S.A.& A.P. Maintenance of Way builds

[gjslsffan]

Great work Manny, I have enjoyed watching the thread as well. Just great stuff. That old MW stuff sure had character didn't it? I just want to take a baseball bat to people that just reach over and pick up a model that is not theirs. I mean it is kinda of a molestation right?
I've use Bragdon powders too, and agree they are great, have had sucess using soft gum erasers to remove it from where you dont want it too. I also understand why you dont want to dullcoat. But it is a must for me When dullcoating over it, I use an air brush, and make sure the first coat is very light, then it doesn't seem to take away too much from the powders. But those Floquil dullcoat spray can bombs, have made many powdering jobs seemingly disappear havent they?
Please carry on,

[Jim James]

Gosh, Tom. As much as I like to use my airbrush I never considered using it to apply gloss and dull coats. I'm slapping myself on my forehead just like the "Coulda had a V-8" tomato juice commercial. I need to get a bottle of each. What do you thin it with if anything?

[gjslsffan]

Hi Jim!
I would go with a readily available product from Model Masters or Testors, They have Gloss, Semi Gloss, or Flat Clear coats for most of us modelers. I see that they are all Lacquers, so Lacquer thinners are in order I have tried some of the Latex based stuff but regrettably IMHO, there is no replacement for solvent based finishes again IMHO.. I dont want to steal Manny's deal here at all. But you can buy a gallon of Lacquer thinner, and it will last you a long time, I use it to clean my airbrush as it will thin about anything. As far as the best dullcoat? IMHO Scalecoat has a finish that will take the hide off of you. But Manny is right, I think, because there are no all flat finishes. There are semi Gloss, flat, and oily surfaces right next to one another on this stuff, so Again I think Manny is right to not use Dullcoat on his stuff, it just does not do his work "justice" to simply cover it up with that, I get it, and agree with it, in the context of his work.
BTW you can buy boxes of 100 pr of the gloves he is referring to from outfits like Harbor Freight for 5-6 bucks.
Yep, In understands where he is coming from.
Please carry on my friends,

[SAFN SAAP]

Tom, et al,

In my discussions with Mr. Bragdon on how to use his powders, he has said to me that the Krylon Gloss, Satin, and Matte are much better products than the Testors Gloss and Dull Cotes. I haven't tried any of it yet, but have seen it on the shelves at Hobby Lobby calling my name. I may try it as you get 4x as much from Krylon at the same price.

Don't worry 'bout crowding my posts. We are all hear to learn. If you have something that is in line or different from me, please share. I'm not the resident expert. I'm just doing what suits me. There may be a better way, and if so, then I'm for exploring it.

[renapper]

I can atest to the fact that Krylon Gloss works great. I use it all the time on models to add the gloss coat before decaling. I will probably use the Matte when I run out of Dull Coat.

[gjslsffan]

I have used Krylon on buildings and trees and such. I have not considered using a spray can to dull/gloss coat an engine or piece of rolling stock. I prefer to have more control over the volume of product applied to the subject, but thats just me. I guess one could MT a spray can of whatever into a container, then use the airbrush from there. A guy would get considerable more bang for the buck that way for sure, you would not have to thin the paint either, HHHMMM.

[SAFN SAAP]

While I'm waiting on parts and gloves for the Big Hook, I've decided to start on S.A.&A.P. MW 237 Ballast Hopper. This is going to be an older gondola put into MOW service, and requires the old fashioned back breaking shovel to empty out. Sorry, no Hart Gondola here. I've got the frame constructed and she is getting a coat of sanding sealer. I'll be cutting the upper boards, and attempting to make them shattered, holes, and patches. Once completed, I'll put a fake stack inside to take up room and then fill it with limestone ballast for effect. More on that later...

[Jim James]

Making those side boards look old and beat up should be a real blast to do. Can't wait to see the finished model.

[SAFN SAAP]

Here are some pictures of the gondola so far. I have a lot of detail parts yet to install on her. So far she's looking very good. She's based on a Frisco 34' prototype and also a S.A.&A.P. gondola. So it's mixed. I went off information on pictures given to me by a friend, and also by pictures I have here.

I still need to add bracing, brake gear, NBW's, grab irons, stirrups, and more.

