I’ve started a tradition of giving away a car I build at the Northeast Large Scale Train Show and this year I was thinking a coil car so might as well make it a MIK challenge to stay focused and get r done. 
Here’s my napkin er coffee filter drawing.
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That is an interesting not often modeled car Dan and with your attention to detail and 3D printing skills it is going to be terrific.
Coil cars one of those just unique cars that I always thought would be fun to model.
Thanks, I’ve been watching this contest for quite a few years now and thought I’d join in the fun!
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We shall see! Looking at them I see a lot of angles and layers. Seems I will be stacking sheet styrene or PVC.
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I have faith in you. Your an excellent multimedia modeler
Thanks Devon. I’ve been drawing this in my head all evening, now it’s after midnight so time to open Sketchup and have at it!
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Dan,
Lets stick to the rules ok. They clearly state Napkin Drawing not Coffee Filter Drawing!
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I’m disqualified already? Dang!, Well there’s always next year
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First draft. I’m using an HO scale model for reference along with a drawing from Trainiax.
Now comes the fun part of deciding how best to cut it up into parts to be fabricated from sheet plastic and 3d prints. 
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Well, I’ve got it chopped up into manageable pieces and it should be warm enough to use the CNC machine today. The machine itself has no problem with freezing temps, It’s the painter’s tape and CA method I use to hold the sheet stock that fails.
Everything in the drawing I have on hand so cost thus far is $0.00 but I just ordered some brass for grabs ($8.59).
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Dan, love the the way you broke down the car into manageable building blocks. When you get to the CNC work, would love to see some photos or maybe even a short video.
I’ve been busy getting ready for the Amherst RHS show next week but have made a bit of progress. As you can see from the diagram In my previous post, I’ve adopted the @Shane_Stewart method of a base spine. I designed and printed a custom part that holds the bolster pin and locks the Kadee couplers in place to the ends of a length of Aluminium C channel. This way, the superstructure is not stressed. Just like the real thing! Also, the middle part of the channel can hold extra weight contributing to a low center of gravity.
See Shane talk about it here
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I think I’m going to need more time. 
Nevermind
First the holes are drilled using a PCB bit then I swap it out with a 2mm endmill. 1mm thick polystyrene.
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Ha that’s awesome. I would love to have a CNC router. But I don’t have the space for one in my shop.
I don’t have room either but darn it I’m going to find a way to make something fit. If it means setting up on the workbench and tearing down when I’m done. I’m more and more convinced that I need one. It’s just a matter of saving up the funds to buy something. 
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Mine is in my “other shop” back of the garage. This limits use as it’s not a heated space but the last few years global warming has kept downtime to a minimum. 
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Wow that is a lot of holes to drill by hand.
I recently built a HD depressed center flat car and I thought about putting a “steel” deck on it. I went to HD and looked at the decorative metal sheets and was shocked at the price so I drilled some holes in a piece of plexi, a fraction of what you have done, and that was good enough for me.
Actually Todd, you make me think. If you had a sample sheet of perforated metal from, say, McNichols.com, you could use that as a drill guide. And, if needed, shift it over, pin it, and drill away once again.
and I’m back home. Time to get crackin’! Most of the parts are cut to build the “trough” and I’ve assembled the platform ends. Grabs are 1.2mm brass.