cnw1961 challenge #1

[cnw1961]

Here is my entry. I want to build a wood boxcar like the accurail car in the pic. I want to use styrene, stripwood and some Tichy Train detail parts. I already scratchbuilt some structures and was satisfied with the results, but this is my first attempt to build a freight car – it might end as a monumental failure. In this first pic you can see how I started to build the styrene body. Next step will be to apply stripwood.

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[eightyeightfan1]

Off to a great start...Can't wait to see the finished project.

[TruckLover]

Already better than I could do.

Good job Kurt :thumb: :thumb:

[Herc Driver]

Wow...I can't even glue stuff straight. Keep up with the pictures of your progress and tips how you're working things out along the way.

[cnw1961]

Thanks for your encouragement, but I am afraid, it’s the finish that counts, not the start., OK here are some more pics of my progress.
To build the body of the car I use .040 styrene. For finer detail I sue .020 or .012 styrene.
Before I started, I thought I should apply the stripwood right at the beginning, but now I see there are some other tings to be done first. First step: work on the ends of the body to prepare for Kadee coupler boxes.

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[TruckLover]

Lookin Good :thumb:

[cnw1961]

To see if the coupler boxes are at the right height, I need to build the underframe and install the trucks. The underframe is made of strips of .040 styrene. For the thicker parts I glued the styrene in some layers and filed and sanded it until it had the right shape.

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[cnw1961]

In the next pic you can see the underframe glued to the body, the holes for the trucks are already drilled.

[cnw1961]

I installed some Kadee Bettendorf trucks and put it on rails for the first time.

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[N Gauger]

Oh Man - That's great!!!! And you need a good foundation (Start) to make the end come out right :D Dont sell yourself short - I've scrapped plenty of things part way through because i didnt start right :(

Great stuff so far!!! :D :D :D :D

[ezdays]

Hey, it ain't fair, you're gunna be done before I even decide what I'm going to do...:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

That's one fantastic start you have there I might add.:thumb: :thumb:

[cnw1961]

I didn’t plan to get so far this weekend, but I got carried away the moment I started. Now that the weekend is over, I’ll have to slow down.

O.K. One more update for today. I glued thin .040 stripwood to the sides. It really starts to look like a boxcar.

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[eightyeightfan1]

Wow...That looks great!
And I thought I was humming along......

[cnw1961]

I did’nt make much progress today. I cut some .040 x .040 and .070 x .012 strips of styrene to make the braces on both ends of the body. And I installed coupler boxes and Kadee #58 couplers to see if they are working properly. That’s it for today.

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[wickman]

Wow nice job it looks great with the strip wood I never realized this could be done. I'll have to show my son this thread he's 15 and very adventurous . I bin trying to line him up with summer RR tasks so far I have him pretty busy on the electrical end, but I bet he'd like to do something like this.:wave:

[cnw1961]

I continued to work on my boxcar today. The next step was to build the roof. I made it of .040 styrene. I didn’t cut two halves for the roof, I just made one piece, cut the styrene half way through in the middle and bend it along tihe cut. It is much easier to assemble it in one piece. I cut it slightly bigger than necessary to sand it down after assembling to achieve a perfect fit.

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[cnw1961]

The roof should protrude .020 on both sides. To achieve this, I laid a sheet of .020 styrene on the sandig paper. Then I took the boxcar and laid it on the styrene with only the roof touching the sandiing paper. I sanded the roof until the side of the car was firmly touching the styrene.

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[cnw1961]

In this pic you can see the result of my efforts. I am glad it is really looking like a boxcar now. I wasn’t so sure when I started this.

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[jim currie]

looking great Kurt :) you guys are killing me i won't have the stuff i need to start till the end of the month:(

[wickman]

I bet that car has some descent weight to it she'll just humm along:wave:

[TruckLover]

Wow, every time I loom at this thread, It looks more and more like a freight car.

Great Job:thumb: :thumb:

[cnw1961]

Jim, don’t be sad, enjoy the anticipation. BTW I can’t go on like I want to. I am still waitng for my Tichy Train detail parts to arrive. Until then I can’ do anything on the sides of the car, I need the doors first. I have to wait for at least another week, it is a long way from the US to Germany.

