"modeling 1920's"

for those older cars you might want to check out Westerfield kits. I'm not sure what years they represent but IIRC some look like they could be around the 1920's era..DaveBranum

Westerfield kits

I'll second that - the Westerfield kits are well documented and accurate in detail down to specific years in some cases.  Not the easiest to build, butwell worth the effort.

David

Difficult/deferred?

If you can successfully finish a Tichy box car kit you don't need to worry about differing anything (except maybe a six pack)!

Tichy Boxcars?

Are their boxcars all that bad?  I found the ore cars go together nicely, and the 40' flat/gondola car is going together easily.

Tichy Boxcars

IrishRover: I would not label them "bad."  They just require a lot of time and exacting detail work.

The most difficult, time consuming part involves drilling holes, then mounting and aligning dozens of individual wire hand grabs.  The undercarriage details also require care and precision.

Its a challenge to complete one car.  I bought a six pack of them from Micro Mark and wonder if I'll ever finish them all!

Tichy

Thanks for the heads-up.  I built the 2-pack of ore cars easily, and they look good--though as yet, unweathered and unlabeled.  On the other hand, the undercarriage for the flat car is turning out to be a nightmare--I hate brake lines.  I'm only putting in the details that will be visible.

Drilling hole after hole is a PAIN--as I found out for the F&C boxcar--but it came out as worth the effort.

Enjoying the build

There are a variety of fine kits available with many details. One tool we tend to ignore in building these is time. Many modelers rush through a Tichy or Westerfield kit build and become frustrated with all the fiddly bits. I try to pace myself and work in 45-60 minute intervals. If you are building two Tichy USRA single sheathed box car kits, you will need to drill 64 grab iron holes per car, or 128 for both kits. It can be mind-numbing, repetitive work that can turn a modeler off of these fine kits. I try to do portions at a time and work on another sub assembly as a break. For instance, I'll drill the 36 holes in an end, then work on something else for several minutes. After a little work elsewhere, I'll return to the Tichy kit and drill another 36 holes in another end. Then I may take a break and enjoy a piece of fruit or some water before returning to the build. 

BTW, I use a motorized drill with a fine speed control to drill all of these holes. A cake of beeswax is nearby to keep the bits lubricated. I can't recall the last time I broke a bit.

I'm taking a layout building break as a remodeling project finishes at my new home. I'm there every weekday to answer contractor questions and keep the work moving along. I brought in a temporary workbench in April to build models. I started building resin freight car kits on April 29. I built six Funaro & Camerlengo kits, a Storzek kit, and finished a Westerfield box car yesterday. In between a few builds, I upgraded two Accurail double sheathed USRA box cars and repaired three Tichy USRA single sheathed box cars that had hit the floor a few years ago. Here's the Westerfield car that was completed yesterday.

I've learned a great deal in building these over the last 40 days and I have gained a good deal of modeling confidence. One of the key learning points is to take your time in the build to avoid frustration and errors. Take a break or change tasks for a while before returning to complete a repetitive process. 

I'm working on an overview of each model build that will be posted on my blog soon.

Eric

Drilling hole after hole is a PAIN

  I have a small drill press and carbide bits that speed up the process a lot but I usually just heat up a small soldering pencil and melt the grab irons, steps, etc, into the plastic. It combines drilling and gluing in one quick step and lets me place parts that are not round such as strap brass steps or cut lever brackets.Takes a bit of practice but I can even use the method on N scale stirrup steps :> ) ....DaveBranum

WOW! neat idea

I'm going to try that right now on some scrap plastic!

Double WOW!!!

I just tried it--and it worked like a charm--GREAT trick!