Batch-building freight cars 101part 2 - 6
theairbrushandapplicationofweatheringpowders to the car
roofs and sides.
Regardlessof the techniquesused, buildingdetailed car kits
takestime. I like to thinkof theprocess as the slow-and-steady
approach.Whenyou includeyourtime, assemblingkitswill not
comeout cheaper thanpre-assembled carsbut theywill give
you the funand satisfactionof building themyourself. Consider
that it tookmenineandahalf hours tobuild four Proto2000
stock car kits for this article (not includingweathering). That
is roughly threebaseball games, nineepisodesof CSI, or one
Senate speech....
Road test
Testing tookfiveminutes or so. Thebeauty of theProto
2000 line is that the kits are verywell designed. Theparts
fit together cleanly, with a
Cutting techniques
Cuttingpartsout and trimming themwill take lotsoftime.Don’t rush
this step. If youget frustratedortiredof theprocess, remember that
youcanworkon somethingelse forawhileandcomeback. Keep
inmind that cuttingout small
partsgetseasierwithpractice.
Manymodelers swear by
spruenippers, and someuse a
single-edge razor blade. I find
that a sharphobby knifewith
a freshbladeworks best for
cuttingdelicateparts cleanly.
Whatevermethod youuse,
make sure theblade is sharp,
and that youdon’t force the
cut. In theend, youwant to
have a clean cut, andnot leave
any of the gate (theplastic nib
that holds thepart to the larg-
er sprue) on thepart.
If cuttingwithaknifeor razor
blade,make sure thepart is
supportedunderneath.Often
the spruewill hold thepart up
atinybit off thework surface,
and thepartwill breakas it is
cut off. Usually I canmaneuver
the corner of aboard intopo-
sition so it supports thepart
while cutting. Thismay take
patiencewith littleparts such
as grabirons and stirrups.
36: The arrows indicate
the different levels of
the part on the sprue. A
cutmade on the leftmost
arrow in this positionwill
likely break the part as it
is unsupported.
36
35: The grabiron detail and the retainer valve on the
roof assembly.
35
37: A block of wood
under the sprue gate
provides a solid surface
for the cut.
37
MRH-Apr2014
