Tichy Ore Cars - Painting

[Isambard]

I'm about to tackle my first Tichy ore car. They list two options i.e. paint before assembly or after assembly, also recommending spray brushing.
Comments appreciated on options also on air brushing (spraying?) vs. paint brush. Any other comments on their detailed instructions for assembling welcomed.
Isambard

 

[Glen Haasdyk]

Firtst I would always favor airbrushing over brush painting. Brush paint usually goes on fairly thick (covering fine details) and leaves brush lines in the final paint job. Airbrushing done right gives a nice even finish that is almost impossible to do with a brush.
As for your question about painting the finished model or painting before assembly, can you get paint in all the areas when the model is finished or wil you have spots that the spray from the airbrush won't reach? If so, paint before final assembly or maybe build in sub assemblies, paint and them do the final assembly

 

[Fred_M]

I have 6 of them built up and you really need to paint them before you build them and just weather them after assembly. They are to lacey and delicate to really do after assemby. Fred

 

[Isambard]

Thanks for comments guys. Looks as if I'll be shopping for an airbrush and learning how to handle it, unless rattle cans would do.

 

[Russ Bellinis]

Thanks for comments guys. Looks as if I'll be shopping for an airbrush and learning how to handle it, unless rattle cans would do.

Check out www.harborfreight.com. Harbor freight sells a single action air brush for under $10.00.

 

[NYC-BKO]

I agree with pre-painting, any car that has slope sheets are tough to paint after assembly, with the ladders, angleirons, brake parts, etc, in those pockets make it hard to even spray in and get everything without something getting too much paint!-:thumb:
Good luck.

 

[Isambard]

Check out www.harborfreight.com. Harbor freight sells a single action air brush for under $10.00.

Ah, but that's for the sharp end of the weapon. I think I'll also need a compressor, since I'm usually a little short of wind.

Isambard

 

[Fred_M]

Nothing wrong with rattle cans. It's how I did mine. Fred

 

[Glen Haasdyk]

Quite true, I still use a rattle can when I'm painting something that I can't be bothered with hauling out the airbrush, compressor, paint, tinner, ect

 

[pjb]

TICHY/GOULD Ore Car Assembly

I disagree, because assembling both TICHY and the early steel ore hoppers from WESTERFIELD requires placing small amounts of adhesive in a comparitively large numbers of locations, (i.e. relative to the model size).

Prepainting unecessarily complicates the matter, since it gets paint on those discrete places requiring bonding, and hence, impedes assembly.

As important, as assembly/painting order...even more so; is washing the components to remove the mold release waxes, and using some form of fine cotton or surgical latex/vinyl gloves during assembly to keep human secretions off the parts, since paints and glues do not adhere readily to these oils.
Good-Luck, PJB

 

[Isambard]

I disagree, because assembling both TICHY and the early steel ore hoppers from WESTERFIELD requires placing small amounts of adhesive in a comparitively large numbers of locations, (i.e. relative to the model size).

Prepainting unecessarily complicates the matter, since it gets paint on those discrete places requiring bonding, and hence, impedes assembly.

As important, as assembly/painting order...even more so; is washing the components to remove the mold release waxes, and using some form of fine cotton or surgical latex/vinyl gloves during assembly to keep human secretions off the parts, since paints and glues do not adhere readily to these oils.
Good-Luck, PJB

Thanks for the tips PJB. I'm about finished on the first kit, apart from the trucks. Securing the brake wheel on the shaft with liquid cement didn't work well, tried spot of Testors airplane glue, which worked but messy finish. Think I'll try a dab of five minute epoxy next kit. I intend to wash with dish detergent solution and thorough rinse and dry after before painting.

 

[ross31r]

well i painted one of mine before and one after assembly and the fater assembly one was a bitch to paint. These models are sufficiently small and with such small details that i wouldnt like to airbrush them, besides, most of the real thing were handpainted and if you bruchpaint them proerly they look just as effective as if you airbrush them

 

[Isambard]

well i painted one of mine before and one after assembly and the fater assembly one was a bitch to paint. These models are sufficiently small and with such small details that i wouldnt like to airbrush them, besides, most of the real thing were handpainted and if you bruchpaint them proerly they look just as effective as if you airbrush them

Having completed the assembly of the two ore cars I decided to hand paint with a brush. It took about an hour per car, due to all those different surfaces and difficult to get-at places, but I'm pleased with the results. I used a Number 2 artist's brush and Pollyscale paints - Box Car Red on the sides, ends and bottom, Dirt inside and Grimy Black on the trucks and wheels (except for the treads).
The cars already have a nice slightly weathered appearance. I've applied numbers and lettering decals - "KCM" for Kingdom Copper Mines, which is located on a Grizzly Northern branch line. The final step will be a bit of deliberate weathering and dull coating and the cars will then be put to work!

