Pingman posted:Nice work everyone, especially Lee for the tips on truck and coupler mounting.
My contribution is a status report on my two most current projects. First up is the Great Northern Empire Builder train I have been working on but put on hold pending my move from Georgia to Virginia.
At this stage, the GN EB cars are getting close to being done with body work. I am using LIONEL 15" TCA donors for most of the consist: RPO, Diner, Full Dome (or in GN parlance a "Great Dome lounge car), Duplex/Roomette, offset vista dome (a/k/a in GN terms: "Great Dome coach"), and observation car.
The primed cars have been receiving filler/putty and sanding, and repeat until entirely smooth sided without any recesses running along the sides. The photo of the still painted TCA duplex car shows the recesses in the silver striping and just above the trucks' location. The red marker lines are used to identify areas requiring more attention with filler/sanding.
The last photo is of two former UP vista domes. These are entirely smooth-sided (thankfully) except for a recess running the length of the car at the roof line that is visible on the rear car--the front car has already been filled in. One will be for the GN EB train and the other will become a dome coach on the Northern Pacific North Coast Limited I painted many years ago.
At the moment, I am waiting for delivery of more filler/putty to get closer to finishing the bodywork at which I am so incompetent.
Not pictured is the observation car which will be anything but prototypical. Not that any of these are prototypical. I strive for verisimilitude; so window arrangements, manufacturer of the prototype compared to LIONEL's model, and those sorts of facts are irrelevant to me.
I'll post more when I get further along.
Carl
Thanks for the complement those are look nice
