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Comments
A very warm welcome and many thanks for expending so much time to show us your work. It is truly exquisite. The detailing and coloring are very interesting to study, car by car.
By all means, please continue to show us your on going work.
Respectfully,
John Maguire
Seattle
Not sure if I'm going to do the magnetic coupler thing or not yet on my layout. If I don't, I'll definitely follow your suggestion.
James-
Thanks for the nice comments.
John-
Thanks for the welcome. Yeah, I was in the final stages of finishing the Caboose when my Tap Pin broke as I was drilling the holes for the trucks. If I can find a replacement, I can finish that car tomorrow and post pictures of it. Last time I went to HobbyTown, they were out of stock..and I'm really not sure where else to get a 2-56 Tap except Micromark.
Alan
Just wondering if you'd considered using Sergeant couplers if you decide to run this as a sort of "unit train"...? I've not tried operating these couplers but I think they look better.
Mike
Thanks Again!
Alan
- Took the rope off of the Short Flat Car
- Added a grease pot and a spare board to the back of the Large Flat Car
- Increased the height of the gravel in the Gravel Car.
- Added an Axe to the Large Slab Car's deck.
- Make sure you add the side railings after you install the roof. I followed the instructions and added them before. During the installation process of adding the roof, you use rubber bands to hold the roof in place...yep those rubber bands ripped off the side railings.
- The vent casting that comes with the kit is really long. I cut off a 1/4 inch to make it a little shorter for aesthetic purposes.
- I added a chain and a gas can to the porch of the Caboose to add interest.
That is all...next up is the Blacksmith Car...
Alan
I am a big fan of practical jokes in my layout and I wouldn't be able to resist putting a figure sitting on the firewood gon right above the "no riders" stencil.
John
Thanks for the comments John.
Alan
Just finished up with the Blacksmith Car...and yes, it is the neatest / funnest (if that's even a word) car of the kit with a bunch of details.
In addition to following the instructions, I made these modifications/additions:
- The biggest addition was the shelf on the back of the car. This is not in the instructions but after seeing a picture of the O Scale version of this car with that shelf, I decided to add it along with everything you see on that shelf - Jack, Hanging Chain, Wood Toolbox, and the Tool Rack with Hammer.
- The round saw blade on the side of the car was just suppose to be weathered with chalks and a brush...I took the lead from others who have done work on the infamous Twin Mills kit where they used a Dremel to get an extremely neat used look. I used a 1/16 drill bit, wrapped a small piece of masking tape on the bottom of the drill bit, slid the round saw blade on to the drill bit and then wrapped another small piece of masking tape on the tip of the drill bit to prevent it from flying off. You then turn on the Dremel and touch your brush which is loaded up with various colored chalks to the spinning saw blade. I think I spend 20 mins playing around with it until I got the look I wanted..and I could have probably spent all night doing it...its honestly quite fun.
- The kit comes with a solid styrene tube foe the Stove pipe. I replaced it with a .65 Steel tube from ngineering.com.
- I added 2 propane tanks
- I added 1 extra hose to the floor on the front of the car. Solder painted Grimy Black.
- I added 1 stump with axe and chopped wood to the floor for the stove.
- I added 1 extra barrel to the front of the car (Red/white one in the pictures)
- I added 3 rags. A black and red one at the front of the car and a red one on the workbench at the back of the car. The rags were made the same way as the rags for the tool and oil car. Painted Kleenex.
- A rope hanging on the inside of the car. I just used tan thread and roughed it up a little with my distressing tool.
- Per numerous requests on my couplers, I decided to clip off the tails to make them look more realistic...so much for using the Magnetic Couple feature for my layout...but I think after seeing the end result it was worth it.
- On alot of my cars...including this one, I use a Distressed Weathering brush on the wood after it has been installed and stained using Chalks and Alcohol to help give the wood that neat faded look. You can kinda see what I'm referring to on the roof and side walls of the Blacksmith Car. I got the tool thru Micromark...its kind of expensive for what it is ($15) but it allows me to get into small areas without disturbing the look of the rest of the car. (See the first picture)
http://www.micromark.com/distresser-weathering-brush,8057.html
10 Cars down...1 to go! Next up is the Box Car.
Thanks for looking!
Alan
Thanks for the feedback. I'll get out my dark chalks/paints and go to work on it on Saturday morning.
Thanks again!
Alan
The couplers look so much better on this one, it really makes a huge difference in the overall look.
Great stuff.
Karl.A
Thanks for following along and for everyone's comments...
Alan
Great modelling.
Karl.A
John
Alan
I took these pictures a few days ago and forgot to upload them.
Per a suggestion I received from Brett on the condition of the deck on my Blacksmith Car looking "too pristine", went back and added some dirt and some oil spots.
Thanks again Brett for the feedback!
Alan
Before:
After:
Karl.A
Alan