A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
I made a bunch of various sized 1 x 3 wood "T" section stands for many of my car-body type paint tasks:
Tuscan_brass by Edmund, on Flickr
I wrap them with kraft paper before painting to keep the dust down. Sometimes I use a piece of two-sided tape to be sure the car is well seated. This allows me to set the car on a flat surface or pick it up as needed wothout touching the finish.
NKP_Express2 by Edmund, on Flickr
For smaller parts I find a stick of appropriate length and use the same double stick tape (I have lots left over from the plastic window insulation kits)
PRR_X-42 by Edmund, on Flickr
Good Luck, Ed
davidmurrayPaper towel rolls (empty) also work well, and keep your hand well away.
That's the deluxe version!
Hi David!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
SeeYou190 I must be doing something wrong because I have never had the need for such a contraption.
I must be doing something wrong because I have never had the need for such a contraption.
Me neither! Since I'm left-handed, my right hand, in a nitrile glove, functions perfectly well as a car holder for most airbrushing.
I also keep a supply of various small pieces of lumber beside the paint booth - there's always one that will fit into whatever's being painted.
However, when I bought some Tangent tank car kits, I made a holder for painting them, as they're rather fragile and have no opening into which a hand or piece of wood could be inserted for holding during painting...
The holder is sheet aluminum (I have a half-acre-or-so of it left in my detached garage - a former house, by its previous owner).
The aluminum was cut and then folded to increase its stiffness, then attached to the car's bolsters with 2-56 screws. This allowed the entire car to be painted, then left on the stand for the few minutes it took for the paint to dry.
Like Kevin, I prefer to paint in batches, especially when cars are a single colour....
I usually do the underframes in one operation, black, in most cases, although a few, like their prototypes, will be some shade of boxcar red.The bodies are done in grey primer, as a single operation for all visible areas of the carbody if they've been modified, like these...
...then done with the appropriate freight car colour (I modify most ready-to-use colours as I paint - 3 or 4, or maybe a dozen in one version of boxcar red, then alter the colour for the next half-dozen, always a slight difference as work progresses, even if the cars are for the same road and will be lettered with similar BLT dates. Not all cars end up in the same service or working in the same conditions, so their colours will weather differently - this is just a bit of a head start on the weathering process that will be done later, after the cars are lettered.
My first successful use of acrylic paint (Pollyscale) in an airbrush, after many failed attempts, occurred after I finally had the good sense to read their on-line recommendations regarding thinning and air pressure, painting, without incident, four dozen freight cars.
Wayne
mbinsewiOK. I always seperate the shell from the frame.
.
Many of the cars I build are resin kits where the frame must be attached during assembly. Others are Red Caboose, Branchline, or Intermountain that often have the underframe cast to the sides with the roof as a seperate piece.
I had to come up with something different.
There are many good ways to get this done. This thread has been very informative with some clever ideas.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190I attach 2 inch long pieces of 3/8" angle plastic to the truck mounting screws
OK. I always seperate the shell from the frame. If I need to paint the frame, I lay it bottom up, on cardboard, or, I put a piece of folded tape on the frame, and stick it to the cardboard.
That way I can hold it vertical, or whatever direction I need.
Mike.
My You Tube
hon30critterI can't take credit for the idea. An ex-member of the forums suggested it years ago.
Paper towel rolls (empty) also work well, and keep your hand well away.
mbinsewiMaybe Kevin will tell us what he does!
I attach 2 inch long pieces of 3/8" angle plastic to the truck mounting screws.
I paint freight cars in this order:
Prime with the car upside down.
Prime with the car right side up.
Paint the underframe flat black.
Paint the car upside down.
Paint the car right side up.
Tanks cars and the like that will not stand upside down on their own get held in my left hand for the upside down steps.
mbinsewiGood one Dave, I'll have to try it.
I can't take credit for the idea. An ex-member of the forums suggested it years ago.
hon30critter They are called toilet paper rolls.
Good one Dave, I'll have to try it.
Maybe Kevin will tell us what he does!
I made one out of forceps/tongs used in the food industry. The only reason I made one was because my wife didn't like/grew tired of the one she had in the kitchen and was going to throw it away. It even had rubber tips.
The old "I can use that for something" thought popped in my head. I bent the tips outward to grip and hold the freight car
I've seen N scalers use the toilet paper roll
Terry
Inspired by Addiction
See more on my YouTube Channel
Hi Mark,
I throw out a couple of HO car body holders every week. They are called toilet paper rolls. Try them. They work great!
They stand up quite nicely when required. Gloves are advised. Great price. Cheaper by the dozen too!
SeeYou190I must be doing something wrong because I have never had the need for such a contraption.-Kevin
I one and built one, it's 2 pieces of 1x4 glued into an upside down T shape. It's long enough to fit inside a 40' box car.
I suppose some soft foam would keep the car from shifting, but who cares? If the car tilts downward on one side, I hold the airbrush below and shoot upwards or jiggle it until it is upright or leaning the other way.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Hello All,
Something like this...
https://www.micromark.com/Hold-It-Easy_2
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
I've seen Cody G. use something like you describe on some of his videos.
Since I always take the body shell off, I use the foam throw-a-way paint brushes. I use one thats a little wider than car, insert it, and give it twist to tighten it up.
I hold on to the handle of the brush, and paint. After painting, I have a block of 2x4 with a hole drilled in it, the size of the brush handle, insert the handle in the hole, now the car has a stand for drying.
I put a latex glove on my hand for holding the brush handle while I paint.
Do a search on Micro Mark, or Walthers, you'll probably find the one you describe.
Happy Thanksgiving! I am looking for the apparatus that holds an HO scale car for painting or weathering. Don't know if it is homemade or available for purchase. From what I remember, it looks like a couple of brackets with some type of screw in the middle that spreads the brackets against the inside of a car to hold it. Can't find it in this group or on youtube.
Thx,
Mark