During the last few months, I had built some kits from Tichy Train Group and I have got a hitch for that kind of kits. Now I would like to build an HO 40' box car in CNR livery but couldn't find a suitable kit for the 1937 AAR design. There are some nice painted & lettered kits and RTR available but I already have a fair number of them, maybe too many, and I now want an unpainted one that I can paint and letter myself.
I already searched on the Internet but I couldn't find what I am looking for. Is there anyone on this Forum who knows a manufacturer for such a kit either in styrene or resin?
Guy
Modeling CNR in the 50's
I would think that Funaro and Camerlengo or Westerfield would be your best bet.
If that doesn't work you could always strip a painted car.
Unpainted or painted undecorated doesn't seem to be very popular these days.
Good luck
Paul
Your best bet is Intermountain, but they only sporadically stock undecorated car kits. They do make the 1937 AAR car you want.
.
All I use are undecorated car kits, so Tichy and Kadee are over-represented in my fleet. Athearn Blue Box Gondalas, Flats, and Pulpwood cars are still pretty easy to find undecorated and can easily be upgraded to Intermountain style details.
Westerfield and Funaro & Camerlengo are helpful. Sunshine is pricey and hard to get. Some bargains on brass rolling stock can be had if you are willing to look and wait.
I really do the best at train shows. There are usually dealers with a few undecorated kits to be had.
Good luck. This can be frustrating.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
IRONROOSTER I would think that Funaro and Camerlengo or Westerfield would be your best bet.
I had already looked at both but couldn't find what I am looking for. I will look again. Funaro and Camerlengo has a nice CNR reefer kit though.
IRONROOSTER If that doesn't work you could always strip a painted car.
I could do that for sure and I have a bunch of Athearn BB, Accurail, Branchline that I can use but they don't have the level of details I want and I will not have the pleasure to build from a "pile" of parts.
IRONROOSTER Unpainted or painted undecorated doesn't seem to be very popular these days.
I can only agree with you. I was in a major LHS which also sell online recently and the owner told me that kits are not selling anymore. The vast majority of his customers are gone the RTR way. He still keep some Accurail and Tichy kits and a small inventory of old Athearn BB but that's all.
Doesn't Atlas Trainman line offer the '37 AAR in undecorated as a kit? Or isn't that the type of kit you seek?
IMWX is the '37 AAR kit that I built (mine was lettered Southern). I found it an enjoyable challenge although I tend to agree with those who argue that some of these types of kits try to make plastic do what metal does better when it comes to delicate detail parts such as stirrup steps. I see from the internet that IMWX offered the car in CN.
http://www.trainzauctions.com/dash/universe/catalog_item/MT-0006625/
I don't know who got IMWX's tooling -- Intermountain, Red Caboose? They are all very similar in design.
Dave Nelson
IM got Red Caboose. IM is the one that's still around. The '37 AAR car is a Red Caboose model.
Indeed both my old Red Caboose flatcar kits are on the RIP track, needing new stirrup steps to replace the broken plastic.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Intermountain makes their own 1937 AAR Boxcar kit, that has seperate ends, they also have the Red Caboose 1937 AAR Boxcar kit with the molded on ends. (The Red Caboose car is the old IMWX car). I use replacement sill (stirrup) steps from Yarmouth Model Works on all my 1937 AAR Boxcar kits. http://www.yarmouthmodelworks.com/index.php/ModelDetailParts/Stirrups
Here is one of my 1937AAR Kits, where I used the replacement sill steps, along with a Viking Roof from Des Plaines Hobbies.
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
dknelsonDoesn't Atlas Trainman line offer the '37 AAR in undecorated as a kit?
I forgot about the Atlas Trainman line. I have a bunch of Atlas Master Line cars that were undecorated kits. I was always disappointed in the Atlas Master line kits. They got 95% of the way there, but just kept me wishing for what they should have been. If you are going to charge the same amount Kadee charges for thier PS-1, you better deliver!
