Reviews : Tichy-Train 40' 50-Ton Flat Car ACF Kit

This is a nice kit BUT it is not for anyone looking for a quick and easy build! The are MANY parts and assembly is challenging. It does NOT come with couplers or decals. Fine pointed tweezers are a MUST! Handling some of these tiny detail parts is a real pain. Read and re-read the instructions so you get a feel for how to assemble BEFORE you start! You may need to deviate from the recommended directions a little as I did. I found it best to paint everything before assembly because masking the kit would be hard to do without breaking the fine details. Adding the trainline is the most challenging. It must be threaded through the frame in quite a few spots on both sides and it is very difficult to do once the frame is installed. I have two more kits and next time I WILL NOT follow the instructions and will add the trainline in two pieces.

This is the second kit by Tichy that I've purchased and am again very pleased. This kit has very clean molding with quite a bit of detail ( I am NOT a rivet counter ). The trucks in the kit will not be used as I prefer steel axle over plastic and the kit does not include couplers. Painting can be done easily with plastic model spray paint as the two trees of parts are grouped so one tree ( frame members etc. ) can be painted silver and the other ( brake components etc. ) red. Some of the break components are so small that I need to use a magnifying loop light to assemble but they *do* add to the detail of this kit. The instruction page included in the kit is very detailed as well and includes valuable suggestions on both painting and assembly.

This was my very first attempt at building a car from a kit. The parts were pretty clean, with only a little filing and shaping required. The instructions were very good, giving me no head-scratching moments. I know some people will be triggered when I say I don't really see why so much effort is put into exactly modeling the underside of the car when no one will ever see it, but there you go. The main problem with this car is that it is super light, and there is very little room to apply decals. Other than that I really like it, and it seems to be the only available plain old flat car with nothing on it.

I really enjoyed building this kit, the detail is amazing and the fit of the parts exceeded expectation. It should be noted that there are multiple small and fragile parts and that Tichy Kits are not beginner kits, however if you enjoy building models and not just running trains you will definitely not be disappointed with this kit. The extra brake detail underneath is a real bonus and adds to the feeling of accomplishment when completing this kit. I’m looking forward to building more Tichy freight car kits.

If you love to build kits, then this one should be at the top of the list. Awesome detail! Please note the parts tend to be small - hence the detail quality, and you need to take your time building the kit. Instructions aer top notch. These cars a perfect add to any flat car fleet.

Nicely laid out kit. Comes with trucks and wheels. No couplers. About 3 nights to assemble. Great to mount scale military vehicles upon.

Nice details, But you better have good eye site and not have fat fingers .. LOL A LOT of very small parts.

my son is excited to get this together and on his train layout

Not a beginner project but produces a quite nice model

Great kit, easy to follow instructions, easy assembly