The F unit thread had brought up the "why the heck don't somebody make __________?" discussion again so it had me wondering. Modeling the New Haven has made me open a car rebuilding facility in my yard so I can make and decal NH stuff. I was wondering how many other people have been kitbashing/rebuilding stock plastic cars to get what they want? I'm talking about stuff other than locos or structures.
I'm in the process of modifiying an AHM 4 bay covered hopper into a stand-in of a Magor covered hopper. The easy changes are removing those goofy grabs that extend past the ladder to the car body (one or the other is OK, but I've never seen a car that had both) and replacing the plastic roofwalk. Ideally, I'd like to replace the ribs to better match the Magor car, also add the reinforcing stiffeners on the end slopes.
With the prices of stuff lately,I've decided to start modeling more specific MOW stuff,cabooses,and rolling stock for my specific railroads rather than buy just what's made..I'd do a lot more if decals were available.I just finished an LV offset copola bobber caboose and a LV SW1 today,and started a few more,one is a D&H wood caboose..
I've got a caboose kitbashing operation going on to convert Micro Trains "Wood Cabooses" which are SP/UP Common Standard cabooses, into UP specific CA-1's. Each bash requires two cabooses, GMM Heavyweight Details, extending the roof a few inches on either end, machining the metal underbody to accommodate the GMM Heavyweight etched steps, adding a window to both ends, covering a window and moving another window on either side, moving the cupola more to the center of the roof and plugging the resultant hole, moving the smokejack to the other side, and...adding lotsa details such as separate grabs, cupola braces, smokejack support wires. I've got a dozen to build, and I've only built one experimental version so far, with my first "real" completely accurate kitbash in the works right now. The accurate bash will involve etched NS superdetailed ladders and platform railings, braces and vertical brakewheels. I'm also installing Precision Scale's investment cast Wabco AB brake kits on the 'booses along with Z-scale couplers and Fine N-Scale's cupola interior. Other caboose project include building a dozen old Golden West Models CA-3/4 caboose kits and superdetailing them also with separate details and etched running boards, scratchbuilt toilet vents and smokejacks, and etched ladders and platform railings, and braces. I use Panamint Models (on Shapeways) very accurate Q-trucks along with FVM metal, lo-pro wheelsets where appropriate for these models. I buy busted IMR UP CA3/4's just for the outside swing hanger trucks, which are perfect for these early cabooses. I'm also kitbashing several UP CA-5's with distinctively different roof panels than the CA-3/4's along with different ladders and platform railings/braces. To add even more to the caboose projects, I am also simply superdetailing several of the stock MT "Wood Caboose" into very accurate models of UP's CA cabooses, which involves separate grabs, cupola braces, plugging some end windows (depending on the prototype I'm modeling), machining the end platforms and applying the GMM etched heavyweight steps, along with new platform railings, vertical brakewheels, and Panamint Models' beautiful "Q" trucks. Precision Scale's Wabco AB brake kits, and Fine N-Scales interiors really set these off. I'm also kitbashing a couple of U.P. specific derricks and tenders which will be mostly parked at the Park City Yard in Echo along with several MOW cars of different types. Still have a lot of research to do concerning them. That's about it for this year at the Gilmore UP car shop. Here's a photo of my first experiment at creating a UP CA-1 from two MT Wood Cabooses. Looks pretty good, but there's a window on each side that needs relocating, the stock MT end railings need to be changed along with a vertical brakewheel. The roof needs extending on both ends and air hoses need to be applied. However, it's obvious this is not commercially available. That's a pure stock MT Wood Caboose to the left of it. Lotsa differences, but it's a good starting point for a kitbash. Cheers! Bob Gilmore
Started a long time back with the unavailability of full heavyweight baggage cars by cutting and bashing combines and then continued with the lack of longer wood passenger cars by again bashing cars to gain them. Perhaps my most extreme was to take a standard baggage and convert it to an older wood side steel underframe car. Along the way I've done my share of caboose bashing. A really old poor quality photo of the woodside baggage/express car. And another bash of some Overtons to get a longer wood car with an RPO section.
Rock Island baggage-express - M&StL baggage-express - M&StL caboose - M&StL chair car - M&StL cafe-lounge - DM&E business car - -Mark
Most of my efforts have been concentrated on switching out couplers having made the decision to go with the MT truck mounted couplers for consistency in operation. Got too many cars where bodymounting couplers is not an easy job and truck mounted couplers seem to work just fine. The slinky effect never bothered me and adding weight to the cars really helps to minimize it. I also use either a caboose or a Firefly Fred to add some rolling resistance and what little problem remains is solved. I also have been buying undecorated cars to paint and then decal in roads that operated in the area where I live or where I grew up. Ready made decals do not exist for these roads so custom made jobs are the only source. Here is where it takes some careful planning which initially, I did not do. I decided to do some 2 bay rib side hoppers for the Pittsburg & Shawmut RR. These had eight full length panels between ribs rather than six as on other hoppers. The old Concor two bay hopper was very close to the prototype and I managed to get two dozen of them. The problem I encountered was that "Pittsburg & Shamut" was spelled out on the side of the cars and getting a decal to sit properly while traversing six ribs was far from an easy task. Since then I decided to do some hoppers for the P&WV and Montour RR's; but these are offset side hoppers. I learned my lesson.
