I saw on ebay that someone is selling B&O wagon top resin car kits. Having never built a resin kit of any kind before. I was wondering if they are difficult to build, are there warping problems, etc.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Doug
Doug I have that kit and its made by Pacific Mountain Casting. I have not gotten around to building the model, detail is great but the bottom of the body on mine on one side runs on an angle. It is just on one end from the bay to the platform. I plan on gluing a piece of styrene sheet to replace the missing resin and then sanding and filling. It’s not real bad but I would always notice it and I just as well fix it now. This is one of my favorite caboose’s and I want it to look as good as I can. The resin detail castings are brittle and break easy but with care they can clean up nice. I have assembled one boxcar made out of resin and it isn’t easy but they do look nice when done. If you have patience and moderate skills you will probably enjoy the caboose if you would win it. Good Luck and I hope this helps! Jim [:)]
Building difficulty is based on the complexity of the kit. They do take patiance, because there are usually a lots of parts and the all need some cleaning.
Also, make sure you use CA (I like the 15-30 second medium viscosity) or 5 minute expoxy. Plastic cement doesn’t work.
Nick
Unless you are into specific models or want extreme detail or you just like to assemble something with a challenge, resin kits are not worth the time or money. I have built many of them over the years & will probably build more. The last 2 I built constantly derailed until I traced the problem to a racked floor which put the trucks on different planes. It was resolved buy filing the bolsters. They are almost like scratch building. The one pc. bodies are much easier. When you add up the cost… $30 for the kit …$6 - 7 for trucks & couplers $ 4 -10 for paint, unless you have some of the right colors on hand. It becomes a bit costly. Then you have to consider the time to clean the castings, drill holes. ( last ones I made required over 100) assembly, painting, decaling, etc.You may want to spend that time on some other aspect of your layout. Don’t get me wrong, they really stand out when done properly. jerry
Doug,
You didn’t say which kit it was.
There are M-53 boxcar kits by F&C, the I-12 caboose by Pacific Mountain Scale Shops and the N-34 covered hopper and M-53 boxcars by West Shore Lines (Central Hobbies). All of these cars are the basic B&O wagon top style construction.
I have 5 of the F&C M-53 boxcars and have 2 assembled so far. They are nice kits and go together well. I noticed no twisting or deformed parts in any of the kits.
I have talked to others who assembled the WSL N-34 kits and they had no problems either.
I have no experience with the PMS I-12 caboose.
A lot of early resin cars were “flat” kits with individual pieces for each side, end, roof & underbody. I had a lot of problems with the ones I purchased with shrinkage and warping. They tended to also be brittle and would often crack when drilling holes.
The newer kits seem to be going with a one-piece body and a softer kind of resin material that drills well and is easier to work with. Resin kits usually take a lot more work than most injection molded car kits but aren’t bad to build.
For many unusual cars, like the B&O wagon top cars, resin is the only option besides brass.
Roger
Bowser has a great wagon top box car. the cast on grabirons are extremely fine & I probably won’t replace them with wire. Yes the early Westerfield kits were a challenge. The resin dulled a HSS drill in no time & I had to send for a new floor when it cracked while drilling the truck mounting holes. .jerry
Anybody have contact info on Pacific Moauntain?
Jerry,
The wagon-top cars were particular (peculiar?) to the B&O. 
The Bowser cars are round-roof cars that were designed by the Pennsy in several classes. They came in 40’ single and double door as well as 50’ SD & DD plus some variations. They were used by several other railroads including the N&W, Virginian, Northern Pacific and others.
The main difference was the wagon top cars used a common sheet of metal for the sides that went from the bottom side & across the top of the cars without a break at the roof line. I believe it was a continuous piece to the opposite bottom side. The large ribs were external and formed the main structural elements.
The round roof style used separate sheets like most normal boxcars where the side sheets met the roof sheets at the top edge and was riveted to a horizontal support member.
I think the Pennsy style was designed to give additional height for more cargo. The B&O cars were designed to use scrap or recycled steel from what I read someplace.
Growing up in Baltimore in the 1950’s I thought these cars were the “normal”
You forgot the three versions that Sunshine has in resin: M-15, M-53 and the C-16 express car. They’re by far the best versions of the wagontops available (better even than most of the brass versions ever offered) but they’re a bit tricky to assemble.
Not true any more, at least for the wagontops. Red Ball has recently released a mixed media kit for the M-15’s. The body shell and underframe are plastic, and the ends and details are photoetched brass. I had the opportunity to examine the cars over the weekend, and they’re great (they look at least as good as the F&C cars). At $29.95 apiece, they’re the same price as the resin cars, and a bit easier to assemble. I’ll be going with the Red Ball kit for the three or so cars I’ll need.
Up until recently, I’d never built a resin car either. That was, until Rail Yard Models came out with their Penn Central X79 boxcar kit. (Go here for the link: http://www.railyardmodels.com/penncentralx79.html.). Even though it’s probably a bit new for your prototype/era, I still recommend the kit. There aren’t many things to screw up 
That is, the carbody is one piece with a separate roof. Everything else (grab irons, brake gear, etc.) is finely cast plastic.
Trucks are included, whereas couplers are not. However, a Kadee #5 drops right into the box.