Layouts and layout building

How do you make battered gondolas? My first try was with a candle, soften the body. I don't like the result:

Any hiints?

Wolfgang 

Wolfgang, 

I've heard of folks using heat guns, and even hair dryers set on HIGH.

Tom

Heat guns will do the best. A quality style with different nozzle attachments will work better to control the amount and placement of heat. I practiced on some old junk bodies and found you have to be real careful not to warp or overheat the plastic.

Still not satisfied with any of my techniques to get that bulging, beat up effect I want, so there are no finished pics of a realistic gon yet.

Have done the candle thing, soldering gun against metal or tools, even cooked a piece in the oven. Don't know how some have perfected that softened plastic to get those results.

Not sure of the results on todays plastics but years back one of my brothers use to build model cars. He built a tow truck hauling a wrecked car. To simulate body damage he used modelers clay (actually MY play dough), a hair dryer, and some pointed wooden dowels. he would heat the plastic up to the point where he could manipulate it with a dowel. he would then hold the clay against the "inside" of the fender and start crumpling the fender by pushing/poking/stretching. He sometimes would reverse the clay to the outside to imitate a real nasty accident. I guess the clay allowed for concentrated denting with out deforming the entire surface.

Like I said....years back as in the early 70's. I imagine todays plastic have change a bit so I'd suggest testing on some "unimportant" cars 1st.

Depending on the degree od destruction he wanted he would deform the body and then build it. He did a really neat Chevelle where the front left fender was bent upwards (like someone hit a wall hard) but left the frame rails straight.

The real effect you are trying to get is to push out the sheet metal between the ribs while keeping the ribs and top chord fairly straight.  If the ribs or top chord are warped it is usually in a gentle curve.  In reality the amount of "bulge' is a matter of inches.  Some of the best looking bulges I have seen are ones made from thin sheet brass or plstic hammered into bulges and then cut to fit between the ribs

Dave H.

Would hot (really hot) water do it? I have used boiling/cold water to reset the shape of various flexible plastic minis before but I'm not sure if it's enough to soften the sort of plastic used for car bodies.

Barring that you might try an 'overlay' as sort of suggested above. What you use would depend on your abilities - hammered brass is one way but another is to use 'green stuff', a two-part modeling epoxy used for (among other things) creating masters of miniature figures. I have used this stuff to model everything from fur to small mechanical parts. You need some small sculpting tools for good effect, though. If you can get your hands on some dentist-type tools those work best. This could be done without adding thickness to your car (well, except for the modeled bulge) unlike brass. Drawback to this method is that the inside isn't going to show the bulge unless you want to get into trying to sculpt away material with a Dremel or something.

The absolute best way may be to just scratchbuild the car body on top of an existing frame. It'd be a lot of work but...satisfying and maybe the effort would be justified by the results.
M

One of the best battered gondola models I have ever seen, in any scale, is featured in Keith Kohlmann's excellent article "CNW's Used G31 Gondolas" in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of N Scale Railroading.   If I read Keith correctly he uses thick ACC between the ribs to mimic the outward bulges that old gons get.   Even if you don't model in N I recommend getting that issue.

Dave Nelson

Well, I've used a candle and hair dryer, not so well. I airbrushed with Dullcote, used chalk and again Dullcote. Then I assembled the car.

Wolfgang 

With hair dryer I've had a better control. I could see it. And it is not so dependend from the distance. The distance candle - car is sometimes to big and at other times too small. And then you have no luck. 

Wolfgang