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Bill Gill
Fireman
   

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Posted - 02/07/2017 : 09:41:47 AM
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Looks really good!
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Country: USA
| Posts: 3237 |
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wvrr
Fireman
   

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Posted - 02/08/2017 : 6:53:51 PM
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Thanks again for the nice comments!
I am taking a detour away from structures on the mine, for the moment. I decided to work on the mine cars. I have two type of car from Minitrains.
The first set of cars I bought were designed for hauling logs:

I was going to use the frame of this model to build my coal cars, and maybe a flat car. But, then, Minitrains came out with these two cars:


I jumped on the second one. In retrospect, I probably should have stuck to my first plan. Most mine cars in the anthracite region were made of wood. They were easy to maintain vs. requiring a blacksmith to maintain steel cars. Plus, I think it is a little large. But, I did find in one of my books some steel cars that at least one anthracite mine used.

So, the coal hauling cars are what I will start with. The first thing I wanted to do is eliminate the coupling system. I originally thought about converting the cars to link and pin. But, there is no way I could do that for the other cars that do not have a "couple pocket". Some mine cars used link and pin, as you see in the prototype above. But, others used a hook and chain. The hook will be on one end of the car and the chain on the other. So, I think I can do this on all of my cars. But, finding something that will work was a challenge.
The hardest part was finding hooks. I found some in the Walthers catalog produced by JV Models: https://www.walthers.com/hooks-10-scale-inches-unpainted
I had to cut off the hook right where the ring is in the casting. This doesn't leave much of a shaft to work with. But, it is enough.
Then, the other end needed an eye bolts and chain. JV Models came through again in my search, finding these large eye bolts: https://www.walthers.com/eye-bolts-formed-wire-pkg-12-020-quot-diameter-1-16-quot-eye-x-1-2-quot-empty
As for the chain, I found some by A-Line Products that work just great: https://www.walthers.com/preblackened-brass-chain-12-quot-13-links-per-inch
So, with the parts in hand, it is time to begin the first steps.
I removed the wheels, coupler, and the part holding the coupler in place. I also removed the sides of the coupler box up to the point of the first support. Here, you can see the coupler and wheels removed. I haven't removed the sides of the "coupler box", yet.

I glued the hooks to a strip of styrene, I think .060 x .156, as I recall. At the other end, I just predrilled the holes for the eye bolts and glued them in place. I didn't want to glue in the eyebolts and chain since the next step is painting. And, here is where the cars are, at this point. I need to wash them off and dry them, before painting.

So, that is where I am at.
Chuck
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deemery
Fireman
   
Premium Member

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Posted - 02/08/2017 : 7:20:46 PM
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Very well done, thanks!
dave
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Modeling 1890s (because the voices in my head told me to) |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 8838 |
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dnhman
Fireman
   
Premium Member

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Posted - 02/10/2017 : 08:32:37 AM
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Hi Chuck spent some time catching up on your progress, wow your taking this to the next level superb modeling for sure,,
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Cheers!, Joe |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 1096 |
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wvrr
Fireman
   

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Posted - 02/10/2017 : 3:38:51 PM
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Thanks Joe and Dave!
I finished up the coal hauling mine cars. I made mine very rusty and crusty. I painted them Grimy Black. Then, I applied a wash of the dark rust Rustall. After that dried, I applied a wash of my home brewed vinegar/steel wool rust. And, once that dried, I applied a wash of A&I.
I also made bumpers from 12x12 stripwood, countersinking an NBW in each one.

The next project is to make flat cars out of the log cars, above.
Chuck
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Ensign
Engineer
    
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Posted - 02/10/2017 : 4:38:41 PM
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Chuck, those mine cars look great!
Greg Shinnie
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Country: Canada
| Posts: 9040 |
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TRAINS1941
Engineer
    
Premium Member

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Posted - 02/10/2017 : 4:52:03 PM
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Hey Chuck a very nice job indeed on those mine cars.
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Jerry
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." A. Lincoln |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 13204 |
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Dutchman
Administrator
     
Premium Member

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Posted - 02/10/2017 : 6:21:05 PM
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Great looking mine cars, Chuck!
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Bruce |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 33284 |
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Michael Hohn
Fireman
   

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Posted - 02/10/2017 : 6:33:19 PM
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Chuck,
Terrific looking mine cars. I like what you did with the rust.
Mike
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_________________________________________________ Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James Baldwin |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 7213 |
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quartergauger48
Fireman
   
Premium Member

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Posted - 02/10/2017 : 8:33:26 PM
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Nice modelneering, and a great rust job, Chuck'..

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Ted |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 6183 |
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MarkF
Engineer
    
Premium Member

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Posted - 02/12/2017 : 12:56:16 AM
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Well done! And the weathering is awesome!
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Mark |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 13755 |
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wvrr
Fireman
   

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Posted - 02/12/2017 : 09:19:32 AM
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Thanks, guys. I hope to start on the flat cars, today.
Chuck
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wvrr
Fireman
   

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Posted - 02/18/2017 : 6:05:15 PM
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I need to pick up some parts before I start on the mine flat cars. I worked out how I want to modify them.
In the meantime, the next project I will take on is the office/warehouse for the mine. This is the DPM Scissors building. And, I thought I would put a billboard on the roof advertising coal.
I found this poster, on-line:

Since this image is a poster in portrait format, I needed an image in landscape to fit the billboard kit I have. I thought I would try playing around with the software program, GIMP for the first time. I was able to mask off the area around the penguin, insert my coal company logo, and add the text shown in the poster.

So far, I am liking GIMP. I might tweak the image some more. We'll see.
Chuck
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deemery
Fireman
   
Premium Member

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Posted - 02/18/2017 : 7:41:53 PM
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The background color looks a little too saturated to me. Maybe tone it down a bit. Otherwise, I love the sign!
dave
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Modeling 1890s (because the voices in my head told me to) |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 8838 |
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Bill Gill
Fireman
   

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Posted - 02/19/2017 : 08:29:30 AM
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Chuck, Good work with GIMP, especially for first try. Did you create the sign all on one layer or did you create a separate layer layer for each element? I ask because if you did create separate layers and saved the sign as an .xcf file you can easily go back and try doing different things to each layer without messing up any of the other layers. For example, if the blue background is a single layer you can try different blues without affecting the lettering, penguin or company logo. Similarly, if the type is its own layer you can change the font, size and color without interfering with anything else. You'll find you can do a lot of good stuff with GIMP!
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Country: USA
| Posts: 3237 |
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