Large Scale Central

Jon's MIK 2025 - An overnight car for the C.V.S.Ry

The MIK - Annual Build Challenge
#1

OK, I’m in. I was struggling with the look I wanted when I remembered I had the trailer from an old Bachmann TOFC car that I had used the flat for a different purpose. It’s the shape I was looking for and gets me out of having to fabricate curved corners or settle for a square box. I have a beautiful set of cast trucks that Devon made and gave away years ago as a MIK prize. Then there are some gondola sides and wood siding that came from Bruce. Somehow, I’ll pull all of this together built on some type of wood frame with a coupler on at least one end. It looks like I will have $0 out of pocket for this build except maybe paint.

So here is the obligatory sketch. The napkin kept tearing so I used a yellow pad…

And here is the trailer, trucks and some of the supplies,

Should be fun!

#2

I knew ya could pull it together Jon :smiley:
Looks to be a great project coming up.

#3

I’ll start with a very basic flatcar frame and then see where it goes. I have a lot of bad ideas. I won’t share them or Rooster will make me do them!

#4

Rooster is not the only Watcher… :grin:
[edit] ok yeah he’s the main one in regard to what you’re implying]

Jon. I’m not quite sure what your plan is, are you modifying the yellow car, or making something like that (with windows) from scratch?

#5

That’s gonna be a fun build. I look forward to this. I remember those trucks. Can’t wait to see them put to good use. They are a nice heavy truck. So glad I in some way am contributing

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#6

Boy-O-Boy do those trucks look familiar…!

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#7

Dave you inspired them thats for sure.

#8

So, I realize it’s religion and not from The Book of Rooster. However I feel it’s most appropriate right now and fits right in with the MIK challenge. Now chop down that tree and get the iron and bronze out of the scrap box. You have approx. 7 weeks from start to finish!

[Daniel 4:23]

And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’

#9

Yes. The ETWNC trailer is the basic building block. RR personnel will fabricate a wood framed deckless flat to mount it on, then add a door, windows and other details. My initial thought is “operations quality” with out a ton of detail, but then I know that, for me, it will be hard to do that.

I went through my junk box last night and found some PVC 2x4 slices I can use as a door frame, and some flat edge rings I can use a port hole window frames. I looked at the plans for a wood flat I scratched a few years ago and it was missing the timber dimensions, so I drug out the micrometer and measured the timber dimensions. That forced me to notice how detailed that flat is. Unfortunately, I still have a good stock of truss rod end nuts and small NBW castings. Not really wanting to do truss rods, I may need to switch to a composite steel frame as I may have some appropriate size steel tube for the side sills.

#10

In wood, I would scale the side sills at 12" tall x 8" thick. The steel I have that could be used scales to 8x8". Not being a modern car modeler, I’m not sure if that is beefy enough for 24 foot car.

Thoughts?

#11

I’ve mocked up “steel” side sills. I have some 1/2 x 1/2 aluminum angle that could be the sills. I did not cut them to length before test fitting. The ETWNC trailer is 20 foot in Fn3. The frame will be 25’ with a deck on the rear. The rise in the front and the wheel wells will be filled in …

I liked the look so I took the mock up to the next step. The bolsters are wood and Devon’s trucks were drilled and taped for a machine screw from above. I either need to drill an access hole in the truck to bottom mount, or design a way to gain access to the top.

Here is the mock up posing with #3 which will likely be it’s power…

Time for feetsball.

#12

Will look great with storage doors and pull out drawers. Storage is all the rage when RVing :sunglasses:

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#13

Ok, I tend to stay out of the Mik builds and just follow along however since I got dragged into this tread I will add one quick thought.
IF IT WAS ME I would lean towards keeping the fifth wheel and kin pin and go with the roadrailer approach rather than TOFC or putting it on a flat.
If you go that way you could do a Superliner approach adding more depth to the belly with HEP cabling and ditch lites.
Also since you like electronics so much you could make a roadrailer “Theater Van” like Conrail #9 an add upper and lower spot lights, sinclair antenna,roof top A/C …you get the point.

Just a bad ideas to share !!!
Book Of Rooster chapter 69 verse Fn3 and 7/10ths
:rooster:

#14

I did look at that as an option; and I have the wheels for the trailer. It would require a really long goose neck down to a truck, so I ruled it out. Additionally, the trailer has a simulated drop down rear door so a patio out back is part of the plan and that needs the flat for support.

Today, before the games, I cleaned the garage enough to set up my chop saw and cut the aluminum angle for the frame. Then I got all the joint areas prepped for bonding. I was setting up a glue jig when I discovered that I cut one sill 5mm too short. Luckily I have lots of the angle in stock, or maybe I shorten the long one. We are only talking 4 scale inches difference in the two.

#15

A little progress today. I corrected my cutting mistake by making the car just a little shorter. I proceeded to glue-up where I made yet another mistake. The adhesive I use works best on metal if all paint is removed, so I sanded all the mating faces before gluing. Then I proceeded to place one of the pieces in the wrong orientation, rotating the sanded face to the outside :frowning:

Here is the glue up in progress…

Once I broke my square free from the frame where the glue oozed out, I cut and mounted wood bolsters. I considered using aluminum, but the stock I have is thick and would raise that car too much, so wood it is. I had lengths of this dimension pre-cut in my stash…

This is the top side ready for some decking…

The mistake after prepping for paint…

The frame pieces are pre-painted aluminum which was supposed to eliminate the need for me to paint the frame. My mistake adds painting to the task list. Maybe we need a judging category for most mistakes made and recovered from!

I also got a coat of paint on the trucks. On to decking!

#16

I already made a major mistake myself that is going to require some delicate disassembly. I’ll post on my what I did. . .I say it here only to say I feel your pain.

#17

I’m glad you didn’t counter-propose a judging category for most injuries recovered from… nudge-nudge, wink-wink.

#18

Been one whole weekend of MIKing and I didn’t draw blood not even once. But it isn’t over yet.

#19

Very unique build, Jon. Maybe you can rent it out to some of the modern day hobos we see on YouTube.

Only folks that make no mistakes are those that do nothing. Carry on :grin:

#20

Late update. Got the decking cut and started to play with skirting ideas. As pictured will not work as the bottom won’t go back in. I rushed painting the frame ends and ran the paint so it’s been sanded for a repaint tomorrow.

Mocked up skirt and deck…