After completing my DPM steam and power plant build I ordered a set of Tichy USRA hoppers to service it. I figured since I had managed to build both the Tichy Boom car and 120 ton crane with little difficulty these would be a snap.
Just to be cautious I decided to build one and then to other instead of trying to build both cars at the same time. As it turns out that was the way to go because I made a number of mistakes on the first that I can avoid on the second. First the completed first car:
My major mistake was gluing the frame in backwards. You can't see it here but the brake gear aren't attached quite right. I did manage to 'Mickey-Mouse' it to look okay though.
I'm posting progress pictures of the second build. The one thing I really like about the Tichy hopper are all those seperate brass grabs. It makes the model look right. On the first car the instructions tell you to drill and install the grabs fairly close to the end of assembly but I think it's better to do the drilling before assembly so you can support the delicate structure from the back while drilling through.
I used a piece of high density foan to support the part while drilling
with that over I assembled the brake gear:
It's all very well detailed. The instruction include diagrams for all the air piping. I decided not to go that far, it wouldn't be that visible on the layout.
I have found that unlike the crane and boom car these kits require some sanding to get the parts to fit right. The frame had to be filed slightly to get it to fit into it's groove on the bottom of the car. Last thing I did tonight was to CA the weights into the bottom of the car:
Just to be cautious I decided to build one and then to other instead of trying to build both cars at the same time. As it turns out that was the way to go because I made a number of mistakes on the first that I can avoid on the second. First the completed first car:
My major mistake was gluing the frame in backwards. You can't see it here but the brake gear aren't attached quite right. I did manage to 'Mickey-Mouse' it to look okay though.
I'm posting progress pictures of the second build. The one thing I really like about the Tichy hopper are all those seperate brass grabs. It makes the model look right. On the first car the instructions tell you to drill and install the grabs fairly close to the end of assembly but I think it's better to do the drilling before assembly so you can support the delicate structure from the back while drilling through.
I used a piece of high density foan to support the part while drilling
with that over I assembled the brake gear:
It's all very well detailed. The instruction include diagrams for all the air piping. I decided not to go that far, it wouldn't be that visible on the layout.
I have found that unlike the crane and boom car these kits require some sanding to get the parts to fit right. The frame had to be filed slightly to get it to fit into it's groove on the bottom of the car. Last thing I did tonight was to CA the weights into the bottom of the car: