A little flat note

My two Owl Mountain F-50-10/12 kits are now in the projects drawer for 2018 builds. Unfortunately I tripped on a parking lot berm and fell breaking bones in my left wrist and hand and they are now in a cast for the next few weeks. The week prior to my accident I had undertaken the rebuild of an IM foobie of an SP F-50-16 that arrived from IM at my LHS on a 4-5 year backorder that I and the LHS had long forgotten. 

1. New deck from thin scribbed plastic as I could not get IM deck off without damaging rest of car. This required small strips of the scribbed plastic sheet be cut and glued to the underside along the edges to 
simulate thick deck planks. The stake pockets were respaced to closer match an F-50-16. The deck was painted with a variety of Vallejo Model Color greys to represent treated but not creosoted wood exposed to the steam era environment for several years but not heavily deteriorated.

2. Removed the tiny IM stake pockets which were not strongly attached and replaced with slightly larger Tichy stake pockets spaced to match the new deck.

3. Replaced IM virtical brake gear and wheel with larger Tichy parts. Brake wheel needed longer shaft cut from brass wire to match F-50-16 photos. Still looking for larger brake wheel. I have not replaced the incorrect K type brake layout as not visible from normal viewing angle. I don't model for contests 

4. Replaced stirrup steps with Tichy plastic angled inside steps to closer match an F-50-16. These appear to be larger than I would like but I did not have enough A Line stirrup steps in my parts stock at home,  late on a Sunday night. 

5. The IM car was painted in a shade of purple brown I would use for UK Southern Railway goods wagons but not any of my SP equipment. But the IM lettering appeared close to correct for a late 1949 F-50-16. I brush painted Vallejo 70.846 Mahogany Brown thinned with 71.061 Airbrush Thinner over the fish-belly car sides and ends. Before the paint dried I used a small micro brush whetted with the thinner to almost completely  remove as much of the brown paint as possible. It took two applications of the brown with at least an hour of drying time to adequately give the sides and ends a reddish brown tint. 

A little later note:

The first of the F-50-12's have been completed: