resin freight car kits – Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads

Lettering questions

I’ve had a Westerfield Models HO scale Pennsylvania Railroad X23 resin boxcar kit ready to letter for several years. One of my 2020 resolutions was to finish this model. That’s when I found out the prototype lettering had several changes over a short period of time.

Flattening a warp

I broke out an old HO scale resin freight car kit at the end of February and started building it. I think this came into my stash via a trade. The original kits were produced in the late 1980s or early 1990s by the Rensselaer Polytechnic model railroad club. It has become a nice distraction from reality since work began

What’s Next?

After wrapping up the Westerfield Models B&O M-15b and M-15d boxcar kits, it’s time for something new. Like many modelers, I am not lacking for a new project.

Contact cement

Contact cement has been used as an adhesive for decades. One of the most common is rubber cement. I recall using rubber cement to assemble plastic dinosaur models in the late 1960s. The eight-year-old modeler did not do a neat job at all. Walthers Goo and Ambroid cements are also contact cements. I had poor experiences with those when assembling models in the 1980s. In each case, I don’t think I was using the adhesives properly.

Little details

ACF Industries, Westerfield Models collection

Several tasks have been keeping me away from regular blog posts but I am progressing with the two Westerfield Models B&O M-15 boxcar kits. After installing most of the brake components, I noticed something on the bottom of the side sill. Naturally, I became curious.