Lynn, I glued some big metal nuts to the floor before I assembled the roof. The car should be heavy enough.

Josh, I am glad it is not only me who sees a freight car, when looking at the pics :wave: .

OK, here we go. I didn’ make much progress today (the job is always disturbing the really important things in life :D), I only prepared the roof for the roofwalk. I won’t install the roofwalk before I painted the roof, so it still has to wait.

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[Nazgul]

Kurt, That is awsome! I never really thought about scratch building anything (too busy trying to get the layout moving) but that boxcar already looks so superior to what comes out of a box that.....I W A N T O N E !!!!!!!!!! Very inspiring, can't wait to see more.

[cnw1961]

Steve, thank you for your nice comment. It is a real challenge and fun to build this car. If you want to build one yourself, I can give you one advice: be patient (not one of my strenghts) and have a good supply of sanding paper. It is much more time consuming than I ever thought it could be and you spend most of the time sanding parts.

I don’t build this car to a specific prototype. When I planned to build this car, I looked at a lot of pictures of these old boxcars and not even two of the cars appeared to be the same: different roofs, doors, ladders etc. I decided to build a version that allows me the best result. Please, don’t count rivets. Ahh yes, rivets. Before I started, I thought of using the tiny .020 rivets made by Tichy’s. But then I calculated that I would need nearly 400 !! of them. It made me think about the deadline of this challenge and my mental health. No rivets – or maybe only a few.

In my last post I said, that the roofwalk would have to wait. But I was too curious to wait. I built a wooden roofwalk today. It is only glued lightly to the roof. I can remove it easily and without causing damage before painting.

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[caliban]

Hi Kurt,

great piece of craftsmanship! Can't wait to see the finished box car.

Schoene Gruesse aus Niedersachsen,

Tobias

[wickman]

That looks great .Are you going to give it a wash of india ink when its completed:wave:

[cnw1961]

Tobias, vielen Dank für Deine Grüße and your kind words about the car.

Lynn, I can’t tell, because I don’t know what india ink is. I still have to decide how to paint it. I would prefer to airbrush it with some matt paint, but when I want to apply decals, the surface has to be glossy. I think I have to carry out some tests before I can decide what to do. After all the work, I don’ want to spoil it in the end.

[cnw1961]

OOPS, double post.

[wickman]

Tobias, vielen Dank für Deine Grüße and your kind words about the car.

Lynn, I can’t tell, because I don’t know what india ink is. I still have to decide how to paint it. I would prefer to airbrush it with some matt paint, but when I want to apply decals, the surface has to be glossy. I think I have to carry out some tests before I can decide what to do. After all the work, I don’ want to spoil it in the end.
Well for wood you have a few different choices for washes one can be india ink ( walmart) a couple drops into alchol , black shoe die diluted the same way, or paint ( dip brush into say like a floquil then into thinner .
You'd be surprised the results if you have a scrap piece of wood you may wanna try it . The india ink would give a silver look . The shoe dye would give a darker look and paint well paint would be paint thinned down .
Here's a pic with samples with india ink and dye diluted 3 different mixtures
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/9894/picture0011zt.th.jpg (http://img405.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture0011zt.jpg)
first shot out doors second shot in doors
http://img415.imageshack.us/img415/4527/picture0029pr.th.jpg (http://img415.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture0029pr.jpg)

Here's a pic of the mine I did the tipple bottom is done with india ink and the rest done with floquil boxcar red thinned with thinner on the brush

http://img415.imageshack.us/img415/4306/dscn05583zg.th.jpg (http://img415.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn05583zg.jpg)

http://img325.imageshack.us/img325/7140/dscn04649rh.th.jpg (http://img325.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn04649rh.jpg)

[cnw1961]

Lynn, this india ink looks like a great way to give wood an old, weathered look. My problem is, that I have to paint the styrene and the wood the same color. When I see pics of prototypes, I can hardly tell the difference between the wood and metal parts of the cars. Another problem are the reporting marks. If I want to use decals like microscale’s, I need a glossy surface. Or are there any dry transfer decals available which I can apply to a matt surface?

