tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3218524178230712938.post8695176211854675819..comments2024-03-28T17:35:45.759-07:00Comments on modeling the SP: Modeling meat reefers -- Part 2Tony Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11593061828601275378noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3218524178230712938.post-26808524614660606312012-01-23T11:04:00.770-08:002012-01-23T11:04:00.770-08:00Thanks for the comments, Arved. Of course I know t...Thanks for the comments, Arved. Of course I know that grab irons are bolted to the car side. I also know that wood sheathing did not have mammoth grooves between the boards, and so forth and so on, relative to the models we build. I have experimented in the past with both adding individual rivets (harvested from Athearn bodies), and also with adding a single Archer rivet (usually above, not below, the grab iron). Both do work, and by the way look better than an NBW, but to me are not that visually prominent, and do represent a fair amount of work. My overall conclusion is not to add bolt-head details to grab irons, unless there is some special value to the model. For me, meat reefers are not in that category. I don't disagree with Arved that detail can be raised to another level; I just don't choose to do it on these cars.<br /><br />Arved is entirely right that A-Line steps do not look right for side-mount sill steps, even if you add a bolt head to the car side above each leg. As with the grabs, the A-Line steps are a compromise. Delrin steps are just too fragile for my taste. Other refinements are certainly an option, but again, I'm not choosing to go that direction on these cars.<br />Tony ThompsonTony Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11593061828601275378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3218524178230712938.post-56597255380202004392012-01-23T07:29:47.618-08:002012-01-23T07:29:47.618-08:00Good informatio on roof construction. Thanks!
On ...Good informatio on roof construction. Thanks!<br /><br />On the real cars (and locomotives), grab irons aren't just stuck into the side. They're mounted with bolts and washers. You could do this with a nut-bolt-washer detail, shaving the bolt so the nut appears to be a bolt head. This was below on a drop grab, so it's mostly hidden by the grab iron itself.<br /><br />Of course, then you'd have a grab iron sticking into the side, and a NBW casting below it, and twice the work drilling all those holes. It looks a bit better, but the bolts aren't physically connected to the grab iron. The actual mounting tab is missing.<br /><br />Railflyer Model Prototypes now produces a drop grab that includes an etched brass peice to represent the mounting tab and bolt/washer detail. Just ACC the detail to the side.<br /><br />Still a lot more work, but it does raise the detail to the next level.<br /><br />I also like A-line sill steps, but all products to date are for bottom mounted sill steps. I'll be interested in seeing how you adapt these for side mount sill steps. The only side mount sill steps I know of are made by Details West and Grandt Line in everyone's favorite material - Delrin. Yes, I'd prefer metal. That's why I'm interested in seeing what you come up with.<br /><br />Warmest regards from sunny Florida,<br />- ArvedArved Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02144512469728230160noreply@blogger.com