I had good teachers!
Espeefan's Passenger Car Modeling
- Thread starter Espeefan
- Start date
Passengers installed. Note that the painting isn't perfect and it looks like I got a little sloppy with the canopy glue. Right on both counts. It doesn't matter. Just do the best you can. The seats in these cars aren't scale to match to HO scale figures so you'll have to amputate and just stick them where they fit best. Once they're in the car, nobody will be able to tell. the canopy glue shrinks and dries clear so a dollop here and there won't matter at all.
The top picture shows a 70-BP-15 that's just had its' diaphragms installed. Stuff to do while paint and glue dries!
The top picture shows a 70-BP-15 that's just had its' diaphragms installed. Stuff to do while paint and glue dries!
Smudge617
Well-Known Member
Where did the passengers come from, Preiser?
Nope. I got them from some outfit in China on e-Bay. See the thread "Figures and Paint". 90 figures for $20.66
Well the interior is in. You've seen how that's done. Last step is a partition wall. We're skipping the kitchen on this car so I installed shades on the kitchen windows, and I need a partition to serve as a view block. Simple stiff. Thin sheet styrene glued to a piece of scrap lumber, glued to the car floor. I'll assemble the car and the last step will be couplers and installing the full width diaphragms.
OK, car assembled, all done. I had to do some more stripe repair, as the friction in and out of the cradle abraded some of the stripes off of the car. I risked some Champ Decal-Set on the replacement pieces, and it looks like I lucked out. No marring of the paint. I have to tweak one of the couplers, as the mounting on these older cars was a little tricky. The usual screws didn't fit. Funny, the easy part gave me more heartburn! There are still a couple of other minor tweaks before it's ready for service. Kind of a final inspection if you will. The Lunch Counter-Tavern-Lounge will have to wait for the lunch counter seats. The tavern seats are in. Almost there! Note: Those full width diaphragms are pretty much unobtanium these days. They are a real problem with streamliners of this era. I got lucky and a friend who was changing out his for more modern ones gave me these. Too many more cars and I'll have to start assembling and painting American Limited ones. Not looking forward to that prospect!
Smudge617
Well-Known Member
I've only got as far as adding flicker-free lighting to two of the three cars (which I decided to learn how to do) the one car I haven't done is the Dome car, not sure how the seating for the dome will fit in so I'll wait for them to arrive as well as the decals.
Just out of interest, do US passenger cars have table lamps ?
Just out of interest, do US passenger cars have table lamps ?
KriegslokBR52
Well-Known Member
Well crap, this past Saturday i was looking at a set of full width diaphragms at the Timonium train show. I think there were 3 or 4 in this little bag. And they had the Espee red and orange colors.
Time for a short intermission! I picked these models up at Amherst They are obscure classes of refrigerator cars used by Pacific Fruit Express, another interest of mine. The frst model is an R-40-10, the first of the all-steel car designs.
Nest up is an early attempt at a frozen food car, the R-70-2. There were only about 100 of these in the fleet, and they had some interesting features. The first cars to get all steel roofs, and steel wheels instead of cast iron. There are three ways to get this model. Kitbash it out of a pair of Athearn blue boxers, build a flat resin kit (Sunshine models, out of production) or brass like this one. I happen to have the resin kit and will build it, but now I have a template!
I got a substantial discount on both models.
Both are too clean and will need weathering and possibly some added detail, like reweigh data and possibly some added detail, as both are 1930's designs shown here as they would have appeared in the 1950's.
A couple of interesting differences with these: Pad printing instead of decals, and you can handle them without fear of breaking things!
Nest up is an early attempt at a frozen food car, the R-70-2. There were only about 100 of these in the fleet, and they had some interesting features. The first cars to get all steel roofs, and steel wheels instead of cast iron. There are three ways to get this model. Kitbash it out of a pair of Athearn blue boxers, build a flat resin kit (Sunshine models, out of production) or brass like this one. I happen to have the resin kit and will build it, but now I have a template!
I got a substantial discount on both models. Both are too clean and will need weathering and possibly some added detail, like reweigh data and possibly some added detail, as both are 1930's designs shown here as they would have appeared in the 1950's.
A couple of interesting differences with these: Pad printing instead of decals, and you can handle them without fear of breaking things!
Last edited:
You should have grabbed them!