Oh, BTW. Lynn, I followed the link to the thread about your layout. Don’t know, how it could pass me unnoticed. Great work :thumb: .

[wickman]

Now someone jump in and pull me back hereif I'm not quite correct but I'm sure you can just print your own then you get a piece of sand paper sanding the back down to a real thin piece and stick it on the side then you would just give it a wash as well. I've seen it done on the side of buildings on my darryl huffman dvd collection I would have to dig them out to review them.When I start again on doing my kit building I will be using the technique.:wave: I'm not quite sure on the styrene although I would think if you gave it a sanding to ruff it up it would take the paint better ...real good question though maybe others can share some knowledge hereannounce1 .(HELP)
You may also want to weather by first painting then drybrush over a the base colour maybe use some weathering powders. You 'll probably have to use like a course 40 grit sandpaper to get a grain look . Then finish with the india ink wash .

[eightyeightfan1]

You can still use Microscale decals. First, spray the car with a gloss coat. Apply the decals, weather it(especially if your using chalks), then apply a couple coats of Testors Dullcoat. This will dull the finish as well as seal the weathering chalks.
Can't wait to see the finshed car.

BTW cnw1961, 20 years ago I was stationed at a place called Gieblestadt, about 18 clicks south of Wurzburg...About how far are you from there? The name of your "stadt" looks familar.

[cnw1961]

Lynn, the method you described at the end of your post sounds interesting. I will try it on a scrap piece of wood. I have to see if I can get india ink at Wallmart here in Germany.

88, that’s exactly how I wanted to paint it, when using microscale decals. Würzburg is about 230 miles down to the south east from where I live. Might have seen you on the motorway, when we were passing those US trucks on our way to Italy.

[MasonJar]

Kurt,

I would paint the whole car with boxcar red, or whatever you've decided it should be. Dry transfers work best with a matte finish, so you could apply those directly after painting if you can find some in a road you like. Then you can weather the car, and seal it with dull coat if you wish.

If you want to use decals instead, you will need a glossy surface to avoid "silvering" the decal. This is caused when tiny air bubbles are trapped under the decal, preventing it from adhering to the surface. You can get "gloss coat" to finish the painted surface before decalling. After everything is set (decal, weathering, etc), you can apply dull coat to re-establish the matte finish.

Andrew

[Play-Doh]

The Stripwood looks incredible!

[cnw1961]

Thank you, guys. It is most likely that I use glossy paint and decals. I have to try it on some scrap wood first., because I don’t want the wood look like plastic after painting. I want to paint the car with boxcar red. Does anyone know if these old boxcars were painted cmpletely in boxcar red or if some parts like the underframe or brake parts were painted with a different color?

[wickman]

Some great ideas there Andrew are there any how to's available for that technique ?:)

[cnw1961]

After building the roof, I turned to the bottom again. First I glued stripwood to the floor. Then I completed the underframe by adding strips of .040 x .040 styrene. Now I am at a point where I can’t go on without the detail parts (doors, brake and ladders) I ordered. I need to know the exact size of the doors and the door tracks before I can place the braces on both sides of the car. I hope the parts will be deliverd next week.

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[cnw1961]

I saiid in an earlier post, that I don’t model a specific prototype, but now I found a picture of a car that comes close to what I did so far and the parts I ordered. And I can get all the decals I need. That’s the way to go: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=76786 .

[wickman]

Thats really looking great :wave:

[cnw1961]

I’ll get the detail parts for the car tomorrow bounce7 .

I decided against removing the roofwalk before painting the car. I don’t want to glue the roofwalk to the roof when it is already painted. I don’t know how other modelers manage to glue painted parts without spoiling them, I can’t. Even if i carefully apply the glue with a toothpick, I mess it up. The best way for me is to assemble the car and paint it afterwards. Now that the roofwalk will stay on the roof, I added those supports to the ends of the roofwalk.

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[MasonJar]

Excellent work... :thumb: :thumb:

How long has it taken you to reach this point? For comparison, I read (in MR, I think) about a competition between shops on some railway or other to build a complete outside braced wood boxcar. They had 8-man crews, and a pile of lumber and various metal shapes to start, as well as trucks, couplers, etc. The winning team built theirs in 28 hours, not including painting...!

