Tell your little man to stand off to the side of that handle when he frees it (probably will want to do that with a foot, while he hugs the post). I imagine the weight of your unobtainium will kick the door open, once the handle starts moving.
On your slope sheet; they have a dappled metalic paint that might convey a battered sheet as a base for your rusty scrapes.
Got the trucks and couplers on. Time for an inaugural trip around the layout:
Sadly, the bents on the mine trestle are too close to the track. I’ll have to see if I can move those back without destroying the whole thing 
I see there’s a missing rivet on the hopper. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
Excellent build Jim, and the catch on the hopper looks like it’ll work well (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
I’ve started on the next 3. I have to say it is waaaay easier when you have an existing one to copy 
Happy New Year!
The car came out great Jim . I enjoyed watching the progress .
When building 3 more hoppers, I took a chance and changed the order of assembly to see if I could make it a bit easier. The trickiest part is the angled braces on each end, so I built a small jig to help assemble those separately.
After cutting out all the other pieces, it was time to assemble:
Now I can turn my attention to the 2018 Mik challenge.
Cheers!
Those look great, Jim. I like the jig too. I’m sure it made assembly much easier. I’ll be filing this thread away for future reference. Thanks for sharing.
OK, getting back to these hoppers. Got the internal wood cladding (??? planking ???) done on all 3. Those 45 degree angles are a bit tedious, I’ll admit. Next up are doors then we can start painting…
Finally some more progress on the 3 more ore cars. Here are the “blanks” for the brass pieces that are the door close/open mechanism:
And after grinding them to shape and drilling for both rod and rivets:
In parallel, I’m creating the internal metal sheeting that is used to make the ore slide out when the doors open. I’ve built a metal bending brake on the cheap. Here’s a quick photo and a video showing it in action:
And after painting:
Cheers!
Looks great! That’s a wonderful homemade brake.
Later,
K
OK, I’m almost done with these &$^%&$ hoppers. Been working on them off-and-on for about a year and feel the strong desire to finish them before Mik time.
All the brass mechanisms are installed except for the clip that holds the doors closed. After that it is paint, trucks, couplers.
Looks good Jim. The “brass mechanisms” turned out really nice.
Shane
Calloh callay! The hoppers are done and have had their break-in trip around the layout!
And on the layout:
Proof that they actually roll:
Happy happy happy. Now I can do some of the last bits on the Jasper gold mine (like ore chutes)…
you’ve got some cool cars now!
Fine looking hoppers, Jim. They look as if they have been in use on the layout forever. Thanks for sharing.
Nice work Jim!
I’ll admit I was not in love with the color earlier in the build, but now that it’s been toned down and weathered they look fantastic. Great job.
Thanks Jon! I have to admit I wasn’t all that crazy about the color at first either. It has grown on me.
Looks great Jim.
