Lehigh74 posted:Lehigh74 posted:jini5 posted:I see the solido has a single axle. I am working on 10 more of the twin axles so I can do a string of these cars. Not sure if I will keep the Menards flat.
The 14” flat is the best car that Menards sells in my opinion. The removable plastic faux bearing caps make it easy to adjust the gauge. I put a few coats of Age-It-Easy on the deck. Like every other Menards car, you do have to lubricate the bearings. The majority of my military train is made up of them with diecast that I got on sale at American Excellence (though I don’t see any 1:43 US military stuff on sale there at the moment). With the bearings lubed, a single loco can pull a dozen of the 14” flats easily.
After extolling the virtues of the Menards 14” flat car, I should add that if you are building a military train, the MTH flat cars with military loads may be the better choice. Depending on the cost of the military model, the cost of the Menards flat plus two models can approach the cost of an MTH flat with the models included. Usually you can find the MTH cars at a discount and there is no question that they are better cars. Now if you want a particular load that MTH doesn’t have, the Menards cars work. Personally, after seeing this thread, I ordered two of the Atlantis Howitzers last night to put on some Menards 14” flats.
I was thinking the same thing about the cost going into this. However, in my opinion, MTH premier flats ride too high. Their diecast offerings are just not quite right scalewise. This is not a bash on MTH. Their detail on those diecast pieces is very good(just not sized right). I have some of their Abrams tanks and think they are awesome (just too small) I like the Atlantis kits because when they are on sale the price is right and easy fast assembly with Tamiya liquid glue. You can do an assembly line when building the Howitzers. It goes very quick. Have your airbrush ready for a few coats of light military green and some clearcoat. In the end, You have a true 1/48 model with very nice detail.
