Some years ago I picked up an HO resin scrap load at the Amherst Show for 25¢. I repainted it and It looked good but I discovered it was a smidge narrow and a tad short for the gon I wanted to put it in. So it sat in a box of odds and ends until recently when I decided to add to it. I glued it to a thin styrene base cut to fit the gon then wrapped silicone release paper as a short wall around the edges. I filled the new empty areas with whatever scraps of styrene strip and other odds & ends on hand that looked similar to the rest of the load and soaked it in solvent cement to get a good bond to the styrene bottom sheet. The hardest part was trying to match the tiny material that added a fine overall texture in the gaps between bigger pieces. Thin cyanoacrylate dripped in place and sprinkled with baking soda came pretty close. Primed it all with a flat brown spray paint then highlighted individual bits with opaque watercolors and craft acrylics and a #2 pencil. The clear flat finish coat came out a bit shiny, will redo on a warmer day. Had to carefully shape the sides and ends a little to fit because the sides of the gon aren't perfectly straight. Marked the ends underneath because the load only fits one way. Now have a removable load that looks OK and fits well.

The red arrowheads on the top and right end mark the edges of the original load. The black and white stuff is newly added scraps of styrene. The mottled tan is patches of baking soda and CA filler. The next photo shows the load after re-repainting it all.


​​​​​​The repainted load


The loaded gondola