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Post by mlehman on Jul 13, 2014 4:18:31 GMT -8
Hope everyone had a great week. One of my projects was building a Westerfield Rio Grande Fowler clone boxcar. It was a lot easier build than the Westerfield hopper kit I built some time back. It would be a good kit to start with if you've never built a resin kit before.  Paint was Krylon Brown Boots Satin to represent a badly-faded car. I gave it a wash with Testors CreateFX 79413 Black Wash, then some Tamiya powders for hilights, followed by matte finish. Earlier in the week I finished building Roden 1:144 C-124C that was from the scratch-and-dent. It was missing the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, no tail at all. I fabbed up those, a little rough in spots, but works well at 3'.  Meanwhile, work goes on as can be seen at the busy Sheridan freight dock.  |
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Post by dti406 on Jul 13, 2014 5:32:16 GMT -8
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Post by TBird1958 on Jul 13, 2014 7:25:22 GMT -8
Nice work this week guys! I have a Rio Grande waffle box, the prototype is one of 100 built by FMC and delivered in Nov. 1972, all the cars were assigned to the S.P. at Eugene, OR. except the last 6 which went into aluminium service. Through the last decades of the 20th century vast amount of lumber moved east in cars like this, the Rio Grande interchanged with both the S.P. and W.P. on it's west end receiving this traffic. Most east bounds had a cut of lumber cars on the head end to fill out tonnage, Rio Grande wanted the heavy loads towards the front the train as the operating dept.found train handling through curves was better. The model is an Intermountain FMC 5283 with styrene added for the waffles, it's painted with SMP Warm Orange that I added a bit of Rio Grande Orange to ( no two batches of D&RGW cars seem to be the same shade of orange!), decals are from several sources, Herald King, Micro Scale and Champ. These cars weathered very heavily over the years but my model would be representative of 1974 or so, still pretty clean - there is just a bit of chalk around the exterior posts and on the upwards facing portion of the waffles. Note the different shades of orange.   |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 7:49:53 GMT -8
  Progress on a friends' GP15-1...should have it ready to go on Monday...I have to do the window gaskets yet...and number boards. Tru Color Jenks Blue...is the paint...and Microscale Decals. Athearn Genesis GP15-1...Blomberg B trucks...with sander lines made from .25" solder...and will have "slight" weathering to underframe...and long hood...but not a heavily weathered unit...This unit also has the out of scale coupler pocket on the stock Athearn's removed...and I replaced it with a Genesis GP38-2 coupler pocket/box unit...which, is also not to scale...but will look MUCH better when assembled. |
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Post by spookyac47 on Jul 13, 2014 8:31:25 GMT -8
Hope everyone had a great week. . . . . . . Earlier in the week I finished building Roden 1:144 C-124C that was from the scratch-and-dent. It was missing the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, no tail at all. I fabbed up those, a little rough in spots, but works well at 3'. Ah, the memories . . . C-124 Globemaster, a.k.a., Old Shakey . . . After completing aircraft maintenance training at Sheppard AFB, TX during 1967, shipped off to Kelly AFB, TX to work on C-124 aircraft. Spent a little over a year working on those behemoths . . . walking on the horizontal stabilizers and wings was a thrill . . .  |
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Post by marknycfan on Jul 13, 2014 8:39:58 GMT -8
Cheers to some great work as always you guys
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Post by buffalobill on Jul 13, 2014 9:12:47 GMT -8
Bird, a beautiful job on the Rio Grande Waffle side boxcar, a really nicely executed car. Nice job on the waffles. I bet it was not easy. Tom the GP-15-1 looks good, as does the Westerfield boxcar, Mike. The work looks great.
