@grfd59 posted:Why couldn't you use an appropriate sized drill in each of the 4 corners to get the correct radius of the curve? You would want to make sure the shell cannot move at all.
Gene Anstine
Based on my own experience of drilling into these shells, you'd really need a drill press for the purpose you describe and it would have to be dead on accurate in terms of where the four rounded corners are to be placed. Securing the shell in place while you are trying to do that is no easy task and you have to bear in mind that some long shells have a certain amount of give or flex in their sides that can result in a hole that is not truly straight. You can support the side you are working on by putting a wooden block inside it but with my drill press (a Micro Mark model) it's slow going to prevent the vibration from moving the shell out of place.
There is not the same problem with drilling into the roof of one of these aluminum cars but then most of them are curved towards the sides. But added to everything else is the need for a very sharp as well as small bit to duplicate the quarter section of the circle that is the corner.
I've learned that it's simply not possible to be as accurate as machine-made products are, especially with hand tools. For me, T.Albers has certainly captured the essence of the bodywork of this car; and as 3rail O scale passenger cars are mostly no more than a representation of the real thing, that's fine by me.
