By the way Andrew, that was the FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILROAD which ran all the way from St. Augustine FL down to the Keys where cars were taken by Ferry to Havana, Cuba! ;)
Oops! Didn't see the questions/new posts... sorry I didn't respond. I started a new job this week and have a bunch of other activities going on that I just haven't had much time to spend on this project.
Mojo pretty much nailed the reason I use fixative. It's sprayed on the paper to coat it...
That sure is shaping up nicely! Greater level of satisfaction when you do more of the work yourself, and judging by your craftmanship, you should get LOTS of satisfaction! ;)
They look slightly different... well, the one in the middle does anyway... besides, I think you achieved the effect that they were "supposed" to be painted the same but never are... when you weather them, it might make even more of a difference.
Well, I plan to bring commuter trains... the Bombardier Coach cars. And it looks likely that I will also bring an Amtrak train full of SuperLiners! They're pretty tall, but not the tallest cars I've seen.
Way to go, Val!
Definitely worth the wait and certainly lived up to the hype! :D
If you'd like some more ideas (besides the upside-down W's) here's something you could try:
Usually the interiors walls are nicely finished, with wood trim or paneling and such. I know the Wendy's I'm doing...
Shaywen, Life-Like makes an AWESOME SW9/1200 in both N and HO (I own an N scale one). And I can tell you that it runs incredibly smooth, can pull a TON of cars and is very nicely detailed. It can even (with some work though) be converted to DCC.
I'm just guessing here, but it seems like it would be a good idea to use the same materials folks use when making reeds. (Twine, is it? or something like that?) Would be interested to see your results, whatever method you decide to try... :)