Bill
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Post by mlehman on Jul 13, 2014 10:21:44 GMT -8
Rick, Tbird, and Tom, Thanks for the great pics. Tbird, you know what I like. That is a nice little Geep, Tom. SNIPAh, the memories . . . C-124 Globemaster, a.k.a., Old Shakey . . . After completing aircraft maintenance training at Sheppard AFB, TX during 1967, shipped off to Kelly AFB, TX to work on C-124 aircraft. Spent a little over a year working on those behemoths . . . walking on the horizontal stabilizers and wings was a thrill . . . Don, I very well might have toured one of the ones you worked on. We were at Randolph from late '65 until summer of '69, when the AF sent dad to get his MBA at Indiana U. and we never missed Armed Forces Day and I don't think the C-124 did either. You had to love how they started the festivities off with a simulated nuclear explosion...  My favorite in the air show was never the Century-series aircraft, although they were pretty cool, but that clumsy looking U-2 that could climb straight up. I think this may have been during dad's first tour at Randolph from 62-64, because they moved the 4080th from Laughlin to Davis-Monthan around 64-ish. Little did I know at the time I'd eventually be writing about some of the U-2's lesser known escapades. |
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Post by TBird1958 on Jul 13, 2014 10:53:38 GMT -8
Thanks Bill and Mike! The C-124 shots sure bring back some memories for me, in'64 my grandparents moved to a small house near the north end of McChord AFB in Tacoma, WA. A visit always let us see many Globemasters along with the occasional F-106 or BUFF  |
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Post by dti406 on Jul 13, 2014 11:07:24 GMT -8
T-Bird I love that D&RGW Boxcar, I did that car using the totally incorrect MDC Waffleside Car years ago, and nobody will ever see it, now that I know better regarding car types!
Never saw a C-124 but when we were building a zinc mine in Northwest Alaska we had a shipment of diesel and various lubricating oils shipped up to the job site in a KC-97. It was really funny when the plane landed and the crew ran out of the aircraft to put washtubs under the engines to catch the oil dripping from the engines.
Rick J
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Post by mlehman on Jul 13, 2014 11:28:04 GMT -8
SNIP Never saw a C-124 but when we were building a zinc mine in Northwest Alaska we had a shipment of diesel and various lubricating oils shipped up to the job site in a KC-97. It was really funny when the plane landed and the crew ran out of the aircraft to put washtubs under the engines to catch the oil dripping from the engines. Rick J Rick, Both aircraft were powered by the same P&W R-4360 Wasp Major engine, so very similar engine performance right down to those leaks from what I understand. Don could tell you much more, but there's got to be a bazillion places to leak on a 28-cylinder (4 radial banks of 7 cylinders each) engine -- and that's even before they started them up. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 11:43:55 GMT -8
Thanks for the replies on the GP15-1...I forgot to mention that it has custom etched metal steps installed as well (produced by Brian Banna)...and will have LED lighting and Digitrax DH165A0 installed...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 11:44:42 GMT -8
Really LOVE that Rio Grande Waffle box, however...Beautiful work!!!
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Post by TBird1958 on Jul 13, 2014 11:55:06 GMT -8
Thanks Rick and Thomas!
The first time I tried to make a model of that Woodpacker I used an Athearn BB FMC 50' double door car, it was of course, all wrong - I won't be sharing a pic of that model - lol! Herald King made decals for the specific carquite a long time ago, I used their set for the majority of the car, however the large Rio Grande lettering was too small, so lettering from an ACF hopper set was used, each letter cut apart to space correctly across the car.
That C-124 in the picture sure is streaming a lot of oil out the nacelles!
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Post by mlehman on Jul 13, 2014 12:24:51 GMT -8
SNIP That C-124 in the picture sure is streaming a lot of oil out the nacelles! I'm pretty sure that's mostly paint you see behind the engines on the wing, but it's there to hide the oil that you speak of... |
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Post by mlehman on Jul 13, 2014 12:28:08 GMT -8
SNIP... Spent a little over a year working on those behemoths . . . walking on the horizontal stabilizers and wings was a thrill . . . Don, Let me pick at your memory for a second. What's the black panel just in front of the flag on the vertical stabilizer. My model had just a rectangular black decal to represent it, but I've got no idea what "it" might be... |
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Post by ChessieFan1978 on Jul 14, 2014 2:07:49 GMT -8
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Post by riogrande on Jul 14, 2014 6:30:32 GMT -8
Lovely D&RGW waffle box car. I would imagine to get the waffles right, you had to create a piece of plastic to act as a spacer both vertically and horizontally when gluing the waffles in place and get consistent locations. Applying decals over the ribs and waffles must be a challenge.
