Building Realistic Steel Rebar Car Loads 

I've never seen rebar loads that are perfectly lined up In real life and another thing to take into consideration is that loads tend to shift allot in transit. other than that it looks good

I started using the tag wire at work years ago. Took me a few years to realize the model value. I’m in N scale and used it wrapped around a pencil to create coils of wire rod shipped out of our local steel mill. Great job!! Nice work.

Good job, nice loads! Since I'm a truck driver, I like the semi load the best. If you choose to do a semi load, just to inform you, if you have a 48 foot flatbed, you can carry 56 foot loads without having over size signs on the semi. You would place 4-4x4's on the trailer at the front, then place 1-4x4 about every 10 feet on the trailer. Then place the rebar over hanging the front of the trailer about 3 feet and then hanging off the end of the trailer about 5 feet. DOT doesn't count the over hang in front, just the over hang in back, 48'+5'=53'! They usually only haul 1 layer, maybe 5 or 6 bundles across the deck. 3 inch wide straps or chains to tie it down. Also, some businesses require spacer blocks between the bundles so they can unload it. Some places use an overhead crane, some use a forklift to load or unload.

I'm definitely going to give this a shot. Would love to see more realistic load how to videos!

Pros: Overall presentation was excellent, especially the selection of material and costs. Cons: Rebar is not silver, it WILL have to be painted before assembly, either dark gray or rust. Also, the 1/16th striping tape scales out to almost 5-1/2 inches wide, so 1/32nd tape would have been a better option if it could be found. Suggestion: ACC can yield a very stiff and potentially brittle bond for such a heavy load. Consider perhaps experimenting with only the Gorilla glue you mentioned or clear silicone adhesive. Advanced: Build a single bundle of re-bar and use it as a master pattern, then locate someone with a 3D printer who could use the master to create numerous bundles in appropriately colored plastic. This would produce lighter loads without having to build every single one of them.

A nice rust wash would look good. Great video.

For the green wire have a look at what florists use for their arrangements. I got a packet of 50 lengths from the dollar store real cheap.

Awesome video.. to the point dialogue.. very nicely done

hello SideTrack... really great work !!! fyi... your stainless steel load IS actually prototypical especially in the nuclear world where i worked as an industrial safety engineer for 33 years and just recently retired. we would get all sorts of metals shipped to our plant via everything from small delivery trucks to rail cars and a ton of what we received was stainless in all shapes and sizes. after receipt/delivery inspection, which had to be done by a trained and qualified inspector, the loads, shiny as they were, would be sent to a storage area for use later on. so don't listen to all the folks about your stainless steel rebar NOT being prototypical because it surely is !!! the only thing i would tell you is that some of the stainless we received at our plant had either yellow/orange/red paint on the very ends of each rod, which served not only to "seal" the end of the rod where it was cut during the measuring process but also served as a safety "indicator" for operators to see during any and all lifting movements. the rebar we got from canada ALWAYS had this paint, but the american providers not so much so. keep up the nice work, sidetrack and blessings to you !!

Some really helpful tips, especially the tag wire suggestion. I made a rebar load from a brush with long plastic bristles. The bristles had a slight corrugation which helped mimic the corrugation on the rebar. But the bristles were still on the short side. That tag wire is wayyyy too shiny, should overspray with some medium gray and dull coat.

For more realism, put tiedown straps at each sticker point. (Where every layer of wood is) The wood or "stickers", prevent the load from being crushed by the tiedown straps.

That was really an excellent video. Great narration, great show and tell, realistic looking, and great results. I think the bundles are a bit too shiny, need a little dull coat or some whisps of track paint just to give the bundles a more weathered appearance.

Great job

Great idea and it looks great too! Thanks for sharing

really like this......Thanks for sharing!

Rubber cement work a whole lot better Then super glue to hold the bundles to the car

Great video. Always love learning how to make things look more prototypical. Keep up the great work.

Awesome video, defently going to be doing this for my finger rack flat cars and my bulk head flats!

I did this tonight! Looks great! Thank you for sharing this. Making more for my other cars and one for my friend.

Great job on making those loads. Thanks for posting, i think i am going to try it myself.

Awesome modeling and great looking loads!!

That turned out looking great.

Man am I glad I model O scale! These will fit perfectly over the Atlas Trainman bulkhead flatcars!

They look great.

NZ - Retail we sell D12 & D16 at 6mtr lengths made from plain steel which looks rusty. Also have galv tie wire and also plain steel wire (1kg bundles) which would match our rusty rods in scale. May also be a good way to make steel mesh 665 (Other thicknesses available too). Love the ideas here.

Awesome guide.

Awesome idea thanks for sharing this great idea,,,Ken

Man,would love a few of these cars. Give 1/32" chart tape a try next time. It's much smaller & available on Amazon as well. Great load. Thank you.

I love this guys mind.

BIIIG like here! great video thank you for sharing with us! i was looking for a load like this for a while already... very well done, i am looking forward to the painted version!

That looks great man thanks for the video.

Green enamel magnet wire 28awg mnay work well to duplicate the epoixy coated rebar look.

Very nice and would like to have one for my exact rail gon or Bulkheads!

Great idea. Thanks for the video.

I'm trying to do that for my Nscale. I'm trying but it's taking time.

Nice looks great

Uhhh, Ive never seen rebar that isnt rusted. So whilst yes, it is a great looking load of steel, it certainly doesnt look like any rebar I have ever seen.

This is excellent. What are you using for your bonding tape? Is there a particular size that you're using? manufacturer?

Great job, my only thing is when I unload these the band ends are on the top as the banding can't be tied together on the bottom. Also the wire ties are facing up most of the time so maybe stager those ties also.

I wonder if its possible to male wire coil loads?

Super realistic

Great info and modeling skills! Wondering how far back historically a rebar load would be prototypical, especially on a shorter flat?

spray paint, rust, before assembly

Take a cardboard box with fine corrugations and stand wires up on end before you cut them. Spray with Kryol Camaflouge.

Real rust instead of paint. Make your load, put it outside in the rain. Won't take long to start rusting

Where did you get multi pack for the striping tape?

Do you think I could use this for terrain for Warhammer 40k? Do you play 40k?

How long this rebar length?? 40ft or 60ft 72ft??

That's bitchin,great job bro,👍👍👍,gotta see if I can get some💯🔥

0:15 "There are several ready-to-run loads that are produced but, at the current time of producing this video, they are all..." HIDEOUSLY EXPENSIVE "...so we're going to have to make our own..." out of platinum wire, which is still cheaper.

a good soak in a 5%acidity white vinegar to takes the galvanization right off and leaves you bare steel, if you want it rusty try 30% vinegar and then after that dries apply some hydrogen peroxide and it wi bring out the darker tones