I use the Z channel from ever green. one pack will last for years unless you do an outside frame boxcar. I don’t recall what size I have in my supplies but I can send you some if you need a few pieces 
Part the Third - Silver Star
Belated update…The diorama is done, so Kid-zilla and I can commence work on PCU Silver Star this weekend. Per your suggestion, @David_Marconi_FOGCH , we got some Z-channel and a sheet of thin styrene for the roof hatch (vent?). If I pick up HO scale rail, @Korm , he’ll start in on a mini HO scale layout! Got to keep the kid focused!
I think to repair the chunk of roof, I will cut a strip of that styrene and make it fast to the roof forward of the cab. That should give it a broad area for the glue to hold it in place. They, I’ll have him fill the gap with epoxy putty and shape it. The putty is easy to work with, and it should adhere at least somewhat to the edge where that chunk broke off, too. If need be, we can reinforce it on the bottom with some of that z-channel. We’ll see how far we get this weekend!
Eric
Update:
The cab was our focus this weekend, which was good, as two passing tropical storms put to rest any hope of spray painting! I am able to put more and more of this project into Kid-zilla’s hands, which is, of course, a goal. I still help with idea generation and provide safety overwatch, but it is satisfying to watch him choose materials, glues, sandpaper, etc.
He began Friday by cutting a strip of styrene and clamping it under the “brim” of the roof to serve as a base for the patch.
I helped to appley the MEK to serve as glue (He thought the idea of melting the plastic together was pretty cool!), and I helped for a CA glue fillet to hold the shape.
The next day, he filled in the gap between the styrene strip and the roof then formed a patch with epoxy putty, carefully molding it to shape.
He sanded it smooth this morning and said, “Hey! This looks pretty good!” In fact, it does!
Later today, he took to the issue of the roof vent, measuring both the rails and styrene cap by himself and cutting them to length.
A bigger chore proved to be grinding, cutting, and filing out the no-longer-needed plastic thing with the circle in it. Y.D. helped to spur him along, as she wanted him to go to the park with her!
I helped to mix some two-part epoxy to mount the rails, and voila! Ready for final surface prep, masking, and paint!
He demonstrated the hatch at dinner, and he declared it too small. That’s an easy fix, and I am sure we can repurpose the test part!
I told him that he has to mask the windows, inside and out, and make sure he was happy with his epoxy work. Then PCU Silver Star’s cab will be off to the paint shop! I should note, we also cleared some flashing from the boiler and smoke box and, after soaking the metal compressor and generator overnight in paint thinner, finally scraped off the thick, bubbly factory paint. The rest of this loco is also almost ready for paint, which is exciting!
Updates as progress merits!
Eric
Update:
Kid-zilla got the cab masked and finished the sliding roof hatch.
Yours truly got the firebox, boiler, and smoke box primed.
It was very humid last week, so I am letting it cure. We should get most of the rest of it primed this weekend.
As a reward for prepping PCU Silver Star for painting, I introduced Kid-zilla to the marvels of e-Bay. A tender is now wending its way to Oahu!
- Eric
P.S. He has an AMTRAK project in mind, @Rooster ! Fear not!
Update:
Priming continued. I got lazy, and rather than cleaning the Palm of Spray Painting, I just laid down some newspaper over the grass clippings prior to priming the domes and running boards. The wind blew the paper onto the wet primer, and, of course, grass got on it anyway. At least it was the primer!
More importantly, the new tender got an operational test behind Golden Star.
The sound system works, and it rolls very smoothly! The battery hatch / water fill hatch has broken hinges, which we will have to address. Kid-zilla discovered mounds of CA glue only go so far…
I will note that Kid-zilla also did a bit of initiative MOW work. You may recall Golden Star was hitting the loco shed seen in the background. I was going to move the siding. He installed a spacer track. Problem solved with a LOT less work. The force is strong in this one, indeed, @Rooster !
Over the next week, I will continue to prime and paint the loco. I’ll have Kid-zilla break down and clean the tender prior to sending it to the paint shop, too. The cab could use some light sanding to remove some runs, but I want to see if he notices that. He does not feel comfortable with the spray paint yet, so I will continue to do that for him. Once it is all in or nearly in paint, I’ll let him pick out and order the engineer and fireman as a reward, then we will hand it over to O.D. for lettering. As I posted quite a bit of the masking and posting for Golden Star’s rebuild, the rest of this thread will probably only catch major milestones.
Incidentally, we kept the blue-grey and flat-black color scheme. It actually looks very pleasant on the railroad, and, as Kid-zilla often reminds me “O-R-O-R (Our railroad, our rules)!”
Eric
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Update:
More activity at the Palm of Spray Painting!
The loco and boiler are approaching reassembly and detailing. Meanwhile, the tender awaits its trip to the aforementioned palm.
Kid-zilla did this by himself, and he is quite pleased with the job!
Painting is going slowly. The high humidity makes a real difference in drying time!
Updates as required!
Eric