ESM pilot model sneak peak pic

[bbussey]

Fresh off the plane ... A quickie cellphone pic of one of the pilot models for the CB&Q X58-stand-ins of the XML-14.  Yes, the production run cars will be without roofwalk and with lowered brakewheel, as per the prototype.  The only deco changes needed are the removal of the black border around the perimeter of the placard, and the HYDRAULIC CUSHIONING and placard have to shift one panel to the right (no upper ladder rungs will be present to get in the way).  The placards are etched brass, rather than styrene.

Click on the pic for zoom.



Ambitious modelers will have to extend the lower sill and relocate the side tackboards to make it a true XML-14.

[jmlaboda - RIP]

Really nice!!!

[carlso]

Nice looking car, Bryan.

[CBQ Fan]

Looking forward to adding it to my fleet!!

[skm]

Brian, is the roof a separate part?
I have a few of these but they aren't handy right now....

[tom mann]

Nice, looks great.

[unittrain]

Sweet will be in for one of these and several of the PC/CR.

[Puddington]

Oh my, we absolutely have to own that !

Well done Bryan !

[Dave Schneider]

Just to be clear, is this is an uninsulated car with loading devices? What were these used for on the CB&Q?
Very nice looking car.

Best wishes, Dave

[bbussey]

Brian, is the roof a separate part?
I have a few of these but they aren't handy right now....

No.  Floor is separate.  I don't design models with removable roofs unless the prototype calls for it or overhang is severe.  Generally, it is difficult to make an N scale roof "edge" a prototypical thickness when it is a separate part.

Looking forward to adding it to my fleet!!

Yeah, even this incorrect sample model looks pretty hot.  You can tell the placard is actually metal instead of plastic, it just has a different look to it.  I wish the prototype in this pristine condition was within one of my own personal two eras.  Alas, it isn't.  So I'll be looking forward to seeing photos of the model in settings on various layouts.

P.S. — The other X58 cars in this batch look pretty nifty also.  But pics of those will debut in the newsletter on September 9.

[skm]

No.  Floor is separate.  I don't design models with removable roofs unless the prototype calls for it or overhang is severe.  Generally, it is difficult to make an N scale roof "edge" a prototypical thickness when it is a separate part.

Thanks for the reply Brian, just checking Struggling to find some diagonal panel roofs in 40' and 50' that I don't need to hack off or mold from an existing model....

[SD452XR]

My only complaint with it....... its only coming in two road numbers. 

[bbussey]

Thanks for the reply Brian, just checking Struggling to find some diagonal panel roofs in 40' and 50' that I don't need to hack off or mold from an existing model....

You will have to find an Athearn 50' NACC car with the Stanray diagonal roof.  It is a separate part on those models, but some of those models come with the P-S bowtie so you'll either have to hunt down the undec models (that come with both roofs) or check various decorated models.

There is no model with a removable 40' Stanray roof.  You'll have to chop up an XIH boxcar to get one.
 

My only complaint with it....... its only coming in two road numbers. 

For now.   But you always can buy multiples and change the car numbers.

[nkalanaga]

Nice!  I have both reserved.  And no, the side sill doesn't bother me, at least not enough to try to perfectly match the paint.

A technical question on your molds:  How hard is it to make and use a new side die?  For instance, IF someone wanted to make a car for their favorite road, and IF all it needed was a new side design, and IF you were willing to do it, how hard would it be to use their side tooling in place of yours?

No, I'm not going to do it, and don't know anyone who's thinking about it.  But we have injection molding machines at work, and nobody there seems to know what's inside the "tools", which weigh about seven tons and make parts weighing maybe a pound.

[bbussey]

I explored that option when the X58 was tooled.  The cost was too high and the roads/schemes too limited to justify.  A second factor is that there are only so many variations I can utilize simultaneously in any given production run.  The contractor was gracious enough to allow the change to the modern body for the CB&Q cars on this production run, but that is the exception rather than the norm.