Its been quite a while since I posted about my modelling efforts. I've been busy working on new kits for
National Scale Car. In between casting, packing, and writing instructions I've managed to build a few freight cars for my layout.
Attendees of the Chicagoland RPM in 2017 received parts to create a 1937 AAR Boxcar for Chicago Great Western. These cars used a Pullman car builder end. The kit included resins parts, decals, and a Red Caboose Square corner undecorated kit. In 2018 George Toman presented a clinic on building his kit using the supplied parts. Georges Clinic Can be found
here.
I followed Georges Clinic to create an accurate car as I could muster. I decided to not cut up a perfectly good Red Caboose Square corner car and instead started with an Intermountian 10' IH car instead. The ends are separate parts so it saves cutting them off. I will let the pictures and captions tell the rest of the story. I will be attending this years Chicagoland RPM and I'm already looking forward to George's Clinic on building the 2018 car.
 |
| Scratch built under frame, the kit under frame has diagonal corner braces where as the prototype did not. Also, the Z bar stringers are larger between the cross bearers at 4" x 4" versus the rest of the stringers at 3" x 3". |
 |
| The floor from the body was milled off. I custom made mounting brackets for the brake appliances from brass sheet and archer rivets. The dead lever actually can rotate in the mounting bracket. |
 |
| I also bent up a plate steel brake step from brass sheet. Ladder attachment brackets were made from styrene strip and harvested rivets. I filed the Equipco Brake Mechanism by hand, starting with and Ajax one, with some added styrene to the bottom. The single hand grab on the end was fashioned from a partial bracket, styrene rod and harvested rivets. |
 |
| Yarmouth Model Works Sill steps installed, along with one of their Wood Running Boards and brackets. |
 |
| A view of the finished end with air hose bracket and cut lever installed. I cut the ladder rungs off and replaced them with 0.010" styrene rod. |
 |
| Primed and ready for inspection before final paint. The door track was also modified to match the prototype with the visible opening between it and the lower sill. |
 |
| The roofs on these were painted black, while the running boards were stained and the painted, followed up by sanding off most of the paint to give a weathered look. |
 |
| I weathered to match a Prototype photo using Pan Pastels and an AK wash. Chalk marks were also added in addition to the kit decals. |
