I have been trying to turn a 40 flat car into a passenger car. I am trying to model the ones at Cass Scenic Railroad. I know they used logging cars but my talent is minimal. Anyway I have tried making the sides out of balsa wood using an exacto knife. How is it going you ask. NOT TOO GOOD! The wood keeps breaking between the tops of the windows and rooflines. Also, the pieces keep coming apart between the windows. What am I doing wrong? Also, should I be using something else for this project. My nearest craft store is about an hour away. Also, whatever I use has to be suitable for painting. Perhaps I have bitten off more than I can chew.
Try sticking some masking tape on the back of the wood before cutting, remove when all cuts are finished. This will help keep small sections intact. Make sure you seal the wood well or it will warp. Styrene might be easier. Gary
You have three choices. Bass wood, styrene, or metal. Through the balsa wood away. I would use wood. Draw up the sides on a piece of paper and tape it to a flat surface. I use glass. Lay a piece of waxed paper over that. Cut out the section between the roof and the windows and the windows out of a sheet of bass wood. Cut all the vertical pieces out of strip wood. Glue it all together. When the glue is dry it peals right off the wax paper. I use white glue.
