Rio Grande Tool Car 04549

This is one of the projects I have planning for awhile, but finally got around to it. This was straight forward and was not difficult. I started with an unlettered Bachmann On30 box car.

Out of the box

I airbrushed two coats of ghost ship gray and a lot of touch up paint to get a nice even coating.

First Coat

Second Coat

I purchased D&RGW Maintenance of Way decals from San Juan Decals. This allowed me to get the basics, but still needed the decals for the word "Tool Car" and the 04549. I actually looked around a bunch and then found the perfect decals online at Microscale Decals. The only draw back is they require you to have a minimum order of $20.00, so I ordered other items I really didn't need. Anyway I purchased the HO number and letter decals that would let me proceed with my Tool Car.

Decal Placement

I used a picture of the proto type for placement of decals

For this project I used Micro Set (used for 'gluing' the decals down) and Micro Sol (used for softening the decals so they conform to uneven surfaces). This was the first time I used Micro Sol and it worked great.

Good team work

After the decals where dry I finished it off with a flat clear coat. This helps secure the decals and gives it a nice finishing touch.

Decals still drying

Finished Product