I am a confirmed passenger nut.... can't get enough of it. That's a bit of an issue in N scale as we have a dirth of really good passenger equipment. Yes; lot of good stuff is on the boards and promised but for those of us that have been at it a while, you've had to go to "plan B"......Plan "B" is resin kits..... Resin shell.........the very words have been known to make some experienced models cry like a baby... but I'm here to tell you to put away the "puffs"; fear not the cream white shell with flash a plenty and embrace the challenge that a resin shell can be. The rewards far and away outstrip the work that one must put in... resin shells are modeling at it's best. I'm going to review a few resin shell projects that I have attacked over the years and a few that are awaiting "battle being joined"...... One of the very first resin shells I ever bought was one of my all time favorates; the "Skytop" Observation car..... Mr. Jim Stillman makes a couple of first class shells for the Milwaukee Road's signatures cars; the aforementioned observation cars and the "Super Domes...." This is the "raw shell"........... a wee bit of wrok will get it to here............ That's about 3-4 hours work.... tedious but not hard - a moderatly skilled modeler can clean and prep a shell in one or two good evenings..... Prep/prime/mask and painting a shell depends on your road name and livery; for my Canadian National scheme it was a few days of "an hour here and an hour there"...... like any modeling project - "DON'T RUSH"...... Resin shells are forgiving - that is to say that because they are usually thicker than a normal car (something that causes it's own issues) you can safely handle them and if you have to strip em... go ahead, they are tougher than one might think...... Mr. Stillman's shells come with some extra details and they utilize a American Limited Core Kit - one of the most flexible and useful n scale products around..... The result of this first "recon" into resin shells was a success............ The CN Skytop is a signature piece that attracts attention at trainshows and operation sessions alike..... Next; we'll look at a few more shell projects.....
Jim Stillman makes both Milwaukee Road observation cars, and he also makes this little beastie.......... The Milwaukee Road (and later CNR) great domes - they can use either a American Limited Core Kit or the Bachmann floor..... I am looking forward to replacing my "foobie" CN dome with this excellent shell. Another resin shell kit I've used are the works of Kaslo Shops in Western canada. Kaslo makes a large number of freight kits; one of which is a wonderful model of the ubiqutous 36' Fowler-Dominion box car..... Detail is NOT an issue with these kits - the shell is a easy task to clean and work with - the roof is separate and the car comes with four, count em, four options for doors....... Not a hard kit; and the results speak for themselves..... JnJ have a long tradition of resin shells; and although they are "hit and miss" with their production and offerings they have produced some wonderful products.... before the arrival of the newest RTR F45's and FP45's this was all the rage.......... Set upon the Kato SD 45, the FP and F 45's that JnJ made were excellent starting points for a wonderful model, as this in production shell illustrates...... More recently a British Columbia modeler named Geoff Gooderham has raised the bar with the help of Central Hobbies in vancouver with his line of vintage smoothside lightweight Canadian Pacific passenger equipment..... The CPR express baggage car, ex silk car................. a classic ! Gooderham's shells are very details; very easy to work with and contain excellent directions; this ex silk car now express boxcar is a dead ringer for the classic piece of CPR varnish.... Next; well look at a 2200 series coach...................
When you are trting to represent your "passion"; be it anything like a passenger train, ship served in or aircraft flown you want the best............ "foobies" and stand in's leave you sour.... The CPR 2200 series coach is just that to a CPR modeler....... regardless of what you do to a Con Cor coach, it just isn't a 2200............. Enter Geoff Gooderham.............. Four hours into clean up and this is what we have.... the shell is a beaut ! The lines are perfect and the detial fantastic.... Pre drilled grab iron holes; rain gutters and roof hatches.... resin castings have come a long way. Resin kits are time consuming; they are not RTR and they do require some skill and some imagination - car interiors, flush mounted windows; shades, installing couplers and trucks - it's all work - but "isn't that modeling"? But; after it's all over........................ and when finally finished................. I hope you've enjoyed a brief tour of some resin kits; I know many modelers out there have done some wondeful work with resin cars and I hope they will add to this little treatus; and I hope that some of you will try these kits; they add another dimention to our hobby and open up so many unavailable avenues for the modeler....
That is some very nice work, Puddington. I am going to be making my first attempt at a resin shell kit soon. I just got some of Randy's 70 tonners and will be doing them up for the AD&N as soon as I finish my Paducah Geeps.
Jim has a web site called nscaleskytops. You can find it at nscaleskytops - Home Puddington - I always enjoy seeing your passenger car work even though I don't agree with your choice of hockey teams cute:
Bill: Thanks very much and as for hockey teams, who ever mistook the Toronto Maple Leafs for a hockey team.......? LOL
Sorry to snake in the thread but Tad were did you get the AD&N decals? Have been wanting to do a GP in those sharp colors. Thanks Rick
Looks good, although your camera is rendering the orange as white and the red as black, and the Milwaukee Road marking as "CN." :tb-wink: Seriously, though, you have just shown me everything I need to know about that kit. I had just stumbled upon these last week on the internet and I was wondering if they turned out a worthwhile project in the end and your success has given the answer as "yes!"
