This three-quarter view of the car’s B-end (above) shows the grab irons, sill steps and also of the door tracks on the side. This photo (right) illustrates the end details of the model, including the wire cut lever, latitudinal running board supports, and the “homemade” bracket and ratchet and pawl mechanism at the top of the car end. The underframe detailing (below) is fairly simple as the model was constructed with KC brakes. Note the wire “pipe” between the dirt collector and the train pipe.
the car and sprayed the roof with Flo- quil Grimy Black. I also brush painted the route card board black. To prepare the model for decaling, a coat of Testors Glosscote lacquer was sprayed onto the sides and ends.
The decals are a combination of those included in the kit plus some from my spares box.
There are straps on the prototype that wrap around the corner where the tops of the sides and ends meet. On the model there were gaps that were un- sightly to me. I scraped off the simulat- ed straps on the model using a chisel blade and added new ones fabricated from .005″ styrene of the appropriate width. To these I added more square bits to simulate bolts and square nuts. I feel the final effect is better than the original representation.
The last area of construction was the detailing of the ends, first adding the placard boards.
The brake gear on the end involved a little freelancing as the kit version that I had was for the fully modernized ver- sion using AB brakes. I chose to model a car circa 1938. This meant that I was creating a car with a staff brake rather than a power hand brake. The cars with KC brakes had a ratchet and pawl mechanism on a bracket at the top of the car end. My modernized kit did not have this part so I needed to create something from scratch. I ended up attaching a spare ratchet and pawl to the staff stemwinder
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
bracket from a Tichy brake set, albeit positioned upside down to the top of the end rather than to the end sill as the part was designed to be used. It is probably easier to reference the photo of the completed detail than to explain it any further. I attached the bottom of the brake staff to a modified A-Line sill step that served as the brake staff pivot. Lastly, I bent the un- coupling levers from .012″ wire and at- tached them with eye bolts bent from .010″ wire.
Painting
I followed my standard process for preparing the model for painting by lightly sandblasting all of the metal parts and details, as well as the truck sideframes, using 220-grit aluminum oxide powder. I carefully washed every- thing using a soft toothbrush and liq- uid dishwashing detergent, then rinsed everything and set it aside to dry. For primer, I used a quick drying Dupont auto primer heavily thinned for use in an airbrush. With that dry, I air- brushed everything with Floquil AT&SF Mineral Red. Next, I masked
I found the decal lettering in the kit to be a little heavy looking for my tastes (the letters and numbers; not the decal film.) I went with the dimen- sional data from the kit decals, as it is small and extremely difficult to assem- ble from pieces in the scrap box. How- ever, for the larger capacity, reporting marks and railroad emblem, I used sharper decals I had on hand. Since I am modeling a car circa 1938 I used the reporting marks that included the ampersand. After repeated popping of trapped air and applications of decal setting solution, I airbrushed the mod- el with Testors Dullcote.
I weathered the model using Brag-
don’s weathering powders, then sealed that with another application of Dull- cote. I completed everything by adding several chalk marks drawn with a white pencil.
A postscript is in order here on the painting: I have recently begun using the American Model Builders wheel masking jigs. These have proven to be a great time-saving device when it comes to keeping the majority of paint off the wheel treads. I will continue to use them and recommend them if you airbrush or spray paint your wheels.
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