The photo's of the air force plane are contemporary with my dads flying years as a navigator aboard KC135's SAC and later C133's and C141 in MAC. While in the Air Force, we flew as a family Space-A to Hawaii aboard a 141. It was pretty cool!
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Post by mlehman on Jul 14, 2014 7:54:33 GMT -8
SNIP The photo's of the air force plane are contemporary with my dads flying years as a navigator aboard KC135's SAC and later C133's and C141 in MAC. While in the Air Force, we flew as a family Space-A to Hawaii aboard a 141. It was pretty cool! Jim, Good choice on the 141 ride vs the 133. IIRC, our C-5 ride came after a couple of shots at 141 rides fell through. I was kinda looking forward to that. Riding the C-5 was like riding in a backwards airliner grafted on top of a cargo aircraft going the opposite direction. Standard military seating arrangement, just that it was so grand with the C-5. And it rode like a Cadillac. There were three Army utility twin-engines planes that rode the lower deck, they just took the wingtips off and pushed them aboard. I think they were coming back to be refitted with some new electronic warfare rigs, as we landed in Pennsylvania at an Army airfield that served one of their big radio depots...which gets me to RR content. This was one of two times I spotted GG-1s in person in service, the other time being when we came back through NY when dad finally PCSed back to Chanute. That 133 was a heck of a bird, but a record of mysterious accidents that your dad was probably glad to put behind him when he left. |
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Post by TBird1958 on Jul 14, 2014 8:18:40 GMT -8
Lovely D&RGW waffle box car. I would imagine to get the waffles right, you had to create a piece of plastic to act as a spacer both vertically and horizontally when gluing the waffles in place and get consistent locations. Applying decals over the ribs and waffles must be a challenge.
I wish I could have found an undec for this project - not much luck there, my not-so-local HS did happen to have an older BAR one, it was a solid teal green with minimal lettering so it started there, I very lightly scribed the waffle locations with the back side of a #11 blade using a small metal straight edge. After the waffles were on I shot the entire car a Primer Gray and then Silver as an undercoat for the vibrant orange. Herald King's set specific for the car works fine for everything except the large logo/letters, they were way too small. In HK's defense their set is at least 20 years old and may have been sized up to fit an Athearn BB FMC model, letters from an ACF set were a perfect fit. Jim Eager's freight car book provided the best reference view.
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Post by riogrande on Jul 14, 2014 8:33:27 GMT -8
The C141 was a backwards ride too. Only 4 windows too, 2 each side on the emergency exits. Fortunately we got to sit next to them both trips and as a 14 year old, it was way cool! Yes, the C133 was retired, probably due to the accidents and the advent of the C5A. It was my understanding that the 133 had the highest cargo capacity for a regular Air Force cargo plane until the C5A came along; the C5A boasted the ability to carry 6 greyhound busses in it's cargo hold - 2 - 2 - 2. My dad has told some stories about the 133. In one case, the 133 he had flown inbound had landed and took on a different crew to be taken east across the US. During flight, the air frame apparently developed stress fracture due to vibration of the 4 turboprop engines - the fuselage broke off just ahead of the wings and the plane went down - all hands lost. That is not the only close call my dad had. In another case, he was scheduled a few years earlier to fly a mission aboard a KC125 stratotanker with another such aircraft. He took ill and the flight surgeon took him off flight duty - so he was replaced on that mission grounded for a week. The KC135 along with another, went down in the Bermuda Triangle. I believe both KC135's apparently collided and went down. The search only found some helmets according to my dad. Just a couple years ago I googled Bermuda Triangle and noted one of the incidents matched my dads story: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_Triangle#KC-135_StratotankersThe above story matches the one my dad told me. We were stationed at Bunker Hill AFB during that time and he was flying KC135's. He has some old 8 mm home movies taken out of the boom operators window refueling a B58 Hustler - small detla winged jet with 4 engines. One other story my dad had about the 133's was that an engine broke off the pylon fairing of the wing and fell off. Not sure if he was in that one when it happened. The 133 was nicknamed by the flight crews as the "weenie wagon" because it resembled a long hot dog with the long fuselage protruding out from the front wing. They look much like a larger, longer version of the C130, which are still in used today. Cheers, Jim |
