08-29-2012, 12:13 PM
Thanks for your kind words on the NYC reefer, Matt. The car was originally weathered much more heavily and I simply wiped it vertically with a cloth soaked in methyl hydrate as a sort of last ditch effort to get a less-weathered appearance. I then lightly airbrushed the panel seams. The original weathering job was similar to what's along the bottom of the sill - much too heavy for what would be a fairly new car in the late '30s. 
If the wiping hadn't worked, it would have been completely stripped and re-painted.
The CNR eight hatch car required the door area to be re-built, as it's wider and a slightly different height than the Athearn door. The door hardware is from Grandt Line. I also cut the ends from the Athearn roof and cemented them in place on the floor/side casting. The new roof was built-up using sheet styrene and Plastruct "T", while the hatches are modified Athearn parts. These early cars had wood roof walks, which I simulated with strip styrene.
The steel weight was secured inside the car, then the underbody was built-up to fill the resultant gap between the bottom of the floor and the centre sill. I then added the brake components and basic rigging, but skipped the piping, as it would be visible only in the event of a major derailment.
The underfloor heater was built-up using a short section of Evergreen square plastic tubing as the main box, with brass strip supports and wire piping.
Wayne
If the wiping hadn't worked, it would have been completely stripped and re-painted.
The CNR eight hatch car required the door area to be re-built, as it's wider and a slightly different height than the Athearn door. The door hardware is from Grandt Line. I also cut the ends from the Athearn roof and cemented them in place on the floor/side casting. The new roof was built-up using sheet styrene and Plastruct "T", while the hatches are modified Athearn parts. These early cars had wood roof walks, which I simulated with strip styrene.
The steel weight was secured inside the car, then the underbody was built-up to fill the resultant gap between the bottom of the floor and the centre sill. I then added the brake components and basic rigging, but skipped the piping, as it would be visible only in the event of a major derailment.
The underfloor heater was built-up using a short section of Evergreen square plastic tubing as the main box, with brass strip supports and wire piping.
Wayne