Prototype Background

Milwaukee Road purchased a series of 1971 boxcars from Pacific Car and Foundry. These were Plate B, with a 10ft 6in opening (Youngstown Sliding door), and had an inner length of 50ft 6in.

The Model and Modifications

Dave Hussey at Cannon and Company makes a nice, unique craftsman kit for this car. I've built a few other kits like these, starting with the Modelers' Choice kits.
The kits provide a strong starting point, including laser cut layers for the sides, and you can buy the roof, ends, floor and ladders as well (all are from third party manufacturers, and bundled into this kit). It's still a craftsman kit though, so some assembly required!

The instructions are good, but briefly the technique is to build up the laminate sides, attach the ends, fit the roof and floor, and voila you have a box(car). I vaguely remember putting together a Roller Bearing Models Railbox kit years ago which introduced me to this style of kit. These Cannon kits are not too hard, but there is some skill involved for sure in making sure the sides line up properly.
I added my usual pennies-and-contact-cement for weight, and closed it up.

Paint and Markings

After the model was built, I sprayed a primer gray coat.

I then sprayed a slightly diluted Badger paint Milwaukee Maroon color. My Badger paints are pretty old, but this one seems to hold up well, as it applied easily and gave a good base color.

I brush painted a coat of Future floor wax for a glossy surface for the decals. The decals were from Dan Holberg (included in the kit) and went on nicely.

Weathering

Summary

Resources

The instruction sheet, with all the required parts, is here.

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