In another thread dealing with CONX 5 (http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?141218-CONX-5&p=887753#post887753), I have already pointed out some peculiarities about the CONX cars in general, and about the On3 AMS model. As pointed out there, the model chosen by AMS for its tank car release is based on the oddball prototype CONX 5. But it serves as a convenient starting point for a whole series of generic tank cars. For those, like me, whose model-railroader related happiness depends considerably on prototypically correct models, only CONX 5 basically fits the bill. This CONOCO tank car, as modelled by AMS, was the result of an accident. The original flatcar base was destroyed in 1935 and C&S decided to put the tank on one of their own flatcars. The tank itself dates from before 1895, according to the lettering. Pointing that out was apparently important for the standards a car had to adhere to, with these old cars having more relaxed requirements. On first examination, the model seems to correspond quite nicely with the prototype. However, a closer inspection soon shows a number of differences. Some can be corrected easily, others would require more efforts than I was willing to put into. For one thing, all the basic CONX letters and numbers are printed in a wrong font. Once one knows this, any of the AMS CONX cars can be used for the improvements. I had made a special effort to really get #5 with the idea of having less work to do. There is a very good photograph in Narrow Gauge Pictorial Vol. VIII on page 105. There is also a drawing of this car in Sloan's book, on page 359 of the 2nd edition. The two sources diverge in several points, and unfortunately AMS has based their model on the drawing. No problem for a generic model of course, only for the prototype modeler. The same problem holds in HOn3, by the way. The AMS car is a fine looking model in its own right, to make that clear right away. So it's only for those who want to get closer to that one-of-a-kind prototype that the work begins. For one, the prototype had lost two stake pockets, one on each side. It's the second one from the brakewheel end. That it's like that as well on the other side can be inferred from a second picture in the same NGP volume, on page 108. There, the tank car behind #14 must again be CONX 5, but seen from the other side. And on close inspection, one can detect a gap in the stake pockets at the same position. It's no big thing to remove these stake pockets. It would take considerably more effort if one decides to adjust the remaining stake pockets to prototypical size. They are all considerably larger on the model than they should be. I decided to leave them the way they are. There is a second feature where I did not follow the prototype. It seems that the flatcar base was oxide red or C&S brown and not black. There is clearly a lighter shade in that black-and-white photograph for the base than for the tank. And considering the origin of the base also makes it likely that the base was not black. AMS actually issues this tank car with a reddish base as well, just not in the black CONOCO tank livery. Personally, I'm longing for "mainstream" wide frame CONOCO cars, but those are not available, except for rare and expensive brass models. Thus, my CONX 5 car keeps its AMS black base to substitute for the missing all black cars. After these preliminaries, so to speak, we get to the lettering. It was only very late in the project that I realized that AMS goofed with the last O of the bold CONOCO letters. That O is decidely more oval than the virtual circle it should be. Thus, there is more space between the O and the last tank brace. No big thing, actually. But if I had realized it in time, I would have replaced the whole lettering. I should mention that Thinfilm produces very fine CONOCO decals for a variety of versions, both in On3 and HOn3. I had used their decals for my HOn3 projects of CONX 8 and CONX 5. I had expected the relettering to be an easy job. But it turned out to be a bit more complicated. Not only because I needed to replace all the CONX 5 lettering as well. Getting that white lettering off without damaging the black coat was impossible for me. I tried several methods, finally resorting to brake fluid. But that brake fluid dissolved the black before it removed the white! And underneath the black paint was not a black plastic base, but a silvery coating, with black numbers. I'm wondering whether all their cars are like this, or whether AMS repainted a number of their silvery tanks when they realized that there was much more demand for black ones? At any rate, that silvery coat came as a real surprise. The pictures show the somewhat frugal original lettering with the mostly wrong fonts, and the result of removing that lettering with the silvery base showing now. For a chronologically intended sequence start with picture 6 and proceed backwards. I'll post the rest later. From here on its going well!
The problems when removing the lettering made it clear that I was not going to replace the large logo when I found out that the last O was too oval in shape. By then, I had already begun the relettering. That process moved smoothly on the rather crudely painted damaged parts. A brief test on the underside had shown that the glossy black paint would blend in well with the rest after a double coat of matt finish. So that's how I proceeded. One additional problem came from the fact that the grab irons on the tank are much smaller than they should be. Again, something I did not change. But it meant that the decal on the left side of the logo had to be cut into more parts than anticipated. In fact, on one side I even cut it vertically with a narrow part applied separately to the tank brace. This after the first attempt on the other side had led to some uncontrolled ripping when I tried to make the decal conform to the surface. (I later corrected the unsightly result with paint.) One particularly neat feature of the Thinfilm decals is the fact that they even provide the numbering for the truck sides. I also painted the wheel sides and the coupler spring matt black. And I added some very slight weathering as well. The pictures show the finished car, as well as a sample how it looked before I applied the matt finish. Finally, there are two direct "before-and-after" comparisons. I also posted two pictures comparing my On3 and HOn3 models here: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?141218-CONX-5&p=887828#post887828 in post #9.
improving the stake pockets Thinking again about the efforts to trim the stake pockets to the correct size. In hindsight, it would seem to be possible within a reasonable time budget. One could trim the stake pockets just above the lower attachment strap. I tried it with one of those that I had removed. Then placed it next to an original one. The picture shows the two next to each other. And I think the reduced one is just about correct in size. As I don't want to tackle this car again, I'll leave it as it is. It looks pretty good as far as I'm concerned. But if I would start with this project again, I'd definitely do the trimming of the stake pockets as well.