KriegslokBR52
Well-Known Member
I didn't read your post until sunday Next Timonium show is i think in early summer. Maybe this guy will be there, he's been there regularly for the past few shows. I don't do Espee, but stuff like that just catches my eye. The inside of the diaphragms was like a black sponge if i remember correctly.
Last edited:
Back at the bench or in this case desk. The forst thing I had to do was look at eh space I had and choose components. I cut out the counter, and found a section of fittings that will pass for a soda fountain and sink. That will get painted stainless steel. I had to glue a counter top on the lunch counter base, and the holes were too big for the brass wire I'm using for the seat poles, so I had to relocate the holes, and space them so that the seats I have will fit and leave enough room for seated patrons. Unfortunately I can't do a correct J shaped counter like the prototype had. I don't have enough room or seats. I got a hold of some lounge seats by Red Cap Line, now out of business. I only have twelve of them, so I'll be abbreviating the lunch counter!. It's also lots of hand fitting to get the seats to sit at the same level. I predict it'll also be a stinker to fit into the car interior. As you can see, the tavern seats are already in in the second photo. After this side of the car, we'll be done with this project.
Between last night and this morning early I finished up the lunch counter. I need to decide on a color for the seats, blue to match the tavern section or maybe red. The interiors of Daylight cars were quite bright. I'll also add some seated figures. The counter can stay white, and the interior walls were a sand color so I ont bother with the counter base. I(t can stay as is. Test fitting shows it won't be very visible anyway.
I finished the lunch counter and will install it when the canopy glue holding the figures in dries. I need to paint the soda fountain stainless, and it can go in, then we button up the car!
All you'll see is the tops of the chairs and the figures. Makes me wonder why I do this sometimes!
All you'll see is the tops of the chairs and the figures. Makes me wonder why I do this sometimes!
On car interiors, the below photos are provided to show what I usually do. Most interiors are made up of pieces of Walthers cars cut to fit, painted and I add figures. I think I mentioned somewhere that I usually install about 10 people per car. The exception to this rule is domes. I recently did a pair of Harriman diners, one for the Overland, and one in the pre-war "lines" scheme. I've also shown a picture of the interior for my 3/4 dome, which had to be scratchbuilt. We'll see how it stacks up to the Rapido dome I pre-ordered!
Here's the lunch counter installed, waiting for the canopy glue to dry. next will be the soda fountain. It's a little plain but the limited visibility inside means all I need is enough to "capture the essence".
The soda fountain is next!
I'll also have to install a short view block to simulate the hallway that blocks the kitchen from view. We can't have a see through car there! Also for your viewing pleasure is a piece of genuine Unobtanium: The full width diaphragms. Broadway Limited put out some of these, and I snap them up when I can. Theya re very scarce now, and expensive!
The soda fountain is next!
I'll also have to install a short view block to simulate the hallway that blocks the kitchen from view. We can't have a see through car there! Also for your viewing pleasure is a piece of genuine Unobtanium: The full width diaphragms. Broadway Limited put out some of these, and I snap them up when I can. Theya re very scarce now, and expensive!
Well, here she is folks, one Coffee Shop/Tavern/Lounge, and at long last we're finished with these five cars! This is the last car needed for the San Joaquin Daylight. I got thrown a joker with this one. When I got the car buttoned up the trucks wouldn't pivot. Seems maybe the rails that the floor screws to might have been mounted a little high. The brake cylinders were hitting the body. I've mounted D&G Models trucks to these cars before without issue until this one. Kadee truck shims to the rescue! I shimmed the floor .040" down. Two red washers per screw hole, held in place with good old canopy glue, and end of problem. I may need to shim the coupler boxes to compensate, but that remains to be seen. They look good by eye.
Next up, we'll be looking at upgrading some Athearn/Roundhouse baggage cars to kick them up a notch and make them a little more prototypical looking. After that, we'll paint a brass locomotive!
Thanks for watching! More to come!
Next up, we'll be looking at upgrading some Athearn/Roundhouse baggage cars to kick them up a notch and make them a little more prototypical looking. After that, we'll paint a brass locomotive!
Thanks for watching! More to come!
TLOC
Well-Known Member
Congrats, the car and little people look great
Smudge617
Well-Known Member
Great work, thanks for sharing.
