Has anyone built a Tichy 36’ hopper car? How difficult is it & how does it look completed? Do you have to drill the holes for the grabs? Thanks
I have beuilt a Tichy tank car, and you are not supposed to have to drill holes for the grabs. I did end up having to drill out a couple of holes for the grabs because they weren’t molded in correctly during the manufacturing process. I also had to for the all the brake rigging and air line, which is easy because the instructions had a template.
Depending on your experience, it may not be the easiest kit, but take your time and follow the plans closely. With the tank car, it isn’t a project you are going to finish in one night. It was rewarding once I was finished, and rivaled brass in appearance. I love that little tank car. The only dissappointment were the wheelsets. They are plastic. The trucks are decent, and have some great detail molded in. I still plan on replacing the trucks.
Again, take your time and enjoy. I think you will be satisfied with the outcome!!
Edit: Take great care when cutting parts from the sprues. There were plenty of spares for the finer details (such as grabs), but you only have so many. Let us know of the results!!
I have built one of the Tichy hopper cars. It seemed fairly easy to me, but since I’ve been modeling for over 30 years it just could be an experience thing. You do need to drill for the wire grab irons, and the brake gear. The car, when finished, looks very good. I did mine as a Wabash car, with fairly heavy weathering. If one has a fair amount of modeling experience, any Tichy kit can be made into a really excellent model. The plastic parts on most Tichy kits I have built fit very well. The wire parts are only marginally more challenging. All in all, I would recommend these kits.
When you say you heve to drill the holes for the grabs does that mean that you have to open holes that are already there , or do you have to locate them & drill from scratch. i seem to have a problem keeping them straight when drilling from scratch. I do have experience with resin kits & early wooden kits. Thanks…Jerry