Dear All,
What would be your choice for the best compromise between accuracy, detail and price?
Regards
Walid
Well, Walid, price is such an important factor for me that all things being equal I’d seek out old AHM/Rivarossi streamlined cars (unless the specific Pennsylvania RR nature of the observation is a deal killer), spiff up the trucks with better wheels and perhaps body mount the couplers, add diaphragms and other details within reason, and declare myself happy.
Otherwise I’d say keep an eye on the monthly Walthers sales flyers particularly their various warehouse and other sales, and let their sale prices take care of the price issue, and be happy with their level of detail. If accuracy as I would use the term is a driving force, all bets are off unless you are lucky enough to seek the very prototype that Walthers (or for that matter AHM/Rivarossi) is offering.
Dave Nelson
By the way, what is the finish used for the silver ones? Plating or paint? Background of the question is to determine how feasible a restoration of these cars would be.
Regards
Walid
Hi, Khier,
Most “fluted-side” passenger models have a silver paint finish. Some better than others.
Walthers Proto, in my opinion has the best looking plated finish of that type of finish. Rapido and Broadway Limited also has a plated finish but it is more of a matte look and does not have the reflective sheen that the Proto cars have. MTH, Con-Cor, and Rivarossi have a painted silver-look.
Not all Walthers Proto cars are “Plated Finish” so you have to look at the specific description for that stock number and be sure. Most of the later Proto cars are plated.
The middle observation car in this photo is a plated car from Broadway Limited:
2009 01 23 Layout 010crop by Edmund, on Flickr
The Amtrak Superliner cars on the upper level here are the Walthers Proto plated finish:
Amtrak Lineup by Edmund, on Flickr
This dome-observation car shows the Rapido “Superior Stainless” finish:
IF you plan to restore a stainless steel finish on an older car there is a painting technique called Alclad2 that results in a very convincing, high gloss metal-look that is a good representation of shiny stainless steel. It
Not sure how “restoration” got into this discussion?? The old AHM / Rivarossi cars can often be found online or at RR flea markets basically still new in the original box. Compared to some more recent offerings, they aren’t super detailed (needing added diaphragms and such) but generally the paint and lettering is good, they don’t really need to be “restored”.
A lot about availabiliy has to do with what road name you are looking for
I’m not a rivet counter and go with Athearn passenger cars, they clean up nicely, kitbash easily and run great. I have two SP Daylight color scheme streamline trains and one SP Lark color scheme Heavy Weight train. A total of 30 Athearn cars, several kitbashed into SP built specialty cars.
My layout is small and the 72’ Athearn cars look much better than the 85’ longer cars. I don’t pay any attention to road name, I air brushed all of them with Tru-Color Paint and use my own Alps printed silver on clear decals.
I picked up most of them used on eBay or at our local train show. I did replace all the plastic wheels with Athearn metal wheel sets, never been a plastic wheel guy.
I’m just wrapping up my SP Lark cars, they will be ready to go as soon as I replace the couplers. I use Kadee scale shelf couplers on my passenger cars to prevent accidental uncoupling.
.
<
Ive never tried these, but you might take a look at what they have:
These are the Herkimer (and before that, Kasiner) cars, typically available in full length, and shorty. The bad news is they have next to no detailing, and the cross-section of the cars is incorrect. Which means they look funny running with anything else.
But.
They’re real aluminum. Which means they can be mirror finished. I’ve got several tucked away with the idea of doing just that.
I think that would look quite sharp!
Ed
Ed, did you try this? It is even easier than Alclad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1Q8V7dXVss
Regards
Walid
Gentlemen, the reason I am asking about the restoration possibilites and limitations is because I am not living in the US. I do not have access to meetings and flea markets. Ebay and online shops are my only source. Most of the shops are used to premium shipping options. On the one hand to offer fast delivery, on the other, to have full insurance. But when it comes to overseas shipping, such options are prohibitively expensive. Add to this sales tax of 19% on the whole sum and you can imagine how much a nicely detailed Proto car would cost me.
On Ebay things are not much better. Most of sellers leave international shipping to Ebay’s Global Shipping Program. I had no problem until now with GSP, but they are not really cheap. Besides, they collect the taxes in advance, and in many cases they add charges where they do not apply. Furthermore, they do not combine shipping. Depsite all of this, unless a shop has a killer deal, Ebay is de facto my only source. Therefore, I have to accept whatever I find at reasonable price on Ebay, but only if it is restorable of course.
Probalby some day when I find the time to put my CNC router in operation I will make the cars myself. But considering the lack of time, this remains a long, long term objective.
Regards
Walid
Thank you, Walid,
I will take a look as time permits (over one hour video) but for the few minutes I watched it did look very similar to Alclad. I know the military aircraft modelers love this stuff!
I have a friend in Brazil and a few times I have sent him packages he still had to pay a duty tax plus additional postage above what I already paid here, which was extreme, to say the least. I can understand your frustration!
Thank you, Ed
What radius curves are you planing to operate these cars on?
Sheldon
Hi Walid,
I understand and appreciate your situation.
Although the Walthers and Rapido passengers cars are higher caliber in quality and detailing, if you’re working wtihin a tight budget the Rivarossi Budds and AHM smooth siders are not bad looking units and can be hopped up.
In the past, I’ve purchased quite a number of Rivarossi units on ebay at very affordable prices, some in the $9 to $10 range. Then I enjoyed the fun of stripping, detailing, and refinishing them with Alclad. The sleeper below is an example of what you can do with an inexpensive car. If I can be of help with details, just send me a PM anytime.
As for the video link, that is a good product. Respectfully, however, if you’re looking for a “Prototype” stainless steel finish that can be compared to the “Real Thing”, then Alclad is a very good route to take since you can “adjust your appearance”. I did a lot of experimenting and research and passed on the info to help fellow passenger car modelers [;)]
Here’s a Walthers unit that I stripped and refinished, compared to a prototype Budd:
Budd,
These cars look fantastic. I have nothing against Alclad by the way, it is only my laziness when it comes to air brush. While I enjoy air brushing itself, I hate the preparation and cleaning.
Regards
Walid
Hi, thank you sir. [:D]
I respect and understand what you mean. I started out painting models with spray cans. I was originally intimidated with the airbrush, LOL [:P] but a good friend convinced me to try it. The ability to control the application was, to me, amazing.
One point I will make here is that once you airbrush a few models, the cleaning can become 2nd nature to the point where it takes less than a minute to do. Prepping? Whether “Rattle-canning” or airbrushing… all surfaces still require prepping. But, if you’re referring to “prepping the airbrush”, once you flush & clean it, just make sure it’s set to your preferred air pressure and it’s good to go.
A simple step that greatly helped me take the “fuss” out of airbrushing was to hang the airbrushes over my paint area with air hoses already connected to the compressor. They’re "Ready to Go" at a moment’s notice. Just thin, pour and spray. Made things so much easier. Painting passenger cars became more relaxing and enjoyable.
I still have a couple of rattle cans as back up. For certain structures, I don’t mind using them. I have an original can of Dullcote that I haven’t used on a job in nearly 2 decades. Surprisingly…it still works when tested!
I felt the same about cleaning the air brush when I started using one more than 20 years ago; but with use and experience the cleaning does not seem a chore, and the results are so much better. I even collect spray paint from rattle cans in a paint bottle and use that for air brushing.
These are a couple IHC coaches that I painted with Alclad a few years ago.
