Carletta Trains
NJT-1 Observation Car
After I custom painted and detailed my NJ Transit F40PH I was commissioned by someone to create a NJT-1 observation car for them in N scale.
What I used:
Model Power undecorated heavyweight observation car
Brass observation car detail kit from Gold Medal Models
Decals from Microscale
The first step was to cut off the attached steps and airbrush primer onto the model.
Next I airbrushed all of the sides with a special mix of silver paints I call NJ Transit Silver. The roof was attached to the clear plastic for the windows so that had to be masked otherwise I'd wind up with solid silver windows.
Now it was time to mask of the stripe that needed to be painted black and hit it with the airbrush.
The end result was a pretty neat stripe of black. I will use Frog tape for my next project to try and get a better seal for a more crisp edge line.
With the heavy painting done, brass steps added (as you can see in the picture above), and other brass parts painted and ready to go, it was time to paint the diaphragm, add the decals, and attach the remaining brass details.
Click on the pictures to enlarge them
I secured non-heavyweight Micro-Trains trucks per the prototype and checked the coupler height with an engine.
Here are some pictures of the finished model on my layout.
