|
|
Post by onequiknova on Jun 17, 2012 17:53:53 GMT -8
This was another project I did for my Dad last October. He handed me a Walthers Budd observation and wanted me to make this car.   This is what I started with.  The CB&Q car was a diner/lounge car with a kitchen and a small diner section in the front of the car. Comparing the Walthers car to scale drawings of the Q car, things looked promising. Blank some window here, move others there, lengthen the letter boards and add some mid car vestibule doors and call it good.  This car was not meant to be an exact copy. The car is a couple feet too short, some of the windows are a few inches in the wrong spot, the underbody detail is wrong, etc etc. It's just a stand in model. I thrashed to get this car done in three days in time for his birthday, and it shows in places.   The biggest challenge on the car was the end of the obs. The Q car was a prewar car and the fine fluting above the windows wrapped all the way around the back of the obs. On the post war Walthers car, the roof continues to curve down all the way to the top of the end door.  I used N scale Budd fluting to wrap around the end, It's close, but a little coarser than what's on the rest of the car, but It's the closet thing I could find. The markers help hide the difference too. The new roof over the end of the obs was formed with auto body "Bondo" on a styrene base. The new mars light is scratchbuilt. The seams on the roof were made with Bare Metal Foil before the car was painted.  The Galley side of the car had a few windows filled in and a galley door from a cut up Kato business car added. The round roof vents were turned from styrene rod while chucked into an electric drill.  The mid car vestibule doors were cut out of a scrap Rivarossi Obs. You can also see how I tried to mimic the aluminum window frames with paint. (don't mind the finger print)  The car was painted with Alclad Chrome over a dark gray base and sealed with acrylic clear. . The car has been sitting on a shelf at my dads for a few months, so it's a little dusty and has a few spiderwebs on it that I didn't notice until I looked at the pics. |
|
|
|
Post by riogrande on Jun 17, 2012 19:20:20 GMT -8
You are the master!
|
|
|
|
Post by el3637 on Jun 17, 2012 19:27:42 GMT -8
A sister car to this one "Silver Fountain" was stored in Cincinnati for many years, overgrown and almost forgotten. It has since been moved and ownership has changed but I don't know its status.
Kato did this car in N scale when they did their CZ cars, an odd mix of pre and postwar designs.
Andy
|
|
|
|
Post by onequiknova on Jun 17, 2012 19:43:45 GMT -8
I am aware of the Kato car. I thought it was neat they did a Q car, since that's my main interest, but thought it was an odd choice on their part. There were only four of them built, three with short letter boards with " BURLINGTON" on them , and one with the long letter boards with 'BURLINGTON ZEPHYR", which is the one I had to model due to Walthers molded on letter boards. I'm not sure about the whereabouts of silver fountain, but Silver Star is alive and well, in Australia of all places. www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=314516&nseq=1 |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2012 4:12:42 GMT -8
Now that is some A++ modeling!!!! |
|
|
|
Post by antoniofp45 on Jun 18, 2012 5:01:24 GMT -8
Onequicknova, She's a beauty and I'd sure enjoy seeing it running in a train on a YouTube clip. Your Dad is probably one very happy man as this is such a wonderful thing for a son to do. The roof vents, mid car vestibule door, the use of N-scale fluting for the rear "wrap-around" and the custom built Mars light housing look great! The finish resembles that of a unit that's been in service a number of years but is maintained well. One quick tip, if you don't mind, regarding finger prints on Alclad finishes. Even if in a rush, once you finish applying the metalizer make certain your hands are clean and dry or put on some latex gloves. 1. Pick up the shell and inspect if carefully. I usually hold the shells from either the vestibule/diaphram ends, or with my fingers spread across inside the shell. 2. If there are fingerprints or smudges present, just take a clean white cotton cloth (in a pinch, a clean 100% cotton T-shirt will work), and gently buff it in a lengthwise motion. The fingerprints will come off. 3. Check the surface for lint, then airbrush a gloss or semi-gloss clear coat for sealing and you're good to go!   |
|
|
|
Post by el3637 on Jun 18, 2012 9:16:17 GMT -8
I'm not sure about the whereabouts of silver fountain, but Silver Star is alive and well, in Australia of all places. The only thing I'm sure about re. Silver Fountain is that it's no longer where it was and had been since around 1965. Google satellite confirms it's not there nor is the siding. ISTR talking with some of the locals about it being moved and plans for it maybe 6-7 years ago, but I am too much out of the loop to know what's up with it or even who currently owns it. Assuming it's still in town, there's only a small number of places it could be. Google doesn't show it in either of them but it could be indoors. Andy |
|
|
|
Post by onequiknova on Jun 18, 2012 10:08:18 GMT -8
|
|
|
|
Post by el3637 on Jun 18, 2012 11:17:20 GMT -8
Pictures say Perintown OH, on the move, which is I&O territory. I thought the thing had been picked up by the I&O (which was founded by passenger car enthusiasts) but didn't know it had left Cincinnati, apparently 8 years ago.