Did you consider using styrene siding for the car?

Andrew

[cnw1961]

I don’t know how long it has taken me to get to this point, but I don’t think that I have a chance to beat those 28 hours. But hey, it’s not fair, they had an 8-man crew and the small size of my car makes it even more difficult :) . I planned to use styrene for the metal parts and wood for the wooden parts of the car right from the beginning. I think (or hope) the wood will make it look more prototypical even after painting.

[ezdays]

Yeah, using wood does give it just that "over the edge" look. Absolutely a fine piece of work. :thumb::thumb:

[wickman]

The roofwalk makes it :wave:

[Chris Beard]

You seem to have a great deal of talent with plastic. Nice going so far. Quite ambitious.

[cnw1961]

I got the detail parts today and couldn’wait to go on. I ordered Tichy’s wood box car doors (#3017). They don’t exactly match the doors of the DRGW prototype I try to model, because they need a lower door track. But I found a CP boxcar with these doors. And again, no rivet counting, I’ll mix the style of these two cars.

OK, here we go. First I cut the upper door track that comes with the doors to a length of 2". Then I glue it to the roof of the car.

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[cnw1961]

Next, I cut .080 x .012 strips and a piece of 1.22 x 1 x .012 styrene for the base of the braces and the door. In the next pic you can see it all glued in place.

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[cnw1961]

Now I assembled the lower door tracks. To adjust the height of the door tracks, I glued them to .020 styrene before assembling.

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[cnw1961]

The next step is to add the braces. They are made of .040 x .040 styrene. Only the two braces on the right side of the doors have to be thinner (.040 x .020).

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[cnw1961]

Before I added the doors, I glued pieces of .020 styrene to the backsides of the doors to make them fit perfectly under the upper door tracks. Et voilá, here it is, with all the braces and the doors in place.

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[wickman]

Thats lookin great :thumb: Are you going to scratch build all your cars ?

[cnw1961]

Lynn, thank you for your nice words. I don’t think that all types of cars are suitable for scratch building, but I doubt if I will ever buy a wood boxcar again. Before I started this project, I didn’t know if this car would be good enouh to make it on to my layout, now I like it much more than my accurail cars, although a lot of detail parts are still missing.

[wickman]

Well if you decide for some crazy reason what so ever that it doesn't fit into your layout sender on over to me I'd be more than willing to find a home for it on my layout sign1

[Gary Pfeil]

Wow, that is just awesome Kurt! You made it look so easy. Great work!

[MilesWestern]

(Loud applause erupts from nowhere) Congrats Kurt! Will you build one to be the next Gauge boxcar?

[N Gauger]

That's so Cool!!!! :) :) :)

[cnw1961]

Thank you, guys. Gary, I don’t think it is too difficult to build this car, but it takes a lot of time. It swallows up nearly all of my modeling time at the moment.
Miles, I might consider to make a Gauge boxcar – if I ever do it again.

[cnw1961]

I spent the last two day adding details. I used .012 wire for the grab irons and the coupler cut bars. The ladders and stirrups are from Tichy’s. The next step will be to add the brake parts.

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[Chessie6459]

Looking Good Kurt.:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

[Nazgul]

Kurt, that is beautiful!!! That little jewel may ruin you for all production rolling stock forever! Great job.........I'll just go back to my rickety ol' plastic cars...and try to make do...(sob...sob)...don't worry about me.................I'll be o.k.

[cnw1961]

Chessie, thank you. Steve, glad to hear you’ll be o.k., stop sobbing :) :) . When your layout allows you to spend some time to model something else, you should give such a car a try. With the modeling skills you show on your layout, it won’t be a problem.

[cnw1961]

After installing a K-brake (Tichy #3005), the car is ready for painting now. I hope, I didn’t forget any important detail. I will paint the car box car red (what a surprise :D ). I still don’t know how to paint the underframe and the brake gear at the bottom of the car. In some pics of these boxcars, the color of the brake cylinder is grey (or faded black). Unfortunately it is not possible to determine the color of the underframe. Does anyone know how these parts were painted on the prototypes? Or was box car red used for the whole car?

