Hi guys

I bought a 5 car gunderson intermodal kit and I am at the point where I am ready to paint.  I heard of ways to prep the diecast metal but can't seem to find that link again.  I want to make sure the paint sticks so that is why I am asking.  Of course once its painted LOL I am going to attempt to weather it with paint and powders.  

I need all the help I can get and appreciate the answers.  Thanks Keith

I am doing a logging layout set in the Teens and 20's era when things were just beginning to modernize, No particular place. I already have some expensive HO Locos. I also want to use some HOn3 for things like side tracks into the mountains, Mills etc, but I do not want to "break the bank" so to speak to get an HOn3 loco or two. How do i convert an HO loco to HOn3 I know there is a way.

I've been looking through some threads, and seen plenty of articles on how to make well weathered wood out of styrene.  What I need is a way to make a freight car deck look like relatively new wood in decent shape.  I have a set of Central Valley 40' boxcar floor and frame.  I'm going to build them up and put open seating on them.  The railroad took some old box cars and re-used the frames, replacing the wood, and using them for tours of the scenic gorges and rivers.  The cars have only been in service for a couple of years, so the boards have seen a fai

OK, I give up.

I know there are better representations available, but I hate to just throw out the Athearn 85 foot TOFC models. Over the years, there have been magazine articles with instructions on how to splice two cars together to end up with a proper length (89' 4") flat.

This is where I give up... I have tried searching the Train Life database for articles that supposedly exist, but have had no luck actually finding the article(s). Does anyone know the month, year and magazine title for these articles?