Monday Modeling: Adding Weight & Overpass Roadway Work

I had hoped to get to a lot more modeling over the weekend than I did, but the fact I got to anything at all considering all that's going on is a blessing. So, in the spirit of "incremental progress being progress, nevertheless" here are a few photos of what I did. . .

In addition to adding air hoses to the B&O P-11 flatcar I just recently (almost) finished, I realized it needed a more weight. A lot more. Thankfully, the "fishbelly" side sills will hide some weight (and are also the primary reason I didn't bother adding brake or other underbody detail). Unfortunately, lead fish weights - or lead of any type - are/is getting harder and harder to find. So I decided to cut up some A-Line weights to fit in where I could: 

Conceptually, it was pretty simple - use a utility knife to cut the soft, lead weights down to the right size. But it was a bit easier said than done. It's not THAT easy to cut the weights, but with time - and a lot of rocking the blade back and forth - you finally get there.

All the little bits of weight, cut to size to fit in between the deck framing.

Once I dry-fit everything to make sure they would not only fit, but not interfere with truck swivel, I used some big drops of Aleene's glue to attach the weights to the underside of the car.

 Once everything was in, it was just a matter of a quick brush-paint job of Grimy Black to disguise/blend everything in.

While that was drying, I turned my attention to the roadway on top of the west abutment for my Rt. 15 overpass. It's made of .040" styrene and I didn't want it to bow or sag over time, so I added some 1/4" square styrene braces:

I also scribed the top to match the "expansion joints" on the main bridge and am starting to add curbing to match as well:

FYI - the curb on the Rix overpass I'm using is .090" tall/thick.

Not really all that much to report, but it did provide a few hours of hobby enjoyment. And, like they say, you can even eat an elephant if you do it just one bite at a time.

Evidence of Hobby Being Pursued!