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 Posted - September 11 2016 : 10:57:35 PM
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This was a project conceived during school hours, thinking of stuff to work on once I got to the hobby shop. The original candidate for the cutting block was a Tyco plugger boxcar, with a Purina... livery? Advertising? Regardless, once I got in the shop, the plugger felt too big, and I settled on a smaller (I think AHM? Can't tell because it had no base) Lehigh Valley boxcar that was missing one of it's doors. After cutting off one side using a dremel bit in a drill (I uh, broke the dremel some months ago by trying to cut into a penny or something. Now the motor runs weird and it just kind of clicks and jumps around and doesn't really spin properly). After some sanding, I got the shell done with. One old closet door slat cut up with a scroll saw later, I had the base and dividers. It's still very much WIP. It needs interior paint, a tractor, tons more clutter, and some kind of tractor-pulled device (like a plow or somesuch), as well as work done on the wood to make it fit better. The wood is monstrously out of scale, but it's the best I can do and I'm plenty fine with this if it means I don't have to spend money on balsa wood/styrene sheet. The bit of machinery in it now is some kind of motorized winch on a cart that used to have a coal bucket attached, which I snipped to make the machinery fit. I picked it up at the hobby shop from a small parts bin. (I think it was scratchbuilt, the whole thing's made out of wood and brass). Anyways! Enough talking, to the picture.
sim-al2
Also since they cut track maintaince the trains had huge trouble making over the railroad by the end
純那
yeah
They did a Rock Island volountarily
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Posted - September 12 2016 : 02:52:45 AM
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Nice start! Looks like something an enterprising individual would do with a boxcar!
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Posted - September 12 2016 : 10:16:08 PM
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That's a cool idea. I'm always fascinated with uses for old freight cars.
A little rust colored paint where the wall has been cut away would make it look like a cutting torch job.
Boxcars are usually lined with plywood so some paint the color of dirty graying wood might dress up the inside, some.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - September 12 2016 : 10:20:36 PM
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Lots of boxcars in my area are all wooden & I seen a outside braced wooden boxcar at a grain elevator
the name plate was STILL on the boxcar with a date of 8-22! 
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Posted - September 13 2016 : 3:44:32 PM
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The whole thing's been weathered a good bit (did it after taking the first picture), but the suggestion to add rust around the edges to indicate a cutting torch job is a good one, will try my best to add it. The markings on this model indicate it as built 10-50. Will definitely try and make the inside look like weathered wood as well, will have to get some new paints first though. (I desperately need a grey and some lighter wood colors).
sim-al2
Also since they cut track maintaince the trains had huge trouble making over the railroad by the end
純那
yeah
They did a Rock Island volountarily
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Posted - September 20 2016 : 11:15:37 PM
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Update! Just some pictures showing the work I've done on this little project.
Roof weathering
Heavily weathered the roof, as I imagine it's where the most dirt and rust would collect up. This boxcar is supposed to have been out of commission and sitting as a shed for a good few years, so this heavy weathering isn't that out of place.
Backside weathering
While the flash kind of screws with it, the backside has been weathered as well. I tried to make the rust kind of generally "streak" down from the top, and heavily drybrushed the entire thing to get heavy "rust" effects on the edges. While the door is slightly open in this shot, I've weathered it to imply the whole door system has rusted itself shut.
Boards!
Made using individually applied matchsticks *twitch*, I've made a rough representation of the interior. Still need to do the sides, but I'm happy with it so far. Turns out boxcar boards are horizontal not vertical, but hell if I'm going to take out each of these little things and re-cut and re-apply them. After taking this shot I've also applied a few "boards" over the door, to block it.
Still have progress to make, but I don't know if I'll get it done this week, as I plan to try some 3d printed things soon. Just some basic things. Maybe miniature cinder blocks to put the shed on  .
