Yes, BLMA trucks and body mount 1016 couplers. The box was trimmed back a little to match the filled in end sill and the screw runs straight into the bulkhead's center post. Now this depends on how much time I have and the life of the mold. I need about 80 pairs for myself at the moment...
Oh boy..... here's a tidbit. -NP F7 AA & F3 BB Loewy, painting & detailing some Spectrum & Intermountain shells I got off eBay -NP GHQ Z8 Challenger, with an Athearn Centipede chassis in the tender for pickup/DCC/sound, and the loco drivers ground down for code 55 (biggest modeling project I have tackled yet!) -SP&S F7 ABB- paint, decals (Yeah Marty I'm lookin' at you!) Like eight other little things..... I also have a Fine N Scale Zephyr that needs a remotor. Thankfully, she came home after a stint in the "lost" bin at USPS a while back, I decided to keep her! If only I knew what motor to use.... Prob'ly an Atlas scale-speed. They're quiet.
"I'm building something that isn't there anymore." Noticed an old depot foundation while visiting the real place in Wisconsin. Thought it might be a neat detail to include. Some "spare parts" were cast about the place, when I visited. It was an easy project. Just a few bits of styrene and some paint. I got the bricks too red, but the weathering helps...somewhat.
Another building kit assembled. Vintage Life-Like Pizza Hut kit circa 1986 (a year younger than me!) Some updates done such as the banner (Mmmm $10 Any Pizza), and added a modern-style logo and extension to the sign. Obviously due to the age of the kit, the font on the roof was off from the new logo, but I wasnt going to scrape it off and re-score all those shingles.
If I need to build more than one of something, construction jigs don't take time, they save time. Roundhouse progress is slow, but steady, trusses for the planned seven stall model (plus one to send to Superturbine) all assembled and awaiting final trimming. Robert
Robert, nice progress on the roundhouse post and beam....if you have any spares, pls let me know, I only need 35 of them... Regards, Otto K.
If anyone gets spares, it will be you Otto. Without your help, the model would have been doomed from the start. Thanks again. Robert
Nice work Robert! Here is what I did lately. I weathered a car for our local NMRA contest and put a beacon in my NW2. [video=youtube;H3o01KxzNj0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3o01KxzNj0[/video] Mike
To address the cooling tower question. I worked in a major west coast refiner's unit in El Paso. To my best recollection there were no screens on top of the baldes. There is a substantial volume of air moving from bottom to top. Did you ever hear of a fire in a cooling tower? It does happen as the tops are rather dry and there are motors, gear boxes, etc. that can overheat and catch on fire plus burn the wooden roof, if they are made out of wood. BTW NCDaveD - nice addition to your scene! Carl
Fifer Weathering Wow Mike! That is some nice weathering there All of my weathering attempts have been pretty sorry looking, either over done, or just don't "look right". I've experimented a bit with the "salt treatment", and that did help, but I really need to look more at "real life" weathering to get the feel for what is the right amount. Mike, it looks like you have been able to strike that happy medium between "too much" and "not enough". Carl, thank you for the education on screening and cooling towers. I did wonder about that after it was mentioned. NCDaveD
Thanks Dave , I don't think I am very good at it and I have a lot to learn. This one is about my third or so car and not totally happy with any of them. Thanks , Mike
On those cushion draft gear boxes can they be made out of brass or something like derlin??? Need bunches myself, coil cars, boxcars, BN Cabeese...
That is amazing. I really need to learn how to do this. Did you use the old sandpaper on a toothpick trick? Wondering how I'll get the 'Santa Fe' off an el cap set, before I put on all the fringe PHII and III Amtrak stripe schemes that floated around during the 80s.
They very well could be, but both are way out of my production means. Brass could be cast in a lost wax mold, Delrin would require machined t$$ling and injection equipment...