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[modelsof1900]

Hallo Kurt,

fine modeling job that you do! I'm surprised how your model grows in what for a short time. Let see us the finished model!

And because you have written before - "I don’t think it is too difficult to build this car, but it takes a lot of time" - my modeling job goes since more than one year and will need 8 or ten months more. Look my thread http://www.the-gauge.com/showthread.php?t=16356 (http://www.the-gauge.com/showthread.php?t=16356) here.

Beste Gruesse aus Dresden und gutes Gelingen!
Bernhard

[MasonJar]

Kurt,

The boxcars of this era at the Smiths Falls Railway Museum (www.sfrmeo.ca) are all boxcar red - underframes and everything. I think this is because the red oxide coloured paint was cheap and plentiful. The black/grime colour maybe comes from the unfinished colour of the metal used in the parts, and/or from the lubrication/dirt/dust/grime that collected over the years.

Go to the site and click on the collection link. There's three or four outside braced boxcar/old caboose pictures, a couple with reasonable detail of the underside.

Andrew

[wickman]

I only wish I could do a piece of art like that extremely well done :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

[cnw1961]

Hallo Bernhard, danke für Dein Lob und Deine Grüße. I already found your thread some time ago. I must admit that I was tempted to build one of those cars, they are marvellous! Unfortunately, they are too old for the era I model. Two factors might speed up my project compared to yours. First, the use of styrene for the metal parts and the body of the car. Second, I am not the most patient guy. Once I start a project like that, I have to go on. But I still think,that building rolling stock takes a lot of time, compared to building structures.
Andrew, thank you for your information on color and the link. It really helps a lot.
Lynn, thank you once again. As I said at the beginning of the thread, this is my first attempt to build a freight car, and I found out, that I really enjoy doing it. It adds a new aspect to the hobby. Perhaps you should give it a try, I don’t think it is too difficult. You’ll never know what you can do until you do it. :)

[cnw1961]

Yesterday I painted the car. I tried not to give it a solid coat of paint to make the paint look worn and faded. This led me to change my mind concerning decals. I want to use some Woodland Scenics dry transfer decals instead of Microscale decals now. To use Microscale decals means two more coats of clear paint. I fear it would make the wooden sides look like they were made of plastic.

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[ezdays]

Wow!!! That is absolutely awe-inspiring. Great work. :thumb: I agree with your paint theory, too much is not a good thing.

[modelsof1900]

Looks very, very well!!!
I'm very impressed to get such an excellent looking model with a relatively small work. Congratulation again!

Bernhard

[jim currie]

bodacious looking car Kurt:) what painting method do you use brush or spray ?

[cnw1961]

Thank you for your nice words. Jim, I gave it a light coat of paint using my airbrush, then I diluted the paint even more and applied it with a paintbrush. Here is another pic, I hope it is not getting too boring.

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[Chessie6459]

Excellent Job :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

[Gary Pfeil]

Simply gorgeous! Your workmanship is outstanding!

[Ralph]

Excellent work and a nice series of photos to show how it developed.
Ralph

[eightyeightfan1]

WOW!..Thats coming along real nice....Did I say WOW!

[Nazgul]

Kurt,
That is truly an impressive car. I know that took a lot of patience (not to mention steady hands!). I love to see the step by step process involved. It takes the mystery out of it and is a great learning experience. Thank You. This contest...IS A WINNER!

[MasonJar]

Kurt,

Very, very nice work! :thumb: :thumb:

Just to reassure you of the paint, I found my oldest Model Railroader (Feb 1946, when it was called The Model Railroader), and it had paint schemes for Wabash... Here is the paint scheme for all freight cars, except gondolas (black) and hoppers (also black):

Metal Ends: Oxide Red
Wood Ends: Oxide Red
Sides: Oxide Red
Doors: Oxide Red
Truck frames: Oxide Red
Underside: Oxide Red

I kid you not - that's how it was listed ;)

Hope that helps.

