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.