Question on 3410 and 3419 Helicopter Cars?

[Railfan1588]

Hi, I currently have a 3410 and a 3419 helicopter car. I've decided to clean the bodies of both cars in some luke warm dish detergent water since after years of both cars sitting on the layout, they have became quite dirty and dusyy. One problem I ran into though, is I'm not sure how to remove the trucks on the cars so I can wa***he bodies of both cars. Is there anyway to remove the trucks?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Nick

[brianel027]

Nick, you can drill the rivets out from the trucks. I do this all the time, and reattach the trucks using a blackened screw with a stop nut. I do this though to eliminate the wobble of the trucks (that is always there with the rivet attached trucks) which causes derailments, espeically on 027 curves.

But you do not need to removed the trucks to clean the cars. You might want to consider using something like Lemon Pledge to clean the cars instead of the dish detergent method. Using the Lemon Pledge, you can either spray it on the car, or spray it on a cloth and wipe down the car. Always be careful with the lettering. Lionel used several methods of stamping lettering to cars, and sometimes the lettering can come off easier than you might think.

I have both helicopter cars you refer to and have cleaned them both with no loss of lettering. I also use these turbo blades that I got at a dollar store with some kids toy. They work just fine with the helicopter cars - and are much much cheaper than the replacement part helicopters. One of these cars is for my nephew's train set. I got the car used (and pretty beat up too) for around $9 at a yard sale, minus the helicopter. The turbo blades work fine and I don't worry about my nephew losing one. He also has as much fun launching the blade as he would the helicopter. Even at 11 years old, he understands $20 is too much for the replacement helicopter.

If you want to go with the dish detergent method, remove the wheel sets from the trucks and clean the wheels separately using WD40. Spray the wheels with the WD40 and let them be overnight. Then the next day, use a wire bru***ooth brush, brush clean the wheels and then wa***hem with a heavy duty doap and then use a blow dryer to dry the wheels to prevent rust from setting in.

Same goes for the train cars. I don't know if you were planning to pull the helicopter cars apart (the launching spring and assembly). But if you don't, you want to be sure to dry this quickly to keep rust from starting. Some blow dryers can get pretty hot, so even though these helicopter cars were made of a tougher plastic, don't get them too hot... you don't want to have nice clean cars that are warped.

Good luck Nick.

[Railfan1588]

Brianel,

Would it be ok to use 409 on the wheels instead of WD40, since 409 is made to get rid of tough grease?

Also, I did think about getting two replacement helicopters for both cars. But after looking at Olsen's Toy Train Parts, I found out that I could get replacement parts for 3419 operating helicopters which is great. So, I decided to go ahead and replace one helicopter since it is too far gone, but the other one is still in pretty good condition, and actually still takes off. All I need for the helicopter in good condition is a new skid and a new tail, and it will be like new..[:D]

Thanks for the help so far.

Nick

[brianel027]

Nick, never tried the 409. I had once bought some beat up cars (as is my usual manner) and the wheels had some surface rust on them as well as the usual dirt, grime and grease. The WD40 worked well and I've used it ever since for cleaning wheel sets on used cars I've bought where the wheel sets look bad.

For normal routine wheel cleaning, especially on cars with lights like cabooses, I use 91% isopropyl alcohol. I also use that on my track and locomotive wheels and it works just fine. The cheaper blends of isopropyl alcohol (71%, 50%) do not work nearly as good as the 91% blend. Even though the 91% is a little more money, it is still cheaper than a bottle of track cleaning fluid from a hobby shop.

Sounds like you're off to a good start with your helicopter cars. Have fun.

[Railfan1588]

Thanks for all the help Brianel.[:)]
Nick