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BUDD Passanger Car General discussion
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New member 1 post jlippertesquire New member 1 post
jlippertesquire

Has anyone published a technique for modeling in metal?  I want to scratchbuild a Budd streamline coach.  For instance, can  sheet stainless be bent to form sides and roof as one piece?  How were the prototypes put

 together at the Budd plant?  Hoping for enlightenment
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duckdogger Super User 808 posts
duckdogger

There have been metal HO passenger cars Ian the past.

The good news was they were metal, had a metal sheen, and fluting. The bad news was they were void of other details and interiors, had crappy trucks. The challenges begin with the tooling costs. Forget steel or stainless, think aluminum. To capture the essence of Budd means fluted roof and sides. I do not have any idea of what a thin skin extrusion die would cost but think 6 figures. Then add the costs for punches to make window and door details. Injection molded metal bodies? Stainless steel dies are not cheap and even if you do a master version with inserts for various configurations, 6 figures comes to mind. And what have we gained over the quality over Rapido, Walthers, Kato, etc?
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