For my part, I volunteered to put together a woodchip gon from E&C Car Shops. Only fair, since I started that bluebox thread in the first place. It's an HO scale model of a 62-foot woodchip gon commonly found in the Northwest and parts of the Southeast. The car is lettered for Southern Pacific, but I'm gonna reletter it for my Spring Valley Railway, which serves a woodchip yard or two (chips are taken offline, presumably to a paper mill on the KCS).The presumption is that SPRY got these cars from SP after the equipment lease expired, and UP, in the midst of its postmerger meltdown, didn't renew. I also plan to add scale-size Kadee number 58 couplers, plus metal wheels to different trucks (the E&C trucks don't roll too well, IMO). And of course, what woodchip gon would be complete without a load of woodchips? One piece of styrene, some paint, sawdust, glue, & water, and voila'- one removable load! First thing I've accomplished so far is removing the SP lettering, using some 91% isopropyl alcohol and a coton swab or two. Next, when I get time, will come an application of boxcar red paint over the reporting marks & SP road number (look around- you see quite a few pieces of rolling stock with different reporting marks painted over the originals, so this is prototypical). After the paint dries and new reporting marks & numbers are added (using dry-transfer decals), I'll get to adding the other details. I'll keep ya informed, and if & when I can get a digital (or take some decent shots with the ol' fashioned 35MM) camera, they'll be posted. OK, who's next?
BTW gang, this project isn't restricted to just the Trainboard staff- it's open to everyone, and as Martyn said, experience level is no problem. So if your expertise runs between just putting the kit together straight out of the box, or what Dave H. showed us with his extensively detailed boxcar, don't be shy. At the very least, you've added one more piece of rolling stock to your railroad.
<font color="336633">Right my turn. My project is starting with a MDC 60' Bulkhead flat. I am going to cut the bulkheads down, lengthen it to 68' long and add finger bunks. It will end up as a TTX TTJX flatcar. First job will be to shop it up and add the extra length.</font>
I would like to participate too. I plan on putting together a NYC 19000 Series Caboose kit made by myself...or is that considered scratchbuilt? Anyways I plan on doing it in Z Scale, since I'm turning into a Zed Head lately, and there are already so many of these cabooses in RTR and all the other scales, however there are only 2 cabooses produced in Z Scale worldwide. (they just paint them up in different schemes) I am going to try to make the model as prototypical as possible, and also try to make everything myself, except the trucks, couplers. This sounds like fun!
Robert, you're still making a kit, you just have to produce a kit first for yourself to make! Right, i'm going to be working on two projects from a similar base: 1. Based on an undec MDC 60' flat kit. The main one I want to do is to convert that to a VTTX container flat with three 20' containers. I'll be scratchbuiding the container racks, largely because I didn't realise someone did parts for them before I ordered the bits to do this project!!! http://jbrail.railfan.net/FreightCars/Intermodal/VTTX90631.html is the car I will be basing the model on. I envisage ignoring the missing deck planking, but adding some extra detail (grabs & the like) 2. Second up will be a simple build & weather on a decorated version of the same kit. It will be getting metal wheels and Kadee's, and if I get time it will get a load of CAT bulldozers. Inspiration for this is the August 2002 edition of the NMRA bulletin... Big problem at the moment is that the box has not yet arrived from Walthers with these in...here's hoping!
OK I'm in. I will be building a Milwaukee Road transfer caboose in HO. I'm using a Athearn 40' flat car I picked up at a swap meet for a buck. It was a Southern RR flat but two days in an alcohol bath took care of all the old paint. I also have ordered a Moloco transfer caboose detail kit, should be here by the end of the week. I'm using a prototype plan from the Milwaukee Road Historical Association. I hope to be able to post some pictures if I can get my old camera to work and railimages cooperates!! I think this will be fun to see how many different things can be turned out in a month.
I've got an Athearn 3-bay covered hopper kit painted for Seaboard Coast Line that's gathering dust. I'd like to build it, add some details, and make it a CSX paint-out car.
Hmmmm - sounds like I have a week to decide what project to do for this. I have three Intermountain Cylindrical Hoppers that I have been puting off for some time now. If the plano walkways turn up by the 18th I'll go with those. If not, I'll either spruce up some Athearn 54' Covered Hoppers or perhaps Accurail Soo Line 7-post boxcars... so many kits, so little time
Robert. A 19000 series NYC caboose scratchbuilt in Z? I can't wait to see it! Tou mention this caboose as being available RTR in most scales, can you point me to one iN HO? Never seen any except brass. Thanks. Gary
While looking for pictures of the NYC 19000 series 3 window caboose, I kept seeing the models pop up by MDC Roundhouse in N and HO. I have seen Gloor Craft No.3111 NYC #19000 Series Wood Caboose Kit kits for sale in HO, also S, and O models of them too. I was going to do it in N Scale but the Roundhouse plastic RTR is only $11, so why bother. Through all my searching I cannot find any underbody detail pictures, so I'm might have to wing it.
