advice on styrene wraps to add rivet detail

[doctorwayne]

Wayne: where did you cut to shorten the USRA?

According to my log of useful information, the rear cut was made 11' in front of the seam (ahead of the vertical rivet line) near the rear corner of the tank, while the front cut is 1'9" to the rear of the last short vertical rivet line on the built-up part of the coal bunker - this removes 3'6" from the over-all length. I cut close to the actual place where I want the cut, (cut one side, then the other, then join the two across the tender deck) then sand to the proper spot. I've found the most accurate way to do this is to place sandpaper face-up on the workbench, then drag, in one direction only, the cut surface across the sandpaper. Apply pressure evenly, unless your cut was crooked - in that case, sand to even out both sides, then sand to the line. Properly done, no filler will be required and the correct rivet spacing will be maintained. Working on a flat surface, use a solvent-type cement to join the two parts, and also to add reinforcement plates of heavy sheet styrene on the inside of the tender shell. When the cement has fully hardened (next day), judicious use of a #17 blade in your X-Acto will remove any softened plastic that may have oozed out onto the surface of the sides.
Use a similar technique to shorten the floor, making sure to make the cuts in places such that the joint between the two re-joined sections ends up at a different point than that of the shell.

Wayne