For this challenge I'm going to take this pile of old Varney and lifelike caboose parts[attachment=4086]and turn them into two of these.[attachment=4085]I'll be removing the old molded on grab irons and replacing them with wire ones, updating the end detail, and a few other things.

I like it! Nothing better than taking a pile of parts and making some working rollingstock.

Looks like a fun project!

I started by removing all the unwanted detail parts from the 2 undecorated shells. This included the molded on grab irons and walk ways.[attachment=4200] I than filled in all the nicks and dents with some putty and wet sanded them smooth.[attachment=4199] Holes were located and drilled out for new grabs.

You're off to a great start. I'm looking forward to seeing these come together.

Now to start the new running boards. I first took an old running board from an Athern boxcar, cut it into 4 sections and filed it down to a more prototypical thickness.[attachment=4203] I than cut some styrene spacers and glued them to the underside of the walk ways. This will give the walk ways a little "air" underneath them.[attachment=4202]They were glued into place in the same location as the old ones , but this is a big improvement over the originals.[attachment=4201]

Lookin' good, Steve. While you've already done your roofwalks, anybody planning to do thinning on any quantity of roofwalks might want to look into obtaining an autobody file - only the file is needed, not the holder, and they do a good (and quick) job of slicing down the plastic to a more prototypical thickness.

The reason that I thought of this was because just today I dumped a handfull of plastic roofwalks into my wastebasket of plastic for recycling.

Wayne

This link shows #582 out of service in 1973 after the CNJ take over. Although no structural changes were made, some paint was added by the Central. My versions will be backdated to the mid 40's. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/lne/lne-c582akg.jpg">http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/lne/lne-c582akg.jpg</a><!-- m -->

Interesting technique with the roofwalks. That may come in handy for a future project

looks great!!!

I'm impressed! Removing molded details and changing roof walks is definitely a step up from my caboose conversions! Nice work!
Ralph

Thanks everyone, I'm snowed in again, so I'll see what I can get done today.

Today I started on the grab irons. They are all .016 brass rod that I bent into shape with some pliers.[attachment=4210]

To make the rounded ones on the side of the car I formed the brass rod around the handle of my hobby knife. It was just the right diameter to make the sweeping curve of the grab.[attachment=4209]

That's cool!!! looks great!!!!

Nicely done! Bending hand rails, grabs, etc. isn't always the easiest thing to do consistently.