Building a (small) fleet of Mount Blue Boxcars

[elwoodblues]

Ron, nice to see all the very good progress you're making.

Thanks Rick.

With the holiday season upon us, I have a feeling progress will slow down a bit.

[elwoodblues]

That's an unusual metal roof.  I didn't comment earlier, but doing assembly jigs is something I learned is worth the time when I did my -12- B&M scratchbuilt boxcars...

dave

Dave,

When I built the first boxcar (in 2020) I thought the same thing.  I did some research at the time and yes the SR&RL boxcars did have roofs like that.

As for the Jigs I tend to make them if I have multiples to make or if I might have a use for them in the future.  I have 2 more Mount Blue Boxcar Kits so the jigs I made to construct the current 4 will be used again.

[Jerry]

Ron very nicely done.  And thanks for the tutorial.

Jerry

[Larry C]

Ron very nicely done; that's going to be an impressive fleet of cars when finished.

[elwoodblues]

Thanks for the comments Jerry and Larry.


***** Standing on soapbox *****

I sometimes wonder if it is worth the effort for document step by step construction threads when one only get a few comments and usually by the same people.  It can get depressing at some times, but then I get a comments like Jerry thanking me for the tutorial and it makes me think.  Jerry is one of the people I truly respect for his modeling as well as his friendship.  Just for the fun of it, I checked out the views this thread is getting and was surprised by the number of views vs comments posted.  It was surprising how many views the thread has been attracting, people are looking.

I'm not doing this to generate more comments although I do appreciate them.  I also realize that modeling in a "specialty" scale will also generate less interest as there is less people that is interested in the scale being modeled.  I look at threads like ACLTom's latest thread and the views and comments his thread is generating and I realized that there are a lot more people interested in structure threads because they are hugely more popular than modeling On30 rolling stock.  For the record, I am not picking on Tom, as he is another modeler that I respect for both his modeling skills and his friendship.

The purpose of this exercise was to figure out if the time required to do step by steps is worth while.  The conclusion is that is is worth the effort. I have come to the conclusion that if only 1 person finds it useful and learns from it, then I consider it a success.

Sorry for the rant.

***** Getting off soapbox *****

Now time to get back to regular programming. 

[deemery]

A view from the other side of the screen      As Ron points out, build threads get lots of views, and sometimes a lot of comments.  But from my keyboard, I try to say something more valuable than "Wow, what great work, thanks for explaining!"  I might highlight something new I learned, or add another consideration.  But just wading through a lot of "Thumbs Up" comments can get a bit tiresome.  (It's a shortcoming of this forum's software there's no "Like" button to express approval without adding a new post.)

That's my perspective as a participant (and NOT as a moderator...)

dave

p.s.  Inspired in large part by this thread, I dug out an HOn30 boxcar kit, also from Mount Blue - former Marsh Creek kit.  I needed a break from the marathon that was my machine shop project.

[elwoodblues]

The build continues,



With the roof installed the next step is to install the roof walkway.  The first step is to install the roof walk supports.  This is pretty straight forward as the supports have tabs except for the one that is located at the center of the car which is centered over the door.





Next up is installing the platform supports.  Again this is another easy task as the tabs on the platform supports fit into the slots on the roof.  The only issue I had was they were a little too tight to fit into the slots on the roof.  I fixed this by lightly sanding the sides.  Doing this let the tabs fit into slots on the roof nicely.





Before installing the roof walk it needed to be stained first.  It can be stained after installation but I have found it to be less messy and easier.  I used Hunter Line's Driftwood stain for this.





Another step was to glue the overhand supports to the ends of the roof walk.  The instructions call for this to be done after the roof walk is installed, but I fins it easier before the roof walk is installed.

There is one more step to be done before installing the roof walk.





The roof of the car needs to be painted before the roof walk is installed.  The reason for this is that the roof and roof walks are different colors and the roof under the roof walk can not be painted once the roof walk is installed.

[elwoodblues]

The roof walk installed on the boxcar.

[elwoodblues]

A view from the other side of the screen      As Ron points out, build threads get lots of views, and sometimes a lot of comments.  But from my keyboard, I try to say something more valuable than "Wow, what great work, thanks for explaining!"  I might highlight something new I learned, or add another consideration.  But just wading through a lot of "Thumbs Up" comments can get a bit tiresome.  (It's a shortcoming of this forum's software there's no "Like" button to express approval without adding a new post.)

That's my perspective as a participant (and NOT as a moderator...)

dave

p.s.  Inspired in large part by this thread, I dug out an HOn30 boxcar kit, also from Mount Blue - former Marsh Creek kit.  I needed a break from the marathon that was my machine shop project.

Dave,

Thanks for the view from the "other side" and I tend to agree with you.  The next time a forum upgrade is considered a "like" button should be part of it (hint, hint).  

On a side note, I'm glad that this thread partly inspired you to build a HOn3 boxcar kit.

[jbvb]

How do you plan to finish these cars?  Early years?  "State of Good Repair"? or post-1929 circling the drain?

[Rick]

Ron, totally agree with your viewpoint on posting and receiving feedback and comments.

Roof is looking good.

[deemery]

I hope Ron forgives this one post hijacking his thread, to show what I did on my HO cars.   First I primed with the finish car color (Badger red-brown primer in this case)

Then I used MIG Weathering Pencils to highlight individual boards:

Finally, I used a light coat of Pan Pastel light oxide red to blend and fade everything together:

For a more weathered look, color more boards with contrasting pencils, then use a lighter dust color to blend.   I also did the boxcar doors.  Next step is to glue doors and trim to the model.

Total time for this was about 45 minutes, if that.   It goes quickly!

dave

[elwoodblues]

Dave,

First off, you are not hijacking my thread.  We could rename it "Dueling Boxcar builds".    Hopefull;y you will post more update as as the build progresses.

Your work is excellent and thanks for the weathering techniques, I just might borrow some of that for my build.

[elwoodblues]

How do you plan to finish these cars?  Early years?  "State of Good Repair"? or post-1929 circling the drain?

James, thanks for the comments.

I model 1929, so the cars will be in "good repair" weathered to show usage.  Not down the post 1929 drain, but close.

[elwoodblues]

Ron, totally agree with your viewpoint on posting and receiving feedback and comments.

Roof is looking good.

Thanks Rick,

Sometimes it gets depressing when you see no comments but by checking out the views, the depression goes away.