Speedwitch Media PFE R-40-25 Part 10 Finale

 And we're done!

Decaled, weathered and on the layout.

 

And yes, this was a fun project.
Without a doubt this are the most detailed, accurate freight car kits I've ever had the privilege of working on. There are a couple of minor hiccups in the kit, but everything was addressed by Ted.
My hat goes off to him for the level of effort he has put into his latest offerings.
This level of complexity may not be for everyone, but if like me you enjoy assembling a really well conceived model kit, you owe it to yourself to try one of these or some of Ted's more current offerings.
Now the question is, what's next? 

Speedwitch Media PFE R-40-25 Part 9

 The last construction details;

With the car body assembled, final details are applied, starting with the left side grabs.
I whipped up a simple styrene jig to guide me with the holes.
Drilled the body for both the grabs and mounting rivets, bent up the grabs from 0.010" wire 

The left side sill steps presented a bit of a conundrum.
The parts I was supplied with gave me two options for etchings. The one the instructions directed me to use would have you fold over the metal 180 degrees to create the mounting bracket. A process I'm loathe to do as I fear metal fatigue.
So after a bit of time studying the prototype photos and the model photos, I decided to use the original etchings and simply cut off the mounting brackets and glue them in place with some 0.010" pins. No fussy extra bending required.

From there it's simple matter to mount the steps to the car body.
Add the roof corner grabs and secure the airhoses and we're done!
Some paint touchup was required, of course.

The car sides got a coat of gloss in preparation for decals.
I'll let that cure for a couple of days.
And then we'll have at it.