Gary S' 2010 Spring Bash Challenge (Boxcar)

[Steamtrains]

For a "beginner" you're doing a great job..!! Did you drill holes for the stirrups, or are they "surface" mounted..??
I couldn't begin to do that....I'm lucky to get a hole within a 1/4" of where I want it....

[doctorwayne]

See, Gary, you don't need me to show you any of this stuff.

Wayne

[Gary S]

Gus, I drilled the holes in the bottom of the sill. The good thing is that the Life-Like body is pretty thick, so it was actually pretty easy to get them done. Now, if this had been on, say, an Accurail car with its thinner sides, not sure I could do that.

DocWayne, thanks for your approval! But to be honest, you did show me this stuff! Your photos of your boxcars and stockcars is what made me want to attempt this.

[Gary S]

Well, that went better than expected... the paint I mean.

I mixed some blue and brown together, took a few minutes of experimenting, and the color was almost there.... Hmmmm.... added a touch of violet and bingo, pretty darned close! I painted the ends and roof, and touched up around the sides where I shaved off the ladders and added the grabs and such. I put on three quick coats, using a hair dryer to dry between coats. Reason for that is because the mixed paint was such a good match, I didn't want to have to mix a new batch for the other coats.

It turned out better than I expected. Next thing will be some light weathering in an attempt to match the proto photo, and then a bit of dry-brushing with some tan to highlight the details.

   

   

   

   

[Gary S]

I just noticed from the B end photo that I should have spent more time on cleaning up around where I carved off the brake details and ladder.

Oh well... the bumps are representing the lugs which were left on from when the high ladders were cut down.

[Steamtrains]

[nachoman]

Nice work!!! But most importantly, was this fun and was this a challenge?

[Gary S]

Thank you, Gentlemen.

I still have a ways to go to completion, but is has been a fun project. Getting the holes in the right placefor the ladders and grabs was a challenge. And also, I need smaller fingers for handling the itty bitty parts.

The best part is being able to share it all with The Gauge!

[Gary S]

Put on some decals, now just need a few applications of micorsol, then the touch-up and weathering, then a couple coats of dullcote.

   

As a reminder, here is the prototype car from <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rrpicturearchives.net">http://www.rrpicturearchives.net</a><!-- m -->

   

If it wasn't for those darned Life-Like giant rivets, I'd have to say the match is quite good.

[nachoman]

What a remarkable transformation. I am impressed how well you got the colors to match up!

[e-paw]

great work , removing the roof walk was probably the hardest part.

[Gary S]

Here is the final photo for my 2010 Spring Challenge. I threw together a quick diorama as a backdrop (I did photshop the sky just a bit). The entire thing has been fun!

   

   

[doctorwayne]

Egg-zellent, Gary, egg-zellent!

Wayne

[Steamtrains]

No fair....You should be disqualified....I KNOW you had the little people from the RF&P give you a hand....

That's just plain remarkable.... Right down to the placement of the light poles and the angle of the shot....

[Gary S]

Thanks for the compliments! Here is a photo of my "diorama".