Scratch-building HO scale rolling stock

[mysterd429]

Hi all. I started a quick thread earlier asking about drawings on nycsubway.org. I've gotten a piece nearly built and ready for paint and decals. Some additional detailing is necessary to look the photos I'm basing this one, namely the connectors for the side panels and the hand rails inside the car. I've also got to fill in the holes for the coupler box screws from the top with some red auto putty.

 

From one end:

From the side:

I've also started design some decals based on a picture I saw on nycsubway.org.

 

I've got a Badger 350 waiting at the hobby store for me and some paint on order, and I'm going to order some decal paper.

 

I'll post pictures when I've built up some more of the detailing and then again when I get some paint on it.

 

So, here's a question I have for the experts: the only underbody detail I can see was in the same picture as the detailed lettering. Are there other pictures of the underbody detail somewhere? I'd like to be as accurate as I can.

 

Cheers!

[mysterd429]

A little more progress on more handrails! This car has a lot of them.

 

Here's a picture of some of the hand rails in progress. There are square, so for the rails on one side, I built them out of .040"x.040" stock; for the next side, I started to make more the same way, but I'm going to try cutting the pattern out of a .040" sheet to see if it's any easier. I used a .005" sheet to cut out the gussets. They are a little sloppy, but I got better at them as I went along. I think I need a magnifying glass bolted to my workbench.

 

The newest rails, which haven't made it on to the car yet:

 

The older rails that I've already mounted on the cars:

 

I also picked up a Badger 350 and some paint, and I've ordered some waterslide decal paper. As soon as the garage is clean enough to get some painting done, I will post some photos of this thing with some paint on it! Then, I will take what I've learned ... and build four or five more!

 

Cheers!

[mysterd429]

I've made a small amount of progress. I decided to take the first attempt at this and turn it into a garden-on-flat-car. I'd hate to waste my original effort, so why not do something fun with this piece, since it's not good enough to be the "real thing".

 

I set up an impromptu spray booth in my garage. I also set up a rotating lazy Susan using a 4" version of this mechanism from the local hardware store. I primed the top of the original flat car, which will be a garden car. I screwed a bit of 1x2 pine onto the top of the mechanism, then screwed the bottom to a bit of ply wood that was sitting around in the basement. When I went to prime the car, the power of the spray kept blowing it off the block, so I taped it down with a rolled-over piece of masking tape. Tomorrow, I'll prime get the bottom. I don't want to peel off the primer with the masking tape, plus the rest of today is off to the in-law's pool!

 

 

I also picked up some body filler from the auto store, so after I prime the bottom, I'm going to fill in the little holes for the coupler box screws. The stuff I have is a two-part solution. I'll let you know how it goes. The water-slide decal paper I ordered came in, so I have to get some Krylon sealer to seal the ink into the decal paper. I've got some gloss-coat, some yellow and some black paint, some isopropyl alcohol, and some dull-coat. Some time this week, I'll take out the air brush and just spray some alcohol against the fence to get a feel for it. As I'm painting this GOFC, I'll also be putting the finishing details on the proper flat car, which will be pained next. After that, I'll try to "mass produce" four more of them, then on to the next projects!

 

Thanks for reading! I know that the progress is slow, but it's moving!