Speedwitch Media PFE R-40-25 Part 5

 LADDERS!

So that's 28 ladders, 196 rungs, over 400 holes reamed out(including the holes for mounting brackets) and lots and lots of bits of 0.010" styrene rod.
But they are so worth the effort. The end result looks fantastic!
I learned a couple of things that make using Ted's method of assembly somewhat easier.
Use his supplied jig.
Get a 0.0126" drill bit and ream out all the holes in the etchings. In fact do this for every etched part that has a hole. Life is much simpler as a result.
The tolerances on the plastic rod is variable enough to be frustrating if you don't do that preparatory step.
And, when chopping up the plastic rod to insert into the holes, don't cut the ends square, rather chop a long angle cut, so as to make a bit of a point. things will slide together nicely. 

The side ladders have the sill steps mounted to them with a special bracket that also attaches the ladder assembly to the car sill
It's a delicate process. The first one took an hour, the second one took 5 minutes
Here's how I did it.

Bend up the sill step and the brackets as shown and cut 3 lengths of 0.010" wire longer than the width of the ladder. Staggering the lengths will help as well. 

Thread 2 lengths of wire through the sill step, use a tiny dab CA to secure the wires on the inboard side of the straight leg. Then pass the outboard bracket over the 2 wires and secure with another wee dab of CA.

Take the third wire and thread it through the holes in the ladders stiles and secure it with a tiny dab on the inside of the outboard stile.

 

Now the tricky bit.
Slide the sill step assembly onto the wire in the ladder, another tiny dab to help secure that in place, then carefully manipulate the assembly to align with the the holes in the inboard mounting bracket and slide that on. Staggering the lengths of the three wires will greatly help. Also, CA remains slightly flexible for a few seconds so you can move parts around as your lining things up.

Once the CA has hardened , take your flush cutters and nip off the extra wire.
And, Ta Da, one side ladder assembly

 Once you get started it becomes easier. It's a bit tedious, but you will wind up with the nicest HO scale ladders on the market. IMHO

The side ladders will be mounted after  painting, so it's onto the ends!
Closer to painting day!

Speedwitch Media R-40-25 Part 4

 And there we are 7 roofs all ready to go

 They would have been done sooner but I had some minor back surgery July 8, recovery has been a bit slow. We're all good now, this Spinal Cord Stimulator implant now seems to be working as advertised.

 First step was locating some Details West ice hatch covers. Fortunately, I found a set in an old Sunshine kit which I promptly made a mold of and cast up a number of sets. Modified as per the Speedwitch instructions.
These were glued in place along with the Morton running boards.
I made a simple jig for drilling the mounts for the hatch rests.

It just hooks over the edge of the hatch giving consistent distance from the edge.
The hatch rest is a bit finicky but well worth the time. First make a 90 degree bend in the one end and secure it to the hatch with a 0.010" wire pin.

Clip the wire flush , then with very fine tip tweezers make the 2 bends in the rest, then make the back bend for the mounting foot

 

Press that down onto the hatch, adjust the angles and length and secure the foot with another pin

 Do that 7 more times. :-)
The hatch latches are exquisite bits of etching. Again a bit fiddly to assemble, but not near as difficult as one might imagine, due in large part to the very careful design work by Ted.

The corner grabs will be mounted after the car is assembled, with the way the side ladders mount I don't want the corner grab to be in the way.
Next it's onto the ladders
This will take some time

Speedwitch Media R-40-25 Part 3

 That's all the brake rigging done.

It's worth noting, all the wee brackety bits all fit exactly as described. The slack adjustor bracket merits a special shout-out. Such a lovely bit of etching work!
I will concede that the AB valve bracket was a fiddly challenge but deep breaths and a logical approach results in success.

The air lines are all 0.010" wire and the brake rods are 0.012". Clevis' are shortened Tichy turnbuckles.

The bunker drains are another lovely bit of detail that has been very nicely designed.
Long overdue for us to get a correctly shaped drain detail part

So that's the floors all done, now it's onto the roofs.
Lots of details there. They will take longer I suspect to complete, but they will look stunning

 

Speedwitch Media PFE R-40-25 Part 2

 That's the structural members of the underframe complete on all 7 cars. The etchings only required a bit of filing for final length to have them drop in, as one would expect with a kit like this.
I'll be saying many times I feel, but these etchings are exquisite. Even better than I've seen from some military modeling aftermarket parts.
Once you get into the groove of folding the parts, it's really quite simple. Just repetitive.

A couple of things to note.
While the instruction photos show the task done, it's missed in the text. A minor thing, but something you should pay attention to, the side sills need to be notched for the crossties, so that they sit properly. It's one of those things that for an experienced builder should become obvious.

  

The other issue is there's an error with the left side bolster tabs. Ted is aware of it and is figuring out a solution at this time. Stay tuned. 

I should mention that I will be deviating from the order of construction laid out in the instructions.
I will be detailing the ends and roofs separate from the car body, then painting them, then assembling the components. I loathe masking and this method greatly reduces that task.

Now it's onto brake gear and all those lovely wee brackets.

A Care package from Speedwitch Media

It's kinda like Xmas in June!
This came in today's mail.

All of which I've been very much looking forward to building.
Ted has really amped up resin kits. The level of design effort he puts into the etched parts is truly remarkable. Making for some epic models.
I know that some are intimidated by the amount of tiny parts, but I revel in this stuff. 
What I'm most excited about are the R-40-25s.
My layout can use a good number of PFE reefers and the prospect of a few highly detailed reefers has great appeal. So much so that I'm going upgrade all 7 of the RTR R-40-25s that I have in my collection.
And I will be posting regularly as I make progress
So we start with
The parts I received from Speedwitch

 

 

Correct ends, piles of etched details and correct "as built" decals

 The 7 plastic shells. All details removed, underbodies prepared for additional details, paint stripped and sand blasted.
Now to clear space on the bench and dive in!
This is going to be fun

Track Plan

 It's been pointed out to me that I've yet to post a track plan of the current layout
So here you go

Calling these 3 done

 

A trio of Sunshine Models T&NO stock cars.
As always with resin stock cars, much time was spent sanding, sanding and then more sanding. Those slats won't clear themselves! But the effort is well rewarded.
The weathering was something a little different.
An oil colour wash of medium grey was first applied, only on the slats, followed up by a wash of dark brown. Then the whole car was dusted with road dust from the air brush.
The look was inspired by a number of colour photos I looked at in ATSF Livestock Operations book I have.
The cars were kept fairly cleaning and the frequent washing caused additional wear on the wooden slats.
I'm very pleased with the results.
Wait till you see what is next!