Phase I /1902 C&S Coals

[John Greenly]

Jim, thanks so much for all this information!  Yes, I think the 1902 coal car is what I'll try.  Shortening to 30ft is certainly no problem.  I'm even wondering if I might be able to taper the stakes by heating and bending the plastic slightly just above the u-bolt, and then filing down the back face so that becomes flat while the front face tapers inward.  I have all the extra stakes that the D&RGW car used, so I can experiment with one to see if this might work.  

thanks again,
John

[Robert Stears]

Easy to do specific numbers. It makes placement of decals fun - especially for those small end numbers.

RS 

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 30, 2016, at 9:55 AM, Jim Courtney [via C&Sng Discussion Forum] <[hidden email]> wrote:

Any particular car numbers?

I'll have to think on that -- I usually piece together numbers from decal sheets, not use to having individual car numbers printed for me!

Jim

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NAML

[Keith Hayes]

It has been a while sine I have added some quality time at the work bench.

The underframe details are complete on all three cars, and I spent an hour installing grab irons and Mike's awesome stakes.

[Jim Courtney]

Lookin' good, Keith!

Reminds me that I need some "quality workbench time" to finish the St Charles coal car.

Jim

[Lee Gustafson]

Keith,

It's always nice to see work in progress photos as they show the various materials and craftsmanship involved in the construction of a model. The painted finished model is the goal but the work in progress photos reveal much to share with regard to material and technique. Thank you for sharing and please continue to post photos. You have an excellent model taking shape.

Lee Gustafson

[Keith Hayes]

Thank you, Lee. It is sobering to study the models and realize the only kit components used include the floor-beam sandwich and the trucks.

[Keith Hayes]

Lookie what I found in among my 3d stake parts.

[Robert McFarland]

Amazing detail and good paint job on that figure.

[Keith Hayes]

Three painted coals.

I generally used the Gazette method, starting with grey, followed by yellow, then a light overspray of black. On my walk this morning I noticed aged fence boards are a sandy color with a hint of blue, so next was a light coat of sand with some blue and black. Last was a coat of brown with some red and a drop of black.

Now the wait begins.

[Keith Hayes]

Almost done.

[Jim Courtney]

Beautiful work Keith!

I'm embarrased that I've made no progress on my single St Charles coal car.

[Don Gustavson II]

Very nice.

[South Park]

  As you can see, Jim, ....  Keith has a lot of help on hand
in these pics to get things done.  Have you considered
bringing on more staff to your car shop team ?

[Keith Hayes]

Espee, they all just stand around and stare--not a lick of help to be had!

[Chris Walker]

Jim Courtney wrote

Beautiful work Keith!

I'm embarrased that I've made no progress on my single St Charles coal car.

Don't worry about it, took me 25 years to get around to building my Rotary minecar.  

[South Park]

  So, Keith ....  one might say you have a lot of interested parties
in your work then ?

  What I hear is these clowns are all dressed up for the job and on
site, but they're just a bunch of freeloaders ???

  No wonder it is hard to make NG railroads pay !

[Keith Hayes]

Still a work in progress.

Trying to simulate the block lettering breaking get through the newer paint job without using a decal.

[Jim Courtney]

Nice effect, Keith.

How'd you do it? Did you freehand the "C&S" with paint, chalks or did you scratch it?

Jim

[Jeff Young]

Looking good, Keith.

A couple of suggestions: square up the top of the ‘C’, and apply a bit of dusting to the other sections of the car.

I was going to try this with dry transfers and a heavy overspray of boxcar red, but I’m not convinced it will work so I’d love to hear your technique.

Cheers,
Jeff.

[Keith Hayes]

Jeff and Jim:

Mr. Evans over in Utah years ago promulgated the use of Derwent Watercolor Pencils. He suggested a number of pale reds, greys, whites and a dark grey, which, when stroked vertically on a car side, can easily simulate weathering. He has done this particularly successfully on PBL RTO boxes. I have these in my Raggs tool box in one corner, and thought I would try using the white to simulate said lettering.

The pigment rod in these is on the crumbly side, and they come sharpened to a dull point (being trained in drafting, I value a long, sharp point to maintain line weight across a 30" stroke). I have never invested in one of those crappy pencil sharpeners--maybe I should grab one from my kid. Anyhow, I snagged the pencil while waiting for a decal to part from the backing, referenced a spare block decal for proportions, and freehanded a couple horizontal strokes.

Over the course of setting the decals, I touched the areas with some water to soften the effect. I will probably follow up with some of the pan pastels too. I was somewhere recently and noted some wood that was well weathered, except where there was evidence of the painted lettering which had evidently penetrated the wood and helped preserve it against UV and wind. I suspect the white lead likely used for the block lettering had the same end result, which is why we see it peaking through the later paint schemes.

I tell myself not to overdo these ghost cars and eclipse heralds, but they pop out enough in period photos that I wonder if you can do it enough? (I wonder if I showed up at an RPM meet with one of these cars if they would throw me out?) A particular favorite image is in Mineral Belt of #73 holding the siding at Michigan with a short 4-5 car train. In my mind, it is just right!