It is winter on the model railroad

Winter generally means it is going to be to cold to do much air brushing. We did have a 50+ degree day this week, so I took a long lunch and did a little painting. That just keeps the painting jobs from piling up over the winter.

Southern 2207

This car is a stock Athearn kit, a little weathering, and dual purpose load. I got this idea from an old Model Railroader magazine article from November 1976.

Pretty simple, but scale 2x4 uprights are a bit fragile.

NVX 369

This car, a kitbashed Steam Generator car, was inspired by an article in Railroad Modeler, September 1979. It started with an Athearn flat, and the rest came from the junk box. I know the ends are from an Accurail box car, and the tanks are from a Life-Like tank car, but the middle section, well, I have no idea.

NV 370

This is a model of a Hart Selective Ballast car that was featured in Model Railroader back in November of 1984. The article was by Andy Sperandeo and lettered for their Washita and Santa Fe project railroad. I lettered mine for my HO scale Nirvana Valley Railroad.

NV 72581

This caboose is a Ye Olde Huff-n-Puff wood kit. I made this many years ago, and I am working on scratch building one with full interior. The road number is the date of birth of my first son and the copy I am scratch building will be numbered for my second son.

Kelso Grain & Feed

I built this 1923 Mack from a Jordan kt, and printed custom decals for it. Jordan makes great kits, not easy, but great detail. Notice in the pictures you can see the chain drive going to the back wheels. In real life, these look like a service nightmare. Not that I know much about cars or trucks.
I have pictures taken for the next couple blog entries, so I should be able to update every couple weeks for a while.

Central Concrete, Springdale, Units 4, 5, & 6

And a lowboy trailer. I kitbashed this trailer from a Maisto car hauler trailers' top deck. The wheels and tires from the Like-Like cement mixer that used in making one of the Joplin units. They were to small for use on a truck, but worked great for this trailer. I have not found a use for anything else from this toy, but I picked up for $2.00. I started by cutting the deck in to flat pieces, essentially making a flat kit. I then reassembled it somewhat backwards and upside down. I added a few pieces of styrene, and there you have it.Here is the finished trailer, with a Mercedes truck as a load. I haven't gotten around to a deciding on a tractor to pull it yet, and with winter coming on, I won't be able to paint for a while.

#4

I used a Sylvan '48-53 cab and connected it to a Boley mixer, a relatively easy kitbash. The front wheels are from the Sylvan kit, as it the figure in the cab.

#5
I again used a Boley mixer and rear section along with the cab steps. The cab is from a Miasto diecast metal military truck. I feel it worked out well. I used the Boley tires and wheels as the Miasto wheels and tires were not acceptable. The decal lettering is different for each Central Concrete location, as they list the city and the phone number for that location. By doing some quick internet research, I was able to find out what exchanges were used in 1949, and in some cases, even what part of town used which exchange.
#6
You may have been wondering why Central Concrete needed a lowboy trailer. Well number 6 here, would be the answer. This is a Trident German half-track prototype cab and tracks with a Mini-Lindy mixer. Although I have not been able to find a picture, I have heard of units similar to this that were built right after the war from army surplus units. Made from a German half-track and in Arkansas, well a little hard to believe. I did enjoy building it and I think it looks cool.

On the last 50 degree day, I painted several models, so the next installment will be back to freight cars and maybe even some motive power.