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Tim, that BCOl car is looking good!!! Especially so, "Thanks]!" for showing the tapered end's inside... it shows how you did it and I may yet do the same on some modernized heavyweights which would need this detail.
Having finished one of the cars I've had 'semi-completed' for a bit (ATSF 64' semi-lightweight smoothside baggage), I've decided to do the same to all of the cars I have started but not finished BEFORE I start any more of the MANY car builds I have waiting for me.Here, first are 3 KATO Valley sleepers I'm modifying to 1957 appearance.I purchased these from Russell and he g=had already removed the 'Pullman' from one of the cars; I removed the 'Santa Fe' from one of the others, and still have one more to do. I'm re-lettering them with letters from the Micro-Scale sheet, which has a more correct sized font. I'm also removing the top-most and lower-most silver stripe as these were gone by my era. I'm also adding a thicker silver stripe seperating the dark and light gray, as these were thicker when repainted back into two-tone gray during my era.I'm also removing most of the skirting, but leaving panels covering certain pieces of equipment a la the prototype.Here is one sleeper with these mods done, re-lettered to "Blue Valley".I still need to completely re-arrange the underframe equipment to match the prototype-this will be the biggest challenge of this conversion, but removing the equipment from the KATO underframe seems somewhat easier than doing it on the heavyweight Rivarossi cars that I've done for the heavyweight conversions I've done so far.Here are the other two in various stages...one with skirts, lettering, and stripes removed-the other waiting...I'd like to have them both done to the first one's appearance by the end of the weekend.The other cars in the queue are the KATO CB&Q cars that are almost dead-on 'Pine' series sleepers...they need the skirts removed and/or modified...re-lettering, and the underframe equipment re-arranged as well....I'm modifying this....into this....Thanks for looking,~Bruce
Louis,there was a learning curve for me as well...I, first, use masking tape to keep my blade from 'wandering'...I apply masking tape along the demarcation line; exposing the area that will be removed (I use Tamiya modellers masking tape, but I'm sure any will do...) I carefully apply it, making sure it is absolutely straight; build up another layer of tape if you feel you need to be more steady.Then, with a very sharp Xacto blade chucked, I make a very light series of passes along the tape edge; as each pass goes a little deeper, I can apply just a little more pressure, only when I'm certain the first few passes are straight along the edge of the masking tape...I use many light passes; I don't rush....when I feel I have made it halfway through the plastic, I just bend and snap the piece off. I then clean up the edge by running the Xacto blade along the edge and using succecive grits of sandpaper to complete a smooth edge. The trick is to take your time and use a number of light passes of the blade, instead of trying to 'dig in' right off the bat. I don't have a milling machine so this works for me.I should also mention that I keep the floor in during this procedure to keep the car side from flexing and allowing the blade to 'wander'...others I know have backed up the car side with pieces of wood cut to fit snugly into the carbody to achieve the rigidity needed during the process.In fact, the Pine series sleeper I've shown is actually a 'throw away'...I cut too much from the sill, so the car doesn't look 'quite right'...I'll use it to bash another car using brass sides (of course, it will have to be a Budd-built car with the corrugated roof)...the other two Pine series cars came out much better...the initial removal of the skirt is the easier part...cutting and forming the curve is a little more tedious...I do it freehand; starting with too much material and slowly 'whittling' away plastic until I have enough area for the trucks to swivel and the curve looks right...just remove a little at a time and start with 'too much' material.Hope this helps,~Bruce
More drywall and electrical this weekend. Don't mind the one off color LED bulb, the other half grabbed the wrong box and one was cool white. The lights were temporarily put in, and will be replaced with cans. The aisle lighting is on a separate switch from the layout lighting.
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Topic: Weekend Update 10/20/13 (Read 9068 times)
