Many moons ago i picked up a secondhand unfinished Bachmann reefer kit,sat in the box in the garage for ages as a roundtoit job.It became a sick bed job as i thought I could do something with it,after checking it properly out the box a couple of the ice hatch covers were missing so what to do with it,the railroad reefer traffic has fallen off(we modelers have an excuse for everything
)so after some thought a small door boxcar was started,after removal of the doors new doors were made with U section strip for the runners,the roof on the reefer is plain compared with the plank effect on normal boxcars so the ice hatch openings were covered and strap bracing added to the roof together with new side roof walks from plastic strip,I thought a figure in one of the door openings would look fine so a modified fella from the scrap box fitted the bill,he glued in so the door is left open on one side,I`m thinking not a hobo but a railroad worker hitching a ride back but could be either,he was originally on another car long gone.At this point another roundtoit job started,2 boxcars already painted but unlettered or numbered would go with the new car so the bashed reefer was painted the same colour to match and then I had to sign write 6 RIO GRANDE`s on the cars keeping them all the same(pig of a job but turned out ok)numbers on the cars are dry rubs,so now a rake of 3 cars matching.The paintwork on the cars has a faded look but a very light airbrush weathering will finish them off.Another car in service rather than sitting in the garage!!
)so after some thought a small door boxcar was started,after removal of the doors new doors were made with U section strip for the runners,the roof on the reefer is plain compared with the plank effect on normal boxcars so the ice hatch openings were covered and strap bracing added to the roof together with new side roof walks from plastic strip,I thought a figure in one of the door openings would look fine so a modified fella from the scrap box fitted the bill,he glued in so the door is left open on one side,I`m thinking not a hobo but a railroad worker hitching a ride back but could be either,he was originally on another car long gone.At this point another roundtoit job started,2 boxcars already painted but unlettered or numbered would go with the new car so the bashed reefer was painted the same colour to match and then I had to sign write 6 RIO GRANDE`s on the cars keeping them all the same(pig of a job but turned out ok)numbers on the cars are dry rubs,so now a rake of 3 cars matching.The paintwork on the cars has a faded look but a very light airbrush weathering will finish them off.Another car in service rather than sitting in the garage!!
