PS 5077 cu ft boxcar in 1:29

[Burl]

Here's something I've been working on the past couple months:











I have wanted to model a car like this for a long time because of the end-of-car (EOC) cushioning device.  I started making my own couplers a while back, and this seemed like the next logical step.

[Bill Gill]

A neat project. Not only is the working cushioned coupler system a nifty thing, but I also like the slightly rippled sheathing on the sides -something occasionally represented by painting "shadows", but your sides have 3D ripples....ok that's not the focus of your post, but it's a neat detail too.

[SandiaPaul]

Nice work and I do like the rippling...some cars from that era had REALLY pronounced ripples.

Paul

[Ray Dunakin]

Fantastic work as always, Burl!

[finescalerr]

Satisfactory. Why haven't we seen more from you? -- Russ

[lab-dad]

Thats really neato!
I did couplers like that on the Carter car - they look great.
Seems like you are using 3D printing for a lot.
Please tell us more!
I imagine those boxcar sides were costly! (if printed)
The ripples are a great feature.

Marty

[Burl]

The ribs, doors, & ends are printed.  The sides are laser cut styrene.  The wavy panels are made from thin castings, took from wrinkled polypropylene plastic sheeting:

[Burl]

I never was happy with how the roof was coming together on this, so I re-did my masters.  My initial approach to making the roof was to cast it in two, long halves, and a mounting slug, as you can see from the pattern here:








The idea was to make a slug for the roof with the correct angle for the peak, and the thinner (.040") roof detail would get laminated to that. I thought, since I 3d printed the panels & ribs, that there would be sufficient precision to make them align. After assembling one, I realized this was not the case. Some of the ribs lined up, but the ones that didn't had to be chiseled off and relocated. Because I made the pattern long-ways, if it was off a little, that error was doubled when the two halves were put together.

Further complicating the roof was the fact that it overhangs a on all four sides of the car. If there was no overhang, I would have been tempted to make this a uni-body car, and cast it in my rotational casting machine... but the overhang is too deep (and the roof itself too thin) to make an undercut of that depth in a uni-body mold.

Then it hit me, and I came up with this:






Now the ribs are sure to be aligned, and I lost the sharp angle that was on the end of the rib (from the previous approach) where air bubbles liked to stick during casting. This also uses less resin than my previous approach, so the car is less top-heavy.

[Burl]

I got stalled on this for a while, so I'm mostly posting get my self motivated on it again.  Before I paused, I applied the base coat of paint (which was red), and put on the yellow decals.  I went over it then with several thin layers of pink that I custom mixed until I was satisfied it matched my photos.

I had some time to work on it this morning, and I put on the couplers, trucks & rest of the underbody details, as well as the white decals (still drying in the photos).  I will clear coat it tomorrow, or the next day, and begin weathering after that.

[lab-dad]

Looks great!
No idea how close it resembles the real deal but looks real to me.
Only give away is the giant Phillips screw for the coupler.
May be you could hide it under a plate
Marty

[finescalerr]

... And the coupler itself detracts the appearance of a model otherwise so outstanding in appearance. Are more accurate couplers available? Couplers aside it would be next to impossible to know whether a photo was of the model or the actual boxcar. -- Russ

[Burl]

Not sure what you think is wrong with the coupler...?

[Lawton Maner]

If its not a link and pin coupler, Russ doesn't understand what it is.

[finescalerr]

In a way, Lawton may be right. I'm not completely up to date on knuckles newer than about 1970 and probably am unfamiliar with the design you chose. Sorry if I caused a false alarm. -- Russ

[Burl]

Did some work on the roof today.  This is the result of airbrushing thinned artist oils: raw sienna & burnt umber.  Several thin layers, with some dabbed off with a cotton ball dampened with paint thinner.  I find it helps to take pictures & consider them for a while to decide if I'm happy with the result or not.