# converting a $39 K-mart train set into something...nicer



## Rene (Dec 27, 2007)

Hello,

I saw this G-ish scale train set at K-mart and thought it would be fun to mod and paint up.



 

unfortunately the tracks are a wider gauge (about 51mm or 2"):




luckly the wheels are easy to pop out and fit with G-scale wheels:



so i put it next to an RS-3. Scale i think is fine but wagon is a bit tall:



So i trimmed off about 2mm of the bogies: 




and chopped out a part of the chassis, so the wheel assembly attaches directly to the body:



this gave another 4mm reduction in height and removal of stickers, its starting to look like a g-scale wagon:




next is to paint it.


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks like a fun project! 

Best, 
TJ


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## JohnReid (Aug 31, 2010)

Great idea ! Cheers. John.


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## Rene (Dec 27, 2007)

I didn't want the tender so i made it into a flat wagon by sticking some paddle pop sticks to a bit of cardboard:



Then trimmed it with a jigsaw and painted it black, i also painted the wagon with dark colours to make it look old and heres how they turned out: 

 


I used some of the wargaming paints and washes to bring out some of the details. 


I considering putting in some spoked LGB wheels, though it probably wont be visible.


Now, what to do with the loco and caboose?


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

That's a fun project, and it looks great so far. Looking forward to what comes next


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice conversions, Rene. Your weathering is great...


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

My experience is that the best use for the engine is "parts donor". I used to get a set from Scientific Toys every Xmas, it was a great source for bashing parts, the tender body got carved up for various bunkers on various tank engines, the cars were convertable for general use, but the engine block itself wasnt even strong enough to pull the track cleaner around, it also made a noise with all the charm of a fork stuck in the garbage disposal. So I rarely held onto them. most ended up in the recycling bin after being stripped for every possible part.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Great weathering and a clever way to improve the chassis. 
Those are fun projects indeed. And results can be very satisfying.


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## Bj702 (Feb 26, 2011)

use the cattle pusher on of of your steam locos


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