Underframes (or Dipping Your Toe In)

 I don't know about you, but sometimes just contemplating taking that first step is the most difficult, like going to a lake or beach and standing on the shore, working up the nerve to get into the water (up here in the Northwest we know it is going to be cold!).

A few years ago I was at that point when it came to adding underframe details to my models.  I had read a lot of information, digested many "how to" articles and educated myself on prototype practices, but I was hesitant to give it a try for fear of "messing it up."

After a little internal pep talk ("you can do this", "how difficult could it be?", "it's just one model, right?"), I decided to dip my toe in, starting with a Red Caboose flat car model decorated for the Great Northern that came with older KC style brakes.  I wanted to update the brakes to fit my modeling period of 1965, so I substituted Tichy AB brake components, using a few small pieces of styrene to provide mounting for the brake reservoir and remembering to align the brake cylinder actuator toward the "B" end of the car.  I also painted the underframe and weight which forms the "floor" with grimy black from an aerosol spray can, or rattle can.

Red Caboose Flat Car Underframe with AB Brake Components

The results of even this small effort looked better than I had expected. With that first little step behind me I felt ready to jump in, this time adding brake rod detail to an Accurail underframe.  

Details Added to Accurail Underframe

Once again I used Tichy AB brake components, fabricating brake levers from styrene strip, and using wire grab irons as the hangers.  Dimensions were based on reference information and hand trimmed to shape with an Exacto blade.  I also added a train line (you can see it crossing through the centersill), along with brake rods from bronze wire.  The layout is generic and not necessarily 100% prototypical for a particular car, but a reasonable appearance.  Here is the result after painting with flat grimy black.

Detailed & Painted Underframe

Looking at it today, I know it is not completely accurate.  There is no chain between the brake cylinder and the lever.  I also could have added the piping between components for more realism, but the level of detail I did add really looked good.  One take away after I test fit trucks:  the wire brake rods probably need to terminate closer to the centersill as they may interfere with truck swing.  But, hey, not bad for a first attempt!

I'm now considering this my typical minimum level of detail for underframes.  There are a few other details I will add, like air hoses and coupler cut levers.  As a next challenge in building my skills I may try adding brake piping to a few cars.  Turns out the water is fine - I know that I can do this and it improves the appearance of my models, plus it is actually fun.