Milwaukee Road 50' Single Sheathed Automobile Car

This model is based upon a group of 500 cars delivered to the Milwaukee in 1929 by Pullman Car & Manufacturing Co. The cars were placed in series 271500-271999 (note there is a similar, but different group of fifty-foot cars in series 271000-271499 that are not covered by this kit.) Features of these cars included Youngstown corrugated steel doors, Dreadnaught steel ends (with a small lumber door in the A end,) Hutchins Dry Lading roofs, Dalman one-level trucks, and unusually for cars of this type in this era, an underframe without fishbelly center sill sections.

The kit incorporates all of these details. I made the side and end patterns many years ago and created the underframe pattern and modified my existing Hutchins roof a couple years ago. The trucks (included in the kit) were developed and 3D printed by Plate C based upon prototype drawings. The kit includes one-piece cast resin body, other resin parts, etchings for many of the details, decals printed by Cartograf, and other parts. This is the first one-piece body offering that I have cast myself, so it's a bit of a milestone.

The A end, including the lumber door

The car shown is the pilot model built to create instructions (I will add the link to that file to the kit page in a few days once review is complete.) With construction complete, I blasted the model using 600 grit aluminum oxide powder (source for that can be found in this post.) I primed the car with Stynylres from Badger. The model was painted with MiG Ammo ATOM Rotbraun RAL 8012 (ATOM-20046.) I chose this color because it has a red hue, similar to what I have seen in many Milwaukee single sheathed box, auto, and stock cars photos of the Transition Era. It airbrushes beautifully. I did thin it a little bit extra using the manufacturers thinner (thank you to George Toman for the sample and recommendation!)

I weathered the model with a combination of oils and powders. I applied a very light wash of white oil paint diluted with mineral spirits over the entire model. I added additional washes of Payne's Grey and Burnt Umber, with additional applications to the roof and along the side sills. I also added PanPastel powders (Payne's Grey and Burnt Umber) in specific areas to complement the washes. 

Prior to each step where I applied decals, I airbrushed a coat of Future to create a gloss surface. Some chalkmarks were applied at the time of the bulk of the decaling (prior to weathering) and others were added after weathering, at the same time as the reweigh, repack, and brake test stencils. For the fresh paint patches of the reweigh, repack, and brake test stencils, I airbrushed plain decal stock with the color used on the car body plus a coat of Future and then cut and applied rectangle decals as needed. The clear flat coats are Mr. Hobby clear flat thinned with Mr. Hobby self leveling thinner; these were applied several times during the decaling and weathering processes, as well as the final overcoat on the model.

Note the hand brake rod, with the small segment at the bell crank and the longer segment above it, spanning to the chain, accurately replicating the arrangement of the prototype. Another notable detail is that on the prototype, the angles formed by the stiles of the ladders were oriented in an opposite fashion from most cars, with the angle of the stiles "open" to the "outside" of the ladder; that arrangement is also faithfully replicated on the model