The most difficult part of assembling the kits was to put on the journal box covers, which are the size of grains of rice. After trying several ways to handle a properly oriented cover, the truck side frame, the liquid cement, the applicator and my fingers all at the same time, I ended up dabbing a bit of Testor's (airplane) cement on the journal box, then picking up the cover with a wet finger tip and sticking it on the cemented spot. Not elegant but it worked. I was prepared to go without the covers if all else failed.

I'm looking forward to building a number more of the ore cars, for the KCM, and also for the Brunel Coal Mines, also on the GNR's branch line. But in the meantime there are an Intermountain box car and a Red Caboose box car to be done.

 

[Bill Stone]

I have six of the Tichy ore cars still in boxes. Haven't gotten around to them yet, but in looking at the kits, I wonder how tough the trucks will be to assemble.

Any comments or tips, Dash 10?

BillS

 

[Isambard]

I have six of the Tichy ore cars still in boxes. Haven't gotten around to them yet, but in looking at the kits, I wonder how tough the trucks will be to assemble.

Any comments or tips, Dash 10?

BillS

I didn't find the trucks to be difficult to assemble, other than the journal box covers, as noted above. But make sure the bolster and side frames are square, as the instructions tell you. I've noticed one that is slightly off square and I may reset if I can carefully work loose with liquid weld. Fortunately it only means a slightly loose wheel set if I don't succeed.

As another rcommendation to Tichy's good instructions I would add that you should first separate the two lots of car parts in a boxed set into two trays to save time and confusion as the work progresses. Also, if you haven't assembled one of these kits before, do the first one before starting on the second, so you can apply your learning of the do's and don'ts to the second kit, rather than an assembly line approach. As another observation on the instructions, the illustration for the trucks shows a plastic plug-type kingpin with a plug on the spring board centre snapping into the bottom of the kingpin, whereas the text describes and the kit includes 2-56 screw kingpins. The 2-56 screw works fine (better than plastic plugs that can come loose), the spring board and brake assemblies pop into place without a problem.

 

[Muddy Creek]

I have a half dozen of these cars when they were originally made by Gould. I built 5 of the 6, all still unpainted and never used around 15 years ago. I see a good project for a winter's night or two.

Around the same time, I built the Gould/Tichy 120 ton Brownhoist crane kit, also unpainted. I still have those instructions and wonder why I didn't follow them? They recommend completing some subassemblies and painting them with an airbrush prior to final assembly.

While on the subject of ore cars:

While the cars are in the original boxes, none of the paperwork is. I probably don't need the instructions since I have built-up models to work from but I was wondering what the prototype info said about the years they would have been built and in use.

I'll be needing ore cars soon but in N Scale when I build the iron industry section of my layout, set in the Adirondacks around 1916. These wood-style cars might be a bit early. I haven't found photos clear enough to spot wooden cars in use around this time, though I've only started researching. (This probably should be another thread.) Westerfield makes a HO model of a steel prototype from 1919 used in this region and I'd probably be happy with a fleet of these in N scale if I could find them.

Wayne

 

[Fred_M]

I have six of the Tichy ore cars still in boxes. Haven't gotten around to them yet, but in looking at the kits, I wonder how tough the trucks will be to assemble.

Any comments or tips, Dash 10?

BillS

Lots of little pieces and the plastic wheel sets need replaced. I have had some problems with the trucks breaking as they get older and have been replacing them with cast aftermarket trucks as they do. As built they are too light, I fill mine with real sand loads and they then track perfectly. Fred

 

[Isambard]

What level does an ore load reach in the car when at car's load limit. Also for a coal load?

 

[Muddy Creek]

What level does an ore load reach in the car when at car's load limit. Also for a coal load?

Hoppers loaded with coal are generally filled to over the top taking care to not overfill as movement settles coal into a lightly rounded heaps.

I've seen ore cars loaded to capacity in the same way. Iron ores vary in weight among themselves but all are far heavier per cubic foot than coal and that is why the wheelbase is so short. Nearly all the weight is over the trucks and not on structural members in the center of the car.

The short ore cars often had extensions added to their sides to carry more volume of lighter weight ores such as taconite.

If you were carrying ore in coal service hoppers, you would only fill it a fraction of the way, perhaps only a scoopful at each end over the trucks.

Wayne

 

[Isambard]

As a P.S. to my 09-11-2004 posting above, I've found that the positioning of each brake hanger on the spring board is very critical. If not positioned perfectly the brake drags on the wheel, since the clearance, when installed correctly, is so small. Having discovered this on one of my two cars I had to cut the brake hangers off since they were firmly bonded on. I'll probably not install the brakes on my next cars, to avoid more problems, they are a nice detail but not highly visible.