It’s been hot and humid in middle Tennessee, plus I’ve been in and out of town. I haven’t done much modeling but a couple of tasks were completed. The lead photo shows the M-15 boxcar trucks. Of course, the B&O couldn’t use the same type of trucks on different car sub-classes. It’s just another detail to work through as the models await a decent day for the spray booth.
The completed trucks in the back are PSC arch bar trucks, available from Bethlehem Model Works (part #135). These are metal castings but seem to roll well. These will be installed under the M-15E car. The other trucks are Kadee arch bars in the new HGC material. The B&O used some sort of cover on the bolster ends, which is the light color material. These castings came with the Westerfield kits to modify the Kadee trucks. I need to paint these sideframes with a similar color as the other trucks before reassembling them. The wheelsets at the left have been hand painted with Polly-S rail brown.
I’ve also returned to this Accurail boxcar upgrade. The lettering is proper for the B&O M-23 cars of my 1926 era but a few details needed to be installed. The prototype cars had ladders, so the cast-on grab irons were removed. A set of Yarmouth Model Works ladders awaits the moment of installation.
The prototype also had C-channel steel end sills. I installed a 1 x 8 added styrene strips to on the bottom of the sill. The strip above is from the Evergreen metal seam roofing pack and is smaller than a 1 x 4. I cut down the poling pockets to better represent the prototype hardware.
Another distinctive detail are the metal strips along the bottom of the side and end sheathing. These were installed to keep the wood sheathing in place. I spent about 30 minutes measuring, cutting, and applying strips of K-Tape to the model. Dave Parker demonstrated several uses for the tape in a February blog post. My first time working with the material was a bit tedious but I became used to the properties. Installation of the last couple pieces went smoothly.
There’s more work ahead on the brake platform and running board supports. I hope to add these details so it looks good displayed at the St Louis RPM.
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Eric,
I’ve read about Dave Parker trying very thin Mylar film and Vellum. I’ve read that only contact cement works on Mylar. Don’t know about Vellum. I’m just making sure of any problems using K-tape before trying it. You say it sticks ok by itself but used a bit of CA in some places.
Did primer/paint help adhere it to styrene? Will it stick to Resin? Have you tried making rivets with a pounce wheel, for example, on K-tape?
Thanks ahead of time. You continue to inspire me to improve my modeling skills.
George Corral,
La Grange, KY and soon to move nearer to Bill Welch and the Clearwater Car Shops.
Thanks for your comment, George! The K-Tape is used in automobile paint shops as a mask. It sticks to the styrene. This is the first time I’ve used the material and I like how it applied. I did use a bit of CA at the ends of the thicker strips. The spot where it angles around to the sides needed some CA as well as where the strip makes another slight angle before ending along the side sill. I still need to touch up these additions. I’ll have another progress report soon. Best of luck with your move! – Eric