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Post by mlehman on Jul 14, 2014 10:04:11 GMT -8
SNIP...The above story matches the one my dad told me. We were stationed at Bunker Hill AFB during that time and he was flying KC135's. He has some old 8 mm home movies taken out of the boom operators window refueling a B58 Hustler - small detla winged jet with 4 engines. One other story my dad had about the 133's was that an engine broke off the pylon fairing of the wing and fell off. Not sure if he was in that one when it happened. The 133 was nicknamed by the flight crews as the "weenie wagon" because it resembled a long hot dog with the long fuselage protruding out from the front wing. They look much like a larger, longer version of the C130, which are still in used today. Cheers, Jim Jim, Well, "small" is relative with the B-58. Compared to a 'Buff, yes, but it was the biggest delta wing mil aircraft to fly (assuming the British Vulcan didn't beat it in size and I think the Concorde was bigger than a -58, too.) They used to have one stuffed and mounted on the main lawn up at Chanute. The landing gear must've been 12' tall -- or more. They also used to have a C-133. Haven't been up there for awhile. I think the Hustler is gone, a very desirable display or museum hulk for sure. The C-133 is still there IIRC, too big and unwanted to go to the big dance anymore...(looks at Google)...Yes, the 133 is still there, now over by the museum. Also have a WV-121 radar picket plane, another chancy ride to have in your log-book, as all those Connie's are widowmakers. Besides the B-58, we also lost our B-36 after Chanute shut down. But if you're ever passing through, stop by and see the museum's -133 (it's now safe, as in permanently grounded), drop in for a layout visit, etc  |
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Post by riogrande on Jul 14, 2014 12:36:37 GMT -8
Ah my dad was stationed in Karat Thailand for one year just before we moved to Travis AFB (the beginning of my exposure to the SP). He was aboard C-121 Super Constellations during that year; from what I understand they used to orbit at high altitude above Vietnam with electronic surveillance equipment to listen for ground troop movements. He never mentioned that plain as being unreliable or dodgy. I decided to google the C-133 - I never knew how bad they were! www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/the-curse-of-the-cargomaster-2241392/My dad was flying in them for a few years between 1967 and 1969 IIRC. On page 4 of that story, this is mentioned: "n February 6, 1970, a C-133B left Travis to deliver a Vietnam-scarred CH-47 Chinook to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After cruising at 21,000 feet and with clearance granted for a climb to 23,000, Cargomaster 90530 broke up in flight. The majority of the debris fell on a field outside Palisade, Nebraska." I wonder if that is the C-133 my dad told me about that broke in half and went down after he got off it. Sounds like my dad was lucky to survive the 133's! |
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Post by mlehman on Jul 14, 2014 12:52:09 GMT -8
Ah, the IGLOO WHITE sensor mission, using the EC-121 variant. Yeah, lots of people love the Connie, but it had a history of loosing its triple tail early on. I know they did some structural work on most of them after they got that figured out. A beautiful plane, though. No Vietnam service in-family, but did lose a friend who lived across the hall from us in Germany. He flew -130s around Europe, then volunteered for the AC- model and combat. He was lost along with about a dozen others on "Thor" in Dec. 1972 over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos while flying as the Fire Control Officer after "peace was at hand." That was sort of the last nail in the coffin of my interest in the military as a career, I wasn't going to be flying with my eyes anyway, but I'll avoid veering off into the politics of the time...  |
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Post by riogrande on Jul 14, 2014 12:59:34 GMT -8