Betcha it's in Jackson, but I've never been there and not familiar with the town enough to go looking for it on google but I bet if it's outdoors, it can be spotted. Not too many Budd beavertail observations roaming around out there.
Andy
|
|
|
|
Post by onequiknova on Jun 18, 2012 13:03:03 GMT -8
Onequicknova, She's a beauty and I'd sure enjoy seeing it running in a train on a YouTube clip. Your Dad is probably one very happy man as this is such a wonderful thing for a son to do. The roof vents, mid car vestibule door, the use of N-scale fluting for the rear "wrap-around" and the custom built Mars light housing look great! The finish resembles that of a unit that's been in service a number of years but is maintained well. One quick tip, if you don't mind, regarding finger prints on Alclad finishes. Even if in a rush, once you finish applying the metalizer make certain your hands are clean and dry or put on some latex gloves. 1. Pick up the shell and inspect if carefully. I usually hold the shells from either the vestibule/diaphram ends, or with my fingers spread across inside the shell. 2. If there are fingerprints or smudges present, just take a clean white cotton cloth (in a pinch, a clean 100% cotton T-shirt will work), and gently buff it in a lengthwise motion. The fingerprints will come off. 3. Check the surface for lint, then airbrush a gloss or semi-gloss clear coat for sealing and you're good to go! Thanks Antonio. I've only Alcladed 4 or 5 cars/loco's so far, and I always leave them on my shell holder until the car is cleared so I don't have to worry about prints. On this car I wanted to mimic the aluminum window frames with silver paint, which requires masking around each window. The print must have happened during that process. I'll be more careful to look for prints before sealing the car in the future. |
|
|
|
Post by onequiknova on Jun 18, 2012 13:14:08 GMT -8
One thing that struck me with the Alclad was how much the base color effects the finish. I've seen Antonio's "online clinics" but it's different when seen in person. This was my first Alclad paint job. This one was done over a black base. The difference in shine is huge.  One a side note, the Observation above was originally part of the three car train pulled by My kitbashed shovelnose. Maybe one day I'll build the two coaches and have a complete train. :EDIT: Here's a couple more pics of them together. Honestly, I think Alclad over black is a little too bright to my eyes. I'd like something between the two finishes   |
|
|
|
Post by antoniofp45 on Jun 18, 2012 13:50:01 GMT -8
Equinova, Very cool that you're experimenting. Yes, the basecoat foundation color makes a big world of difference! That's why I've been enjoying this process so much as your basecolor is a major factor that determines the final appearance, which can range from "Off the Assembly Line to a Penn Central junker". You're right, seeing in person can be quite a different experience compared to photographs. One thing though, remember that as long as the basecoat color (or clear over the base) is smooth and has a high gloss the final Alclad finish, regardless if the foundation varies from light gray to jet black, will be very glossy under the 107 formula. Clear coats help tone the gloss down. You pointed out the "piece of the puzzle" that got me into gear years back when I heard feedback from modelers, generally stating that their Alcladded passenger cars were too dark. I eventually discovered that it was due to the use of black as a base. Great for chrome, which was the original purpose of the #107 formula, but not for #7 and #8 reflective stainless steel appearances. You've probably read my detailed info on other forums, but in a nutshell, through experimenting I found that using various shades of grays enabled the Alclad metalizer to resemble reflective/polished stainless steel so much more closely. Another important factor I often bring up when discussing Alclad topics: Lighting. Keep in mind the type of lighting used on your layout. When I "Alcladded" a Walthers diner in the SCL scheme and viewed it in my hobby room after finishing it, at first I thought "Did I do something wrong?" Then it hit me that I was viewing the car under florescent lights! I had a modeler ask me about Alcladding for lighting conditions, but imho, this would be getting away from the purpose of metalizing: "To imitate the real thing". Why adjust a realistic finish to lighting? The idea of this process is to keep it simple. I now consistently suggest that after one finishes a model in Alclad, to take it outdoors in natural lighting (in the shade or under an overcast sky). There, a picture is worth a thousand words. If the layout lighting is an issue, Daylight Corrected lighting is now much more affordable and a room can be converted for less than the price of a new, limited production run Walthers or Atlas locomotive. |
|
