Big Blue has inspired some purchases

[TMo]

Well, that electronic marvel doesn't have any bids yet, but I've moved on to other items in the box.  There were four box cars with body-mounted Kadee style couplers.  The first was a C&BT Shops AAR 40' car in a decent looking Reading green.  There was also what looks to be an Athearn high-cube 40' Conrail boxcar that was pretty nice, and the other two were Mantua 50' Reading cars in a glaring sea-foam green.  I've been trying to research if the Reading maybe bought some Penn Central or New York Central plug door box cars, but I have not come across any in this color.  What to do?

   

While I'm pondering, it was time to hit all of the surfaces with X-21 Flat base mixed with alcohol.  Once it was dry, I brushed the white refuse from each surface.

   

I also took off the trucks and wheelsets and painted and distressed those with some flat acrylics.


Just for fun I'm going to try the RIT dye treatment like I did with the Reading loco on the sea foam units.  The color difference was much smaller in that case, so I'm thinking that it isn't going to make the kind of difference I want.  In any case, both of these cars have the same road number.  I could get Reading decals and change that, but I've decided that at least one of these is going to be a Conrail patch out after the weathering and major painting is done.  The high cube already has Conrail logos, so I'm hypothesizing that the whole thing hit the spray booth before the decals went on, and that one is not going to get more than road wash treatments.  Not so the other three....  more to follow.