Interesting stuff. I only know what stories my dad has told and those were years ago. He is like 82 now. Even though my dad was over Vietnam for that year, I never really thought of him as Vietnam veteran - I guess technically he is. Most of his latter day missions were probably in support of it flying cargo, helicopters etc. hopping across Midway, Guam etc. his last 2 years were a desk job at Travis and he retired in 1973 after 22 years - we lived in Davis CA those last two years and he commuted down to the base.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2014 14:33:23 GMT -8
Sunday run day at the Coshocton Model Railroad Club. Here are my new Milwaukee Road SD40-2's and Chessie System GP40-2. Wow. Just some beautiful motive power there!!! Superb weathering jobs on those units!!! |
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Post by catt on Jul 14, 2014 14:58:20 GMT -8
Two $1.00 (in 1980) cars.Bought all of the Bachmann and TYCO covered hoppers,flat cars and gondolas the Grand Rapids,MI. K Nart stores had left after Christmas 1979 when K Mart decided to stop selling train sets and cars and locomotives.I have 10 left that are still HO (the rest are sold or converted to On30). Anyway original blue from 1980 on the left new gray from 2014 on the right.Lettering updated on blue car in 1995,safety stripes added in 2010.As they sit right now I have less than $20.00 invested in the pair.  |
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Post by railthunder on Jul 16, 2014 19:29:01 GMT -8
  Probably my first and last aircraft post on a model railroad forum! I recently ran across someone that is modeling an a commercial airport on their railroad and was blown away by the near scale (1/100) commercial aircraft. There are several manufacturers and the favorite is Skymarks Supreme as they also include landing gear with rubber tires and prototype choices of 737s, MD80s, and others in a variety of airlines. They also come with a display stand. Since my prototype passed right by a Naval Air Station it was a natural to want to have one and I located an out of production USofA for dignitary/VIP types. The two pictures are mock ups of the area as track laying hasn't commenced there yet. I've also noticed my two helicopters are definitely near S Scale and seeing the plane close makes them stand out more size wise. |
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Post by markfj on Jul 17, 2014 5:52:15 GMT -8
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Post by mlehman on Jul 17, 2014 6:53:27 GMT -8
View AttachmentView AttachmentProbably my first and last aircraft post on a model railroad forum! I recently ran across someone that is modeling an a commercial airport on their railroad and was blown away by the near scale (1/100) commercial aircraft. There are several manufacturers and the favorite is Skymarks Supreme as they also include landing gear with rubber tires and prototype choices of 737s, MD80s, and others in a variety of airlines. They also come with a display stand. Since my prototype passed right by a Naval Air Station it was a natural to want to have one and I located an out of production USofA for dignitary/VIP types. The two pictures are mock ups of the area as track laying hasn't commenced there yet. I've also noticed my two helicopters are definitely near S Scale and seeing the plane close makes them stand out more size wise. Railthunder, Neat looking models. Good tip on good landing gear, as that's often the crudest part on many aircraft models. I'm pretty much in the "gear-up" crowd, where applicable, as I tend to "fly" my aircraft by hanging them from the ceiling on 4 lb test line. One way I've found for dealing with scale discrepancies, between aircraft and layout and among the aircraft themselves, is to keep larger scale aircraft lower and the smaller up higher, above eye level if possible, forcing the perspective. Many of my aircraft are 1:144, which works well with HO in general BTW, but having a few 1:72 models lower down worked out better than I thought it would. Mark, Delicate project. What kind of lighting do you have planned? A suggestion on the wipers. Keep the center of the wiper, but cut off the two "blades" that contact the wheels. Instead, get some Tichy or other phosphor bronze wire -- I use .010" diameter -- and tack it with solder straight across the remaining center section of the original wiper. Trim the ends for suitable overhand. Should be very simple fix since you've already made the wiper removable. This will give you a lot less drag. We do this a lot in narrowgauge, because we simply can't afford any extra drag with our puny motive power and steep grades. |
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