Did you use the American Limited core kit? I am curious because I am thinking of ordering the same kits to make one of these and some other passenger cars.
Nice work... I've done some resin aircraft parts, but nothing like those cars. You definitely know how to work a needle file. Tad, nice layout. You've probably stumbled onto my ADN site. I maintain too many sites and that one has unfortunately paid the price over the years. But I hope to get it updated someday. Maybe you'd like to throw in some photos. dave@ejearchive.com Dave The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Ry. Archive & Email List Elgin, Joliet Eastern Railway Archive
Yes: I did use the core kit and have done so on a couple of other shells. They work quite well. On Stillman's super dome you can use the Bachmann frame with some modifications.
Thanks, Dave. I am trying to model the mill loops at Crossett which was quite ambitous for my first real layout I was wondering if you were that Dave and I was thinking about PM'ing you to see. I would love to contribute to your AD&N site. I own original photos, slides, or negatives of every diesel unit that was ever on the roster except for 171 & 173. I also have a few photos of some of the steam units, as well. I also have a lot of other prototype stuff, photos, rule books, timetables, stationary, envelopes, business cards, a rail pass, and a dispatcher/agent's stamp, which was given to me by the lady who used to use it. . I have good photos of 170 & 172, two of the 70-tonners, to use for reference to model them from Randy's 70-tonner resin kits. I sent him one of the photos to ask him what he thought I needed to do to the resin shells to model them them and he thought it was definitely doable. (See, I did tie back in to the topic ) You wouldn't happen to have any additional info on 173, the 95-tonner, would you? I am trying to find some photos of it to see what modifications need to be made to the resin shell to accurately model it. I know that it went to Eastman Kodak and then Cleveland Electric like is stated on your site, but I can't find a photo of it in any livery or a builders number to use to try to track it further. My goal is to model the entire diesel roster and few of the steamers, as well. That is what is getting me to attempt the resin kits.
I don't know about y'all, but some times I feel like an idiot. I do have the builder's # for ADN 173, I have had it for years as a matter of fact. It is listed in the Jan/Feb 1991 Diesel Era which featured the AD&N. The builder's # for AD&N 173 is 30797. I still need some more info on it and hopefully a photo so that I can model it with one of Randy's resin kits.
This 95-tonner is apparently the one that was flatcar-moved to Canada and is now on the Hull-Wakefield line. Another collection of GE 70-tonners (at least one PGE) is running on the Waterloo-St. Jacobs line. This one is now weathered a lovely shade of pink: http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/l-tec18.jpg I never could figure how I 'missed' this locomotive on my inventory of surviving 70-tonners until I realized that the 95-tonners are 70's on water-gain pills; i.e. nothing different except more frame ballast (still 600hp). If anybody spots this pink baby in Canada, it's more of a rare bird. I don't think this is the same unit as the AD&N one. I'll be darned if I can see any external differences. I've seen more differences between 70-tonner phases (particularly the presence or absence of the front radiator grille) than between the 70's and the 95's. I've already done a couple of custom builds where I just sanded off the radiator grille on the resin shell and it seems to work quite well. Squadron green putty is just the best for doing patches and mods on these shells. The only problem is that on a white resin shell, the green stuff may show through the paint if you don't reprime everything gray first.
I do not think so either. That one is supposed to be 32518, built in '56. This one is supposed to be 30794, built in '50. The builder's number is only 3 different from ADN 173. http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/misc-y/zca0abn.jpg There are definitely differences in these two units, grilles and such. It is kind of wierd the way the serial numbers go, since there was only supposed to be 47 of these 95-ton units built. I can see where the primer would need to be done since my units will be painted yellow over the front where the green putty would be used.
Did Milwaukee Road retain any of these past 1964? I found a photo of one in Milwaukee colors supposedly taken in 1966, but the book scan in the first post seems to indicate that six were sold to the CN in 1964. I am interested in modeling a Milwaukee consist of passenger cars, which is why I am asking.
You can also get into boat modeling with them: http://i.pbase.com/o5/30/250930/1/67586927.BEr6hmqY.Lansdowne.jpg I was involved on trying to get those off there even after it sank, and the last I heard the remants WERE salvaged before the rest was cut up for scrap. But I'm not sure where they went for sure.
I seem to recall that the Mil Rd only sold the sleeper observations (Creek series) to Canadian National; the "Rapids" observation coach series (the first one's they obtained) were retired and some stored with the Mil Rd. Bill Denton would know for sure. Jim Stillman does shells for both..... I, however, have a "very special" Rapids series "shell" that I will one day get the guts to finish in honour of it's builder..... The late "master of N scale passenger consists" Norm Wright made this and never finished it before his passing. I bought it, and several other works of his and some day will finish it to Milwaukee Road Colours in honour of this n scale hero of mine.
