Articulation again - sggmrss 90 part 2.

This evening I spent an hour or two putting some detail onto the 'wagon sides'. I figured I'd do the same as on the 2x40-footer, so started by putting twistlocks in the corners. D'oh, on 45-foot containers, the twistlocks are inset at the 40-foot mark so that both container sizes can use the same set of twistlocks on a wagon. I should have known that... Rather than rip them off, I just added some extras in the correct places.  These were little cubes cut from .030x.030 inch Evergreen styrene rod.

Some vertical strengthening ribs were added to the deep part of the sides with .010x.020 rod as I had done with the 2x40-footer, which is a lot easier than it looks. 

• I cut a dozen or more little lengths of the rod oversize and put a tiny puddle of styrene glue on something (like waxed paper).
• Pick up a little length of rod by the end using tweezers (gently so so it doesn't ping onto the floor).
• Twist it if necessary so you are holding the rod in the right orientation (I had them so the ribs stick out a wee way(.020) and look skinny from the side (.010)
• Coat most of a long edge in the glue by dabbing it in the puddle. Avoid getting any glue on the tweezers or the rod will stick to them instead of to the wagon side.
• Put it in place. If there is not enough glue, you may need to re-dab the rod in the puddle again.
• Adjust it to be vertical (my built-in 90 degree protractor seems to get less and less accurate each year) and parallel to its neighbours. I decided to to a pair of these ribs at the ends of the drop down and one in the centre - there are loads of different makers and styles of these wagons so this is just "close enough to give the impression of detail." In the real world these are usually placed below the various sets of twistlocks.
• After they have set, put the outside of the wagon down onto something like a block of wood and trim all the excess pieces of the ribs to be the same length as the sides with a sharp knife.

A base piece along the bottom of these sides was added for strength and looks. I should have continued this up the angled parts as well, but decided it wasn't really necessary. And I was feeling lazy. A few other bits were added over the bolsters, and then a touch of grey paint added.

A little blue was dribbled onto the ends and corners of the containers as an experiment. As you will see in the next edition, I'm glad I did this. The 'easy' end bogies also got attached at some stage. 

It's starting to come together....