Sunday 27 May 2012

NYC 867399 Hopper Weathered

The Kadee hoppers are beautiful models, but  their weight is made up by the load, and therefore if you want to run them empty they are a bit too light to run reliably.


So I poured liquid lead into all the available space I could in the underframe, which helped to bring the model up to a light, but usable running weight. Adding the coal load brings the car up to the full recommend NMRA weight. Once I'd done this I ran the car through the weathering shop, trying out some different techniques I remembered from the past.

I have previously documented the interior weathering in a previous post. 


And all I had to do was finish off that like so.


Well I think this looks suitably distressed now, and having modified the coal load placement height and adding real coal I think this looks pretty sharp too.

6 comments:

  1. Very nice Ashley! I especially like the height at which your coal load rides -I've been having some trouble getting that right. Have you seen Eric Hansman's post on upgrading Accurail's USRA hoppers? He added some interior bracing and it looked pretty good. I'm wondering whether there's a good rule of thumb to tell which hoppers had this interior bracing; maybe something in the rivet pattern visible on the outside.

    Regards,

    Charles Hostetler

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    Replies
    1. Hey thanks for the compliment. I basically hacked the Kadee moulded load to death, where death is removing bits of plastic that stopped it from fitting in snugly, and yet be able to drop out if turned upside down. Trial and error using flush cutters to shape the pre-moulded plastic.

      As for the other comments, I will await and see what comes up on the freight car list.

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  2. Hi Ashley
    Don't know how you are fixing the liquid lead, but some of the 0-gauge fraternity have tried using Resin W or similar with disastrous results:in one of the worst cases a brass loco boiler was split after an adverse reaction between the adhesive and the lead shot. You have been warned!
    Best wishes

    David Fouracre

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    Replies
    1. Good call. I don't use PVA, or similar for exactly that reason. I use matte medium varnish instead.

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  3. I have used CA in certain applications, but you can also use just plain white glue if the cavity you are filling has no openings.

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    Replies
    1. There is a lot of documented evidence that lead can bloom if using white glue. IMO cyanoacrylate is good, but the fumes are worth avoiding if you don't have to use it.

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