Fifty years ago, I used brake fluid to remove paint from plastic models. It was messy, and it sometimes dissolved the whole model, or at least twisted it out of shape. Eventually I switched to Easy Lift-Off, apparently still available from Testors, which worked a little better, but these days, I pretty much avoid painting whenever I can, especially because factory paint jobs are so much better. But here's an old Varney car that didn't quite make it out of the brake fluid:
Before I tossed the whole thing, I remembered I'd seen photos of hoppers whose backs had broken. This was common enough that railroads had elevated tracks in yards where the loads of bad-order hoppers like this could be dumped into cars in better condition and continue their journeys, so I decided to push on with this one. I even replaced the cast steps and grabs with brass ones.
I lettered the car with a Herald King Decal set. The big question was what color Westmoreland Coal carx were. I think the Herald King instructions said the car was red, and I probably used Floquil Zinc Chromate Primer for this one. However, manufacturers mostly did models in black, including Old and Weary Car Shops and Micro Trains. Bowser, though, did a model gon in red. Protutype photos seem to go both ways:
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