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Post by Christian on Sept 10, 2017 5:26:31 GMT -8
I'm not seeming to get much done this summer, so here is a blast from the past. Just about 40 years in the past. Model Die Casting (MDC or Roundhouse) made a series of old time tank car kits that were popular conversions for narrow gauge. Pre Painted tank with unpainted frame and details - typical of MDC kits of the era. I don't think these have made it to the Athearn Roundhouse line. Pretty much stock kit with narrow gauge trucks, wooden walkways, Kadee 914 couplers, Precision Scale brake wheel, A-Line chain and a few dabs of paint. Typical modeling of that ancient era.
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Post by kentuckysouthernrwy on Sept 10, 2017 5:28:33 GMT -8
40 years of gook, interesting car.
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Post by steveturner on Sept 10, 2017 7:16:22 GMT -8
I'm not seeming to get much done this summer, so here is a blast from the past. Just about 40 years in the past. Model Die Casting (MDC or Roundhouse) made a series of old time tank car kits that were popular conversions for narrow gauge. Pre Painted tank with unpainted frame and details - typical of MDC kits of the era. I don't think these have made it to the Athearn Roundhouse line. Pretty much stock kit with narrow gauge trucks, wooden walkways, Kadee 914 couplers, Precision Scale brake wheel, A-Line chain and a few dabs of paint. Typical modeling of that ancient era. Nice car. Brings back memories. Still have some of those in the MDC 3 in 1 kits I have not used. I did use one of the tanks for a refueling stand I just made for my Shay refueling area. That was a popular car when old time modeling was popular. I think its the same frame used in the MDC log car kits which I have quite a few in a parts bin. I never throw anything away HA!. MDC made some fun kits back in those days.........how about the old Climax........what a screacher !.Steve
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Post by tankcarsrule on Sept 10, 2017 7:38:53 GMT -8
Staying with the tank car theme. The smallest of the rail whales.
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Post by TBird1958 on Sept 10, 2017 7:45:50 GMT -8
Here's a shot of my F68AH before I attached the load.
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Post by valenciajim on Sept 10, 2017 8:24:53 GMT -8
I remember the old MDC kits. I tried building a locomotive or two. Never could get them to run well, but they were a ton of fun to build.
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Post by dti406 on Sept 10, 2017 8:26:59 GMT -8
Did a couple of covered hoppers this week! Bowser 1958 CF ACF Covered Hopper Kit, painted with Scalecoat II Boxcar Red and lettered with Herald King Decals. Car was originally built in 1950 and this is a 1977 Repaint, used for hauling sand from Michigan to the Ford Casting Plant in Brook Park, Ohio. Tangent Dry-Flow unlettered car, found some Oddballs decals in Rock Island for it. No pictures to be found, used the decal diagram. Car originally built in 1962. It is very hard to find pictures of any of the Dry-Flow cars, seems people were more interested in taking pictures of engines and leaving the car histories behind. Thanks for looking! Rick Jesionowski
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Post by Donnell Wells on Sept 10, 2017 9:24:52 GMT -8
Staying with the tank car theme. The smallest of the rail whales. Love the brasswork Bobby!!!
Donnell
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Post by onequiknova on Sept 10, 2017 9:43:40 GMT -8
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Post by tankcarsrule on Sept 10, 2017 10:40:16 GMT -8
Many thanks Donnell. Great photos so far! John, each car you build and post, I've worked one the 1:1 version. I rebuilt over 40,000 carburetors in my 42 year career turning wrenches. Lots of gens and alternators and starters too. I was born at the right time, so Far the most part I missed the electronic marvels. Don't get me wrong, the new cars are much better than the older ones, but not as much fun!I loved street racing!
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Post by SOMECALLMETIM on Sept 10, 2017 11:23:33 GMT -8
The road number you chose for the RI Dry-Flo threw me for a loop for a second as there was no 8952 listed in the roster, but the GATC photo shows it was later renumbered to 7902. The RI roster has the Dry-Flo cars as 7900-7904 and 7910-7919. Later 507900-507904 and 507910-507919. Not sure if any were actually repainted/renumbered in ROCK. Modeling looks good. Did a couple of covered hoppers this week! Tangent Dry-Flow unlettered car, found some Oddballs decals in Rock Island for it. No pictures to be found, used the decal diagram. Car originally built in 1962. It is very hard to find pictures of any of the Dry-Flow cars, seems people were more interested in taking pictures of engines and leaving the car histories behind. Thanks for looking! Rick Jesionowski
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Post by markfj on Sept 10, 2017 11:26:34 GMT -8
Hello Group, Wow, I’m impressed with the work you all are posting. I’m embarrassed to post my entry this week; it’s pretty much just a straight out-of-the-box build. This is one of Accurail’s new 4750 grain hopper kits with a few modifications to bring up the detail fidelity. First, I added some piping from the air reservoir to the triple valve (you can sort of see it through the end cage in the one shot). Next I added a train line bent from .020 wire and secured it using Yarmouth Model Works eyebolts mounted through styrene blocks. The air hoses are Detail Associates FC 6206. Finally I added wire grabs at the end of the roof walks and installed Proto 2000 36” wheel sets. The kit comes with plastic 33” wheels, so you need to replace the wheels and rework the bolster so the car sits at the proper height with the 36” wheels. These kits are a real gem for the price and I have several more in various stages of construction. My only gripe is that Accurail didn’t supplied properly sized metal wheels in the kit. By the way, if anyone has close-up photos of the “B” details on these cars (or know where they are available on the net), please post them. I would like to add a the retainer valve assemble on future kits, but am not sure where it mounts or how the piping is run to it. Thanks, Mark
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Post by Christian on Sept 10, 2017 13:24:25 GMT -8
I’m embarrassed to post my entry this week; I hope you continue to be embarrassed and post lots more projects! Not so long ago this is what the prototype modeling movement was all about. Taking a product and making it closer to the prototype to the best of the modeler's ability. (I think that is actually a quote from someone - not original to me.) This is a great example.
