Ever wonder what's under that tarp on the train going by? I'll show you! Just a bunch of balsa wood! I painted some cling wrap with blue craft acrylic paint. Took forever to dry! Built up a hodge-podge of stuff out of scrap balsa. CA'd the cling wrap to the load with the painted side in. Then I hit it with a hair dryer to shrink the plastic. I'm impressed. From 3' away, it is impressive. Give it a try when you get a chance.
Looks good, but I couldn't help to notice your roads in the background of your pictures. I like the filling of cracks and the filled in pot holes.....
The only reason I chose Woodwork over Art at the end of my second year at Secondary School was that the Art was even worse! ((And the only thing I managed to learn in Metalwork was that Davies doesn't solder!!!)) Regards, Pete Davies
Excellent! I nominate this thread to go into the How-to Forum. You should also write up how you made those roads, and put that there, too.
Thanks for the comments. Maybe I'll dig up the construction photos on the roadway later. Thanks again.
Here's a few more I made for my flats. This time I used an enamel spray, navy blue. It doesn't seem to matter which side is painted. One has the paint on the outside and sticky CA'd fingers pull the paint off. I just hit it again and hard to tell. Having the paint inside seems to be better and easier. You can adjust how much heat you apply to the saran wrap and that will determine how tight it gets. Be careful though, once over a certain point, it shrinks quick. I have used just chunks of balsa. A more detailed piece underneath may get you a better looking load. More experimenting. These are SO easy to make. Start to finish you can make 3 before the coffee is done! I'm not sure I am going to mess with tie downs. Most of these type loads are secured at the base frame. And they are just loads. For the open cars you can mix and match at will and I do not want to permanently secure.
Your post is most timely for me. My employer is handling a series of 17 heavy loads out of Ohio, all will be shrink wrapped like this one. Your technique will help me greatly. Thanks Joe
I like what you have done. Reminds me of a flat car load that I saw go through SLC the other day. It had plastic shrink wrap on it with SIEMENS written on the side. It was a LRT being shipped.
