Coil Car Kits

Hey Joe,

I have several of those kits unbuilt. couple of Iowa Interstate and one Pittsburgh & Lake Erie. Be willing to part with one if you need it.

Brackets

Those brackets always seem to be the most fragile parts of the model.  Have you considered fabricating them out of brass strip and soldering them together?

Brass

Brass might be the answer but the sections are so fine it's hard to build up the T cross-section without distortion. And the angles. I used to solder up slotcar frames no problem, but this is finer work.

Kevin, I just ran across another of those kits today; I was hoping someone might just have a surplus hood, since I'd still end up a bracket short.

I'll give styrene another shot and keep your offer in mind.

Ought to be a way to set up a central "surplus kit exchange."

coil steel cars

Joe:

There are about 10-15 of those cars for sale on Ebay, complete with covers, for around $8 each. 

Good luck!

Rog

RTV and resin casting to the

RTV and resin casting to the rescue? Borrow a kit, make a master, and cast a few replacement parts?

Charlie

I could do that, but then I'd

I could do that, but then I'd have to write an article . . . delaying your steam shovel by another year or so.

Anyone ever develop a solution for this?

I came across an old Walthers coil car at a show for $2.00. You can't just walk away from that. Of course, the coil hoods were handled roughly and the stacking brackets are destroyed. I think small pieces of brass are best for a replacement but I want it to look good. Anyone have pics of what they did?

Plano

Keith at Plano Model Products (as opposed to the company that makes plastic storage boxes) has developed etched brass replacements for the Walthers brackets.  I gather he is still fine tuning the etching and will have them for sale soon.  I know someone who is ready to order 100 sets.  (Not me, I'll just need a few sets.)

Scott Chatfield 

You know, it's not at all

You know, it's not at all unusual to see coil cars with mismatched hoods, hoods from a different railroad, or even only one hood / no hood. Do what you want, it's prototypical.

Hoods/Brackets

I scratchbuilt a pair of angle hoods with the attendant stacking brackets.

With 3-D printing, that also becomes an option for making the brackets as a single piece.

I had a similar issue with

I had a similar issue with some old cars that had dinged up hoods.  I designed up some supports and had them printed on Shapeways.  If there is interest, I could setup to make them available to others.

Craig

Shapeways parts are certainly needed

Craig, 

I would be interested in those parts. They are always missing because they are so fragile and easy to break. The question I have is how does one glue these to the hoods?

As Scott pointed out, Keith over at Plano Model Products is making some but they won't be ready until mid 2022. If you have ever done much Plano stuff, you know the results are awesome, but are also very fragile themselves, so I do not know what the end product will be like. 

10 years later

We would also be interested in the Shapeways parts, or possibly the etched brass ones when they arrive.  What material did you specify for the printed parts? Something akin to Delrin would be ideal.

The batch I made was using

The batch I made was using the Fine Detail Plastic.  They are just as fragile as the original parts since they are designed to match as closely as possible. I'm just careful now to keep from breaking them.

I glued them on with small dabs of CA.  That way if they do break off, I can cleanly remove the remaining pieces and glue another one on.

It might be possible to have them done in brass or bronze or similar but I'm not sure how much detail would be lost.

I have also done airslide hatches for Walthers airslide hoppers, and side cages for old Ramax 2-bay hoppers.  And concrete SP/T&P phone booths.

Craig

Craig

Please let us know if you do put these up on Shapeways.  I've been cannibalizing my extra hoods to keep enough on the go (they even disappear when the cars are in storage - how does that happen???), but it would be nice to restore them all.

Blair

I spent some time last night

I spent some time last night setting stuff up in Shapeways.  Search for "Coil Car Hood Support", and it should be one of the first things to pop up.

Craig

Found them.

Thanks!

Coil Car Hood supports

I purchased some off of Shapeways and they are great and well worth it.

If you need some I recommend them.

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