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Post by Christian on Sept 10, 2017 13:27:39 GMT -8
Love the brasswork Bobby!!! It's really distinctive. I have a feeling I could call out Bobby's modeling with just a look at a walkway or a ladder.
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Post by kentuckysouthernrwy on Sept 10, 2017 16:32:45 GMT -8
Here is an 87RPM resin kit of a 1965 Buick Wildcat I finished earlier this summer. I see now I need to touch up some of the chrome side trim. It's finished off with cheap craft store acrylics, scotch tape windows, resin cast wheels from a Brekina Corvette, and white wall tire decals. As a deputy sheriff in my real life years ago I stopped a fellow in one of those. Told him, "Nice car". To which he replied, "That ain't no car, man, das an AUTOMOBILE!" Your model sir, is an automobile.
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Post by ChessieFan1978 on Sept 10, 2017 17:46:41 GMT -8
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Post by fr8kar on Sept 10, 2017 18:04:33 GMT -8
Don't sell yourself short on the hopper model, Mark. It looks great to me. I want to get one of those Accurail cars myself and see how hard it would be to make one of the Trinity built clones with the curved roof. The retainer valve is mounted on the right side of the car on top of the horizontal brace between the jack pad and the ladder. It is plumbed to the center of the control valve with a smaller diameter pipe than used on the brake cylinder and reservoir. Everyone else, excellent work as usual. There's a reason this is the most anticipated thread of the week! Awhile back I showed a few photos of my Santa Fe 10-Pack Fuel Foiler, which was built from a set of Athearn Impack cars modified to match the prototype. One thing I wanted to replace from the Athearn model but never got around to was the hitches. The hitches Athearn provides with the Impack car don't really match anything I can find, but they must be "inspired" by the Santa Fe hitches even if they aren't a very good model of them. It should be apparent by now if I can find a problem with a model there must be a 3D printed solution right around the corner. Hidden under this Trainworx trailer is the original Athearn hitch: Here are a couple shots of the printed hitches (these dark black hitches on stark white frames are difficult to photograph in my garage, so pardon the poor photos). This one is one of the taller intermediate hitches: And here is one of the shorter end unit hitches: While I was in a drawing kind of mood I went ahead and did the type of hitches used on the Cotton Belt four and eight unit Impack cars: It didn't take long for me to get started on an eight unit Cotton Belt car. These old Athearn kits go pretty cheap on ebay. The decks need to be narrowed on these Impack cars since the prototypes were built just wide enough to support a 96" wide trailer. I like to cut the deck down the width of the weight underneath and replace the sides with Evergreen strip. I got the decks of all eight units narrowed and hitches installed the other day. Here is the set in primer: I also spent some time on some Southern TOFC boxcar to flatcar conversions I started on two years ago (ain't moving fun?). Here's a shot of the progress:
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Post by tankcarsrule on Sept 12, 2017 11:11:28 GMT -8
Things have died out, so here's a simple tank car except for its stand out feature, six axle trucks.
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Post by riogrande on Sept 12, 2017 11:15:22 GMT -8
Some of your tank cars sure are l-o-n-g! What kind of minimum radius do you have?!!!!
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Post by tankcarsrule on Sept 12, 2017 12:01:10 GMT -8
Some of your tank cars sure are l-o-n-g! What kind of minimum radius do you have?!!!! The six axle cars need as much as six axle passenger cars. In the real world, they were prone to derail on sharp curves. Now the eight axle cars weren't as bad, because each truck and the span bolster pivoted. I've never tried to run them on tight curves, so I have no idea. Thanks, Bobby
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Post by riogrande on Sept 12, 2017 13:08:43 GMT -8
Yes. Looks like those would be happiest on curves an 89' flat or auto-rack would like.
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