LIRR P72 FunaroCamerlengo kit-experience?

[mirrodie]

So I think I ordered these resin HO kits and got them sometime between 2005 and 2008. Since then, a new house and 2 children led me to pack these for a while.


Just got around to modelling these again after 9 years away from it. Has anyone put these together? Hoping to hear from you. Would like to see some up close details of the kit assembled please. Having some difficultly visualizing how to get 'er done!

[LIengineerBob]

Do you have the kits with the one piece body shell castings or the flat-cast multiple piece body kits? I don't recall when F&C retooled the kit with the one piece body shell.

I don't know what your modeling skill set is......so i'll more or less give you the whole thing. I have worked with resin kits, and kits in general for over 30 years and have cast my own resin kits and parts

Start off by cleaning the larger castings with some dish soap and warm water (the smaller parts can be done after they are put on.....you will lose them or they will go down the drain other wise) and let them dry.

Get yourself some 320 grit sandpaper, modelers files and some sharp hobby knife blades, and probably a small saw (LEAVE THE CARPENTRY TOOLS IN THE GARAGE OR SHED).

Begin by cleaning the castings of all traces of resin pour stubs and flashing, using the above mentioned tools.

Once the parts have been cleaned......rinse them off again to remove sanding dust and any small flakes of resin.....it will be everywhere!

Now just assemble the kits as it were made of plastic......just be prepared to trim and fit nearly every part......there is a lot of give and take with resin castings, and due to the nature of the material....no two are ever alike. F&C kits are pretty good, so you should be in decent shape assembling the kit.

Regular glue for plastic kits WILL NOT WORK AT ALL with resin....ACC glue (AKA Crazy Glue or epoxy (not recommended)) must be used.

Anything else....feel free to ask. Just be patient and don't expect to be done in an afternoon.

[mirrodie]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Yes this one is one piece (top and sides) and then the car floor. I got the coaches as well as an LIRR Atlas GP38 all sometime between March 2005 and April 2009. I just called Walthers to see if they had the dates but they are too far gone.

My first experience with resin. The instructions call it polycarbonate resin. Interesting since in my industry we use polycarbonate clear lenses in ophthalmics. Very strong and impact resistant. I assume the materials are similar. I guess Im good with model making. Paint not so much as I always did brush paint, never airbrush.

Truly appreciate the 320 fine grit recommendation as I didnt know what to get.

Glad to have more time now. Spent the last few nights really taking my time to remove the flash. I want that part to be exquisite. its not like I havent waited long enough! I'll try and show you a pic tonight of the uncleared ones as well as the cleared (of flash) ones. I actually sent F and C an email after my first post, hoping to get a better , more up close pic of what the ends should look like cat the car floor and steps. The pieces are indeed cut large but I dont want to start cutting them too small and screw it all together.

[nyandw]

Example of their kits built:
LIRR #2751 ex-PRR Class GR Gondola Mfg: F&C

I would refer you to a Model Railroader article on assembling these kits. Sometime last 2-3 years; it was very good concerning gaps, glue, holding together parts, bracing, etc. OK, I looked it up modelrailroader website go to mag index at bottom, really assume resource BTW, folks.
" Step by Step: How to build a resin and brass freight car" by Cody Grivno from Model Railroader June 2011 p. 24 I would highly recommend it.

[LIengineerBob]

How far did you progress on the kits?? I am assuming at this point you are buried in resin dust and shavings??

One thing I forgot to add......the truck castings that are included with the kits are next to impossible to use. They will work fine for a static display model, but if you plan on operating the cars, you are in for some difficulties as they twist and warp quite easily, and the wheel sets do not want to stay inside the sideframes.

[mirrodie]

Thanks for the reference to the article. I will look it up when I am at a proper laptop.

At the gym right now. And thank you for the tip about the trucks that come with the kit. Yes I was covered in resin dust and shavings but it's relaxing. But I am hugely glad about that tip with the trucks. The installation instructions does allow or make recommendations for better trucks made by IHC which I will most likely get.

I took a few photos of the kids last night and I'm trying to put it on a hosting site for you to see

[mirrodie]

Took the phot0s and thought I could just post to pinterest and link here but no go. sorry for the delay. Here are 2 of 4 P72 kits. One is being worked on and the other is yet untouched. I'm put lots of models together but it seems the amount of flash (as well as the thickness of it was pretty substantial.

