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The other day, I noticed an interesting ad by Rapido Trains Inc. in the July issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. It was advertising custom runs of a car with different paint schemes and showed an example of their nice HO scale Wide-Vision Caboose with custom lettering for the CSX Great Lakes Division Mechanical Department.

I find the ad interesting because custom runs make a lot of sense for large clubs like FREMO. If you get an order big enough (Rapido indicates a 300 piece minimum which is really not that much), you can easily get a run of a cars with no number, which would make unique renumbering for club operation much easier. Instead of trying to carefully remove the original road number, which sometimes damages paint and surface, one could just apply a custom decal, apply dull clear coat, weather the car and be done with it. Leaving a number off instead of making a whole custom scheme should also be a lot cheaper.

Maybe it’s time that European train manufacturers such as BRAWA are starting to openly advertise similar services or at least offer cars with no lettering so one can do the whole thing from scratch.

By the way, I do like this Rapido caboose. They just released new paint schemes and the one I want is among them. But more on that another time…

It’s been a few weeks and I am happy to finally report on the progress of the Penn Central X58 project in this last installment.

Because I am painting inside a small apartment, I decided against using the solvent based Scale Coat Penn Central Green sold by the Penn Central Railroad Historical Society. Instead, I painted the car with the water based Floquil Polly Scale paints Penn Central Green for the car body and Flat Aluminum for the roof.

Rail Yard Models Penn Central X58 after paint job (click to enlarge)

A few days later, I added a glossy finish using Badger Modelflex paint. The outcome was less than desirable as the glossy paint seemed to crystalize in some spots. In my next project, I am going to mix Model Master glossy paint with the Polly Scale green to save me a step and minimize the risk of messing up a nice paint job.

I let the glossy finish dry for a few days as recommended in the X58 instructions and then started to apply the decals.

The decaling was an easy albeit slow process because I was customizing the lettering based on a prototype photograph. After cutting the decals, I prepped the surface with Micro Set, slid the decals on it and let Solvaset work its magic. Excess fluid was sucked off using a cotton swab. The cotton swab did a great job in removing fluid but occasionally left tiny fibers behind. Next time, I will try a micro fiber cloth used for cleaning lenses instead.

Putting the decals on the X58 was a slow process

Two evenings later, I was ready to decal the other side. I thought about a way to peek at the other side without turning the car over all the time. The solution was to make a copy of the decaled side. Make sure you cover the area around the car with blank sheets of paper to avoid wasting a lot of black ink.

Copying the decaled side for reference

The copy turned out to be just a tad smaller than the actual model but I found that when referencing lettering to other parts such as ladder steps it was still helpful to use and sped up the decaling process. Every now and then I did take a digital caliper to measure key proportions on the other side, though.

Using a copy of the decaled side of the car sped up the process

So here it is, the finished product complete with roof, brake hoses and extra weight.

Finished Rail Yard Models Penn Central X58 36 18 25

For a first try at a craftsman kit, I am very happy with the result. Let me know what you think in the comments below. I hope you will join me when I report on the weathering after I return from the FREMO:87 meet in Glottertal, Germany.

This week, I spent some time on the PIKO Tds project. I spray-painted two completed frames with Weinert RAL 8012, which turned out to be a very close match to the color of the plastic. A coat of dull lacquer and weathering will make the difference invisible.

Painted PIKO Tds frames. (click to enlarge)

Next, I renumbered two of the three cars. It was good that I ordered spare decals because I did end up destroying a few of them and still have to reorder two sets. The lettering could be a little sharper especially around the edges as numbers on the decals are hard to read compared to the printed PIKO lettering. I also found that the lettering doesn’t stick to the film very well and I accidentally wiped of part of a decal with a ruler.

