Broadway Limited "Kitchen-Dorm Car #4601" Car #2
The thread has come full circle, back to the second "Kitchen Dorm Car #4601. This car has a simpler detailing plan than Car #1 that started this thread.
Kitchen: The first step was to cover the wires that are exposed in the kitchen. A custom-cut piece of plastic was notched to fit against the speaker and volume pod in the car interior. The piece is glued to the speaker case and pod and floor. I used Testor's Insignia Red Flat Acryl paint to cover the white Plastruct wall.
Dormitory: The next item was to replace one E-clip that holds the trucks on the car. The factory silver E-clips failed on three of my cars, dropping the trucks. The floor piece unscrews to gain access to the E-clip. I replaced one with a 3/16" Steel E-clips from Home Depot. It is an inexpensive fix. Note: I did not replace the E-clip under the sound system so I would not damage the wiring.
Building the beds: The Dorm Room uses 1/4" H-beams for bed supports. On the outside edge, I glued them with the base down. On the interior wall, I rotated the H-beam 90-degrees and used the H-beam as the wall base for the bed that can be seen through the window. The bed tops are plastruct cut to the width of the walls I removed from the center of the car. I used the red wall I cut off the middle of the car floor for room dividers between beds. (See pictures.)
Pillows: The pillows are two pieces of plactruct glued together, then sanded to shape the pillow. I put head indentations in some pillows to give variety to the seven pillows used in the Dormitory.
Middle Car Void: The middle of the car has nothing in it. (In Car #1 I put a restroom from a NYC ESE Floor piece I purchased from Lionel parts.) The eight seat boxes have been cut off the floor base. The walls have been removed to be used in the Dorm. I used a red wall to build an alcove around the Dorm Right window. This piece allows the wall to shift out of the window area. A piece of Plastruct covers the holes in the floor. It is glued only to the Dormitory side of the car.
Window Glass: Many windows were tilted up and down on the car. I used a Excel #11 blade to loosen the tape at the bottom of the window and then straighten the window. I placed a very small amount of glue at the upper corners of each single window glass to hold it in place. (Note: The upper pegs in the car shell do not hold the window glass pieces in place.) The windows can fall inward if not glued at the top edge.
Preiser 65355 US Personnel: The figures have had 1/4' cut from their legs. This helps lower them into window view. They are 1/43 figures, larger than the 1/45 and 1/50 figures I have used in the cars.
This detailing project has been fun. All ten Broadway Limited cars have been discussed in this thread. Some updates to the 12-4 Duplex appeared in the first and second "Chickies Creek" posting. Read all the postings for the car you plan to detail to see changes that may have been updated.
I have the second Dining Car #4600 left to detail. There are two more 10-6 Sleepers in shipping limbo. The dealer may have encountered problems when I asked them to inspect the two-pack cars. I only detail good cars.
Thank you for following this post. The posting of pictures has kept me motivated to push forward with this project. Painting the Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People has added greatly to the time required, but also made the cars come alive with people interacting inside the cars. The cars look great at night.
Sincerely, John Rowlen