I've been using this lovely spring weather to get caught up on my backlog of custom builds. I've been building a whole fleet of O Scale helium cars for the military spur on my layout!
These cars are all 3D printed from my own digital design using my Qidi XPLUS FDM printer. This is what the kit looks like fresh off the printer, all rendered in sturdy ABS plastic. Take a closer look at the trucks, they're 3D printed too! They are scale models of the heavy-duty Andrews trucks often seen on helium cars from the 1940s on. The couplers are articulated so they track well on switches and curves.
I have built all of my helium cars with Rustoleum 2x aerosol paint ("Winter Gray" makes a good substitution for Battleship Gray) and K4 Pacific's excellent helium car decals. It's usually better to paint parts that get decals but I have found that K4's products adhere well to bare ABS plastic, particularly the metallic silver I have been using for the tanks.
The first car that I built is this United States Navy car. These kinds of cars were used to carry lift gas for the United State's airship programs in the 1930s and 1940s. (On a tangent note, you can see a restored gondola from a US Navy submarine hunting airship at the New England Air museum just north of Hartford, CT. Highly recommended for a visit if you're into aviation history, I've gone several times!) The color scheme is battleship gray for everything except the ladders, railings and trucks.
Next I did a MHAX car. These were used by the Mining Bureau to transport helium for various industrial and government needs. I found a paint specification that stated the sides and bulkheads were painted battleship gray, the tanks were unpainted bare metal and the frame and underbody were painted black. I've haven't yet found a photo that quite matches this scheme but it makes for an interesting effect.
Finally I made an ATMX car. These were used by the Energy Bureau to transport helium used in nuclear power plants. I think this is the best looking out of all the cars, the metallic silver tanks and handrails have a nice contrast against the solid gray body.
My favorite feature in my Helium Car design is the opening doors in the end bulkheads. Moving parts are in my opinion the most challenging things to design and I'm very happy with these work and look.
I've added these to my TMCC missile launching train to make a cool new consist, here's a video of it running on my layout!
Although many of you have heard of the 30-tank helium car, did you know there was a 3-tank version in the 1920s? My good friend Price has provided me with several detailed photographs of this interesting early car that I have been using to make a model. I'm about halfway done with my first build of that, here's a sneak peek at what I have so far. Expect an update to this topic once it's finished!