She'll be painted oxide and have appropriate markings, this time of the Frisco/S.A.&A.P. merger (My railroad).

More soon...

[SAFN SAAP]

More work finished. A and B ends are complete. Two steel rod braces are located between stakes 3 and 4. Side to floor mount braces will be built for 2 and 5 (under construction). Overall she's lookin' better and better. Got a surprise in store for her, but can't say just yet.

Take a look and tell me what y'all think so far...

Thanks,

Manny

[Sirfoldalot]

Whose kits are those ... I like!

[Jim James]

I like the combination of plastic and real wood. Should turn out to be an awesome model.

[SAFN SAAP]

Whose kits are those ... I like!

Sherrel,

The gondola is the Choctaw, Oklahoma, & Gulf produced by LaBelle which has been heavily modified. So are the tank cars; again, heavily modified.

[SAFN SAAP]

Finished her up this morning. All the brake rigging has been added, and I also added four interior braces on the number two and five posts. As it turns out, the car load of ballast is the correct weight for his little car. She'll have a permanent load. I've just got one last thing to add to her. That's a surprise. You'll just need to stay tuned.

[Sirfoldalot]

Sherrel,

The gondola is the Choctaw, Oklahoma, & Gulf produced by LaBelle which has been heavily modified. So are the tank cars; again, heavily modified.

Years ago, I built several O scale LaBelle kits ... They were very nice to work with.
I'm sure the shovel crews aren't going to have nice things to say about those floor to side braces?

[SAFN SAAP]

After talking with my buddy who builds my masters, the car needs to be reinforced on the outside due to it being 60" tall. The S.A.&A.P. had gondolas like this for sugar beet service on the "Beet Train". This car came from that section. I'll be adding two extra stakes and the car will receive in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th sections, side dump doors.

More construction to come...

[SAFN SAAP]

I've added the additional stakes between numbers three and four, so the center is reinforced. The middle section also received another set of rods to join the middle. The only thing left to do is the side dump doors. I have to order the hinge sets from Grandt Line tomorrow, so she's going to sit for a little while until they arrive. Attention will now shift back to the Big Hook, since the sprue arrived from Tichy and my Kimberly Clark gloves arrived.

[SAFN SAAP]

A little clean-up and a little NBW's this morning. I trimmed all the stakes so that they were board height. Then, the walking boards got tiny, tiny, like to go "ping" all over the place, NBW's. Just waiting on the side dump door parts and the face mount stirrups and she's ready for paint.

Well, uh, I gotta beat her up a little bit first...

[SAFN SAAP]

Parts arrived today. I've been working on the side dump doors. One side has all the framing in place. Now for the other side, and then she is ready for paint.

[SAFN SAAP]

The side dump doors are finished and my eyes hurt. Talk about small work! She's gonna get a denatured alcohol rub and then sit for the night. I'll paint tomorrow. I'm beat. Here are pics of her before she goes to the paint shop. Color: Oxide.



The car holds just enough Woodland Scenics ballast to be weight proper, so she'll get a full car load of ballast. I'll weather her and dust her up as ballast is rather dusty more than dirty. My head hurts. Enough for tonight.

Night Y'all. God bless each of you, and we'll talk tomorrow.

Manny

[Jim James]

You're cranking out some fine looking rolling stock. Very nice.

[Sirfoldalot]

I probably talk too much: If those are individual boards on the sides ... Maybe you should have stained/weathered them before construction - just saying.

Your work just flat out is GREAT!

[SAFN SAAP]

Hello Sherrel,

Yes, those are individual boards. Don't worry, she's going to get weathered heavily.

[SAFN SAAP]

Preliminary paint shots. Don't worry, she'll be weathered and dirtied up quite a bit! I need to paint the bottom yet.

[SAFN SAAP]

After finishing painting the car I noticed a flaw in the build which is part of the LaBelle design. The outside frame beams are made of two pieces of wood. You must align them and the seam will disappear. In short, I thought I got it, even with sanding sealer and sanding, but alas I missed. So to cover my boo-boo, I added 5" NBW's to the bottom piece. This makes the car look like it had that piece of wood put on the car as reinforcement since it is now carrying a heavier load capacity with ballast instead of sugar beats. Hence I have now masked my error with ingenious thinking. Shhhhh............Don't tell anyone!