I customized this IC caboose several years ago. I don't model IC but I love cabeese!! So I really liked this one that had bigger porches on it. I didn't model it from plans, I just scaled it from a photo. So prototypically it has a lot of errors.
I have a number of Tom's custom painted and hand crafted items. I have to say Awesome (you noticed that's with a capital A)!!!! Keep them coming Tom.
I like to redo rolling stock to get what is "correct" for what I want to model. I'm not sure how correct it is, or how good, but it is fun and makes me think of how it is more like what I want to model, than what I can buy. Santa Fe had lots of different variations in its refrigerator car fleet... Many had transverse mounted air reservoirs rather than reservoirs in line with length of car, as commonly modeled in plastic. Spare parts from Intermountain allowed me to "fix" some cars as Santa Fe's. RR-21 showing mechanical ventilating fan equipment, inboard hatch platforms, rooftop reporting marks, end marks RR-38 showing mechanical fan mechanism and diamond grid roofwalk instead of the commonly modeled rectangular grid roofwalk. RR-47 SFRD #4050 with mechanical fan stuff on side... Note end of transverse air reservoir under car. diamond grid roofwalk drawn in Photoshop and printed out
For my Island Seaport, my version of Galveston, I need a fleet of 8 or 10 sulphur gondolas, with one-piece cast underframes and wood superstructures (both to resist sulphur corroision). Bashed 2 so far. Reefer operations in Galveston involved some interesting support cars I need to model: Santa Fe reefer salt cars, and company service ice transport cars. I bought some printed sides for special dry ice reefers... A fairly simple bash of side sill modification and addition mof small end access doors to make a Linde boxtank for industrial gases... Here’s a Santa Fe FT-T 60-foot equipment flatcar bashed from 2 Atlas 50 foot cars. Someday I hope to build a Santa FE BX-3 panel-side single-sheath boxcar, a work car made from a former BX-O with battleship underframe... Someday...
I built this BNSF, ex BN, flat car from a N Scale Kits 89' flat car, the rest was scratch built from styrene. One of these days I need to get back to it and weather it. View attachment 53585
You guys should try traction modeling. Almost nothing is available commercially. Then if you model a specific system like the CSL/CTA (CHICAGO) You have to do a lot of body mods. Of course most rolling stock doesn't need trolley poles though which have to be built too.
Aside from some slow moving passenger car conversions (a MT parlor to a coach and a business car from the 3-2-lounge observation) there is nothing that will soon be finished but progress is never the less being made. Further down the road I hope to do some early pulpwood cars that were rebuilt from wood truss-rod boxcars but they are yet a ways away since I want to get the passenger cars done before anything else.
Spookshow! Aren't troopcars FUN to convert? (not) Those windows are a real doozy. The pix I've seen on the real ones the panels replacing the windows are smooth and level with the rest of the side of the car. Also they (replacement plates) are bigger than the actual opening of the window. I've tried plugging them, slab gluing them, putty patching/sanding them ... nothing quite works, but at least the glued on slabs are nice and flat. TRying to save the rivet detail around them is also a joy (not). Can't see your M&StL car that well, but did you completely replace the sides?
Oh man, don't get me started. I tried covering up those windows a half dozen different ways and the car pictured was my "best" result. I wish one of our Shapeways wizards would come up with a "Troop Car Conversion Kit". Seems like it would be relatively simple to design. Yes, the M&StL car has brass sides (an old Redball conversion kit, and sadly, no longer available). -Mark
I've done dozens of cars (usually Southern Pacific). Some are easy like the SP appliance box cars (they just took old box cars and added height to the cars since appliances didn't weight very much), and some are harder, like the reverse braced 40 box cars that I eventually cast to keep me from having to build more than one. Wish I had some good pictures to post...maybe something to do tonight.
Mark: Bill Denton has resin shells of converted troopcars with I think doors like yours, Don't know what his website is... I realize I've asked other people about their stuff without showing anything I did. So here's two: a Pennsy BM70 made out of the Lima/AHM combine during my "Pennsy craze daze": not that hard once you figure out how to cut up the sides and switch them. I shortened the body to prototype length, which eliminated the RPO door and moved that truck to the right position, but only needed to cut out one new window on each side (the model had only 4 paired windows). And of course cut out the old doors to put in new ones. The 40' NH gon is an Atlas trainman 42 footer chopped, channeled and side ribs removed then replaced by Plastruct T-beams to make a 10-panel side. Since the Athearn 53' flats "low riders" came out, I clearly notice now how way too high my old gons and flats are riding. It is an ongoing project to lower the MTL, Atlas, Bachmann, etc cars, each of which seems to have its own unique solution. The decal name isn't quite right size but luckily I've since discovered the MS NH caboose decals are perfect, even if I have to cut and space out each letter separately. I did not include my putty-patched troopcar conversion because of the uneven surfaces and "bubble craters" that appear when you cut away the hardened surface. Luckily it's easy to pop the putty plugs out of the frames and try something else!
Thanks for the tip, but with all due respect to Bill Denton (who I rank as genius modeler) I don't think those window coverings look all that much better than mine - -Mark