Anyway here are F+Cs single body kits. IIRC I paid $29/pop each.







The instructions:

[Backshophoss]

Believe the IHC trucks mentioned in the instruction sheet were the replacement trucks for AHM/IHC passenger cars,
(aka,Rivarossi),unless you some of those trucks stashed away,you might have to hunt around some model railroad
estate sales to find them,or some hobby shop "going out of Business" sales.

The other possible option would be to try a replacement truck from the Walters catalog(pg 230,current, 2013 catalog)
Good luck.

[nyandw]

At first glance, some times, the flash seems daunting, but the end results are worth it to make these fine cars. Yes the trucks are an issue. Could you photo post them so folks can see what they look like and possible solutions?

[LIengineerBob]

Looks like you are off to a great start....and at $29 a kit, a bargain.....the normally go for around $60 each. Just keep sanding/filing/scraping/trimming away...you'll get there eventually!!

As for the replacement trucks, the AHM/Rivarossi/IHC trucks really aren't much better then the ones included, and are not accurate for the car. The Coach Yard made the correct trucks for these cars. They were a unique design for the cars (figures...right....typically LIRR!!), but sets of the Walthers trucks used under their P-S cars are a better alternative if you cannot find some sets of the Coach Yard trucks.

[mirrodie]

@Steve, will post truck photos next time I work on them. Oh and BTW, I post them from photobucket, but is there a faster easier way to get them up online? I would normally just post to facebook or interest but I guess people not using those cant see them.

@LIengineerBob, yep, around 1999-2001, I remember calling and talking to I think it was Steven or Sharon at F+C when they were still doing the sides/top/ends and not the one piece. WHile very nice on the phone, they never made any promises about when it'd be available. MAybe around 2005, I was tooling around on the Walthers site and they listed them for sale for $29 each shipped from Walthers but with no expected date...
-I placed the order and forgot about it. I got them maybe 6-18 months later, 4 coaches shipped by mail, totally forgot about them. Now I see they are over double!

[nyandw]

[quote="mirrodie"]@Steve, will post truck photos next time I work on them. Oh and BTW, I post them from photobucket, but is there a faster easier way to get them up online? I would normally just post to facebook or interest but I guess people not using those cant see them.

Sounds good, perhaps the visual will help others. I post to my web page, thus I have the [url] [img] info. Perhaps should chime in.

[M1 9147]

Are they still sold (F&C), and if so where? I'm looking for a few if it's that cheap (P72's)!

[LIengineerBob]

The kits are not hard to find. F&C sells them directly, you can order them from Walthers, if your local hobby shop is a Walthers retailer, they may be able to get them, several on-line mail order s hops stock them, and several sellers on ebay also sell them. You will NOT be paying $29 a kit for them. The original poster said he ordered them, and waited and waited for them.....so long he forgot about them!

Plan on spending about $60 a car, then $15 for some trucks, and $7 for a set of decals (and another $20 or so in miscellaneous items). Yes they are expensive in the end, but there just is no other way to get models of these cars. I highly doubt you will ever see any mass produced models of these cars.

Island Model works also makes the cars, they are about the same quality, and cost about the same. Those kits include decals.

The Image replicas kit was (supposed to be) the best (If it was even ever produced), but was expensive, around $75 each, and are impossible to find (simply because I don't think they were ever produced). I inquired several times about them, and were told they were either (a) unavailable, (b) sold out or (c) not yet in production. This was back in 2007 or 2008. They are still listed as unavailable on their web-site which hasn't been updated since that time.

There were brass models made also (which the F&C kit is kind of based on). Those pop up now and then for sale, but usually command a high price per car. Being they are 1970's vintage brass....they really aren't that good anyways......the F&C or Island Modelworks kits are just as good, albeit requiring some skill to assemble.

[mirrodie]

For clarification, the F and C kit did include decals.

Funny but it's been over 10 years since I last did any model detailing. Comes back very easily and if this is a help to others, this is my first time working with resin. I think it's pretty straightforward but wasn't sure if there was anything else I should be aware of.

@steve, if I'm reading that right and you want to host pics, it'd be a pleasure to contribute to your page to help others.

Damn shame they are charging over double what they charged less than 10years ago. Makes no sense.
Take today's diesel or M7 fleet. With smart marketing, I'm sure u could create demand and make sales at a price point to generate sales.