Ventilated box car kit build

[Cliff_Jennings]

Last winter I had the great pleasure of building the forthcoming V&T Engine Trasfer Car kit from Iron Creek Shops.

David Frey is the researcher, model builder and instruction-writer behind these V&T kits, with Al Pomeroy being the 3D / 2D designer, laser pattern maker, casting master maker, drawing producer, etc. Don Niday runs ICS and creates the innumerable castings.

This winter I hope to build the V&T ventilated box car kit, which is another F scale / standard gauge (70.64mm gauge) masterpiece kit in the series. I understand that it will be the first of these kits for sale, and that it will be available very soon. I’m not an ICS spokesman, so for the real facts please contact Don (see ICS home page).

The V&T came up with these unusual cars to transport hay, animals and other freight requiring ventilation. The barred doors could be shuttered as needed. NSRM has a fully restored car.

Mike Collins & Stephen Drew wrote a book covering this car, which can be purchased here. Mike created the plans for the car, and remained the expert on it until he sadly passed away a couple years back. I knew Mike, and conversed with him each year at the V&T conference. He continues to be deeply missed by many.

Before that time, David Frey worked with Mike, and performed extensive on-site measurements, photography and research related to the actual car. Al Pomeroy translated all the data into precise and highly detailed 3D models, from which assembly drawings, part drawings, laser patterns, templates, jigs and casting masters would be generated. The result is quite the stunner.

The as-supplied kit is amazing, with numerous castings, lasered wood parts, pre-cut brass and other materials, lasered drill patterns, finely-turned wheelsets, and a very thorough instruction manual.

Here’s the parts for just the trucks:

For the car body and Sams couplers (the “SC” parts), these are the castings and stock materials.

Here are the wood parts and templates.

After laying these out, I have one word to say: Gulp!

But after building the Transfer Car, using David’s instructions, I feel confident that I (speaking not as a master model maker like David or Al) should be able to reasonably pull it off. I’ll give it my best shot over the coming months.

Cliff

[JRad (Jon Radder)]

Awesome. I look forward to your build log. Take it slow and you will do great. I assume the build involves a lot of sub assemblies. Those alone could keep you busy for a long while!

[Cliff_Jennings]

Thanks Jon. Yeah, lots!!

[RRRR4 (Lou Luczu)]

Yup, that’s our Overachiever as we know him.

[Boomer_K_MOGWAI]

Cliff
While you are getting up the nerve to start how about some history on that car.

Not surprising that Al is involved, he is a frickin genius. Looking forward to your posts.

[Cliff_Jennings]

Boomer,

Will do. My books are buried, as a side effect of our current basement overhaul. But I’d like to give more on the story of this car, since you asked, and when I can (literally) get to it.

Indeed, Al is.

I always feel like I should type his name in all caps (AL), because sentence-case (Al) looks just like AI. There’s nothing artificial in AL’s intelligence!

[Cliff_Jennings]

The main thing keeping me from the kit build is putting my basement and shop back together from our year-long effort at overhauling the basement. Here’s my workbenches… lots of car cleaning and crap sorting in my near future.

In the foreground of the last pic is a ventilated boxcar, scratch-built by Bruce Chandler for Mike Oates.

Here’s Bruce’s build log for the car, which includes a bit of history.

Bruce gave me the car a while back. It could use a little TLC, but is in fairly good condition, and has all those fruit & veggy crates.

It deserves to be run, and I’m running out of space. If you can put the car to good use, would like having something by Bruce, and can cover shipping costs, PM me.

[Rooster]

Adding a bit more history if I may. The same car taking third in category at York in the 2010 ECLSTS.

That was also the year the “Signing of the Ass” was awakened.

Note the M-3 that should go to FEBT museum.

A little bit of Andy, Bruce, Ric G and rooster in this pic.

[Cliff_Jennings]

Thanks for all that, Rooster.

Those were the days, I wish I’d been there.

[Rooster]

Sorry for the jack but I thought it was fitting.

Back in the day in the hood I was the punkass kid…still am according to who’s left.

[Cliff_Jennings]

Bruce’s car model has been claimed.

[Cliff_Jennings]

With the basement rehab almost done, I’m prepping for the ventilated bax car kit build. That’s a mouthful, so I may use “VBC.”

The instructions are excellent, and many pages are involved. I made up a binder, with dividers for main instructions, parts list, drawings, and also for trucks and couplers (which have their own instruction sets).

I began with inventorying everything against the parts lists, and all were accounted for. Here’s the parts for trucks and couplers.

Instructions advise to do the trucks and couplers first, and here’s the truck drawing (done by “our own” Al Pomeroy).

As everyone knows, from many topics over the years, I suck at painting. But I hope to up my game on this, and finally learn how to airbrush.

Just with the trucks, there’s lots of prep. For metal parts, many need filing off of flash, and all need blackening, and then scraping off of blackening where adhesive will be involved. Wood parts will need some sanding, distressing, pre-glueing sometimes, and airbrushing.

Here’s the target (some of David Frey’s work):

This will be a l—o—n—g build thread, but I intend to keep at it over the coming months, and complete it sometime this winter.

[smcgill (Sean McGillicuddy)]

I don’t know how you’re so patient with all this prep before you even start the build . I am glad you said it first, how long before Roosta asks is it done yet

[Cliff_Jennings]

Truck & coupler castings filed, cleaned and blackened:

The filing was to remove minor sprue nubs and parting lines; not bad at all. Cleaning was an acetone rinse; blackening is with Jax Pewter Black.

[ctown2 (Craig Townsend)]

Learn airbrushing. You’ll be just fine. Lots of cheap options to learn without ruining good models.

[Rick_Marty]

I learned Airbrushing using beer cans, no ruined model parts and enjoyed keeping a supply of cans on hand.

[ctown2 (Craig Townsend)]

I was going to suggest plastic spoons or a coloring book but beer sounds much more entertaining.