Athearn December announcements

[Dave V]

Honestly, I think you can do a decent job panting the deck to look like wood.  That's what I did with this one:



I don't remember if this is the Walthers or the Athearn; I have one of each and did the same to both.

[bbussey]

Jason - you could modify any of the current laser-cut decks to fit, but the distinct GSC rivet detail would not be present.

Dave - it appears to be the Walthers version in your pic.  The advantage of real wood decks is that you can distress the car by breaking and removing individual boards.  There still were plenty of Penn Central F30s with decks in various stages of distress in 1980.  Also, nothing beats the look of real weathered wood.

[Dave V]

I would agree that nothing beats real wood for wood...  Just pointing out that if you're not able to get the deck replacement then all hope is not lost.

[bbussey]

True.  Nice wood-deck-weathering work on your Walthers F30 btw.

[bbussey]

KingMill did some laser-cut acrylic windows for me a few years back, and they do have laser-cut wood products in their line.  I just sent them an inquiry to see what they require in order to receive an RFQ on cutting custom decks for the GSC flatcar.

I heard back from KingMill today, and I have supplied them with the artwork to receive an RFQ.  When I get the prices back, I will post in a new thread and see how many people are interested.  Then we'll order enough sets to cover.

[sirenwerks]

Dave,

If the deck's plastic and removable, it's the Athearn model. If the whole body and deck are one piece cast metal, it's the Walthers model.

[James Costello]

I have a wood deck kit from New Rail Models for the Athearn 53' flat. I haven't done the conversion yet.



I'm not sure what happened to their laser cut wood products when they sold part of the line to A-Line.
http://www.newrailmodels.com/about_us.htm