I am starting to get into some super detailing projects for the HO division of the Grande Valley Railway.Since this is uncharted territory for me at this point I am starting with some old TYCO and Bachmann cars.First order of business is replacing some grab irons/ladder rungs with .010" round rod.A bit frustrating but sure makes a big difference in the looks of the car.Here is a pic of my very first project with more to follow as I make progress. :mrgreen:



For what it's worth the Athearn PS-2 floor is a direct P-N-P for the TYCO shell which gets you screw mounted trucks and body mount couplers.

Looking good Catt, really makes a difference with the rod added.



8-)

As much as I like the looks of the .010" rod for the ladders I find it to flimsy for my tastes.So today I ordered some .015" rod to use instead..015" measures out to 1.25" in HO which should be pretty close to proto size.I will use the .010" for my N scale hoppers.I probably won't update this thread till Saturday. (providing the plastic shows up)

Adding wire grab is probably one of the most tedious superdetailing task... but the result is truly rewarding. Good luck! ;-)

Matt

Real grab irons may be ordered in 0.75" or 1" diameter...so 1.25" certainly isn't too far off.

In O-scale, I prefer 0.015"~0.016" diameter wire for my grabs.

If you aren't doing so, consider creating a grab iron bending jig...drill a hole of the appropriate diameter the same distance from the edge as you'd like your grab iron. It is also ideal to make it at thick enough to make the ends the right length (2 or 3" clearance is the law as I recall...in between the sides of the car and the grab iron, to allow space for the brakeman's hands). The bending jig allows consistent and easy fabrication of grabs. Additionally, a piece of strip wood of the appropriate thickness (0.02" in HO iirc) can be used to get the correct clearance in between the car and the grab iron.

Keep up the good work!

Since I finally got the .015" Plastruct round rod I thought I would update this thread with some progress photos.The first pic is actually going to be the second car to be upgraded but I thought I would post the picture along with the current project car to show what I feel is a significant improvement in the appearance of the car(s).




There is still some cleanup work to do before paint can be applied.

How well do they stand up to being handled Catt?

Ask me again in about a month Mike.One of the cars is going to club while one will stay home.The .010" rod I used the first time did not hold up at all.

That's what I was afraid of. Some years ago I "super detailed" one of my N scale GP7's. Sun shades, grab rings, ditch lights and air/brake hoses. After one month of use on the layout half the stuff was laying along the right of way . Needless to say that ended any desire on my part for super detailing stuff that actually gets used.

I did this very same project on a N scale covered hopper with the .010" rod. When I got it done I compared it to a box stock identical covered hopper. Looking at both cars straight on you could not see any difference in the appearance of the grabs. Interesting thing to me is .010" is 1.5" in N scale. Needless to say I don't think I will be doing any more N scale cars.

That's why I really don't super detail my cars & loco , because my layout i have to lift in up in my garage to put away , I have to handle all my cars & loco's to put them away ,weathering is good for me!! :o hock:

Nice weathering job!

I got the B end done.I still need to figure a way to add one more step to the stirrups.



Got in a rush to remove the cast on air brake line and ended up with some collateral damage. I will be much more careful from now on.The MTS shops were able to do a repair though.You can see the added angle reinforcement I added to the center sill in this pic.

I'm constanly fixing the stirups on my cars !!!!!

B end is now done.Next step will a little body fitting,and a etched walkway (Athearn PS-2 from PLANO) then paint and decals.



I straightened the coupler after I took the pic. :oops: