AC&Y - Ohio's Road of Service

[SAH]

The old admin building is complete.  Since I didn't have a clear image to work from I took a few liberties with details.  Overall it works.




I cut a new window light well overlay to get the wells lined up with the windows.  You didn't really think I could live with the wells not being centered on the windows did you?  Neither did I.  I wound up using chalk to give the brick some depth and suggest mortar lines.  Chalk treatment is on the left in the photo below.  I think it will blend well with the printed bricks on the building behind it.  I must also fess up that after all these years, this is the first DPM structure I've assembled.  And did we start with a simple kit?  Noooo.  You'd think I'd have learned by now.


In the "not if but when" category:  We've purchase a basement with a structure above it.  It's not a huge basement but it's MINE MINE MINE.  I've been doodling with plans to see how I can make the existing modules work to best advantage.  All but the General Tire section have been moved.  And how do you move a big model?  Use a big box of course.  Then hand carry it to the destination!!!!!




There was a guy on here who posted some menacing comments about the fate of DPM kits not long ago.  Referencing a new table saw or something.     OK @Ed Kapuscinski , the balls in your court my friend.  What ya got. 

Steve

[wm3798]

A newly minted home owner!  Huzzah!
I absolutely love the window wells in the side walk.  What a cool detail to include!
Makes that old common DPM really stand out as your own.

But tell me... has your wife noticed that you purloined her pearl earrings to make those lamps?

Nicely done.
Lee

[SAH]

Pearls.  I didn't think of using them.  Now THAT would have raised the profile of my modeling activities at home.  Probably not a good idea.
The globes are florist corsage pin heads.  Yeah, I save everything that looks like it might be of use for a N scale scratchbuild.  An old postcard of the admin building showed street lights with big round globes out front, which is the inspiration for the model detail.

I likely never would have considered modeling the basement level if it and the window wells weren't part of the prototype structure.  Thanks for noticing.

[LIRR]

the window wells are a nice touch.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

There was a guy on here who posted some menacing comments about the fate of DPM kits not long ago.  Referencing a new table saw or something.     OK @Ed Kapuscinski , the balls in your court my friend.  What ya got. 

Steve

Not a lot of time to play with it, at the moment, sadly.

But maybe I SHOULD jump some sort of building for Coal Country ahead in line. Hmm.

[SAH]

A small power house, blower or hoist building would be a good place to start.  The ability to bevel corners and easily/accurately cut any section in the horizontal or vertical direction gives me a whole different perspective on the possibilities using DPM sections and kits, that's for sure.

[SAH]

Finally, a pair of MUBX plastic pellet hoppers I'm happy with.  I needed to rethink the painting sequence relative to how the parts were layered onto the shell.  You can't assemble the entire model and then paint it in the normal manner because the undercut / overhang, or however it is described, makes getting paint to some of the details difficult.  The result is too much paint on some surfaces, too little on others.  I used a Model Masters rattle can since the airbrush was unavailable until very recently.  It worked out OK.

The home printed decals I used for the first go around were horrible.  I sent the artwork (such as it is:  A Word file) to Modelers Decals & Paint.  I specified the "ultra-thin 8 micron" backing sheet.  It IS thin.  You better have your "A" game on for decal application.  Fortunately I printed duplicates of nearly everything, cause I screwed up  just about every third application.  They look nice though.

I have one more shell partially assembled, lacking hatch parts because I miscounted when I did the etch artwork.  Another some day project. 

[wazzou]

Very, very nice.  I always like seeing your updates.

[nkalanaga]

I like the hoppers.  Since I haven't been following this topic, and first saw them on the Weekend Update page, I thought they were scratchbuilt.  Being able to make the old AHM cars look that good is, if anything, more impressive.  I still have a few on my roster, more as historic pieces, but can remember when those were the only true 100-ton grain hoppers available.

Unfortunately, Modelers Decal and Paint no longer does custom decals.  I looked t hem up, thinking that, if they can print from an MS Word file, they should certainly be able to print from a PDF.  this what their website has under "Custom Decal Printing":

Custom Decal Printing
We are no longer offering the custom decal printing service.
Thank you for your interest.
ModelersDP

[SAH]

Thanks guys.  Interesting update on MD&P decal operation.  To be honest the quality of the print was only so-so.  I've been impressed with the Tichy Trains decals and just received an order from K4, which look to be top notch.  I'm looking forward to giving them a try soon.  I was surprised to find they have quite a few AC&Y sets.  I'm currently fooling around with converting the Centralia Car Shops UP caboose to the AC&Y 60 series prototype.  Both were made by International Car, providing a head start from a component standpoint.

[SAH]

MicroTrains 40ft box car underframe:

Note the corner steps are clipped from the factory part and epoxied in place.  Attached the nuts with an adhesive that will not attack the styrene (so it will not warp) and is flexible so the nuts will not come loose over time.  Silicone works well.


The underframe detail is nice but not necessary.  That said, it does limit the chance the frame platform will warp.


Here's my project note sheet.  I plan to create a CAD file of so I can use the x-y cutter to score the 0.040" sheet to aid cutting the frame and marking the hole drill spots on centerline.  I am REALLY poor at getting holes drilled on the centerline.  Letting the cutter mark the spot should help.

[LIRR]

 why the styrene? why not attach the nuts directly to the underframe? I did it that way on 100+ MT cars w/o a problem...

[wazzou]

why the styrene? why not attach the nuts directly to the underframe? I did it that way on 100+ MT cars w/o a problem...

It looks to me like the Styrene “is” the underframe.

[LIRR]

his drawing shows 0.040 thick styrene....photo appears to show this styrene attached or atop the MT underframe. I am curious as to why he's doing it that way.....

[wazzou]

his drawing shows 0.040 thick styrene....photo appears to show this styrene attached or atop the MT underframe. I am curious as to why he's doing it that way.....

I think, if I’m not mistaken, he has screwed the separate 3D MT underframe detail to the Styrene and also made his own bolsters.
That may well be why it looks to you like the Styrene is attached to a MT underframe.