I have been thinking about this since the post started and right now I leaning toward doing a couple of 54’ pink covered grain hoppers. First one is a Athearn blue box kit lettered for Albert City. The second one is an undecorated MDC 54’ Covered Hopper that I will paint pink and letter for Ralston-Jefferson. Of course with still a week to choose I could change my mind. I have so many unopened kits sitting on the workbench.
Robert, I have one of the MDC hacks, it is the closest of the commonly available kits but really isn't all that close. I had forgotten I bought one of the Gloor Craft kits, it sits in its box waiting for someday to roll around. Also, Central Hobbies made a very accurate kit, also craftsmen type. I ought to get around to building them, but so far prefer to spend my time working on the layout. I wait in vain (so far) for a mass produced accurate (easy to buils, like Athearn or MDC) kit. Or RTR, I don't shun them. Still a lot cheaper than brass! Gary
I really need some inspiration right now....I am not too sure which project I want to tackle. I have a very detailed wood underframe that I got in a junk lot...I think I will make it into a pile driver, I cannot figure out what it used to be but it doesn't matter too much. This one I think will happen much later in any time table. I have some MDC underframes, and I just saw an idea of turning those into flates using stripwood. If I do this, the flats will be used in tandem with the pile driver....so they aren't going to be done for a while yet. I do have an MDC 3-n-1 Rotary snowplow that I need to kitbash...it will be in Hare Rabbit lettering, once I get that. This looks like the most promising project right now. Yes, there is a large stock of unfinished kits right now, but I don't feel like just putting together another kit...seems to be less fun then kitbashing. I am currently working on a 0-4-4-0 Dockside, righ now I am debating if I should go with one motor or two. the open frame on the lifelike works really well, so I will definately use it. if I could find a second chassis, I would be in business. In the meantime, I need to think about how to dress this unit up detail part wise. If anybody has any ideas for a steam era man, I am all ears.
Would a caboose count? I'm converting an Athearn Bay Window hack (based on an SP C-40-4 class car) into a later C-40-6 class car. Pretty extensive mods - converting it from riveted to welded construction, replacing the original diagonal-panel roof with an overhanging diagonal-panel roof, adding underbody details and fuel tank, blanking windows, etched steps, and so on. I'll try to take pics as I go along if anyone's interested. That, and I also have a Walthers tri-level autorack I'm about to add etched Plano panels to, along with other details. [ 12. May 2003, 22:52: Message edited by: SP 8299 ]
I would like to see the caboose modifications, so i'm interested for a start. I'd also like to see what a difference the Plano panels make to the Walthers autoracks, so far I have shied away from doing conversions without end doors and without roofs as the lack of see-through-ness would be very apparent, I'm interested to see how that goes!
Hey Martyn, what a great idea! How can I not sign up? As others can attest, my modeling skills are pretty much still in the beginner end of the scale. So, in keeping with the spirit of a blue box type kit, I will do an N scale Intermountain Santa Fe reefer that comes in a painted but undecorated kit (hey, baby steps! lol). After assembling it, I'll decal it with map reefer logos. Again, in keeping with the spirit of the assignment, I know absolutely nothing about Santa Fe's reefer operations. This would therefore give me a great opportunity to learn something about real life railroads from another era. I saw one single picture with an ATSF Catwhisker FT consist hauling what looks to be reefers. The map logos looked cool, and that was good enough for me to start from. So... if anybody wants to educate a novice, here's your chance!
Choice and scope of project is entirely up to you, if you want to decal for a home road or something along those lines that's great... Kitbashing is within the scope as well.... William, I'd like to learn more about the Santa Fe's reefer operations too, so that's another one i'll be following closely!
I am not trying to be smart, but I have 2 P2k Timesaver kits. Do these count? I was going to try and assemble the 4427 PS2-CD High Side Covered Hopper. If not I have a roundhouse boxcar to assemble. I really do not have any hard kits to assemble, most are athearn kits plus a Walthers Container crane, which is very easy to assemble judging by the contents of the box. jai
Yup! But feel free to do the Roundhouse boxcar as well if you like. Which Walthers container crane BTW, the Mi-Jack, or one of the others? The Mi-Jack ain't bad but has a couple of really fiddly bits, like bending some staples to attach the spreader to the rest of it! Other than that it's not bad (I made up the walkway handrail locations on mine as well, as the Walthers ones didn't seem to make much sense or had bits missing!)
