Guilty as charged, I have switched to using Kadee #78 couplers on my
most recent resin kits (I started this first, and am finishing it
late). This car will never be an award winner, I got it cheap at a
train show, and learned some lessons from it. I don't think the #78
couplers were available when I started this kit!
My Kadee #208 (red bag) washers don't quite fit over the...
bushing?... inside the coupler box. There's a #210 "coupler washer",
but that might not be the right thing, either, 5/64" ID is even
smaller than 1/8". I'm not sure what those are used for. Do I ream
the red washer, or cut down the "bushing"? I have enough spare #5
boxes I can experiment, I suppose...
Dean Payne

--- In STMFC@..., "Benjamin Hom" <b.hom@w...> wrote:

As posted earlier, the Kadee #5 box does have a bunch of vertical

slop. A shim inside the coupler box would definitely help. BTW, if
you're going to go with a scale coupler on a resin kit, why use
anything with the #5 box? The smaller coupler head only serves to
call attention to the too wide and shallow #5 box. Use a scale
Accumate or a Kadee #78 instead.

The other lesson learned here is that you've got to resolve coupler

and truck issues early in construction before fine detailing and
finishing. You can do this as early as right after assembling
the "box". This is especially true for scale sized couplers, which
have far less tolerance for vertical mismatches. Trying to fix them
after you've finished the model invites ruining details.

Ben Hom