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HO Scale Tank Car


Dick Montgomery

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If you've never build a Gould kit you should locate one and give it a shot. They are small, being in 1/87th scale (HO) but are highly detailed. This car is under 5 inches in length with 100+ parts. This kit comes molded in black plastic and does not include decals.

I used Woodland Scenics dry transfers for the lettering and settled on a Great Northern (my favorite RR) Waste Oil tank car. The model was assembled except for the couplers and then painted with a flat black rattlecan paint by Krylon. I used Tamiya powders to weather it up and then applied a very light wash of Tamiya gloss black to simulate some oil that spilled down the side of the car during loading. The oil stain was further treated with Tamiya Clear to add a moist and sticky appearance to the surface.

 

The last step was to mount the Kaydee #5 couplers....those are not painted. This is a working model, meaning that it "operates" on the layout, and I didn't want the Krylon paint to gum up the coupling mechanisms.

 

These models are extremely well designed and the fit of the parts is outstanding.

 

Prior to weathering and without most of the stenciling:

TankCarGould4020CNX139087thPreWeathering.jpg

 

Completed with the couplers installed:

TankCarGould4020CNX139087thSide.jpg

 

TankCarGould4020CNX139087thEnd.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Wow that is very cool, I have always wondered why more IPMS RR modelers are not posting RR pictures, Trains are a great subject and offer extreme modeling challenges I would love to see some in static 1/48 and 1/35 scale.

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I agree with your observation about the crossover between RR and the more generic forms of modeling..... armor and sci fi in particular. I've come across a number of IPMS members who also dabble in the Black Arts of HO railroading. These Gould kits are known for their high quality and detailed appearance. I've entered an item or two at a national convention and was pleased to see others who did the same. There aren't many railroading items entered but they are always of a high level of craftsmanship which inspires me to pull the next Gould kit from the stash.

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Are these now sold as Tichy Train Group kits? I have their USRA single-sheathed boxcar on the bench right now (along with a Polar Lights Batplane.) My skills can't quite do it justice. I returned to IPMS after a detour through model railroading, so I can do weathering, but I can't fill a seam to save my life.

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Yes....Gould = Tichy. Great kits!

 

For seam filling I use two basic techniques.

 

I stretch sprue to a diameter about the same size as the gap....cut it to length and then glue it into position with Faller Expert glue. It tends to soften the sprue nicely.....wet sand, and repeat with another length of sprue until the seam is gone.

 

I also use 3M Acryl Blue applied on the seam and then brushed with liquid cement (learned that from a figure painter). Thinning the putty with liquid glue results in the putty curing in a manner which leaves far fewer ridges or ripples that must be sanded.

 

I've begun using Tamiya white putty as well. I have found that it works very well and feathers out nicely when sanded.

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Matt, can you post the pic here? I can't find it within the album.

 

I built one of these kits also.LOTS of little parts!!!:smiley20:

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....

I stretch sprue to a diameter about the same size as the gap....

 

I've read about the stretched sprue method but haven't tried it yet. Maybe on the next one. Thanks for the tip.

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