Andrew

[cnw1961]

Thank you for your nice words once again. I started this as an attempt to see, if it is possible to scratch build a decent freight car and how it would turn out compared to production rolling stock. I must admit, it looks much better than I expected and I don’t like my Accurail wood bocars as much as I did before. Fortunately the part I like least (painting), turned out to be very easy, simply oxide red. Andrew, thank you very much for your help. It’s good to know that I got it right.

[steamhead]

Hi,

I've following your progress since you started, and I must say, it's a jawdropper!! I figured you'd end up with just another boxcar, but this is craftmanship level!! Great job!!

Gus (LC&P).

[cnw1961]

Steamhead, that’s exactly what I feared before I started: to end up with just another boxcar, nothing special.

OK, here is an update on my project. I painted the trucks and couplers and tried to apply dry transfer decals. As you can see in the pic, some data is still missing. I nearly used up all the decals that were on the sheet. It is very difficult to apply the dry transfer decals between the braces of the car without damaging the decals. Besides the logos, the results do not satisfy me. I think I try microscale decals.

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[Gary Pfeil]

Kurt, that turned out just beautyifully!

[ratjag]

Kurt,

WOW and jawdrop are NOT descriptive enough!! OUTSTANDING work......:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

I'm going to hide my head in the sand now and pretend I don't exist in the modelling world.:cry:

dennis

[steamhead]

Hey!

OK, is this one of those cases of you do one thing & it turns out OK, so you figure you'll go on with another litlle detail, and that turns out OK, so you figure.....and so on. Or did you set out from the very start with the end result in mind??

Whatever the way, the end was sure worth the trip!!:thumb:

Gus (LC&P).

[MilesWestern]

I gotta hand it to you...that's THE BEST scratchbuilt boxcar I've ever seen!!! :cool:

[Herc Driver]

Amazing! (naw that word was already used...) Super! (nope that word was used too, but I think in German...) Incredible! (let me check...I didn't see that one...) I'm going with INCREDIBLE JOB!!! That is a really great looking boxcar! Every second you put into it was worth it. Thanks for taking the good pictures of your progress too. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

[UP SD40-2]

Kurt, i have just went through this whole thread, you have done a FANTASTIC JOB!!!:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :D that boxcar is NOTHING short of truly AWESOME!:thumb: and think about this Kurt, the time it took, the precision work put into it, and the simple fact YOU have made it from scratch, and it turned out THAT GOOD makes it PRICELESS, don't it:thumb:. i would feel PROUD as heck, to have made such an OUTSTANDING car from scratch;). GREAT JOB Kurt!!!:thumb: :D -Deano

[MasonJar]

OK, here is an update on my project. I painted the trucks and couplers and tried to apply dry transfer decals. As you can see in the pic, some data is still missing. I nearly used up all the decals that were on the sheet. It is very difficult to apply the dry transfer decals between the braces of the car without damaging the decals. Besides the logos, the results do not satisfy me. I think I try microscale decals.


Kurt,

Fantastic work!! :thumb: :thumb: :D I really like the "worn" look (but not too worn) that the wood siding gives. That boxcar looks like it has been working hard!

I got this advice on how to apply dry transfers from a guy at one of the local clubs:


Make sure that the finish where you want the transfer is clean, oil/grease-free (from fingers, etc), and is a matte/dull finish. (Waterslide decals need a smooth or glossy finish.)
Cut the transfer to the shape of the space where it is going, even if you have to cut apart some lettering (like the ATSF on your boxcar).
Tape it in place with scotch tape or other tape that won't damage your paint.
Tape along one edge only so you create a "hinge". This allows you to lift the transfer to see if all the lettering has be affixed - if not, you can put it back in exactly the same spot.
Rub with a soft pencil (2B, 4B, etc). This will let you see what has been transferred and what has not.
Be sure to rub the transferred letters with the backing paper. This ensures that the transfer is firmly in place, and "seals" it.
Seal with DullCoat or other matte finish.


I have tried to follow this - and it works every time. When I don't get the results I want, it is usually because I have skipped a step, or rushed things.