Also, on the old wooden boxcars, I once read a Trains article that said boxcars will soon disappear to simply attrition, as the existing fleets get older and older, and don't get replaced when they crash or burn. (This was a caption underneath a photo of a bunch of mangled BNSF boxcars from a derailment. Shame too, they were the bright old Santa Fe "Shock Control" ones by the looks of it.)
sim-al2
Also since they cut track maintaince the trains had huge trouble making over the railroad by the end
純那
yeah
They did a Rock Island volountarily
Edited by - Pokemonprime on September 20 2016 11:18:20 PM
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Posted - September 24 2016 : 6:28:08 PM
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More work has been done on this little project, using the recently purchased parts from the LHS. On another note, I'm going to try and stop using my phone's flash since it seems to wash out color and screw up weathering shots. These still use flash, but I'll try and avoid using it in the future.
First, the little tractor to go in the shed. Above are the constituent parts, picked from the parts bins. The wheels don't actually go to the tractor, they were pulled from some... plow? thing? Regardless, they'll do the job. The wheels were a pain to get on, and the quest to attach them involved super glue, SteelStik, and epoxy, and lots of holding it together, slipping, screwing up the position, and then cursing. After attaching the wheels, I fit it into the right "cell" and set it up on some matchstick scraps to imply it's been put up on blocks (as I lack any proper front wheel).
While the flash again washes it out a bit (sorry), this is the state the boxcar shed is in currently. The tractor has been fitted in, and some clutter has been placed in the middle, consisting of some crates and some milk bottles. I don't know if I'll actually put boards on the sides, as A: They don't look like they'll fit with the tractor , and B: I don't really want to do that tedious board-laying again..
sim-al2
Also since they cut track maintaince the trains had huge trouble making over the railroad by the end
純那
yeah
They did a Rock Island volountarily
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Posted - September 24 2016 : 6:38:53 PM
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quote:More work has been done on this little project, using the recently purchased parts from the LHS. On another note, I'm going to try and stop using my phone's flash since it seems to wash out color and screw up weathering shots. These still use flash, but I'll try and avoid using it in the future.
First, the little tractor to go in the shed. Above are the constituent parts, picked from the parts bins. The wheels don't actually go to the tractor, they were pulled from some... plow? thing? Regardless, they'll do the job. The wheels were a pain to get on, and the quest to attach them involved super glue, SteelStik, and epoxy, and lots of holding it together, slipping, screwing up the position, and then cursing. After attaching the wheels, I fit it into the right "cell" and set it up on some matchstick scraps to imply it's been put up on blocks (as I lack any proper front wheel).
While the flash again washes it out a bit (sorry), this is the state the boxcar shed is in currently. The tractor has been fitted in, and some clutter has been placed in the middle, consisting of some crates and some milk bottles. I don't know if I'll actually put boards on the sides, as A: They don't look like they'll fit with the tractor , and B: I don't really want to do that tedious board-laying again..
Originally posted by Pokemonprime - September 24 2016 : 6:28:08 PM
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It's starting to look pretty good!
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Posted - September 24 2016 : 6:57:09 PM
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The tractor with the lugged wheels is an interesting scene, in itself. The tractor is a bit modern to predate the widespread use of rubber tires, but the rubber shortages of World War II brought back lugged wheels for a time. I can imagine a farmer having put away the old tractor sometime after WWII when new tractors became available again, finally. Now it's on blocks as it's either cannibalized for parts or slowly restored in the farmer's "spare time." It's definitely a worthy part of the scene. 
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - September 24 2016 : 9:17:45 PM
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quote:The tractor with the lugged wheels is an interesting scene, in itself. The tractor is a bit modern to predate the widespread use of rubber tires, but the rubber shortages of World War II brought back lugged wheels for a time. I can imagine a farmer having put away the old tractor sometime after WWII when new tractors became available again, finally. Now it's on blocks as it's either cannibalized for parts or slowly restored in the farmer's "spare time." It's definitely a worthy part of the scene.
Originally posted by scsshaggy - September 24 2016 : 6:57:09 PM
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While the tractor is just pieced together, the WWII rubber shortage idea is a good excuse. The next order of business is to make the final "cell" into a workshop area. Plan to craft a workbench and maybe a shelf out of some matchstick scraps. (That I have repeatedly knocked off the table and onto the once clean floor ><). After that it's a wash or "stain" of some sort for the interior wood and some extra clutter to seal off the scene.
sim-al2
Also since they cut track maintaince the trains had huge trouble making over the railroad by the end
純那
yeah
They did a Rock Island volountarily
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