin, thinner than some metal handrails that are available.
With Kato handrails, I find the tiny holes are sometimes a bit too small - perhaps because of the engine body being painted?? Anyway, I find that if I take a sharp pointed hobby knife (like an X-Acto knife), place the point in the hole, and spin it once or twice while applying little pressure, it reams out the hole just enough so you can push the part in place and it will hold snug without needing glue.
I’m a major supporter of Kato HO & like what they do, although the grab irons are ‘Square’ & a little scale thick, they still are the nicest when it comes to quickly assembling a model for the rails. Although the sprues look like a lot of parts, they go very quickly & they do (Kudo’s) provide a couple extras. (although I can’t begin to count the Windshield wipers I have lost to a springy tweezers!!!) Even though I make some ‘OK’ models, my Kato’s still rule the road, so to speak. I am severely disheartened that they have been abondoning HO scale, it hurts. Try to find an Undec AC4400, geez! One ‘tool’ that I use is a Deremel pointed metal bit, it looks like a capital A with a shank out the bottom, it is a nice starter hole reamer, if you do not have small precision drill center milling machine bits, -& they are common to find at most good HW stores.
(IMHO) Kato loco’s also offer better detail (& superior running) in most models & lend themselves well to customization, some of that customazation I placed in this weeks (Jan 21) ‘Weekend Photo Fun’ post.
I hope you look at it & enjoy,