dknelson...Most commercial scribed siding, both wood and plastic, really exaggerates the separation of boards....
I think that the wood siding in the '50s had very pronounced scribing, but it's improved somewhat since then. Some of the early r-t-r and kits that represented board detail in plastic could be rather coarse, too, but there are current models which do a pretty good job with board detail. The car siding options from Evergreen are pretty good, but a photo of such a car sitting on the tracks only shows so much when posted here.Here are some close-up photos of what was once an Athearn Pullman, converted, using Evergreen passenger car siding, into a fairly decent representation of a CNR baggage car, complete with Pintsch gas underbody tanks...
(all photos will enlarge to show more detail if clicked upon)
With the car lying on its side, the "board" detail is a little sharper...
...and under magnification, even moreso...
Evergreen offers scribed siding in several board widths, with some oriented for vertical use and others for horizontal installations, as far as the layout of scribing is, relative to the sheet dimensions, which are 6"x12".
For comparison, here's an older MDC reefer (or maybe it was a boxcar), undergoing conversion into a MoW car...
...or this older MDC combine, re-done as a MoW car, too...
...while this scratchbuilt weed sprayer (one of two) was built using plastic for the operator's cab, but scribed basswood for the spraying equipment's enclosure. The car's deck was done, board-by-board, using basswood strip material. As for the tanks holding the weed killer, I seem to recall using my X-Acto to scribe fairly narrow and shallow grooves in fairly thin sheet styrene to represent wooden tanks, as I was worried about the grooves becoming too pronounced once wrapped around the cardboard tubes used for forming the tanks...
The other car was given to a friend, but later stolen from a storage locker.
I know that some modellers (mostly older) still prefer working with wood, but while I'm from that same demographic, I much prefer styrene for modelling, and I'm no longer convinced that wood for model-making looks any more wood-like than does styrene, when either is properly done.
Wayne
I vote with Ed, the Northeastern Scale Lumber scribed basswood is super nice and easy to work with. I also use Midwest basswood, another source is Mt Albert Scale Lumber.https://www.handlaidtrack.com/mt-albert-scale-lumberhttps://www.modeltool.com/midwest/midwest25.htmlThis is Midwest basswood.
Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Thanks to all for ideas.
Since I want to simulate the flooring when viewed from underneath the car (as well as the portion that can be seen inside when the doors are opened)....yes, the closer I can practically get to realism the better I like it....the best method would be to butt separate stripwood pieces held tight with glue and the under-car stringers. I've done that with the floor of a composite gondola with satisfying result. Sooo....I think it's between that and light, parallel knife cuts on the solid basswood. I'll do a little trial of each first.
As usual, Dr Wayne shows the way -- only worry about the part you can see. But in passing he makes a point that warrants its own attention. Most commercial scribed siding, both wood and plastic, really exaggerates the separation of boards. If it was made full size, on most model scribed siding you could put your finger into the gap between boards. But if you have the chance to see a wood freight car floor, it looks more like a nice oak floor in a house (and in fact the same companies made wood house flooring and wood boxcar flooring; Bruce and Anderson). Or if you see a wood freight or passenger car at a RR museum (or as in my case, remember when wood cars were reasonably plentiful on work trains) the wood pieces are tight against each other. They certainly did not create a deliberate gap. The wood is tightly pressed. On highly varnished wood passenger car sides you only see the individual boards if the photo was taken from a certain angle and if the light was just right.
Dave Nelson
staybolt...The basswood is a solid piece included in a Scotia Scale Models all-wood boxcar kit I've had for decades....just getting around to building it (!). The "boards" will represent the 6 in.-wide floor boards used in the prototype car....
If the kit allows for operating doors, all you need to represent is the portion of the floor that's visible when the doors are open. If you opt to not have operating doors, problem solved.
I gave up on wooden kits and using wood for most scratchbuilding, as I find styrene easier to use and ultimately longer lasting. Evergreen offers a very wide range of strip material, plain and scribed sheet, and shapes, too.The scribed sheets are much more prototypical in appearance than can be done in basswood.
If you need to model the complete floor, and still wish to use wood, basswood strips will look better than pre-scribed sheet basswood, as the scribing on the latter is too wide and too deep to represent a plank floor.
I did have some stripwood left-over, though, and used some of it to put floors in some Walthers boxcars, on which I had modified the doors to open...
...and rather than throw away what was left, made decks for a couple of flatcars...
...even though they could be easily done using paint on a moulded plastic deck...
Scribed styrene will also give you more prototypical-looking wooden baggage and passenger cars...
I hope that, at least, this will give you some options.
I don't know, I may be somewhat anal but I do buy my basswood prescribed
I've scribed a lot of foam but I never thought about scribing Basswood.
Wood has a grain to it. My experience is the knife wants to follow the grain. Not the wood wants to guide the knife.
Grain Elevator Project on Google
TF
stayboltOther ideas?
Buy a piece of scribed basswood to replace the smooth piece from the kit?
https://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/shop/scribe-sheathing.html
Good Luck, Ed
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Anybody have tips on scribing basswood to simulate individual boards butted together? The basswood is a solid piece included in a Scotia Scale Models all-wood boxcar kit I've had for decades....just getting around to building it (!). The "boards" will represent the 6 in.-wide floor boards used in the prototype car. This is a 36 ft.-long car so that would require ~70 "boards"....a lot of scribing. I could place pencil marks 6 scale inches apart on each side of the "floor", then cut shallow parallel lines with an Xacto knife held against a metal straight-edge. Would be tedious. Think Micro-Mark makes an adjustable double-knife tool...expensive, but would be quicker.
Other ideas?