No 2 stock car under construction. Now done.

[Riograndad]

I have finally got around to building/bashing the second stock car from a part built Bachmann kit, The difference between the stock and box car bodies is the roof is not removeable on the stock car as its a one piece molding major surgery is required, the roof is first to come off with the trusty razor saw using the roof line as a guide and once off some of the boarding can then be removed to the waist line or thereabouts to match the first car that was done. Both sides done to match but I left the door and runners alone and although it appears to be a small door opening it looked fine on the first car so this build was kept the same.Once the sides were cut the ends were cut off as they need to be a lot wider and taller than the original body so complete new ends to be built. Then I hit a slight problem as the model shop did not have the correct size of styrene strip I needed to match the first car so I had to cut all the boarding needed from sheet instead so the body of the second car is not exactly the same as the first but easily explained away as a rebuild of say an older car so it took a lot longer to do but seems to have worked fine.With the ends built and new larger floor added the new body put together and the next job was the rivet moldings on the main uprights to be removed and replaced with Cambian items together with some nut and bolts and some wood grain added to the new boarding,then first coat paint then added to the inside and outside. The next job on the list will be the new roof to complete then onto grabrails, new steps, roof walks , brake wheel and so on but it is now begining to take shape.

 

[Djjerme]

I tell yah, after all I did on mine, it's a wonder we haven't just built whole new bodies from scratch!

The thing that bothered me through my whole upgrade of the Bachmann car was the backwards angle of the inner side boards. I couldn't find a single prototype that had boards go from the outside - in and downward. I feel like whomever did the design really didn't understand physics and the stresses on the sides of the car.. but short of hacking the entire side up and piecing it back together, I pulled an Elsa and "Let it go...."

 

[Riograndad]

A few more hours spent on the car and now completed, it seemed a shame to discard the removed roof so I used it to strengthen the new styrene roof section and to get the correct pitch and that seems to have worked well, new holes drilled for the grab rails in the new boards and now fitted but on the original parts of the car body I just replaced in the old positions, new steps made as missing from the kit, cut chains for the couplings now on and working, the roof walk from the kit re used but the boards from the ladders knocked up from styrene as the ones in the kit were too short and too high, brake wheel reused mounted on brass rod and then a second coat paint saw a change of colour which I liked better so I painted the no 1 car also to match, lettering added and a body colour wash to fade them back a little, a wash coat of matt black and body colour toned back the shine on the chassis and trucks, both cars now ready for service