Best Of ACL MEC low side gondola , interest ? ESM please read .

[up1950s]

My HO ERTL MEC low side gon came today , 1960's black scheme as it remains today on display , see above post. I will ship this to Bryan as requested . Some shots for thread value .























I will do some in green and some in black if both color decals can be had .

[bbussey]

The plan is to design the model with two etched floors (representing wood or steel), two sets of ends (flat or dreadnaught) and a separate brakebox so that the MTL vertical brake staff part can be used.  The body and ends will be resin castings from etched brass and RP composite masters.  Already secured is the diecast fishbelly centersill used on the MTL 40' wood reefers and boxcars.  The etched detail parts will be stainless steel.  BLMA grab irons.  MTL Miner brakewheel.  Haven't decided which way to go on the trucks yet.  Decals will include early and late schemes for both ACL and MEC.

First task is to fabricate body and ends masters that are suitable for casting, starting with the solid model design and etch brass drawings.

[Chris333]

Bryan, Thanks for doing these, it is one car that I have tried to make a few times before. Nothing out there has the same rib spacing.

Let us know if you need a deposit to get started 

[up1950s]

Ertl gon was mailed to Bryan today .

[Iain]

Oooh, NS stuffs!  I buy everything NS that is made in N scale, period, to try to encourage mnfrs to make more NS stuff.

[JoeD]

http://www.bcenterpriseinc.com/kits/2fc6330l.jpg

Here is an HO resin kit by Funaro and Camerlengo...about $26.00 retail on the above site.  There stuff tends to be pretty accurate and well detailed. 

Joe

Mtl

[bbussey]

I received Rich's Ertl car today.

As most people are unaware of the extent of the process to create a mass-market N scale model, I figure this is as good a project as any to to bring everyone up to speed.  While the end result will be a craftsman's kit that is less extensive effort-wise than an injection-molded model that must stand up to tighter scrutiny, it nonetheless will provide a guide as to what it is required.  It even might inspire some to explore the process themselves, but at the least it should provide everyone with a better understanding of the effort involved - which should be a factor in the future when various esoteric models are requested of the manufacturers.

I'll be providing step-by-step progress in this thread, with photos and screenshots, so you can see how an idea for an N scale model is transformed into an actual model.  I'll start with weekly updates initially, with the option to cut back to bi-weekly should the timeline become too constrictive.  The goal is to bring the model to market by the end of the third quarter of this year as an ESM release under the "Made In America" series.  At least 50 pieces will have to be sold to recoup the cost.


THE SCOPE:  There is enough to begin at this point.  An HO model and various engineering drawings have been procured.  As there are slight differences between the ACL and MEC prototypes, I will be creating an amalgamation, with the end result being 90% accurate for either prototype.  The model will be designed with two sets of ends, flat and dreadnaught, and designed to accept a brakebox or a vertical brake shaft, so that it can be built to conform to a wide range of eras.  In order  to lessen design time (and labor, the most expensive cost of creating the master components for casting), a number of existing OEM components will be utilized for the final models.  These OEM components will be a match or near-match to the two prototypes.  The tentative list of OEM parts consists of BLMA A-3 friction-bearing trucks; BLMA straight stainless steel grab irons; MTL diecast fishbelly centersill; MTL #1015 coupler parts; MTL bolster pins; MTL vertical brake staff and wheel; MTL Miner brakewheel; MTL gondola stirrups; and 3/16" #00-90 brass screws.

There will be a casting master created from ProJet XHD rapid prototype resin and etched brass parts.  Five master parts will be created, the floor/sides and four ends.  The "floor" will consist of only the centersill base, cross members, truck bolsters and coupler pockets.  The B ends will be identical to the A ends except for mounting holes for the vertical brake shaft.
   
Polyurethane resin castings will be rendered of the gondola body and ends.  Etched stainless steel detail parts will include the B end step, the brakebox and chain, the simulated wood floor, and the steel floor.  A thin brass or steel weight will sit on top of the cross members, and the false etched floor top will cover it, in order to get some weight into the model.  The fabrication of the straight centersill has yet to be determined.

Decals will be drawn and digital artwork will be submitted to Microscale for rendering.  The creation of decal artwork also is labor intensive, and in this case will include the research and procurement of ACL and MEC alphanumeric stenciling diagrams and gondola lettering diagrams.

The model design, etching drawings and decal drawings will be done in-house.  All other work will be subcontracted out to various sources.  With the exception of the brass and stainless steel etchings, all work will be performed within the northwest northeast quadrant of the United States.

The first stage is to convert Rich's Ertl gondola into a digital solid model.  Since it is a good model of the MEC prototype, measuring and translating it will save time.  Under normal circumstances, the digital model would be created in 1:1 size to eliminate calculating scale dimensions for every feature, and then scaled down afterward.  In this case, the basic model will be created in HO scale and later reduced to 54.4375%  Only the basic details are needed, since fine detail would have to be adjusted for N scale and would not be rendered satisfactorily by the ProJet.

Watch for screen shots of the initial digital model late next week.

[Iain]

Bryan, please, oh, please, do NS decals as well.  I have hardcopy NS lettering diagrams for several cars, including the gon.  If I were to do the artwork for NS, would you include it in the decals?

[up1950s]

I just got the May 1989 RMC with the 4 page article on the Low Side gon . I sent large scans to Bryan . Other known Railwire members , for personal research use only , PM me your eMail address ?

[wcfn100]

I just got the May 1989 RMC with the 4 page article on the Low Side gon . I sent large scans to Bryan . Other known Railwire members , for personal research use only , PM me your eMail address ?

Is Southern in there?

Jason

[up1950s]

Yes

[wcfn100]

Oops, I meant Seaboard. 

Jason

[bbussey]

Bryan, please, oh, please, do NS decals as well.  I have hardcopy NS lettering diagrams for several cars, including the gon.  If I were to do the artwork for NS, would you include it in the decals?

If you can give me the artwork in vector form, I will include it.

[bbussey]

Oops, I meant Seaboard. 

Seaboard is there also.

[Iain]

If you can give me the artwork in vector form, I will include it.

What file format?  I work in AutoCAD; can do dxf and dwg easily.