PRR FD2 'Queen Mary' Depressed Center Well Car Kit - on T1 tender trucks N Scale

[chicken45]

Got my FD2 and F39 today!
Looks like a pretty easy kit. I think the only hardpart will be the filing, aligning, and filling of the center piece. It's made of 5 pieces: center deck, 2 curved deck ends, and 2 deck ends. Here's a crude ascii rendition of half of the car parts. You see the deck end, the curved deck end depressed transition piece, and the center deck:

===========     
===========     \\
                               \\
                                \\                                     
                                    =================
                                    =================

Would squadron putty work well for this? JB Weld?

[Altoona]

I've made several attempts to fill the to down turn on mine with different items. I think to best item to use Squadron green or white putty.
Fill in sand, extend lower part of girder with styrene to match up the end part lower girder. On the center part of the car, remove lower flange of girder and replace it with styrene attached to the bottom. of the car.
R
Judd

[chicken45]

Oh my. Those don't align at all. They angled pieces are thicker than the decks.
I was thinking of sanding down the the angled pieces instead and putting a styrene strip on that. Hopefully it will be flexible enough.

I'm probably going to sand off those molded on tie down loops and use wire. I'm also thinking about scribing lines in the deck and drilling holes in the sides of the deck plates.

[mmagliaro]

The drawing here:
http://prr.railfan.net/diagrams/PRRdiagrams.html?diag=FD2.gif&sel=flat&sz=sm&fr=


Shows that center deck as being 31" thick.  How thick is the model?  I would be inclined to make the thickness correct,
and then file or fill whichever one is off.  If the center deck on the model is correct (31 scale inches), then the
curved parts that connect to it would have to be filed - no small task.  If the center deck is too thin,
then it might work to add styrene to it if getting it up to 31" will make it align with the curved parts.

What I can't tell yet, is if the curved part is SUPPOSED to be thicker than the center deck, and have a taper
where it joins the center deck.   I have some drawing books that show other PRR depressed-center flats (not this one)
where that appears to be the case (thicker curved part tapering to match up with the center).

EDIT:  Looking at photo after photo of the FD2, including brass larger-scale models, it sure looks like those
two parts should be the same thickness - no taper.

The drawing I cited above doesn't give any dimensions on the curved part.

[chicken45]

Yeah, Max!
The curved section measures 2.5 feet on my scale ruler. That's 30 inches!
The deck comes in around 24 inches.

So now what?
If I shave that bottom lip off, I still have to make the center part thicker and add the lip back.
Here's a cross section. Thoughts, O Wise Maxcow?

[mmagliaro]

Josh,

That's lucky!  That means you can just file off the sill, add a filler and a new sill.

If it were me, I would carefully flat-file off that lower lip, epoxy on a filler with JB Weld, let it get hard, sand it
so the seam doesn't show, and then use regular liquid styrene cement to add the
thin sill strip along the bottom.

The only trick is making sure you file off that metal sill very evenly.  Running it along a big flat file, turning it often to keep
it even, should do it.

[chicken45]

How would you contain the JB Weld? Make dams of styrene?

[mmagliaro]

How would you contain the JB Weld? Make dams of styrene?

I don't understand your question.  You basically need a somewhat thicker styrene strip glued on along the bottom to extend
the depth of the frame, with a thin strip glued on below that to make the new sill. 

Like so:



Just apply a thin bead of it and glue on the strip.  When it's hard, sand the seam between the styrene and the metal smooth.
Why is there a problem "containing" the epoxy?  It shouldn't run all over.

[Lemosteam]

Josh, glad your fingernails are clean! 

What about gluing a brass L the same thickness as the sill on the inside of the casting, at the matching height of the end casting.  Then you could fill the gap with putty or JB weld, filing it smooth with the web.  Then you only need to dam the ends.

[chicken45]

Thanks for the graphic, Max. That clears up things completely. I was thinking you were talking about using a LOT of JB to make the deck thicker instead of using styrene, daming up the area for the JB, and then after drying, sanding it to shape before finally adding the thin bottom lip.

So now that's answered...
What about this?
How would you get this texture in to the deck?

[mmagliaro]

You mean those lines aren't in the metal casting already?  I'm disappointed to hear that.
I've seen that photo you are posting.  It's a large-scale version of the FD2, right?  O scale?  Larger?

Anyway, hoo boy, that's a toughie.  Straight edge and scoring the lines in the soft metal might work, but it would be
almost impossible to get those "planks" even in width with nice parallel lines, and if they aren't perfect, they will
look bad.  That would almost have to be done with a thin thin etched brass overlay.  I don't see any other way to
do it.  You might be able to make something on paper in a computer and glue it on the deck, if you had the coloring and weathering
just right.    Or... perhaps draw it up as art and make it into a decal.   

[chicken45]

Yeah, the metal castings aren't 100% flat. I've been spending lots of time with my files tonight.

[towl1996]

I haven't received my kit yet..., so I can see small detail items being off or missed, but the frame parts not being the same size?  and no planks etched into the deck? 

I thought the frame would have been cast as one solid part. And what about those trucks, that's where I was most concerned. This may become a static model.

[chicken45]

I think the Shapeways trucks may be the best bet for a runner. Can anyone confirm?

[nstars]

I haven't worked on the kit, but from what I did see in Roanoke, my guess is that the shape way trucks would be the best option for a runner.

Marc