After a few tries, I finally got the hang of it and here is what I learned:

• Cut the cardboard around the decal with a sharp pair of scissors
• Using a steel ruler and an X-Acto knife cut closely around the edges of the numbers putting very little pressure on the blade – just enough to slice the thin film
• Next put decal glue on the cleaned surface of the model and apply a little soapy water with a paint brush
• Dip the decal in soapy water for 10 seconds using a set of good tweezers
• Hold the decal still on the cardboard with the tweezers and gently push the decal film onto the model using the paint brush
• Apply decal softener and carefully position the decal with the paint brush

Lastly, I installed brand new high performance buffers I got from Günter Weimann. In German, these buffers are called “Elefantenfüsse” or elephant feet for their thick and stubby look. They are the best detailed spring-loaded Ho buffers I have ever seen. Each one has screw holes on the front and individually molded lugs on the back. Unfortunately, my camera doesn’t do them justice. The buffers are available from Wagenwerk or directly from Günter.

Fully assembled and renumbered PIKO Tds in the Tds928 version.

PIKO Tds928 from the other side.

Eisenbahnstudio.com is not affiliated with the manufacturers of the products mentioned on this site and did not receive payment or samples for review.

Now that the frame of the PIKO Tds926 hopper is ready, it’s time to replace the plastic grab handles and steps with etched parts Udo Böhlein designed for detailing the German Otmm61 and Otmm64 hoppers. The Tds is the covered era 4 version of the same car, so the parts fit the frame perfectly.

Required tools and materials

• Böhnlein 20071 Otmm61/Otmm64 buffer plates
• Böhnlein 20072 Otmm61/Otmm64 brake platform and grab handles
• Böhnlein 34010 UIC steps
• Böhnlein 80235 miniature rivets, head diameter 0.35 mm
• miniature drill 0.3 mm
• contact adhesive
• pin
• X-Acto knife
• Xuron track cutter and high precision scissors
• tweezers

Preparing the frame

Remove all pastic handles and steps from the frame using a sharp X-Acto knife. Smooth any kinks with fine sand paper.

PIKO Tds926 frame without plastic grab handles and steps.

Pre-drill the holes in the etched buffer plates with a 0.30 mm bit. These which will serve as drilling templates.

The etched buffer plates serve as drilling templates.

Carefully align the buffer plate on the bottom of the buffer plate and drill holes for the miniature rivets, which will keep the parts in place. I found that widening the holes with the tip of a pin makes installation easier.

Preparing the buffer plate by drilling holes for the miniature rivets.

Preparing the parts

It’s best to leave the parts attached when preparing them for mounting.

The grab handles are among the etched parts for the Otmm61 hopper.

Use the 0.30 mm drill to widen the holes on either end of the grab handles.

Pre-drill the holes in the etched parts before inserting the miniature rivets.

Insert miniature rivets into the holes and apply a tiny bit of contact adhesive with a pin so they stay in place. Finally, shorten the rivets with the track cutter. Do the same for the steps. (I had assembled these beforehand.)

Putting it all together

With shortened rivets in place, remove the parts and cut away excess material where necessary. I find Xuron high precision scissors where helpful for cutting and cleaning etched parts.

When ready, apply a little bit of contact adhesive to the miniature rivets and carefully insert them into the holes in the buffer plate. Use the flat end of a pair tweezers to push the rivets in all the way and carefully bend the grab handles so they face downward.

Carefully insert the grab handles in the holes on the bottom of the buffer plate.

Here is the frame with all parts installed and ready for the first coat of paint.

Finished frame with grab handles and UIC steps installed.

I have recently continued working on the frame of the PIKO Tds926 and wanted to give a quick status report. Here is how I added missing beams to the frame’s structure.

Required tools and materials

• jeweler’s saw
• X-Acto knife
• styrene strips 1.0 mm x 1.5 mm and 1.0 mm x 2.0 mm
• plastic cement

Preparing the frame

Prepare the frame by carefully removing the NEM coupler mechanism using a jeweler’s saw. Clean out any excess material with a sharp X-Acto knife.

Adding the styrene strips

Measure the spaces that need to be filled with the strips and cut the them to the appropriate length. Start with the two thicker (1.0 mm x 2.0 mm) beams in the center. Once these are in place and the cement has cured, add the diagonal beams (1.0 mm x 1.5 mm).

PIKO Tds926 frames comparison.

Here is the detail of the finished frame before airbrushing. This one already features Udo Böhnlein’s UIC steps, a Weinert brake hose and Weinert spring-loaded buffers.

PIKO Tds926 frame detail.

I am aware that the profiles are not perfectly to scale but I am going for the overall appearance with this one.