Oh yeah - the guy from the club? Tom Hood of C-D-S Lettering :D

Andrew

[cnw1961]

Thank you for your nice comments, I am glad you can’t see me blush :oops: .
Steamhead, I didn’t have the end result in mind when I started, it developed just the way you described it.
Andrew, thank you once again for being so helpful. To fix the decals with adhesive tape is a very good idea, I’ll have to try that the next time I use dry tranfers. I think I followed all the other points on your list. The main obstacle might have been the high temperatures when I tried to apply the decals a few days ago. It made the decals very soft and my fingers sweaty. Today, when I made my last attempt (because I only had enough decals left for one last try) to apply the decals, it was much cooler. And it worked much better.
And now IT IS DONE. Here are the last two photos. I really enjoyed to build this car and I already ordered two sets of doors (metal doors this time) for the next two cars. I found a photo of an ATSF wood boxcar I want to model and I’ll try to stick close to the prototype this time. If you are not totally fed up by now, I will post some pics.

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[C&O Fan]

Beutiful, simply beutiful. :thumb:

[MilesWestern]

Keep On Posting! Your Work Is Wonderful!

[steamhead]

FANTABULOUS...!!!

I like to build Ye Ol' Huff 'n Puff boxcars/reefers, but this is an order of magnitude beyond that...!

Keep posting pics of your ongoing projects. You might have just started a new bunch of scratchbuilders..!:thumb:

Gus (LC&P).!

[steamhead]

Oh, and caboose (s/esse) as well. (See avatar...That's one of them(.

Gus (LC&P).

[Nazgul]

Kurt,
I never really had a desire to scatch build anything (especially rolling stock)....until seeing your project. Now I don't think I will ever again be satisfied with my store bought boxcars....as you know, My focus right now, is on adding scenery to my layout. So it will be some time before I attempt one, but your beautiful work has left me with one thought...I WANT TO MAKE ONE! (or 2...or3...or) thanks for the inspiration.

[cnw1961]

Gus and Steve, I like the idea that this thread (or better, this challenge, when I look at the other great projects) might encourage to give scratch building a chance (Steve, you are doing it already, have a look at your scenery).

[N Gauger]

Gus and Steve, I like the idea that this thread (or better, this challenge, when I look at the other great projects) might encourage to give scratch building a chance (Steve, you are doing it already, have a look at your scenery).
Thanks Kurt - (And Gus & Steve) This is why we do these challenges... to encourage other members to try someting.... You don't have to win to get tips and compliments about your work.... All you got to do is try :) It takes time - but we all know, that if you dont try - you'll never learn and you won't get the satisfaction of building something yourself and showing it off :D :D :D

[steamhead]

Hi,

I think you might want to post a list of items (and where they may be bought) you used to come up with this beauty.

Agan, congratulations.

Gus (LC&P).

[TruckLover]

jawdropjawdrop WWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW :eek: :eek:

That is an awsome ATSF Boxcar.:thumb: :thumb:

If I hadn't been following this thread, I would have never guessed that it was a scratch built car.

Fantastic Job:thumb: :thumb:

[cnw1961]

TruckLover, thank you for your nice WWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW.
Gus, as I am living in Germany, I am a bit restrickted when it comes to american modeling stuff. I can order everything from Walther’s at my LHS, but that is nearly all I can get. Everything else I need for scratch building (styrene, stripwood, wire), I buy at a local architectural model supply. I think I am lucky to have this shop in our town. Here is a list of items I used to build this car:
Accurail wood boxcar as a sample
.040 styrene – body, roof, floor, braces, underframe
.020 styrene – braces on top of the roof, first 2 braces on right side of doors, backside of doors and lower door tracks
.012 styrene – base of braces and on corners, underframe (have a look at the pic attached to this post)
.040 stripwood – sides, bottom of floor, roofwalk
.012 steel wire – grab irons, brake
.020 steel wire – vertical brake staff
.040 brass wire – air hoses and air pipes
Tichy Tarin Group #3005 – K-brake
Tichy Tarin Group #3017 – wood doors and door tracks
Tichy Tarin Group #3033 – freight car ladders
Tichy Tarin Group #3038 – stirrups
Kadee Bettendorf trucks and #58 couplers
Woodland Scenic dry transfer decals # DT601 and # DT604

26226

[viperman]

I lost track of this project a long time ago, glad to have found it again. Looks great!