DETAIL A SNOWPLOW
A quick and easy beginner's project
By Bill Bradford
WEDGE SNOW PLOWS have been in use for over a century. Until the advent of rotary plows, wedge plows were the only way railroads could clear snow from the tracks. Even after rotaries became common, wedge plows remained handy for light accumulations. They required little maintenance and no second crew to operate them.
When we decided to offer a plow through Rara Avis Trains, we combined the designs of several real plows to make a practical and visually appealing model for large scale model railroaders. But we, and a few other manufacturers, offer our models unpainted and, of course, in brand new condition. So, right out of the box, such models benefit from at least a shot of clear dull lacquer spray to remove the shine. After all, almost nothing remaining outside for any length of time retains its shine.
Even the beginning modeler is capable of more than that, though, and this article will explain what else you may do.
START AT THE FRONT...
I began with a Rara Avis plow. The first modification was to add a headlight. I fitted a Trackside Details TD-93 casting to the brace already in place at the top of the plow. Initially I planned to use the headlight on a Colorado & Southern locomotive; it was to represent a kerosene light the shops rebuilt into an arc type. I cut off the chimney and smoothed off the top, then added a visor from a scrap of sheet styrene. The final touch, after painting, was an MV lens.
If you want, you could easily electrify the light either with track power or with a battery you could hide in a toolbox or under the plow. And, of course, the choice of headlight style is up to you, depending on the era you model.
Before you add any other detail parts, you might want to add wood grain where appropriate to any smooth plastic parts. In the case of my model, the best tool I found was a rather large and nasty wood rasp. On other models, I have used razor saws, hobby knives, and various other weapons.
The next major change was to add a triangular shaped filler to the space between the side of the plow and the car deck. The gap is very obvious in the side view of the out-of-the-box model. I used sheet styrene and the result was a plow with a more solid appearance.
Many manufacturers leave the turnbuckles off the truss rods. My model lacked them so I added a set of Ozark Miniatures OM-03-5 pre-slotted turnbuckles. Just slip them onto the truss rods and squeeze them shut. I also added Ozark's OM-15 brake cylinder to the underbody. It is large enough to see from a low angle side view. It fits right on.
...FINISH AT THE OPPOSITE END
I added most of the detail parts to the rear of the car body. I used a chisel blade to remove the existing nut-bolt-washer castings from the end beam and substituted Grandt Line 3912 castings. I also cut off the cast-on stirrup steps and replaced them with Grandt's flexible 3920 end steps. Drill the side of the car body and glue the pegs on the step into the holes for additional strength.
Next I attached Grandt's 3921 brakewheel to a .033-inch diamaeter brass rod, inserted the rod through a Russ Simpson #610 ratchet and pawl casting, and cemented the assembly to the top of the end beam. The chain winder mechanism below the end beam came from an old kit (never throw anything away!) but Ozark Miniatures, Shortline Car & Foundry, and Hartford Products all make similar castings. To finish the detailing I added Kadee® 820 body mount couplers and replaced the plastic wheelsets with metal ones.
Then I disassembled the car and painted it boxcar red. I added dry transfer lettering, then reassembled the entire car. I heavily weathered the model with washes of thinned paints, Rustall, and real dirt. Finally I sprayed the entire model with a clear, flat finish. They say you can't fool Mother Nature...but you can try!
