12-21-2010, 10:24 AM
The Proto tankcars are nicely proportioned, except for those plastic grabirons, which are too thick, and the price, which was pretty steep when these kits were first released. 
I bought a couple "used" ones, both of which where the previous owner appeared to have given-up on assembly. After stripping the excess glue and the factory paint, I added the plastic grabs. This is an easier task if you accept the fact that they need to be replaced with wire ones - restrain each one as you cut it from the sprue, and don't worry about it if the grab breaks on the part that would normally be the hand-hold - you need only the nbw parts and the mounting pins, which serve to plug the oversize holes in the tank and frame. Use solvent-type cement to affix them, allow to dry fully (24 hours minimum), then use a sharp blade to slice off the unneeded parts. Drill with a #79 bit, then add wire replacement grabs - I like to use a spacer to put them at the proper distance from the tank, then bend-over the "legs" which protrude into the body shell. A drop of ca, applied from the inside, will secure them. If the model is already assembled, preventing access to the interior, you can still add the wire replacements, although you'll be unable to bend the "legs". In this situation, I put a small amount of liquid-type ca onto a sheet of glass (my usual work surface), then use the tip of an X-Acto #11 blade to apply a minute amount of it to the point where the wire enters the plastic body - capillary action will draw it into the joint, leaving little or no trace on the surface of the model. The advantage of the blade tip over a pin or needle is the ability to control the amount of ca that's initially picked up - usually, a pin picks up too little to be effective or too much, all of which is drawn to the joint upon contact, resulting in a blob on the surface.
The full-length plastic handrails are often warped, too, and I replace them using .015" music wire, and either home-made stanchions or, like the one pictured below, spare ones left over from an Athearn Mikado.
After the initial flurry of acceptance of these kits, many languished on the shelves at the LHS,a lot of modellers apparently scared off by their experiences. Eventually, the kits were marked down, especially after the r-t-r versions were released and I was able to gather enough for my layout's needs at a reasonable cost.
Here's one of the re-worked cars, with lettering from C-D-S:
![[Image: Freightcarphotosandlayoutviews07-1.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/freight%20cars/Freightcarphotosandlayoutviews07-1.jpg)
Even older cars, like this 50+ year old Varney tank car, can be improved by replacing the moulded-on grabs and other details with more finely-scaled free-standing parts:
![[Image: Freightcarphotosandlayoutviews0151.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/freight%20cars/Freightcarphotosandlayoutviews0151.jpg)
Wayne
I bought a couple "used" ones, both of which where the previous owner appeared to have given-up on assembly. After stripping the excess glue and the factory paint, I added the plastic grabs. This is an easier task if you accept the fact that they need to be replaced with wire ones - restrain each one as you cut it from the sprue, and don't worry about it if the grab breaks on the part that would normally be the hand-hold - you need only the nbw parts and the mounting pins, which serve to plug the oversize holes in the tank and frame. Use solvent-type cement to affix them, allow to dry fully (24 hours minimum), then use a sharp blade to slice off the unneeded parts. Drill with a #79 bit, then add wire replacement grabs - I like to use a spacer to put them at the proper distance from the tank, then bend-over the "legs" which protrude into the body shell. A drop of ca, applied from the inside, will secure them. If the model is already assembled, preventing access to the interior, you can still add the wire replacements, although you'll be unable to bend the "legs". In this situation, I put a small amount of liquid-type ca onto a sheet of glass (my usual work surface), then use the tip of an X-Acto #11 blade to apply a minute amount of it to the point where the wire enters the plastic body - capillary action will draw it into the joint, leaving little or no trace on the surface of the model. The advantage of the blade tip over a pin or needle is the ability to control the amount of ca that's initially picked up - usually, a pin picks up too little to be effective or too much, all of which is drawn to the joint upon contact, resulting in a blob on the surface.
The full-length plastic handrails are often warped, too, and I replace them using .015" music wire, and either home-made stanchions or, like the one pictured below, spare ones left over from an Athearn Mikado.
After the initial flurry of acceptance of these kits, many languished on the shelves at the LHS,a lot of modellers apparently scared off by their experiences. Eventually, the kits were marked down, especially after the r-t-r versions were released and I was able to gather enough for my layout's needs at a reasonable cost.
Here's one of the re-worked cars, with lettering from C-D-S:
Even older cars, like this 50+ year old Varney tank car, can be improved by replacing the moulded-on grabs and other details with more finely-scaled free-standing parts:
Wayne