Nothing says “Narrow Gauge” better than a string of beat up, rusted out skips rattling along at 5 mph behind a tiny critter locomotive. In Gn15, that scene is easy to create! The Sidelines Gnat is a perfect critter kit - and the skips are an easy kitbash using a Sidelines Models chassis and a Gnomy toy “ore car” (skip).

© Carl Arendt

The Gnomy skip bucket and cradle are a perfect fit on a Sidelines Gn15 chassis. The photo shows the steps in the conversion process, from left: (1) Gnomy toy skip, made by LGB, purchased at local hobby store; (2) Gnomy bucket and cradle glued onto Sidelines Gn15 chassis; and (3) painted skip, ready to leave oxide streaks on the right of way.

The entire conversion took about 2½ minutes. It required somewhat longer to rust it out, due to paint drying time. This is a very easy project in ½” scale, that provides a good effect for almost no effort!