CNW Hopper Fleet: Primer

In an unprecedented two post weekend, here is a brief update on the covered hopper project. The paint stripped off all 4 models with varying degrees of success.

The Intermountain hopper didn't strip very well, the top and end frames came clean but the main body for some reason was very stubborn. I got a majority of it off after some vigorous scrubbing with a toothbrush. Likewise for the Precision Masters model, it's paint came off quite stubborn too. The Atlas Trainman was a little easier and is mostly clean, and the Micro-Trains of course was naked plastic within minutes of dunking.

One interesting note about the Micro-Trains PS 4427, the roofwalk seems to be laser cut paper and didn't like the alcohol much. It got soggy and swollen but did eventually dry out. It is not as firm as it used to be, the resin in the paper must have been attacked by the alcohol. I think it will still be usable, but something to be aware of anyway.

I weighed each car and found the Intermountain, Micro Trains, and Atlas Trainman cars to be just right. That is, pretty close to the NMRA recommended weight for a car their length. I'm neither for nor against the standard, but I like my cars to have a little heft to them and it seems reasonable that if nothing else, they should all be consistent so I go with the NMRA weight. The Precision Masters car was a little light, I added a 1/4 oz stick on wheel weight to the bottom. After they were weighed I glued the lids on the PM and Atlas car with styrene glue.

They all got a rinse in some dish soapy water and were allowed to dry thoroughly. Late this afternoon they got a squirt of Duplicolor white sandable primer. I like this, it goes on very thin and dries very fast, but covers well though you can definitely tell the MTL car was brown plastic, the and the Intermountain car was blue.