Anyway, yes, the 1937 AAR car is in the Trainman line. The 1932 AAR car is in the Master line. Neither is catalogued as available undecorated any longer on the Atlas website.
It seems they only kept the Branchline kits until the stock ran out, all the newer runs seem to be RTR only. Yardmaster kits were Trainman line, Blueprint kits were Master series.
I have a dozen or so Blueprint kits I've built, none had any issue with the components, and the paint jobs and lettering on all of them have been quite nice. I can't really complain about the Yardmaster kits I've put together, either. Much simpler to build, of course. I like the way they do the ends so they can put the proper type of end on each version. The fit is perfect if you ream out the holes in the body a little because the pins on the ends will be by necessity slightly tapered (to come out of the mold). Also nice tough that one end gets 5 pins and one get 4 so no messing up putting the B end on the A end of the body. All painting and lettering on my Yardmaster kits is also crisp and solid.
SeeYou190 Your best bet is Intermountain, but they only sporadically stock undecorated car kits. They do make the 1937 AAR car you want.
I went there earlier but completely missed the "Undecorated" section at the bottom of the menu.
The kit #41899 Modified AAR 40’ Boxcar is exactly what the doctor ordered to calm that hitch for kit construction. I already ordered two from my LHS.
Thank you everyone.
Guy PapillonI already ordered two from my LHS.
Let me know if he can get them for you. I have had a standing order for five of those kits at Gulf Coast Model Railroading for about a year.
Also, if you go to Model Train Stuff and enter "undecorated" in the search box, a few treasures will come up for you.
SeeYou190 Let me know if he can get them for you.
Let me know if he can get them for you.
I certainly will let you know.
I ordered 4 of the R70-20 Undec Mechincal Refrigerator cars three years ago and they finally showed up early this year. The boxcars get run more often than these cars.
Also, the Atlas 1937 Car has molded on detail, so I don't consider it as kit making material. Many of the Atlas cars are delivered as undecorated kits, you have to watch carefully and let your pusher know to order them as Atlas does not list them many times but they are ordered, I have gotten a lot of the Atlas kits, even the old Branchline cars come as unded kits.
While none of these are 1937 AAR boxcars, Rapido offered their meat reefer as an undecorated kit...
...and Tangent offers a couple of '50s era-appropriate tank cars as undecorated kits...
Rail Shop offered a carbon black covered hopper as an undecorated kit...
...with decals for various owners...
...and I built several of these Intermountain reefers from undecorated kits...
...as well as several PFE reefers from Red Caboose undecorated kits...
...and this re-detailed (to match the prototype) U-channel hopper, from Bowser (Stewart) was an undecorated kit, too...
This stockcar, picked up off the "used" table at my LHS, was an unpainted and undecorated kit, too. It was in a clear plastic bag, with no instructions, no trucks and couplers, and no indication of the manufacturer....
I modified it to follow Canadian practices, and substituted wire grabirons for the supplied plastic parts. When I asked the owner about its origin, he said that it was a pre-production sample from LifeLike (which may have explained why it was unbuilt and cost only a couple of bucks). Later that year, the Proto-2000 cars from LifeLike made their official debut. I'm not sure about the origin of the trucks, but they may be from Lindberg - they were in my supply of available trucks and seemed appropriate.
Here's a LINK to Bowser's undecorated kits, and another LINK to Intermountain's offerings of undecorated kits.
Wayne
Might be too plain but River City Railroad sells Project Cars, unpainted kits. Former MDC shake the box kits.
I will not post the link here so I do not offend The Powers That Be. Google it.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Kevin,
Here is the answer from the LHS owner I contacted.
"I checked with Intermountain and they got back to me today, unfortunately they no stock so I am unable to order any from them."
Sorry.
Yeah, the guys from Gulf Coast Model Railroading tell me the same thing.
Bummer. I sure could use these kits.
richg1998 Might be too plain but River City Railroad sells Project Cars, unpainted kits. Former MDC shake the box kits.I will not post the link here so I do not offend The Powers That Be. Google it. Rich
Might be too plain but River City Railroad sells Project Cars, unpainted kits. Former MDC shake the box kits.I will not post the link here so I do not offend The Powers That Be. Google it.
I did and I get a AVG java script warning JS:decode: SR
I have no idea what that means buy it wouldn't open their webpage.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
The web page for River City Models has not been updated since 2008. They do have an active eBay store, but no undecorated models that I could find.
Accurail has undecorated and 'data only' boxcars.
SeeYou190The web page for River City Models has not been updated since 2008.
I sent the ebay store a message and they answered as follows;
I bought a Ebay Accurail Data Only outside braced boxcar. It has no road name or car number. The finish looks pretty flat to me and I am inclined to hit it with some glosscote before I decal.
What say ye?
Yes, definitely coat it with something glossy. It really helps to hide decal film.
SeeYou190 Yes, definitely coat it with something glossy. It really helps to hide decal film. Kevin
Kevin
I agree, as it will make decal application that much easier.
I was never a big fan of decals, probably because I wasn't very competent at using them.My preference was for dry transfers, and I've gone through three sets (150 sheets, all suitable for lettering at least two items) of custom lettering, plus literally hundreds of C-D-S dry transfer roadname sets, and dozens of sheets Lettraset, both minis and full-size.
However, not all of the lettering I needed was available in dry transfer form, so I needed to improve my skills in decal application. This is the procedure I use now for applying decals.The first step is top get a glossy finish on the model, either in the paint which you're using or as a clear finish applied over the paint. All areas which will receive decals should be covered, and not simply in patches where the lettering will be - for most cars and locomotives, that means sides and ends, and in some cases, underframes (especially tank cars for the latter).I use Testors Glosscote, thinned about 30% using lacquer thinner and appled with an airbrush - let it cure for a couple of days before starting decal work.Working on a sheet of glass, I use a sharp blade and a straightedge to cut blocks of lettering from the sheet, taking care to keep the blade away from the lettering.Once that's done, I use the same blade (re-sharpen or replace as necessary) to cut away all of the excess paper - align the blade with the edge of the image, then press down firmly and chop-off the blank portion of the paper. For most things like dimensional data, this involves on four or perhaps six chopping motions. The reason for doing the cutting in this manner rather than a slicing motion is twofold: first, the cut can be made closer to the image and second, the chopping motion has the effect of pushing the cut edges down, whereas as slicing motion raises the cut edges. This might seem like a minor issue, but it helps to get the edges of the decal, once it's applied, to settle out flat even before any setting solution is applied. Sliced edges, even with successive applications of setting solution, are much more difficult to hide.Once those blocks of small lettering are trimmed, use the same motion to cut off any square corners that are at a rounded letter or numeral...for example:
CAPY 100000LD LMT 126600LT WT 42400
...remove the outer corner at the top of the "C" in CAPY, and the corners on the final "0"s of the first and last weight groupings. This one probably sounds a bit silly, too, but a simple single "snick" at those corners actually does help the decal film to become less apparent.Likewise, if you make your own car number sequences (instead of using the stock versions that are supplied on the sheet...and that most other folks who buy the same decal set, and will probably all cut out the same number block, making their hand-decaled car exactly the same as yours), trim, using a succession of consecutive straight chopping cuts, all rounded portions of the individual numerals.I use this procedure for all decals, even those from Microscale with their progressively thinning clear borders around the images.Once the decals are all cut out, apply them using distilled water - I usually dip them in water, then let them sit on the glass sheet for a while...smaller pieces are simply placed on the glass and water applied using my fingertip. Don't force the decal's release from its backing paper - instead, apply more water. Once the decal slides freely, I usual remove it from the paper, then, using tweezers, dip it into the glass of water and then withdraw it by dragging the decal up and over the lip of the glass - repeat if necessary - this helps to remove the glue-like residue from the back of the decal, as it's not needed for application onto the model.I often use Microset while positioning decals (use rivet lines, panel separations or other prominent details or, before beginning decaling, use masking tape to create guide lines in order to keep your lettering straight and level) and when satisfied with the position, apply Walthers Solvaset. Repeat as many times as is necessary, and use a new blade to slice any areas of the decal which have air trapped underneath.
