Continuing the component car details, I planned on concealing the break stand on the flatcar. I found the component box itself fit over top, hiding it. Then I saw a photo with the break wheel mounted on the rear and liked that look, so I did a "cut & paste". On another photo I saw what appeared to be a toolbox mounted to the right door. And yet another showed mesh platforms below the doors. So it seems there are as many variations as there are prototypes, and I like the idea of adding that variety to mine. So the first one out of the shop comes equipped with what I'm calling a toolbox and a rear mounted break wheel (I'm not sure how that would actually work, but it looks cool). I also added an replacement side door for some extra character. Next one I want to etch some mesh platforms.
I'm assuming that it would work the same as a brake wheel on a boxcar or hopper. Most cars have them on the ends
But in this case the end is where the doors are located; so to tie down the car prior to loading/unloading, the chain to the break wheel is going to be taunt and make it impossible to open the door. On further googles, it seems the rear break wheel may only be present on the newer skybox style cars, where the doors are located on the opposite end. So I guess in this case, it'll just be a rivet-counter easter-egg.
But then that would mean the brake wheel is on the opposite side, under the plane fuselage. Would there be clearance issues? Would it be safe for a railroad worker to be under the plane to operate the brake wheel? I guess there isn't really anywhere else to put it though.
It is at the other end. It's either a drop brake wheel that can go flush with the deck when not being used or a lever style brake on the side sill. Jason
I'm really enjoying this one. Keep those pics coming. I don't have any use for these but they would make an awesome train on a larger layout than mine. Thanks for all the pics and detail info Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Mass production has begun. Only four are mine, the rest will be re-sold once detailing is complete. Fun fact: in the time it takes me to complete detailing one N Scale Fuselage, Spirit Areosystems completes FOUR ACTUAL Fuselages.
Long post, TLDR: Watch for printing defects, be extra careful when cutting the second brushgurad from spruce, upside down jewel case is clever but needs a fix. I also found a few more things to be aware of. First on the 3D printed Brushguards. They should look like the one on the left, thin supporting rods all the way. I'm not sure what happened to the one on the right, and at first glance, it looks ok, the actual part is still crisp. But once I cut it out, the reverse side was very smoothed over. Luckily, some delicate filing work fixed it for me, but if you're less comfortable with that I'm sure MT will gladly provide a replacement. Moving on, cutting the rest of the brushguard from the good print, I broke one of the support beams again, exactly the same one I did before. This is the middle part, sandwiched between the top exposed part and the material 'tray'. Unlike the first time, I was going extra careful this time. I even bought a pair of Xuron etch cutters with the very thin long tips to get in at the tight spaces. Inspecting the part and break further revealed exactly what happened. The photo may be a little difficult to see, but the supporting material holds the angle beam at almost double the size of every other point. On this particular location, the adjacent spruce point is also a lot closer than otherwise. So what happens is, if you cut the smaller spruce first, the pressure it imparts on the the angle beam snaps it off because that spruce point is extra thick. Instead, you want to cut the thicker spruce point first, which will allow the smaller spruce to freely snap off. Lastly, this is probably feedback better suited for Micro-Trains directly, the package is designed such that the center flat car is installed in it's jewel box upside down. It's pretty clever I thought, until I received all of my sets. I ended up with 7 sets from 4 sources. 3 of those sets from 3 different sources had damage to the center flat, the worst being two exploded couplers and broken break wheel. A friend also reports a broken break wheel on his center flat. What happens is that the plastic bed sits snugly in the bottom of the jewel box. However the box is tapered outward toward the top, so sitting upside down, that plastic bed has almost a quarter inch of play in both directions. Clearly that quarter inch makes a big difference in holding the car securely during shipping. For a quick fix on future releases, I think a bit of clear tape on insert over the top lip of the case would eliminate this. Whew, ok let's end on a positive note now! I saw a photo of a modified skybox that looked like two component boxes with the angled front chopped off and squeezed together. Here's my version:
They look so sweet! Thanks for all the ups and downs in the phots and description. I am having fun learning about this model.
I spent the past few days using my Cameo Silhouette to make masking all the painted details a thousand times easier, which allows me to add a few details to the task list as well. Top circle thing is based on the third fuselage of a train that came through Lincoln several weeks ago. No idea what it is... It was taking me all night to manually mask a single fuselage, including tail boxes, wing port, and I started doing door plugs and even masked the cockpit window plugs. Manually masking not only takes forever, but opens the door for inconsistencies and poor masking edges as the layers of tape add up. So, time to dust off the Cameo. About 4 hours of drawing, test fitting, and adjusting, now I have a perfect mask every time!
Mark, Excellent work!. You are the master. I need to check in on the mask idea ad I am in the process of freehanding the windshield and some other parts. I hate to post to your thread because I am by no means trying to out do you, for sure. It is a good comparison of freehand vs. mask. I am having more fun with these kits. I need one more set. Keep up the great work and thanks to you for keeping us all "in tune" with what is going on. Carl
This is in no way 'my' thread. Let's see what ya got! MT also just announced the next 3 numbers, offered as single fuselage-2 flatcar packs. , due January 2018. https://www.micro-trains.com/archives/mediakit/medkit1709.html
Man those are lookin nice! I'll take a guess at the circle thing, it probably where the WiFi dome goes. I always look for that bubble on my plane prior to boarding to see if I'm getting free in-flight video (Southwest airlines) Cheers -Mike
Here are two views of the first fuselage that I have done. I am finishing up my second one now and should have images on Friday or Saturday. I have done the second fuselage with the black windshield inserts. Thanks for looking and for any comments/suggestions. Today, I see MT announced another run so I shall get one more. Carl
Very nice! I see those damn kids already got to the component box. Will you be adding the "excess height" white paint to the end tops? Looks like you did the paint thinner wipe trick on the Fuselage too, yes?
Mark, Thanks or the kind words. I have added the white stripe to the flat end, wasn't sure about the front. Mark, I was a bit afraid to try the thinner trick so I used 2,000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and drug it across the fuselage dry. Carl
I diden't know they are alrady on the market! :-( I also ordered them but they did not arived here in Switzerland yet!!!!