Once all of the lettering is in place and fully dry, use a dampened soft, lint-free cloth to wipe down the decaled areas - this helps to remove any traces left by the setting solutions.Next, use your airbrush to apply another coat of clear gloss over all of the decaled surfaces - this helps to make the gloss of the decals the same degree of glossiness as the surface on which they were applied. As soon as that application is dry to the touch (usually as quickly as you can change the bottle on the airbrush from gloss to flat or semi-gloss), you can apply the final finish of your choice. For most freight equipment, I use Dullcote, but for a fairly new car, you may with to make a semi-gloss by combining various amounts of Glosscote and Dullcote.After the clear finishes have cured for a couple of days you can use your favourite methods to apply weathering. I use washes of well-thinned water-based paints, powdered artists' pastels, and airbrushed weathering in various combinations, but never overspray the weathering with any clear finish.
This car was lettered in the manner described, with all of the words of the slogan cut-out and trimmed individually...
My apologies, Guy, as it appears that my lengthy reply has put a damper on your thread.
doctorwayneMy apologies, Guy, as it appears that my lengthy reply has put a damper on your thread. Wayne
Threads on the internet mutate, it's a law someplace.
I use model master acrylic gloss and the last time I used it I got a pebbled texture. If I did something different, I'm not sure what I did. Should I:
Have been closer to the model?
Used a higher air pressure?
Used more thining agent?
All of the above?
Wayne,
You don't have to apologize. This thread on the search for an undecorated AAR 1937 Boxcar kit was dead already. Your posts are always informative and are replies to some asked question which is not always the case on these forums. I always consider it an honor when someone as knowneleable and experienced like you participate on one of my thread.
I was really hoping there would be a response in this thread that had some secret information on where it would be easy to find undecorated HO scale freight car kits.
Something like... "Hey, just call Fred's Train Shack in Colorado. Back in the day he bought twenty thousand dollars worth of undecorated car kits from Life-Like, Intermountain, Red Caboose, and CB&T, and he always has what you need."
Anybody? Does someone out there have a source for undecorated freight car kits?
No, I didn't buy $20K worth of undecorated car kits back in the day. And though my wife wants me to sell off half of what I do have, Fred's Train Shack in Colorado Springs has yet to open.
Since I model free-lanced Oregon short lines and narrow gauge, I prefer undecorated rolling stock and locomotives. I search the boxes under the table at train shows, and when I visit shops, I ask. Modeling late 19th century helps a lot, because most of the kits come with decals for my personal painting and decaling pleasure. For the Roundhouse OT and other plastic RTR or kits, if I can't find undecorated, I settle for roadnames that might be seen in Oregon (CP, OR&N, O&C). Of course, living in Colorado Springs, and having lived in Alaska, Colorado Midland and WP&Y stuff likes to creep in.
I generally avoid buying rolling stock painted and lettered for NYC or PRR or Southern or even ATSF or UP. I also avoid decorated Blackstone HOn3 rolling stock (I do have some undecorated Blackstone flat cars that are era-appropriate). Helps the budget and keeps the amount of rolling stock under control.
Fred W
modeling foggy coastal Oregon in HO and HOn3, where it's always 1900
SeeYou190I was really hoping there would be a response in this thread that had some secret information on where it would be easy to find undecorated HO scale freight car kits.
You can join the HOSwap Yahoo group and place a "want to buy" post. Costs nothing to join. You'd be surprised (or maybe not) what people have in their basements.